Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
cafés, and a very tiny but very good espresso bar, Ristretto Roasters,
just off Fremont to the right.
Continue west along what is now mostly residential Fremont St. for sev-
eral blocks. At the bottom of a long hill, by NE 15th Ave., is another hub
of commercial activity, centered around a Whole Foods grocery store.
In the next block are two good pubs and a coffee shop—hard to go
wrong.
Keep walking along Fremont until you reach Irving Park on your left,
just past NE 11th Ave. This hilly, shady park is a great place to wander
around or to bust out any picnic supplies you may have collected at the
grocery store a few blocks back. (The park is named after an ancient
mariner, or, rather, a sea captain who had a land claim here in Port-
land's early days.)
Stay on Fremont St. for several more blocks, crossing NE Martin Luth-
er King Jr. Blvd. at the traffic signal and continuing on. At N. Williams
Ave., turn right. Williams is one of the major north-south thorough-
fares for bicycle traffic (note the nice wide bike lanes along this street).
Nearly 3,000 cyclists commute along this corridor daily. A block or so
farther along, the building on the right, between Beech and Failing Sts.
on Williams, is currently home to some of the best-loved eateries and
drinkeries in Portland, including Tasty n Sons restaurant. It's run by
the same chef who established the deeply loved Toro Bravo, and it was
chosen as Willamette Week 's Restaurant of the Year in 2010. There's
nearly always a huge line, so get here early if you're interested in a
table, especially at brunch. If you missed the chance for an espresso
earlier, there's another Ristretto Roasters here.
This building, called The Hub, was conceived as a European-style mar-
ketplace and renovated as such in 2008; in addition to Tasty n Sons and
several other small businesses, its tenants include a naturopathic veter-
inarian, a yoga studio, and a restaurant that serves mainly oysters. Call
it gentrification if you will—that's pretty much what it is—but
whatever, it's a lovely building, and frankly it's hard to imagine com-
plaining over a bowl of Tasty n Sons' Burmese red-pork stew.
Across the street is another good eating and drinking place, and an
early arrival to this neighborhood: the Fifth Quadrant pub. It's run by
Lompoc Brewing, so it serves the familiar and well-loved Lompoc
brews, but the food is a little more sophisticated here, and the room it-
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