Portland OR with kids

Did some searches and didn’t find exactly what I was looking for, so…

We’re doing a quick weekend family trip to Portland - staying at the Embassy Suites downtown. I’m specifically looking for restaurant recommendations - something close (we won’t have a car), casual, and good with kids (ages 6 and 8). We will not be going to Le Pigeon or anything like that. Also, specifically, who does the best pizza and delivers?

If you have other suggestions on fun things to do, I’m all ears. Currently planning on hitting Powell’s books, the Saturday Market, Voodoo Donuts, and potentially OMSI if we think we’ll have enough time. Really though, I think the kids will want to spend the entire time in the hotel pool, so that might be as far as we get.

Thanks!

Salt and Straw for some awesome ice cream! Deschutes is family friendly and fun place to grab some Portland brews with some food.

Maybe the big food truck pod downtown (Nong’s khao man gui is good) or the Japanese garden or the Lan Su chinese garden?

Lardo, good sandwich shop, family friendly kid appropriate.
Blue Star>Voodoo when it comes to doughnuts
Tasty N Alder for breakfast/brunch

Better hope hotel pool is heated.

OMSI is fantastic.

They don’t deliver, but you can walk a couple of blocks down the street to Checkerboard Pizza in the Pine Street Market or to The Crown and pick up really, really outstanding pizza. Hotlips is pretty good pizza although not close to the above two, but it delivers.

For kid-friendly restos downtown: the excellent food hall Pine Street Market has a number of good choices, including ice cream. Sit-down but casual places include Mothers Bistro, the Original Dinerant, Cheryl’s, Lardo (sandwiches), and Grassa (Italian). Bunk sandwiches for take-out.

There’s good black-light minigolf downtown - Glowing Greens. You choices and the others above are also good.

Awesome - thanks guys.

John - sounds like we’ll have to hit both donut places. Voodoo is really just for the novelty factor - I’m sure the donuts are not the best tasting. I just looked at the websites and now I have to see how the Blue Star apple fritter stands up to my fav, which is Top Pot in Seattle.

And Glenn - the pool is indoors - in the basement (I believe)… better damned well be heated! If not, we are headed elsewhere.

Second OMSI. Kids LOVE it.

Blue Star is excellent. Better than Voodoo and better than Top Pot. But my favorite breakfast is Pine State Biscuits. The Reggie Deluxe is a thing of beauty. OMSI is very good. As is Lardo. There’s a new brewery I went to on my last trip called Great Notion. Food was very good, beer was fantastic. Kid friendly.

Thanks for the recommendations everyone. Made it to a few places mentioned.

Lardo was fantastic. I had the Korean pulled pork with kimchi - awesome. My wife mistook the “hot” in front of hot fried chicken sandwich, to mean “not cold”… should be labeled “so spicy you will feel it for days”… tasty though. Kids had grilled cheese and mortadella - both good.

Also hit a place called Tangier, which was a block away from the hotel for dinner one night. I was really blown away - probably because I had zero expectations and have no idea what authentic Moroccan food should be like (and I have no idea whether this is really authentic or not) Appeared to be 3 generations of Moroccan women that ran the place, with grandma in the kitchen. None of the flavors were really “out there” - seemed to be a fusion of French, Italian, and middle eastern… chicken kebabs, cooked to order flat bread, tzatziki, lamb tagine (w/fries, which was amazing - kinda like steak frites), calzone with Moroccan spiced chicken… all SUPER delicious.

And as for the great donut debate… Blue Star was solid. Not amazing, but very good. I liked that nothing was overly sweet - textures were good too. However, the apple fritter was just a little over the top in the spice department - the cinnamon/nutmeg/clove was just too much. Voodoo on the other hand, the complete opposite - so sweet it will make you sick. Obviously my kids loved it. And at 7:30AM on a Sunday, zero line - walked right in the door and up to the counter. I think Top Pot has them both beat, but I am a biased Seattleite.

Overall, fun weekend.

Bonus wine content. I was looking for something I couldn’t get in Seattle - strolling through the wine dept at Whole Foods (simply because of the convenient location next to Powell’s books). Found the 2015 Vincent Eola-Amity - really strong bang for the buck. Lots of dark ripe fruit, but not sweet, and great structure. My first taste of Vincent wines - impressive.