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Belmont Station

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For our Hot Spot this week I visited Belmont Station over the weekend during a beer release event and we had the best time. This small bar is heaven for anyone who loves beer.

There are 2 sections to Belmont Station, one side is a very diverse bottle shop. They have all your favorites, some of their own favorites, and rare beers you have never heard of. They take very special care of the nearly 1,400 bottles to ensure they stay fresh. For anyone that appreciates beer, it would be very easy to spend a long time perusing the selection at hand.

The other side is the taphouse. You can choose a beer from their 34 draft tap list. They tend to serve beer mostly from the Pacific Northwest, but they also usually have on a European beer and a couple from elsewhere around the country.

The “beertenders” were incredibly knowledgeable, very friendly, and quick to get to you. All the beers we tried were perfect fresh and tasted brand new. I would definitely recommend checking out this incredible beer destination.

Want to see what they currently have on tap? Head over to thier website here

Have you been yet? What is your favorite beer or experience so far? We hope to hear from you in the comments!

Do you also love our Hot Spot Belmont Station? If you want to check out our other hot spots you can do that here

Portland’s Best – Steakhouses

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In a city that claims to be “one of the best for vegans” there are still many residents that love to enjoy a delicious steak. We have our fair share of places to get a perfectly seared steak so we wanted to share our favorites with you.

We love to support locally owned businesses so everything on this list is a true Portland steakhouse. Listed Alphabetically, here are our favorites!

Clyde's prime rib steak

Clyde’s Prime Rib

5474 NE Sandy Blvd
Portland, OR 97213

Website

Clyde’s keeps it old school. With a dimly lit dining room it brings us back to what Portland used to be. While the prime rib is reason enough to go, they also have many other cuts of beef that are sure to please. Clyde’s also offers live music in the bar overnight of the week.

Imperial PDX steak and sides

Imperial

410 SW Broadway
Portland, OR 97205

Website

Vitaly Paley’s wood fired restaurant, you will find tons of delicious cuts of meat on this menu. They have a trusty flat iron and ribeye always on the menu, and they frequently will pass out a specialty cuts list with the menus.

Laurelhurst market steak

Laurelhurst Market

3155 E Burnside St
Portland, OR 97214

Website

Laurelhurst Market is frequently named the city’s best steak house. Everyone that works here can give you the fine details about every cut of steak on the menu. They also serve them with wonderful accoutrement – like the pictured grilled flatiron with chanterelles and shrimp.

ox portland steak for 2

Ox

2225 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd
Portland, OR 97212

Website

This James Beard Award winning Latin American restaurant is all about the smoky flavors. There is a wood fired oven front and center in the restaurant which they use to cook all their steaks. The steak is served with the best chimichurri you have ever had and you can order a myriad of amazing vegetable sides.

portland city grill steak

Portland City Grill

30, 111 5th Ave
Portland, OR 97204

Website

This restaurant should be on your must visit list. The 30th floor restaurant offers panoramic views of the city. Whether you are a long time local, or a new visitor, the crew never gets old. They have a variety of steaks you can order from along with sauces and sides for your choice of beef.

urban farmer portland steakhouse

Urban Farmer

525 SW Morrison St
Portland, OR 97204

Website

This open-concept lobby/restaurant serves up some delightful steaks. You have a variety of options once you have chosen the cut of steak you’d like to enjoy. For example, you can have 8oz, grass fed, Oregon tenderloin, or you can have the 8oz, grain finished, California tenderloin.

We hope that you are able to get out and enjoy some of these great steak houses! Are you interested in seeing our other “Best of” lists? Check them all out here

Did we miss your favorite? Add it in the comments!

Feature Friday at Training Day

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This month for our Feature Friday we visited with Megan Marchello of Training Day PDX! She owns a barefoot gym in southeast Portland and did a great job of making us sweat in just a short amount of time.

We also learned a ton about how your stance, and how you treat your feet, will affect your whole workout. Check out the full video below!

Be sure to check out this awesome gym and support local business!

Do you have somewhere that you think we should visit? Let us know in the comments!

Spitz

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This week for our hot spot we tried out this awesome N Portland restaurant. They serve mediterranean street food with a slight german twist. The chainlet is based out of LA, but we are very glad that they decided to come up to Portland. 

Street Cart Doner at Spitz photo by That Portland Life

I tried the Street Cart Doner which is a beef/lamb mix with cabbage, romaine, cucumber, tomato, and garlic aioli. The wrap was delicious and had some great mediterranean flavors. We also tried the Berliner Doner which had most of the same ingredients with a german red sauce and carrots. 

Everyone had mentioned that we had to try the Street Cart Fries, which is what the restaurant is best known for, and they did not disappoint! The perfectly crispy fries were covered in aioli, pepperoncini, tomato, feta, onions and green peppers. I would definitely order these again! 

Street Cart Fries by Spitz Photo by That Portland Life

The restaurant was bright, clean, and had a fun hip atmosphere. The walls have spray painted murals from Portland area artists, and all the ductwork is bright pink. They are definitely making a statement and I really loved it. 

Interior of Spitz Photo by That Portland Life

Have you been yet? Let us know what you think in the comments! Check out the full menu here

Haunted Houses

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It’s that time of year when we all want to walk up to that edge of spooky and scary and get our hearts racing and our adrenaline pumping, so why not check out one of these fantastic haunted houses? Let us know in the comments which one is your favorite or if we missed the best one of all!

Fear Asylum

13121 SE McLoughlin Blvd Milwaukie OR 97222

Fri/Sat 7-11 Sun 6-9

$15 admission, *light touch*

Clark County Scare Grounds

17402 NE Delfel Rd Ridgefield, WA 98642

Fri/Sat 7-10 Sun 6-9 Halloween week 7-10

$25 for any 3 haunted houses

Strip Club Haunted House

33 NW 2nd Ave Portland, OR 97209

Thurs the 24th through Halloween 9pm-2am

$18-$30, *21 and older*

Fearlandia

16255 SW Upper Boones Ferry Tigard, OR 97224

Oct 24-26, 31, Nov 1-2 7-11pm

$20 for 2 haunted houses

Have a spooktacular time!

No Bones Beach Club

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This week’s Hot Spot is the perfect place to chase away those winter blues, No Bones Beach Club. With fun tiki decorations and a healthy dose of tropical flavors, this all-vegan spot on N Mississippi will make you feel like you’re on a getaway, without any of the guilt.

I brought a friend from out of town here recently in response to his query, “Where can I eat some yummy vegetarian food in this town?” and he was delighted to find out that he could eat every single thing on the menu at No Bones. The portion sizes are large though, and we were luckily saved from ordering FAR too much food by a word to the wise from the fellow at the counter when we attempted to order 5 or 6 items to share.

As with any good Tiki bar, most of the cocktails involve some combination of rums and fruit juices, but I steered towards one that was more like a combination of a Kentucky Mule and a Julep. With bourbon, mint, ginger, and lime, it was perfectly refreshing and bright. My friend got a take on a hot toddy and said it was delightful and well-spiced.

For food, we ended up sharing the Buffalo Cauliflower Wings, the Coastal Chowder, and the ‘Crab’ Cake Sando, all of which were delicious. The crab cake sando in particular was quite tasty and served with fries seasoned with Old Bay. I must say, I didn’t remotely miss my omnivorous ways. As I mentioned previously, the portions are quite large, so we ended up taking home most of the cauliflower, which was fantastic as part of breakfast the next day.

I can’t wait to come back to this spot and try out their brunch! Fried avocado Benedict?? Sign me up!

Where should we check out next? Let us know in the comments!

Pumpkin Patches

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Fall is a great season for so many reasons, the leaves changing colors is definitely my favorite part of fall, but I also love to visit the pumpkin patch! There are so many good options near Portland so I though I would include some of my favorites! Do you think we missed the best one? Let us know in the comments!

Bauman’s Pumpkin Patch

12989 Howell Prairie Rd NE, Gervais, OR 97026

Open 9am – 6pm

Bella Organic Pumpkin Patch

16205 NW Gillihan Rd, Portland, OR 97231

Open 9am – 6pm

Liepold Farms

14480 SE Richey Rd, Boring, OR 97009

Open 9am – 5pm

Mr Tree’s Pumpkin Patch

8560 SE 172nd Ave, Happy Valley, OR 97086

Open 10am – 6pm

Plumper Pumpkin Patch

1435 NW Old Cornelius Pass Rd, Portland, OR 97231

open 9am – 5:30pm

The Pumpkin Patch on Sauvie Island

16511 NW Gillihan Rd, Portland, OR 97231

Open 9am – 6pm Sunday-Thursday

Open 9am – 10pm Friday-Saturday

We hope to see you there this fall!

Coffee Shops

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The Pacific Northwest is known for it’s amazing coffee. How could we not be when Seattle was the birthplace of the now ubiquitous Starbucks? But, with so many incredible and unique coffee shops in the city, who even has time for a chain like that? Not us! Here’s where you should grab your morning (or evening) caffeine buzz instead.

  • Carnelian Coffee 6923 SE Foster Rd This fantastic addition to the up-and-coming strip that is Foster Rd is owned by two rockhounds, so you can sip your exquisitely made oat milk latte while looking at awesome geodes through the provided magnifying glasses.
  • Crema 2728 SE Ankeny St Crema is the perfect spot to go if you are looking for some phenomenal baked goods to go alongside of your Chai, and the bright and airy sitting area is a great spot for a meeting.
  • Extracto 2921 NE Killingsworth This place is known for their precision when it comes to their pours, and are exacting in making sure you get the best possible cup of beans. A great spot for the true coffee nerds!
  • Outlier Coffee 5029 SE Division St Hands down the absolute best place in town to get a Bulletproof coffee. Made with butter (or coconut oil for the vegans) the caffeine molecules bond with the fats for an amazing extended boost. They also have incredible flavor combos like the Liger, which adds ginger and turmeric for and extra fun kick.
  • Ovation 941 NW Overton St This cute little NW shop has wonderful baked goods, and also features amazing Moroccan coffees and teas, some of which are serves in ornate silver pots for added atmospheric immersion.
  • Rimsky-Korsakoffee House 707 SE 12th Ave If you are looking for an after dinner espresso and dessert in a quirky old art house with occasional live music, this is the place to be. Make sure to bring cash and to take a quick peek in the upstairs restroom. You won’t be disappointed.

Did we miss your favorite spot for a pick-me-up? Let us know in the comments!