Portland is a divisive place, either pelted with superlatives or deemed overrated. For those who live here, Portland feels like that moment in college when a new friend takes you to some hidden alleyway bar with live music, a place that inspires the thought, “This is the coolest place I’ve ever been, and I would never be able to find it myself.” It’s a tough town to crack without a guide. Going in blind, Portland blends in, one of those cities that has been scrubbed clean in favor of minimalist cool — white-walled coffee shops, hummus made with something that’s not chickpeas, citrus-forward cocktails in coupe glasses. But Portland has retained the magic it always had in hidden corners: Spooky old houses turned into coffee shops, irresistibly cool restaurants in the homes of their chefs, James-Beard-nominated chefs in easy-to-miss residential cafes, a whole world of surprises in a circle of mountains and trees, among a mess of highways and nonsensical intersections, a large small town that disguises itself as a city.

To do Portland right, you must leave downtown; it is the number one mistake visitors make. Unfortunately, Portland’s best restaurants and cafes are far from its main train line, and the best way to navigate the city is with a car or bike. Below, find a trip through Portland starting on the far east side, moving toward its center — it’s the best way to see Portland and all its beloved nooks and crannies.

Hillary Dixler Canavan/Eater

10 a.m.: Breakfast at Coquine

Coquine is one of those bewildering neighborhood restaurants that impresses over and over again, regardless of time of day. Chef Katy Millard, a chef packing absurd talent garnered over years cooking in France, creates dishes that stun without showing off, from a simple blueberry compote over a stack of pillowy rye pancakes, to the peak-season heirloom tomatoes cut thin over a chickpea socca. Order a few chocolate chip cookies to go, step outside the restaurant onto a puzzlingly residential street, and take a quick hike up the neighboring Mount Tabor. The summit is a divine place to tuck into dessert, chocolate nubs palling around with smoked almonds and salted caramel.
Potential alternatives: Maurice, Canard

Brooke Jackson-Glidden/EPDX

Noon: Lunch at Rose VL Deli

Foster-Powell is not usually a tourist trap, far from most hotels and particularly difficult to reach via public transportation. That’s a shame, because most Portlanders end up missing the city’s best Vietnamese restaurant, a cheerfully purple-and-white cafe in an unassuming strip mall. Owners Christina Luu and William Vuong serve a roulette of soups throughout the week, though Saturday is easily the best day to visit, thanks to its cao lau. The noodle dish arrives with an assortment of roughly ripped herbs and vegetables, crackers, and slabs of pork and chicken, with a cup of soup on its side. Drink the soup separately, and let the main dish sit for about two minutes — that’s when you toss the noodles and toppings now infused with the aromatic, somewhat citrusy sauce. Saturday’s turmeric noodle soup and chicken curry soup are nothing to scoff at, either.
Potential alternatives: Prost Marketplace, Hat Yai

Salt & Straw/Official

3 p.m.: Afternoon treat at Salt & Straw

Salt & Straw may get some grousing from Portland’s curmudgeonly locals, but Tyler and Kim Malek’s quirky chain of ice cream shops is reflective of the overall region, serving local chocolate and honey in rich, creamy scoops of chocolate or honey lavender. Listening to Tyler Malek talk about ice cream is a nerd’s delight — he’ll go into the specifics of mix-in size, temperature, and ratio, while also praising the local artisans on which he depends. You may miss Salt & Straw’s notoriously long lines in the mid-afternoon, when you can nab a cup of seasonal flavors like bone marrow and smoked cherries or classics like strawberry honey balsamic with cracked pepper. Its plain-old vanilla is pretty good, too.
Potential alternatives: Pinolo Gelato, Fifty Licks

Palomar/Official

5 p.m.: Happy Hour at Palomar

Portland has its chic bars, its dive bars, its beer bars, and its wine bars, and it can be hard to decide where to start. But Palomar is the great people pleaser, serving playful blended daiquiris and house pineapple gin with the meticulous precision of a master bartender. That’s probably because owner Ricky Gomez is just that — a 2012 “Bartender the Year” via the World Class bartending competition, to be precise. The gold-flecked tables, palm tree wallpaper, and neon touches give it a breezy, fun vibe, perfect for happy hour.
Potential alternatives: OK Omens, Canard

Dina Avila/EPDX

7 p.m.: Dinner at Han Oak

Finding Han Oak is the first hurdle — Walk to the back of the unassuming lot near The Sudra and Tails & Trotters, push the door that really doesn’t seem right to push, and bam, you’ve stumbled into husband-wife team Peter Cho and Sun Young Park’s yard. Below their loft-style apartment sits a lively restaurant with old-school hip hop on the stereo, kimchi micheladas from the bar, and a wild panoply of freestyle-yet-impeccably-executed Korean plates. The $55 chef’s tasting is well worth it, but any a la carte order should include all the banchan, both dumplings, and Korean fried chicken. A noodle wouldn’t hurt, either.
Potential alternatives: Kachka, Le Pigeon

Dina Avila/EPDX

10 p.m.: Nightcap at OK Omens

Arrive just in time for this new wine bar’s late-night happy hour, for shockingly cheap bottles of way-too-good natural wine and cheese-filled beignets. Brent Braun is arguably the city’s best sommelier, and when he’s not pouring pairings for the fine dining destination Castagna next door, he’s raving about bottles of lightly chilled red wine “for ease of chugging” and his riesling of the day. James Beard nominee Justin Woodward also lets loose at the neighborhood bar — his food menu is a giant wink, from chicken caesars with tiny, delicate herbs to a chicken liver mousse with serious banh mi vibes.
Potential alternatives: Pepe Le Moko, Enoteca Nostrana

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Coquine

6839 Southeast Belmont Street, , OR 97215 (503) 384-2483 Visit Website

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Rose VL Deli

6424 Southeast Powell Boulevard, , OR 97206 (503) 206-4344

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Palomar

959 Southeast Division Street, , OR 97214 (971) 357-8020 Visit Website

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Salt & Straw

3345 Southeast Division Street, , OR 97202 (503) 208-2054 Visit Website

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Han Oak

511 NE 24TH AVE, Portalnd, OR 97232 Visit Website

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OK Omens

1758 Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard, , OR 97214 (503) 231-9959 Visit Website