Laurelhurst Market ~ Portland, OR

Tummies were grumbling as we cruised into Portland yesterday afternoon.  We knew we had to finally try the Butcher Shop at Laurelhurst Market.   This restaurant came highly recommended for providing the highest quality ingredients in town.   During the day the butcher shop offers sandwiches and soup to patrons and at night opens the restaurant up for dining.

Lucky for use, our timing was perfect to snag one of their mouth-watering concoctions before dinner service started and we showed up on right day for their famous Tuesday Special.  Tuesday offers a fabulous fried chicken sandwich with lettuce, Frank’s Hot Sauce, all on an amazing roll, which I obviously devoured.  We also ordered their #6, a delicious hot steak sandwich complete with provolone and peppers and onions that was equally as delicious.  Laurelhurst Market responsibly features all natural, hormone free, antibiotic free meats from local farmers.  Our amazing lunch with drinks and a bag of chips was an affordable $20 even.

The menu for the restaurant looks splendid as well and is on our immediate list to try.

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Living Future Conference 2012 ~ Portland, OR

I am so exciting to be driving down to Portland for another important conference on sustainability.  Not only is this sold-out event dedicated to, Women Reshaping the World, but it is being held in such a vibrant city that embraces a green lifestyle.   The conference is being hosted by the International Living Future Institute allowing  for brilliant minds in the green building movement that are creating and seeking solutions to the most daunting global issues to come together.  This incredible forum for learning and networking formats will  provide visionary design methods, innovative technical information, and the motivation needed to achieve meaningful progress toward living aware.

Many of you may remember that we went down last autumn for the amazing EcoDistrict Summit which is one of the world’s premier annual conference dedicated to urban sustainability.  During that awesome event we were not only able to listen to inspiring speakers like Denis Hayes, CEO of the Bullitt Foundation, but we were also able to network with city officials, designers, innovators and an array of other like-minded people who are pushing boundaries for greener cities. In turn all of those amazing individuals and no doubt, the attendees of the Living Future Conference, are creating a greener way of life for  communities spread around the world and link us together. 

During our last visit we stayed at The Nines Hotel, a lovely and luxurious LEED Silver Certified property in the heart of Portland.  We dined at their amazing organic/local/sustainable restaurants Departure and Urban Farmer, as well some others around town like Pok Pok and Bamboo Sushi which are some of my favorite restaurants to-date.  On this trip we are resting at Kimpton’s Hotel Monaco, just a block or so from, The Nines.  While the property is not LEED Certified, its service is spectacular and it offers a plethora of luxurious green amenities.  For shopping, the Pearl district was full of amazing boutiques like Woonwinkel that we will be sure to stop in on during this trip, as well as search out new shops on the scene. 

Stay tuned, we will have a lot more coming on the Living Future Conference and being green throughout Portland.

Beulahland ~ Portland, OR

Before hitting our reservation at Bamboo Sushi, in the Laurelhurst neighborhood, we wanted to see what else the area had to offer.  A quick  recommendation from a friend landed us at a locals spot called, Beulahland.  It is a great dive bar without being too “divey”.  It is a cozy place decorated with quirky art and pinball machines.  Beulahland serves local micro brews, house infused vodka, and Painted Hills beef burgers.  Our nice bartender said the burger was a house favorite and we should definitely try it.  Considering we just had a huge grass-fed beef burger at Urban Farmer for lunch earlier that day and we were anticipating a healthy sampling of sustainable and environmentally friendly sushi, we decided to put it on our list for the next time we are in town.

Kenny and Zukes ~ Portland, OR

Lunch at Kenny and Zukes looked a lot better on the web than what we actually ate.  This may have been my fault since I am not a big fan of rye bread but  love, love a great deli sandwich.  Their photos online were amazing and lured me into what I thought would be an excellent lunch from a neighborhood spot.  I ordered a roast beef sandwich with challah instead of rye.  The thick slices of challah were dry and the roast beef was just as dry.  The side of cole slaw had pickled purple onions and wasn’t bad, but wasn’t great. My partner’s meatloaf sandwich on white bread with fries was better than mine.  The meatloaf was moist, the fries were crisp but again, nothing spectacular.  On a positive note the staff was friendly, quick, and accurate which made the experience enjoyable, even though my dish was sub par.