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ATP: Advice for San Francisco to Portland Trip

LadyDeac03

LadyDeac03

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I've already started to pick LBE's brain about this (natch), but figured others might have some advice or suggestions.

LadyDeacToy and I are headed out west for a week in early July, and although we have the bones of the trip mostly planned out, we're looking for suggestions for things to do, places to eat, sites to see, etc along the way.

This is our current itinerary

Saturday - Fly in early to San Francisco, arriving early in the morning and do stuff around town, and staying in Nob Hill.
Sunday - Pick up rental car and continue doing things in SF
Monday - Head out from SF and drive through Healdsburg and surrounding wineries for the day and then continue up to stay with LadyDeacToy's godfather in Willits that night.
Tuesday - Drive from Willits all the way to Bandon, OR driving along the coast, seeing Redwoods, etc and spending the night at a B&B in Bandon.
Wednesday - Perhaps driving from Bandon over to Crater Lake, spending some time there, then driving to Eugene. Spending the night with our friend in Eugene (this also happens to be July 4).
Thursday - Head from Eugene to Portland, perhaps Willamette wineries along the way? And doing whatever in Portland, spending the night there in the Northwest area.
Friday - Heading out of Portland to the Gorge to hike/sightsee/whatever and anything else in Portland.
Saturday - Portland during the day and flying out late that night.

The Giants are in town while we're in SF, so we're considering going to a game.

Anyone have any wineries they particularly like along 101 in CA or between Eugene and Portland?

Any must stop places along the northern CA coast or southern OR?

Restaurant suggestions are welcome for SF, Bandon, and Portland as well!
 
We always stay at the Marriott in Portland and walk over to Veritable Quandry for dinner. Perhaps the best hidden gem in PDX

The rest of the way up, you do not need our advice. Way too many great places to even list.
 
...ftr, veritable quandry is well-known as one of the better restaurants in town. it's in an awkward location, but it's hardly what i'd call a 'hidden gem'. just sayin'. it is a good rec, though; if you DO want to eat here (and it's delicious), make a reservation.
 
lbE08 said:
...ftr, veritable quandry is well-known as one of the better restaurants in town. it's in an awkward location, but it's hardly what i'd call a 'hidden gem'. just sayin'. it is a good rec, though; if you DO want to eat here (and it's delicious), make a reservation.
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My bad. Not a Portlander. Just know that when I am in town, this is my go to place.
 
I just spent a week in PDX and Dundee can recommend some things around there (though lbe is certainly the resident expert).

PDX:
Cascade Brewery - Specialize in Pacific Northwest style sour beers, which I'm a huge fan of. Their beers are legit. 5 minute drive from downtown in SE PDX (i.e., just cross a bridge going east). There is a bar across the street, Green Dragon, which has a remarkable beer selection of stuff that is near damn impossible to find outside of Oregon.

Little Bird - Awesome restaurant. French Bistro. Kind of spendy.

Pok Pok - Redonk Thai restaurant, but not American Thai like you are used to. Really unique. Cheap.

Beast - Another awesome restaurant. Set menu, communal seating. Chef was a finalist on Top Chef Masters. Spendy.

Oregon Wines on Broaday - Wine Shop/Bar. Great Oregon pinot selection. Coffee shop vibe more than wine bar.

Powell's Bookstore - Cool but overwhelming book store.

Food Truck Pods - They are everywhere downtown. Check them out.

In Dundee (wine country), there are some great wineries to chec out if you can. It's a slight detour from the Eugene-PDX route up I-5, but it's absolutely gorgeous out there. Lots of the pinots that are found all over the place are there. Some smaller ones that we really liked were Anderson Family, Hawks View Cellers and J. Christopher Wines. (Archery Summit, Erath, Argyle, Lange, etc.). Cameron is also out there though we didn't visit, but their pinots are generally spectacular.

Anyway, that's all I got.
 
VQ is very good as well. Ate lunch and dinner there. Apparently lbe walked by while I was at the bar for lunch.
 
wfudkn said:
Powell's Bookstore - Cool but overwhelming book store.
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yesssssssssssssssssssssss.

i mean, you need to be a book store kind of person. but if you are (i am. i could get lost in a bookstore and just be the happiest person in the world), DEFINITELY go to powells.
 
wfudkn said:
I just spent a week in PDX and Dundee can recommend some things around there (though lbe is certainly the resident expert).

PDX:
Cascade Brewery - Specialize in Pacific Northwest style sour beers, which I'm a huge fan of. Their beers are legit. 5 minute drive from downtown in SE PDX (i.e., just cross a bridge going east). There is a bar across the street, Green Dragon, which has a remarkable beer selection of stuff that is near damn impossible to find outside of Oregon.

Little Bird - Awesome restaurant. French Bistro. Kind of spendy.

Pok Pok - Redonk Thai restaurant, but not American Thai like you are used to. Really unique. Cheap.

Beast - Another awesome restaurant. Set menu, communal seating. Chef was a finalist on Top Chef Masters. Spendy.

Oregon Wines on Broaday - Wine Shop/Bar. Great Oregon pinot selection. Coffee shop vibe more than wine bar.

Powell's Bookstore - Cool but overwhelming book store.

Food Truck Pods - They are everywhere downtown. Check them out.

In Dundee (wine country), there are some great wineries to chec out if you can. It's a slight detour from the Eugene-PDX route up I-5, but it's absolutely gorgeous out there. Lots of the pinots that are found all over the place are there. Some smaller ones that we really liked were Anderson Family, Hawks View Cellers and J. Christopher Wines. (Archery Summit, Erath, Argyle, Lange, etc.). Cameron is also out there though we didn't visit, but their pinots are generally spectacular.

Anyway, that's all I got.
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I can echo these.
 
Isn't French Laundry near SF? If LadyDeacToy doesn't take LadyDeac to that place then you need a new Toy
 
Thanks, y'all. Restaurant recs are definitely helpful!

Powell's also sounds great (we're both big book nerds and readers).

Had heard the Portland food trucks were awesome. Any particular ones to aim for?
 
When you leave Eugene, take I-5 north until you get to Salem, then cut across and take 221 and 99W the rest of the way up to Newberg/Dundee. Beautiful country, tons and tons of good wineries. I can give you specifics if you want, but you can just pick your way through that part of the state and stop wherever you like -- you are pretty much guaranteed to drink your fill of great pinot noir. Also, if you spend your retirement fund on wine, there's a great packing/shipping store in Newberg (called the Newberg Mail Room) that will box up your bottles and ship them home for you so you don't have to check it on the return flight. When you're in Portland, be sure to hit up as many microbreweries as you can. You will not be disappointed, and you will probably want to move to Portland.

I don't have the time or energy right now for a super detailed analysis of your itinerary, but if you need ideas just shoot me a PM. I've lived in the Willamette Valley for about 8 years now, so I've got a pretty good handle on what's worth your time and what isn't.
 
Oh, and obvious post script, feel free to shoot me a PM when you're in Eugene. I'm always looking for a chance to meet up and drink a beer with a fellow Deac. Doesn't happen too often in this neck of the woods.
 
LadyDeac03 said:
Thanks, y'all. Restaurant recs are definitely helpful!

Powell's also sounds great (we're both big book nerds and readers).

Had heard the Portland food trucks were awesome. Any particular ones to aim for?
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I ate food truck food probably 10 times in my week there, even if for a snack. Really liked all of the tacos that I tried, though they were all very different from each other, which made it even better. I also had a GREAT korean bulgogi burrito from one of the trucks downtown (somewhere around 5th and Oak). It was in a pretty sizable pod. There is also a gigantic pod (all four sids of an entire block (nothing but food trucks) somewhere around 9th and Alder. Lots of good eats there. Just go with what looks good and with what other people are eating.
 
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