Day 6
Interurban
Breakfast this fine day was at Interurban, a small upscale pub specializing in pre-prohibition cocktails. Heidi from Forktown Tours suggested this spot as a good place for brunch and she was not mistaken! I snarfed down my biscuits and gravy topped with perfectly cooked duck egg, paired with a frothy Pliny The Elder. This was a breakfast!
From here we wandered around the neighborhood a bit, taking in the sites and doing a little shopping.
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| Lots of paper advertisements all over Portland...some with interesting results... |
From there we spent time at the extensive Portland Rose Garden (put in around 1917) This was a fun little trip, but a bit crowded with this being Mother's Day Sunday!
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| A rose by any other name? |
Next up and just across from the Rose Garden was the serene Japanese Garden. This one was not free, but as a result was less crowded.
Breakside Brewery
One of my top brewery visits for the trip, this place is a must-visit spot in Portland. Despite an initial crabby hostess who didn't want us to move from the wobbly table, we ended up with a very pleasant server. Another little nafu with some chipped taster glasses and a little glass in my beer held me up a few minutes before getting to drink these wonderful beers. But these beers were great. Several tasty IPA's were at the forefront, along with my favorite IPA of the trip: India Golden Ale. They had a great Pomegranate Gose that was Sj's favorite as well. The Salted Caramel Stout and the Barrel Aged Fitzcaraldo were also stellar. Seriously this is a great brewery.
Bushwhacker Cider
While sipping on golden sunshine at Breakside, we spotted a cider bar across the street. This was Bushwhacker Cider's second (and new) location featuring 14 ciders on tap from around the world, and several bottles as well. For a nice change of pace (from beer anyway) we shared two large samplers between the four of us. Unfortunately the Bushwhacker ciders were our least favorite of the bunch, but still decent.
McMenamins Edgefield Estate
We took what we thought would be a short field trip to McMenamins Edgefield Estate, just to show off the place to our friends. The place started as a 1911 poor farm, and has a ton of cool old outbuildings that have been converted to bars, pubs and restaurants. They have golf, a brewery, winery, distillery, and more on the grounds. I want to stay there a few nights just to explore more! We started with a visit to the tiny Red Shed bar that looks like someplace where Samwise and Frodo might put their hairy feet up and hoist a flagon of ale. From there we visited the Distillery Bar, and got a cool impromptu tour of the distillery while there by distiller Bill Fry. Then to the Grateful Dead themed Jerry's Ice House. Then to the Tea House Bar next to the spa pool where we had the wonderful cocktail Phil Collins (a Tom Collins made with house distilled hazelnut spirit). Then to dinner at the Black Rabbit restaurant and bar. We ended up spending much more time here than expected, but there was just so much to do!
After getting back home, we walked a few dark blocks to Expatriate, a cocktail bar manned by two mixologists who were spinning vinyl and mixing strange concoctions for us.
A quick trip back to the McMenamins Boiler Room Bar in our own hotel before bed and we call a close on this long day of adventure!
Running Tally:
Breweries: 18 (I'm counting Edgefield's since I looked in the window and had a beer while there).
Distilleries: 3
Pubs/Bars: 15
Meaderies: 1
Cideries: 1
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