Portland Essentials

See the best Portland has to offer in food, drink, entertainment and more

By Ryan Ritchie, FrontDoor.com | Published: 11/20/2008

Portland's Vita Cafe offers vegan and vegetarian meals that even carnivores will love.

Food and Drink Essentials: Best Places to...

BUY GROCERIES

Food Fight!
1217 S.E. Stark St.
This vegan market has a freezer with faux meat TV dinners, soy jerky, organic produce and cookbooks. There are even dairy-free nachos. Bottom line: If it's vegan, they've got it.

Zupan's Markets
Four locations
Cross a mainstream grocery store with a Whole Foods and you've got Zupan's. They sell locally grown produce here as well as Pop Tarts, soy milk and Captain Crunch, providing one-stop shopping for people who want a little mainstream food with their organic stuff.

BUY ORGANIC FRUITS AND VEGGIES

People's Co-Op
3029 SE 21st Ave.
This community-owned co-op has been serving up organic produce since 1970.

GRAB A SLICE

Pizza-A-Go-Go
3240 N. Williams Ave.
Two slices and you're full at Portland's best neighborhood pizzeria. Customers choose from toppings like pepperoni, sweet Italian sausage and herbed chicken breast. Since meat-free is big in this town, you can also get a cheesy vegetarian slice or a veggie-filled vegan slice. Get adventurous and make your own with ingredients such as chipotle tomato sauce, goat cheese, minced garlic and roasted pumpkin seeds.

GET BREAKFAST

Gravy
3957 N. Mississippi Ave.
Ridiculously large portions, a friendly and attractive staff and a long wait are the rule at this highly popular breakfast stop. The organic, Southern-style breakfast food is worth the wait.

EAT WITH A VEGETARIAN

Vita Cafe
3024 NE Alberta St.
Tattooed hipsters and shaggy-haired artists serve the best faux meat dishes in town. Nearly every meal is prepared vegan/vegetarian and/or gluten free. Skeptical carnivores melt at the first bite of the seitan cheesesteak.

Paradox Cafe
3439 SE Belmont St.
Carnivores and herbivores find common ground in this modern take on a 1950s-style diner. The entire menu is served all day, which means you can have vegan French toast for dinner.

BUY FRESH FISH

Newman's Fish Market
735 NW 21st Ave.
Buy your clams, lobsters and oysters live, right out of the tank. It doesn't get fresher than that.

BUY FRESH MEAT

Gartner's Country Meats
7450 NE Killingsworth St.
Gartner's is a throwback to the days of neighborhood butchers, where you can buy homemade sausage crafted by master sausage makers who trained in Germany.

DRINK SOME COFFEE

Stumptown Coffee Roasters
Seven locations
Officially, there are seven Stumptown coffee shops in Portland. Unofficially, this locally brewed java is served at so many restaurants you'd have to search far and wide for a spot pouring anything else.

GRAB A LATE NIGHT BITE

The Matador
1967 W. Burnside St.
Bullfighting is the motif in this red-and-black bar whose legendary Macho Nachos -- a plate heaped with black beans, grated Cheddar cheese, black olives, jalapenos, tomatoes and onions -- will send you to bed with a full stomach.

GET BRUNCH

Salty's on the Columbia River
3839 NE Marine Dr.
Get a breathtaking view of the Columbia River while you dine from buffet tables filled with all-you-can-eat crab, salmon lox, fresh oysters, blackened salmon, Belgian waffles and made-from-scratch desserts.

DRINK CHEAP BEER

Dots Cafe
2521 SE Clinton St.
Dots is the best watering hole for night owls to grab a cold one while shooting pool in a dimly lit room with velvet paintings on the wall.

DRINK PREMIUM BEER

BridgePort Brewery
1313 NW Marshall St.
BridgePort offers a selection of made-on-the-premises beer that includes India Pale Ale, Extra Special Bitter, Black Strap Stout and the heralded Blue Heron. This is the place for drinkers with a sophisticated palette and off-the-clock laborers looking to unwind.

HAVE A COCKTAIL

The Alibi
4024 N. Interstate Ave.
Sip fruity drinks with paper umbrellas at this hip tiki bar that features karaoke nightly.

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