Comic Con Weekend in Portland
With Portland being a hop away from Seattle, it's a fun city to escape to for a quick weekend trip. This trip in particular was aimed at mixing work and tourism, and we were lucky to score a super central Airbnb studio apartment rental to facilitate our experience. While I photographed and absorbed the third annual Wizard World Comic Con at the Oregon Convention Center (a mere block away from our Airbnb place!), Martin was even LUCKIER to spend the day in Portland during their warmest day of the winter. With temperatures reaching 60+ degrees, he wandered around the Lloyd district and Burnside, discovering a plethora of Portland eateries that even Yelp wasn't diligent enough to thoroughly document. This served as the perfect reminder that exploring a city by foot is definitely the best way to stumble upon treasures that the Internet may not have covered yet.
Mission: Experience Wizard World Comic Con in Portland and EAT!
Our Trip By the Numbers
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2
Days (1 full, 2 halves) [/tw-column] [tw-column width="one-fifth"]
198
Miles one-way from Seattle to Portland [/tw-column] [tw-column width="one-fifth"]
1
Time we got pulled over by a cop [/tw-column] [tw-column width="one-fifth"]
11.25
Miles walked [/tw-column] [tw-column width="one-fifth" position="last"]
5
Eateries we visited [/tw-column]
Accommodations
We truly lucked out with accommodations thanks to Airbnb. I found a rental for $80/night. A studio, it was located in a modern apartment complex right across the street from the venue where Comic Con was held. Syncing up with our host was simple, and we easily parked our vehicle and then traveled by foot for the rest of the weekend. Above is a snapshot of our industrial view from the rental.
Dining Around Portland
Both Pok Pok and Salt and Straw are longtime favorites in the Portland dining scene, but oddly enough neither of us were totally familiar with them. Thus, this was a great trip to sample two of Portland's very best. Unfortunately, we lacked the time to stop and dine at one of Portland's famed food trucks.
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Pok Pok
A Thai restaurant with locations in both Portland and New York City, Andy Ricker is the head chef and founder of this popular Thai eatery that opened in the Northwest in 2008. His extremely refined technique toward Thai cooking, he serves incredibly flavorful dishes. The menu includes delectable items including muu paa kham waan (boar collar meat grilled with garlic, coridander, root and black pepper) and Vietnamese fish sauce wings. The meal and atmosphere here were inspiring, and we would definitely return on another trip. [/tw-column] [tw-column width="one-half" position="last"]
Salt and Straw
I always think of Salt and Straw as the equivalent of Seattle's Molly Moon's ice cream. It's rich, creamy stuff that comes in pretty luxurious flavors, and it's served in a freshly made waffle cone. Flavor varieties here can seem mind-boggling. Avocado and strawberry sherbet, black olive brittle and goat cheese, almond brittle with salted ganache...these are some sophisticated, yet extremely likable flavors for the adventurous. Each bite is sweet, creamy, and full of natural ingredients and flavors. Highly HIGHLY recommend.
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