ADVERTISEMENT

Portland's Northwest District

Authentic Rose City culture survives and flourishes north of Burnside, west of I-405.

Window-shopping couple strolls along NW 23rd Avenue, in Portland, Oregon
Window-shopping along NW 23rd Avenue.
Nashco

Sights and Events

Led by choreographers Ashley Roland and Jamey Hampton, BodyVox is Portland's most artistically deft dance troupe. Catch the company in its home venue, amid brick walls and steel girders remaining from the building's earlier incarnation as a carriage house. 

CoHo Productions empowers the theater community of Portland. Every year, it solicits ideas for plays from local stage pros and selects a few to run in its subscription series. Those selections—ranging from works by masters such as Tennessee Williams to premieres by first-time Oregon writers—become engaging productions presented in the CoHo's intimate 95-seat space. 

masks by artist Colin Batty grace a wall at the Freakybuttrue Peculiarium, in Portland Oregon's Northwest District

Colin Batty busts at the Freakybuttrue Peculiarium.

James Bueti

The Freakybuttrue Peculiarium may be the world's only museum where you'll find an exhibit simulating a zombie's brain. And where else can you pose next to a supposedly life-size statue of Bigfoot, ogle a haunted dollhouse, and gain entry to the Insectarium Club by consuming bug-stuffed cookies? Admission is free.

ADVERTISEMENT
lively dishes on display at HunnyMilk in Portland's Northwest neighborhood

Dig into decadent brunch fare at HunnyMilk.

James Bueti

Eats

HunnyMilk serves only brunch, but it does so with decadent panache. Fortune cookie waffles are a house specialty, as are cheesy garlic grits, vanilla bean mascarpone mousse, and French toast with a Rice Krispies crust. The bar mixes elderflower–yuzu fizzy gins along with brunch-standard Bloody Marys and tangerine mimosas. For a fixed $23, you can order one non-alcoholic drink, one sweet dish, and one savory.

The pizzas at Please Louise are several cuts above your usual slice shop's. Thin, crispy crusts are topped with regionally sourced ingredients such as morels and walnuts from the Willamette Valley. The high-ceilinged room, with gleaming exposed ducts and polished concrete floor, feels welcoming.

At Bhuna, chef Deepak Kaul transports you to the country of his childhood with what he calls "Indian soul food": calamari battered with chickpea flour; rogan josh stew fragrant with cloves and cardamom; and a collard greens and kohlrabi bowl that recently scored him a shout-out from Food & Wine. Kaul grills the delightfully charred naan himself. 

colorful wares on display at Tender Loving Empire in Portland, Oregon

Tender Loving Empire sells local pieces, including ceramics, clothes, and jewelry.   

James Bueti

Shops

Tender Loving Empire is a très Portlandesque gift shop specializing in handmade and locally crafted arts—clothes, jewelry, books, craft beers, and vinyl indie rock albums, many of them on its eponymous record label. Yes, Portlandia's Carrie Brownstein shops here.