10. WASHINGTON PARK, the Japanese Garden and the Portland Rose Garden
All three of these beautiful areas are basically in the same spot. Washington Park is a huge 400 acre park with many walking trails and beautiful views of Mt Hood and Portland as well as quiet area beneath the huge trees. The Japanese Garden is absolutely beautiful, with different areas of the gardens coming to life in different seasons. And the Rose Garden has over 6800 rose bushes representing 557 varieties – major wow!

9. SOUTH WATERFRONT PARK
Portland reclaimed it’s Willamette waterfront for the people with this waterfront park. Get great views of all of the bridges, plus a really nice walk or bike or skate along the river. On the southernmost end of the walk, there is a small marina and nice outdoor cafes to enjoy some perfect July weather.

8. PEARL DISTRICT – downtown
ok, this is cheating in my top ten, cause there’s lotsa stuff in the Pearl that you have to see. They are all in walking distance to each other, so you can make a day of it, and then be there in time for Happy Hour!
• POWELL’S BOOKS – the largest independent bookstore in the world. It’s awesome, with collections of basically everything with used and out of print mixed in with the new. You simply cannot go to Portland without visiting Powell’s.
• Museum of Contemporary Craft – they had a great show while we were there. The gift store is impressive too, lots beautiful of glass, pottery and jewelry.
• Tanner Springs Park and Jamison Square – I mentioned these parks in an earlier post. Tanner Springs is a beautiful small natural area, very well done, and Jamison Park is a fun urban kids play fountain

7. a tie for VENDETTA and Rontom’s-
Vendetta = hip yet casual drinks and snacks hangout – great patio!
Rontom’s = mid-century mecca yet casual drinks and snacks hangout – get the Mojito with Cilantro in it – yum!

6. MISSISSIPPI AVE ARTS DISTRICT – see a buncha cool art on “Last Thursdays,” go to the BLACK WAGON for some hipper than thou baby stuff (and cool art), step across the street and have a martini to some cool grooves at Moloko Plus (used to be Mississippi Avenue Social Club), or grab a beer in a much more casual spot, complete with a veggie brat at Amnesia Brewing. And if you are there in July, you can’t miss the Mississippi Ave Street Fair! It puts those cute little town arts fairs to shame.

5. HAWTHORNE DISTRICT - go ahead and get your Stumptown Coffee on Belmont or Fresh Pot coffee on Hawthorne, then peruse the street for all of it’s awesome vintage shops, especially, House of Vintage, check out the Bagdad Theater and Pub, and enjoy all kinds of delicious small restaurants and pubs.

4. Broder – gotta go for brunch – Swedish food, whatever that means. All I know is that for brunch I got this awesome baked scramble in its own teeny tiny iron skillet – so cute – and great! It’s a tiny cute little spot…don’t forget to order the adorable Danish pancakes.

3. Alibi Restaurant and Lounge – totally authentic Tiki – LOVE IT – the cocktails are great and decorated with paper umbrellas, and there is Karaoke every night. One of my most memorable places to visit in Portland.

2. SATURDAY FARMER’S MARKET – If you’re in Portland on a Saturday, you just gotta go. Local. Delicious. Fun. Music. etc. See an earlier post for a larger description.

1. NAVARRE – Portland’s full of great eats and drinks. Navarre is at the top of the list. Navarre is a small place which truly changes it’s menu based on what they received from a local farmer. Everything feels as if it was cooked for you, served casually, family style, and desserts and wines are chosen specifically to pair with the food. this is a great date night, gathering of friends or casual night out for treats. Deelish. (we did a full write-up on Navarre last year. see it here.)

Other fun places:
mod shopping: Hive Modern, Relish, Canoe
chains but worth seeing Portland Style: Whole Foods Portland, DWR Showroom, West Elm, Horny Toad’s Lizard Lounge
other awesome eats: Bay 13 (seafood), Silk (vietnamese), Pok Pok (thai), Beast (euro-portland),
Voodoo Doughnuts, Hotlips Pizza (and homemade fruit soda!), Burgerville

Check Portland Octopus out for a lot of great Portland info.

I’m not gonna trash where I ate. It was nice. The service was fine (except for the host…she needs some lessons in hospitality). The restaurant was attractive. The food was good. blah blah blah. It was blah.

I want to mention 2 places specifically as my examples of great restaurants – ones I will return to again and again: Mo’s Diner in Raleigh, NC, (here’s a Mo’s review) and Navarre in Portland, OR. I think the reason I love these restaurants is that the intent of each is very clear, and every element of the restaurant reinforces that intent, thus creating a wonderful experience for the patron (me!).

image of Navarre in Portland, Oregon.

I’m not necessarily talking about chichi interior design, choosing Philippe Starck or using all the latest Maharam textiles. I’m not necessarily talking about a chef with a “name” or food piled high for a “Gourmet Magazine” shoot. I’m talking about the experience.

Navarre and Mo’s Diner are very different from each other, but they both give a feeling of the proprietor’s vision. The dining rooms are comfortable, unique and unpretentious while still feeling nice enough for date night. Both places are small, so they are naturally more intimate than a large dining room. Each atmosphere fits so nicely with the style of the food and service that it just becomes a part of the enjoyment of the tastes and conversations. Everything down to the graphic design of the menus reflects the vision.

In a great restaurant, the service is impeccable, yet within it’s own style. Mo’s Diner has a semi-formal white table cloth service. The waiters are obviously experienced, and are amazingly unobtrusive. Navarre’s service is a bit more casual, with a tapas or family style approach to plating the food. The staff in either is knowledgeable about everything on the menu – like they really know about it – they have eaten it, seen it prepared and heard how excited the chef is about it…much much more than memorizing the specials and name-dropping a few trendy ingredients.

image of Mo’s Diner in Raleigh, NC

The food is fantastic, and the selection of plates is obviously taken seriously. The menu items change by the season or even the week. They are small menus showcasing what the chef is excited about, as well as what local flavors they have been able to get their hands on. In fact, these 2 restaurants take on a social responsibility involving the food they serve, knowing where the farms are, how the produce or animals are treated and how fresh the food is by the time it reaches their restaurant.

Have you ever gone to dinner at the home of a very good cook? And as they bring plates out you can see their passion for what they just created? You can see their anticipation while watching you take the first bite. They want you to love it. That’s what going to a great restaurant feels like. That is what Navarre and Mo’s Diner feel like.

All in all, the more authentic, understandable and whole the vision is, the more appealing the experience is. People can feel the soul to the place – from the atmosphere, to the staff to the food. And the ones that love it will return again and again. Restaurants that hide their lack of passion and vision by resorting only to fancy interior design tricks, exotic ingredients, and a corporate approach to service will be the hottest thing out there for a few months, but the lack of heart will ultimately leave people hungry for more.