Matutina Cinnamon Concha: Sadly, this post is solely for documentation as Matutina, a Mexican bakery in downtown Portland (about a 5 minute walk from Powell's), is now closed. I was able to try a concha fresh from the oven on the day before they shut their doors, and it was excellent. The bread itself was fluffy, yet had a slightly chewy texture, and the cinnamon crust was on the sweet side but had a lovely spiced flavor reminiscent of breakfast cereal. I hope they're able to open up elsewhere as these baked goods ... (read more) 4.5/5.0
exceptional portland pastry mexican matutina cinnamon concha 4.5Wiz Bang Bar Smith Teamaker Big Hibsicicle Sherbert: In the Pine Street Market, an indoor food hall in downtown Portland, is a soft serve and sundae bar named Wiz Bang from Salt & Straw, the ever-popular ice cream shop that has branched outside of the city to several LA and San Francisco locations. Central to Salt & Straw's success is their ability to strike a chord between the familiar and unexpected, with comforting flavors that are also intriguing and sometimes daring. The soft serve that I ordered, the Smith teamaker big hibiscicle sherber... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended softserve icecream portland saltandstraw wizbangbar smith teamaker big hibsicicle sherbert 4.0Blue Star Donuts Buttermilk Lemon Poppyseed Donut: Portland is pretty serious about donuts. On my latest visit, I saw a much higher percentage of commuters eating donuts for breakfast than I have witnessed in any other city. So when I was about to fly out from PDX and realized there was a Blue Star next to ticketing, I willingly went through security a second time in order to see what all the fuss was about. There were many flavors I was interested in trying, from their strawberry-rhubarb jam-filled pastry to a more traditional donut ring ... (read more) 3.0/5.0
sweets dessert portland bluestardonuts buttermilk lemon poppyseed donut 3.0Pok Pok's cha manso: Remarkably good combination of Thai iced tea with fresh lime juice. Lightly sweetened, refreshing citrus aftertaste that is the perfect complement to spicy foods. 4.5/5.0
pokpok portland thaiicedtea icedtea drinks exceptional lime cha chamanso thai pokpoks manso 4.5Ken's Artisan Bakery's cannelle: Crusty, caramelized exterior with soft, custard interior. Perfect level of sweetness, good vanilla flavor (with a hint of lemon?). Seems small but is actually very filling. 4.0/5.0
recommended pastry cannelle bakery portland kensartisanbakerys 4.0Salt & Straw lavender honey ice cream: Excellent smooth texture. Too often, honey ice cream is too sweet and lavender ice cream is too floral. This ice cream is neither and is very well balanced. Scoop is extremely generous. Maybe too generous as I'm only interested in a taste. 4.5/5.0
icecream sweets dessert lavender honey portland strawandsugar saltstraw ice cream 4.5