Portland! Land of hipsters, food trucks, and putting a bird on, well...everything. Portland is definitely an interesting town. It's much more diverse than I imagined--not in terms of racial composition (pretty homogenous), but in terms of what the city has to offer. Portland is green and urban and cute and gritty all at once. 

That's enough of an intro. Let's get to the food. On our first night, we had the best happy hour at Vitaly Paley's Imperial. We started with oysters on a half shell with the most delicious horseradish and grilled lemon (grilling the lemon really does make a difference). We also had steak frites, an artisan cheese plate, fried chicken with a honey/hot sauce combination, and the signature flat top burger. It was one of the most elevated happy hours I've ever experienced. Everything was phenomenal. The only thing I could have done without was the burger--and that was still pretty good. The house wines were solid at a very reasonable $8.00. 

Then there were the donuts, which Portland is famous for. We had to try the lauded (and some say, overrated) Voodoo Doughnuts. We had several, including the maple bacon, one coated with Fruit Loops, a peanut butter chocolate concoction, and a classic glazed. The maple bacon was definitely one I would go back for. We actually preferred Blue Star Donuts (which I later found out has a Los Angeles location). Blue Star was much more my speed. I'm obsessed with the lemon poppy buttermilk. It was sweet and tangy with just the right ratio if icing to cakey donut. Side note: the coffee is as great as you'd expect, no matter where you go.

Portland is a food truck city. I honestly have to say that the best meals I had there actually came from those trucks. There was amazing Thai, Hawaiian, Greek, Lebanese--you name it. There were also some great burgers...check out Tilt and Killer Burger if you're in town. I'm glad I finally made it to quirky Portland. The next time I'm there, I'll know what to eat.