Beer Fest - Spicy Wings - 99°F

After a 3 hour drive south of Seattle you'll find yourself in the notoriously funky town of Portland.  We headed down last weekend to meet up with my brother and some friends for one of the largest beer festivals that Portland has to offer.  That's no small matter coming from a state that is ranked 2nd in the most craft-breweries per capita in the United States!

It was a sweltering 99°F (37°C) outside, enough heat to wilt any pasty Seattlelite on the spot.  Needless to say the beer was a godsend.  Oregon boasts some of the best breweries such as Rogue, Deschutes, and Ninkasi to name a few.

If you're ever in town, you'll need to stop by the delicious, yet unpresuming Thai restaurant: Pok Pok.  Created by the head chef Andy Ricker, Pok Pok is one of Portland's great treasures.  Each small dish is bursting at the seams with spicy flavors.  Pictured below is the grilled boar shoulder and fish-sauce wings (recipe).

No hot day in Portland is complete without a stop at Salt & Straw.  If the thought of ice cream doesn't lure you in, the wafts of warm house-made waffle cones surely will.  The shop we visited was built in an old theater and had decorated the walls with vintage film reel shipping containers.

Once the sun sets, you'll want to head over to make a reservation at the Whiskey Library.  The room upstairs feels like a bar plucked out of a different era and manages to distill an ambiance that's both open and intimate.

Portland, being in Oregon, is also jam-packed with greenery. We found a short hike right outside the city for a failed attempt to burn off all of the food we were stuffed with 🐳

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