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Shopping and Beyond in Portland
by Marianne Scholl

The Rose City is both close enough and far enough away to enjoy a relaxed, car-free girlfriend getaway.

The problem with a weekend escape to Portland is that there are just too many things to do once you’re there. Of course, all vacations require some picking and choosing, but with limited time in Portland, you’ve got to make some tough choices.

For my most recent trip, I opted to leave spouse and kids at home and meet my mother and sister in the “Rose City.” A girlfriends’ getaway, family-style. Since I had to get there on my own, I chose Amtrak over three hours at the wheel in each direction. Those were easy decisions. Picking where to eat, sleep and shop was much harder.

So Many Stores, So Little Time

We’ve all heard Portland’s shopping sirens beckon. The state’s lack of a sales tax lures shoppers from all over, but the city also deserves its reputation as a shopping mecca for another reason: It has several distinct shopping areas crammed with stylish boutiques, and hip new shopping districts keep springing up around town.

If the 8.8 percent no-tax discount is your main incentive for shopping in Portland, you might find all you need right downtown. All kinds of national stores are within easy walking distance of each other. Nordstrom and Meier & Frank (soon to be Macy’s) border Pioneer Courthouse Square, and in the next block you’ll find Saks Fifth Avenue and Pioneer Place, a mall so pleasant you don’t really think of it as a shopping mall. But to get a sense of just how darn stylish Portland has become, and to possibly purchase a bit of that style for yourself, you’ll want to travel a bit farther afield.

The Cultured Pearl

Portland’s Pearl District probably needs no introduction. A dozen years ago it was still a warehouse district with a group of art galleries, several shops and a couple of restaurants. Now it stretches 12 blocks in one direction and seven in the other. Its flaw might be that it is too big. A walking map and shopping guide readily available throughout the district boasts 21 art galleries, 43 home-furnishing stores and 22 clothing and accessory stores. For a worthwhile preview of the area, visit www.shopthepearl.com.

The Pearl starts north of downtown at Burnside where Powell’s has its sprawling City of Books. The first few blocks are known as the “Brewery Blocks,” but for the most part, the old brick brewery buildings have been replaced with large mixed-use apartment and office buildings anchored by well-known stores like Whole Foods and Sur La Table. For some reason, perhaps simply because it’s the Northwest, these blocks have attracted lots of major outdoor retailers including Adidas, Patagonia, REI, The North Face, Title Nine and lululemon athletica. The only non-outdoorsy clothing store I noticed was Anthropologie, conveniently located behind Powell’s.

Walking north on 12th you get a better sense of the culture the Pearl District has to offer. The Orchid Exchange near Flanders is stunning, and down a few doors the nonprofit Print Arts Northwest introduces you to up-and-coming, as well as established, Northwest artists. In the next block, Oblation Papers & Press with its antique letterpress and gorgeous selection of papers, ribbons and samples may bring out your own inner artist. And it goes on and on, with a strong leaning toward ultramodern home furnishings at independent stores like Simply Divine Home on NW Hoyt or Hive and Lux Lighting on NW Glisan.

There’s so much to do in the Pearl District that you’ll inevitably need to have one, if not two, meals while shopping there. With over two dozen restaurants in the area, we asked for a recommendation once our feet got tired. That led us to Pho Van Bistro at 10th Avenue and NW Glisan, where we had a delicious Vietnamese lunch.

We took the same strategy for dinner. Several people recommended andina, a South American restaurant recognized last year by The Oregonian as the city’s best restaurant. Same-day reservations at popular restaurants are not easily had in Portland, however, so we had to try our luck in the lounge. Our fairly long wait was rewarded with seats at the bar, exotic drinks (the best was the Tortuga, a mix of gin, “drunken” cucumbers, mint, sugar and lime juice) and tasty tapas.

Nob Hill (aka Northwest Portland)

If the Pearl District’s high-end, high-style stores start to wear you or your budget out, you can jump on the streetcar on 10th Avenue and take on another shopping paradise: NW 23rd Avenue. Not that there aren’t high-fashion boutiques on this street, but it’s more eclectic and offers a broader range of price points than the fancier Pearl.

One can’t help but think that there is significant rivalry between these two districts. When I lived in Portland in the mid-1990s, no one ever talked of Nob Hill. Now it’s the marketing name for NW 23rd Avenue and the streets that surround it. One story attributes the name to a grocer long ago who wanted to promote his business by linking the area to San Francisco’s elite neighborhood of the same name. There isn’t much of a hill, but Portland’s Nob Hill does have lots of Victorian buildings and offers plenty of upscale restaurants and bars for hobnobbing. You can pick up a shopping map of the area which includes the hub at NW 21st and NW Glisan, or check out the Web site at www.nobhillbiz.com.

Despite the name change, the main shopping drag remains NW 23rd. Hopping off the streetcar at NW Lovejoy, you quickly get a taste of the street’s variety. Just past NW Kearney, the newly-arrived Seaplane sells one-of-a-kind clothing by local designers, including the store’s talented owners, Kathryn Towers and Holly Stadler. The store carries a friendly range of prices and styles, heavy on the hip and frayed or asymmetrical, with some classic pieces mixed in. Next door, Galore Department Store brings the prices down even further, with a wide range of what I’d call “L.A. cheap chic.”

Across the street is Michelle DeCourcy, a local designer who quickly catapulted to fame and fortune with a dress that made it to the Grammys. (She’s been so successful she’s moving on to the Pearl District.) In the next block is the Lena Medoyeff Studio, home of another Portland designer who has made it to the big time. Her elegant shop features skirts, evening gowns and wedding dresses, all locally sewn from exquisitely heavy Indian silk. While skirt prices hover around $400, wedding gowns are all under $1,000, certainly worth the trip to Portland if you’re in the market for a fancy white dress. Elizabeth Street on the corner of NW Irving is a Northwest institution that offers well- known designers to a well-heeled crowd. As with shopping the Pearl District, you’ll want plenty of time to do Nob Hill justice.

Hip Northeast Alberta

Portland not only rivals other West Coast cities with all its trendy shops, but it is also teeming with great restaurants. For one of our dinners, I simply left the decision up to an old friend we were meeting. She helped satisfy my curiosity about Portland’s hippest new neighborhood by making reservations at the upscale Ciao Vito on NE Alberta Street.

Once a gang-ridden, crack-infested street, NE Alberta is now home to lots of successful eateries, quirky stores and stylish boutiques. In 2005, in lieu of naming only one restaurant “Restaurant of the Year,” Willamette Week named all of NE Alberta “Street of the Year” in recognition of the numerous fine establishments doing business there. In addition to Ciao Vito, it is home to Bernie’s Southern Bistro; the vegetarian Vita Café; the popular Lagniappe, which serves Cajun fare; and lots more notable spots. The problem for car-less visitors like us is not only choosing between restaurants but deciding how to get there. It is a considerable haul from downtown, so if you don’t have a local friend to do the driving, a taxi is your best bet at night.

During our evening visit, we only got to window-shop, but we saw plenty to make us want to return during shopping hours: PedX, which bills itself as a shoe Shangri-la, certainly piqued my interest, as did Hi-iH Gallery, a lamp-making studio featuring wild paper shades. There was also Picasso Beads, Wild Child (“the conscious boutique for children”) and Buffalo Gardens, plus a good selection of art galleries. Next time I want to experience the street during its monthly Last Thursday Art Walk when the galleries, musicians, artists and art patrons who have helped revitalize the area come out and celebrate.

Up-and-Coming North Mississippi Street

North Mississippi in Portland’s northeast Boise neighborhood may be the next outpost of hip Portland. At the center of the street’s rebirth is The ReBuilding Center of Our United Villages, a nonprofit center for recycling building materials. Several cafés and a pizza place have sprung up to serve the do-it-yourself homeowners who come in search of claw-foot tubs or reclaimed fir flooring. Even if you aren’t in the market for old double-hung windows, the ReBuilding Center’s new 24,000 square foot warehouse is something to see. It is art in its own right. The building’s top half is a mosaic of old windows, bits of doors and funky old glass. Its lower half is a patchwork of various types of reclaimed siding.

Nearby you’ll find Pistil Nursery, Mississippi Records, Salty’s Dog Shop and Pin Me Apparel. A lot more shops are on the way as the Portland Development Commission helps funnel money to revitalize the area. For now, the street has a very authentic, creative Portland feel to it that you shouldn’t miss if you have the time and the transportation.

Beyond Shopping

Despite all the shops to visit and places to eat, I highly recommend taking a break to experience one, if not more of Portland’s amazing gardens. Not to be missed is the Japanese Garden up the hill from the city’s famous Rose Garden in Washington Park. The Japanese like to rank things, and I’ve heard it said that Portland’s garden is considered the top Japanese garden outside of Japan. Having lived in Japan and visited lots of famous gardens, I am not surprised. Set against steep hills and surrounded by woods, it successfully captures the essence of a contemplative Japanese garden. The cost to visit is $8 for adults.

Portland’s Classical Chinese Garden, located several blocks south of the Pearl District, is easier to access. This Ming Dynasty-style scholars’ garden is designed to encourage lofty thoughts and esoteric discussions, and provides a fitting respite from all that shopping. The hour-long tour offered by knowledgeable docents is a worthwhile introduction to the aesthetics of Chinese gardens in general, and this one in particular. Make sure you stop at the Tower of Cosmic Reflections teahouse. It serves 30-plus types of tea and offers a truly eclectic menu which includes watermelon seeds roasted with cinnamon and anise, turnip cakes and marbled eggs. Run by the independent Tao of Tea, it has a genuine feel that is a refreshing break from the concessions you usually find at tourist destinations. The antique Chinese furniture and narrow benches also help create an authentic ambience. The cost to visit the garden is $7.

Choosing between these two gardens is no easy task, but I promise that either one will delight you. I suppose that could also sum up a getaway trip to Portland. It doesn’t really matter where you go to shop or eat, you’re sure to have fun wherever you end up.

Marianne Scholl is the co-founder and publisher of Seattle Woman.

©2006 Caliope Publishing Company