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Portland’s Best Decks

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Springtime in Portland is unbelievably beautiful! Flowers are blooming all around and the blue skies are finally showing themselves again. One of our favorite activities is sipping a drink or two and enjoying some delightful bites while sitting on one of Portland’s best decks! Portland has a few elite options when it comes to dining in the sunshine. We could only choose a few to make our list so we took into consideration the outdoor space, the food, and of course the drink quality! In no particular order, here are our favorites!

Hammer & Stitch Brewing

2377 NW Wilson St., Portland OR 97210
Menu Here
Open Wednesday, Thursday & Sunday 12 pm – 7 pm
Friday – Saturday 12 pm – 9 pm
Minors allowed

Revolution Hall Roof Deck

1300 SE Stark St. Portland, OR 97214
Menu Here
Open Monday – Thursday 3 pm – Late
Friday – Saturday 12 pm – Late
Minors allowed until 7 pm

Botanist

910 NW 14th Ave. Portland, OR 97209
Menu Here
Open Wednesday – Thursday 4 pm – 10 pm
Friday – Saturday 10 am – 2 pm & 4 pm – 10:30 pm
Sunday 10 am – 2 pm

Tope

15 NW 4th Ave, Portland, OR 97209
Menu Here
Open Thursday – Sunday 4 pm – Late
Minors allowed

Radio Room

1101 NE Alberta St, Portland OR 97211
Menu Here
Open 7 days a week 9 am – 11 pm
Minors allowed

10 Barrell Brewing

 1411 NW Flanders St, Portland, OR 97209
Menu Here
Open 7 days a week 11 am – 11 pm
Minors allowed

Warm weather has already hit us this spring, so it’s about time to bust out those sandals and hit one of Portland’s Best Decks! Any of these places are guaranteed to show you a good time. If you didn’t see your favorite deck on our list leave us a comment and we will check it out! We also have several other Portland favorites Here.

Yalla

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This week, our Hot Spot is phenomenally delicious Mediterranean BBQ spot Yalla! As Spring gets started and the weather becomes more forgiving, we have been trying to find great outdoor dining options. Both of us independently saw an Instagram post by the one and only @foodiesnitch that featured Yalla’s adorable dining cabanas and decided we had to go!

First of all, we thought these cabanas were so perfect! With one fully open side and a small directional heater, they are totally equipped so that we felt both safe and comfortable. Food was delivered in to go-style boxes to our end table that we then distributed family-style.

We started with drinks of course. Yalla has a nicely curated list of beers and a few canned wines, plus a couple of solid cocktails and their own house-made sodas. I ordered the Prime Manhattan for an opener and Jessica tried out the Ginger soda. Both were great for sipping.

For our meal, we were so excited to try the food that we ordered a bit of everything. For our salad course we tried the Gathering Together Greens with dill, radish, ricotta salata, and walnut vinaigrette. Let me tell you, I don’t normally get very excited about salads, but this one had me scraping the bottoms of the box!

The next course, we tried the Hummus with Burnt Ends and the Yellow Falafel. The falafel was so nicely crunchy on the outside but tender inside and the flavors were on point. The burnt ends seriously melted in your mouth with that perfect amount of smoky fat and the hummus was a great accompaniment. That dish also came with some delicious roasted poblanos that further elevated the flavor profile. We also had a side of the oven roasted carrots with harissa and they were delightful. Cooked perfectly with just the right spice and sauce.

Next was a battle of the fried chickens! We ordered both the chicken wings served with pomegranate molasses and the fried chicken with harissa honey and pickled cauliflower. Both were absolutely top notch, with super succulent meat ensconced in crispy batter with a touch of sweetness. Comparing notes later, we discovered that while we thought both were excellent, I leaned slightly towards the fried chicken and Jessica leaned slightly towards the wings.

We cannot wait to go back and try all of the rest of the menu! In particular, we are very excited to return for the short ribs (a dish recommended for 2-4 people) and the desserts! If you want to decide what to order when you stop in for a visit, check out the menu here. If you want to see where else we have eaten lately, you can find our other Hot Spots here.

Do you have somewhere we should feature next? Let us know in the comments!

Quirky Boutiques

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One of our favorite things to do on a nice spring day in Portland is to go window shopping. We aren’t usually looking for anything specific, and don’t always plan on buying anything on these adventures, but somehow we always manage to come back with something new and exciting! Portland is full of shops, but there are a select few that fall into our list of Portland’s best Quirky Boutiques. For us, these shops need to have a little of everything. We are looking for clothing, jewelry, gifts, and greeting cards. Just to name a few qualifications.

Memento PDX

3707 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97214
Open 7 days a week 10 am – 6 pm
Website Here

Presents of Mind

3633 SE Hawthorne Blvd Portland, Oregon 97214
Monday-Friday 11 am -6 pm
Saturday & Sunday 10 am -6 pm
Website Here

Flutter

3948 N Mississippi Ave, Portland OR 97227
Reopening in May 2021!
Website Here

Redux Boutique

811 E Burnside St #116, Portland, OR 97214
Wednesday – Saturday 12 pm – 6 pm
Sunday 12 pm – 5 pm
Website Here

Moments Have You

1724 NE 40th AVE, Portland, OR 97212
Tuesday-Friday 12 pm -4:30 pm, Saturday 12 pm -4 pm
Just knock on the door when you arrive
Website Here

If you find yourself in need of a gift, but you’re just not sure what to get. Any of these shops are sure to have what you’re looking for. Sometimes you just need to walk into one of Portland’s Quirky Boutiques to stumble upon the perfect thing. If you want some more of Portland Best Shopping check out some of our other favorites Here.

Crumbl Cookies

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Portland is full of amazing dessert shops that we know and love. In fact we’ve talked about a lot of them. Today we are stepping just outside of Portland, because our suburbs have some pretty great stuff as well. This week we went to Crumbl Cookies in Lake Oswego! Crumbl Cookies also has shops in Beaverton, Clackamas, Hillsboro, and Wilsonville.

The first thing you should know about Crumbl is that they are serving you warm cookies! Each cookie is thick and just slightly gooey in the center. Before you even walk into the shop, the smell of freshly baked cookies takes over all of your senses. It’s impossible to not fall in love right away! These are not your average cookies that we are talking about. Crumbl has a rotation of 120 delicious flavors. Some of these flavors include red velvet, carrot cake, sea salt toffee, funfetti, and so many more. The number one staple here is the milk chocolate chip cookie. Check out their current selection Here. Crumbl claims to have the world’s best chocolate chip cookie. This is a big statement to make and while we haven’t had all the cookies in the world yet. We agree with their bold claim.

Crumbl Cookies was started in Utah by two cousins who sought out to just make the best cookies they could. After several failed attempts they went back to the drawing board and A/B tested each cookie at their local gas stations and grocery stores until they found the perfect combination of ingredients and bake time. The original shop opened up in 2017 in Utah, Since that point 75 more locations have opened and they show no sign of slowing down! If you’re ready to give “the world’s best cookie” a try let us know in the comment below which flavor you’re most excited about. Also check out some of our other Hot Spots Here.

Portland Style Cheesecake & Dessert

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We all have that one dessert that brings a smile to our faces. Sometimes it’s a dessert that reminds you of your childhood. It could be something that you love to make on your own. For me Cheesecake has always been that one dessert. I’ve indulged in my fair share of cheesecakes throughout my life, and I can happily say that Portland Cheesecake & Dessert company has mastered the perfect cheesecake.

Portland Style Cheesecake & Dessert certainly isn’t new to the Portland area. This company has been crafting desserts for over 30 years now. We decided it was time to take a trip to their local shop! The staff here is so welcoming, and it was apparent to us that they have a passion for what they are doing. We were immediately welcomed with a big “Hello how are you doing?” everyone working was eager to help out, and answer any cheesecake lovers’ questions that we had. There were quite a few options to choose from. If you’re torn between what flavor to get then simply get the cheesecake “cupcakes”. The cupcake route is the one we chose to take. My favorite was the classic vanilla, but marionberry was a very close second. Both cheesecakes were the perfect combination of creamy and fluffy.

Portland Style Cheesecake & Dessert can be found in New Seasons Market as well, but we would recommend heading to the shop for a more personal experience. The shop is open Tuesday – Friday 10 am – 3 pm. Trust us when we tell you, that nothing beats the smell of just-baked cheesecake. You won’t find that aroma at your local supermarket! If you’d like to order ahead of time, you can do so on their website Here.

Are you about ready for a slice or two from this local company? While cheesecake might be what they are famous for, they do also offer a variety of other desserts that are sure to please any crowd. Take a look at our some of our other Portland Hot Spots Here to see what else Portland has to offer.

Portland’s Best Re-Opened Bars

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2020 was a rough year for most people. Unfortunately, Portland had to say goodbye to some of its favorite bars, restaurants, and local shops. They will forever be missed. However it’s 2021 now! We are ready to celebrate Portland’s Best Re-Opened Bars. Portland has too many amazing bars to be able to name them all at once, So this week we are featuring the ones that we are most excited to welcome back! In no particular order.

Palomar

959 SE Division St. Portland, Ore. 97214
Open Wednesday – Sunday 4pm – 10pm
Authentic cuban food and cocktails.
Website Here

Bantam Tavern

922 NW 21st Ave Portland, OR 97209
Open Monday – Friday 3pm – 11pm
Saturday – Sunday 12pm – 11pm
Interurban’s sister restaurant, Providing high quality pub classics with a twist.
Website Here

Scotch Lodge

215 SE 9th Ave #102 Portland, OR 97214
Open Wednesday – Saturday 4pm – 11pm
A cocktail bar for whiskey lovers, with a french inspired menu.
Website Here

Sapphire Hotel

5008 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97215
Open Tuesday – Saturday 4pm – 11pm
Sassy cocktails of all sorts, and dinner to please every crowd. Home to the best cheese plate in Portland in our opinion.
Website Here

Tropicale

2337 NE Glisan St., Portland, OR 97232
Open Tuesday – Friday 12pm – 10pm
Saturday – Sunday 10am – 10pm
Home to the pina colada king! Serving Caribbean and Latin American small bites.
Website Here

5 & Dime

6535 SE Foster Rd Portland, OR 97206
Open 7 days a week 4pm – 10pm
Exceptionally done classic cocktails and light snacks.
Website Here

Someday

3634 SE Division St. Portland, Oregon
Open Thursday – Sunday 3pm – 10pm
Classic cocktails and a variety of small plates
Website Here

If you’re not quite ready to dine-in at these bars, that’s ok! Most of the bars listed above will do food-to-go as well. It’s so exciting to see some of our local favorites come back to life, and we are ready to celebrate them again! If you think your favorite bar needs to be on our Portland’s Best Re-Opened Bars list, leave us a comment and we will check it out. Head to our website Here for other featured Portland favorites of ours.

Kayo’s Ramen Bar

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Our Hot Spot of the Week this week is delicious N Williams Ramen spot – Kayo’s Ramen Bar! Full disclosure, this was an accidental find. We had intended to lunch somewhere else, but arrived to find that the outdoor seating was full to the brim with newly-seated patrons. However, sometimes the world works in mysterious ways, because the loss of that other dining experience led us to discover this absolute gem!

There are several standout features of Kayo’s. First, they not only have fantastic traditional ramen options such as Shoyu and Miso, but they also have many interesting and creative spins on the dish. You could choose a Curry Ramen or Wasabi Smoked Salmon one. If you are feeling really wild, maybe you will want to try out their Japon tacos! Another great feature is that you can choose the amount of gluten you are feeling up for. You can get the standard option of traditional noodles, substitute the gluten-free option of julienned zucchini and daikon, or even try out half and half!

We both thought that the TanTan Ramen sounded the best. Apparently many people agree, as this is their most popular option. We tried out the regular TanTan and the TanTan Mazemen (no broth) respectively as well as sharing an order of the Pork potstickers.

First off, let me say that those were the BEST potstickers. They were cooked perfectly, the flavors were on point, and we made a bit of a mess because of how delightfully juicy they were. I could eat them every. damn. day. The ramen was phenomenal as well. I adore Sichuan DanDan, and having a ramen version was a totally new experience for me. We both agreed that it was better with the broth rather than the Mazemen style. That is partly because the spice disperses better in the broth and partly because the broth was so delicious!

This place is such a great option right now especially. The patio is wide open and covered, with very well–spaced tables. Plus, ramen is the perfect dish for these days where the sun is shining, but still a chilly nip to the air. Check out their menu here.

Have you ever tried Kayo’s Ramen Bar? What should we order the next time we are in? Let us know in the comments!

Portland’s Best Nurseries

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March has finally arrived, which means that spring is just around the corner. For me, that means it’s time to fix the yard up, and seek out one of Portland’s best nurseries for this year’s selection of perennial flowers and plants. There is a lot to think about when planning the design of your yard. Don’t hesitate to ask the staff for their opinion. After all, they are the experts! Portland has quite a few nurseries to choose from, So if you don’t see your favorite below leave us a comment and we will check it out. Here’s our list in no particular order.

Portland Nursery

5050 SE Stark Portland, 97215 & 9000 SE Division Portland, 97266
Open 7 days a week 9am – 6pm
Website Here

Pomarius Nursery

1920 NW 18th Ave. Portland , 97209
Tuesday – Sunday 10am- 6pm
Website Here

Pistils Nursery

3811 N Mississippi Ave. Portland 97227 & 2139 NW Raleigh St. Portland, 97210
Monday, Wednesday – Sunday 11am – 6pm
Website Here

Garden Fever!

3433 NE 24th Ave. Portland , 97212 
Wednesday – Sunday 10am – 5pm by appointment only
Website Here

Have you been inspired to spruce up your garden yet? If you don’t have a yard, the option for an indoor herb garden is always fun! Create a zen corner inside with plants. The options really are endless when it comes to gardening; big or small. Maybe plants aren’t quite what you are looking for. That’s ok! Portland’s Best Nurseries is one of our many lists that will help you find exactly what you’re looking for around town. Check out some of our other favorite places to shop around Portland Here