Portland, OR is a gem of the United States. Located 2 hrs from the Oregon coast line and about an hour or more from mountains, the city is a young and vibrant place…especially for food, wine, and beer lovers like ourselves. Earlier this summer, we took a trip down to Portland knowing that our typical “bi-annual” trip from Seattle is likely to cease once we move to St. Louis this fall (more on that in a future post). Our trips to Portland would be overwhelming to some [see our last “PDX Food Rampage”, at our friend’s Dawn and Eric’s blog: WrightAngle], but they are simply fantastic adventures for the palette. We drink and eat so much variety, experience such creativity, that we can’t stop going back. And what’s more, PDX is much cheaper than its West Coast counterpart heavy weights like Seattle, San Fran, and LA. Here we will attempt to summarize the highlights from our 3 day trip this past July, but it by no means will include all of our adventures.
Olympic Provisions | Our first stop in PDX was Olympic Provisions, which came recommended by our friends Eric and Kye. Located in an industrial part of southeast PDX, Olympic Provisions is housed in a restored cereal mill. The spot was created with intent to highlight European and North African styled charcuterie and to showcase local ingredients from farms and producers in the area. We went for lunch and selected 2 dishes.
The first was the “tea sandwich”, made with a well seasoned paste of summer English peas, sprouts, red onions, and ricotta salata on fluffy white bread with no crust. This was the perfect summer sandwich. It reminded me of the deliciously light cucumber tea sandwiches my mother and our neighbors would often make for me when I lived in England. We also ordered the charcuterie plate, which really highlights the masterful qualities of Olympic Provisions. It came with a house made chorizo that was very true to the art of this sausage variety….robust spices, chewy texture, and beautiful color. The charcuterie plate also came with house made sopresetta and pork pâté which were also well made and authentic. We each had a Double Mountain Brewery, Kolsch alongside our lunch. Olympic Provisions has a large selection, and one could really fill up on lunch or dinner here, but even for an afternoon snack, it is worth a short visit. Olympic Provision’s charcuturie is now becoming more widely available throughout PDX and can be purchased at select stores.
107 Southeast Washington Street
Portland, OR 97214-2103
(503) 954-3663
