My Portland Trip

My trip to Portland, Oregon was definitely one I will never forget. My boyfriend and I wanted to go somewhere that we could experience lots of good food and some outdoorsy activities. Looking for the best of both worlds landed us on Portland! We actually didn’t get to any of the hikes we planned, once on vacation we opted for a more relaxing vacation instead of one packed with activities. But we still made our way to all of the amazing food that Portland had to offer.

The food in Portland was hands down some of the best food I’ve ever eaten. There were a few restaurants that I wanted to go to that did shut down due to the pandemic so we did have to adapt our schedule, but let me tell you the places that are still standing did not disappoint. 

For someone who eats 100% gluten free and dairy free- Portland was an oasis for me. I don’t eat out very often at home because gluten contamination has happened to me way too many times, but I felt truly at ease here. Almost every restaurant we went to was 100% gluten free so not having to worry about contamination was truly a breath of fresh air!

At the end of my experience I’ll also include a few restaurants that we didn’t make it to but were recommended by friends. We only had a few days so we tried to pack in as much food as possible but there are always more options out there!

**Also a caveat, I went to Portland during August 2020 so c0vid was still playing a role on restaurant dining. Most of these places were either fast/casual or takeout only. I’m sure they have great ambiance normally but I’m basing my evaluations on food only.

Our first restaurant we want to was Joule Crafted Nutrition. I honestly cannot say enough good things about this place. They make their own grain free bread, grain free tortillas, seed milk, and bone broth. They also have their own Berkey water filter and will give you a cup of Berkey water absolutely free. They are the kindest small business owners with the cutest ambiance and I wanted to be there as much as possible. My boyfriend and I visited Joule almost every day and by the end they knew us by name. Over the multiple trips we made there we got the reuben, tacos, chicken and waffles, chicken wrap, and chocolate milk. His favorite items were the Reuben and chocolate milk and mine was the chicken wrap. If you’re in Portland, you must go to Joule!

If you’re like me and you love sushi but you can’t eat it often due to contamination, you must hit up Bamboo Sushi in Portland. All of their seafood is sustainably raised and is labeled if otherwise. The same goes for gluten, their whole menu is gluten free except a few dishes which are explicitly labeled to have gluten in them. They even have a gluten free tempura that my boyfriend got and was obsessed with. Due to the conditions they were not open to dine in, but don’t let that stop you because their food is still worth it however you have to eat it!
All of the food in Portland was amazing but I think our favorite meal was from Dick’s Primal Burger. I was really looking forward to going to Dick’s Kitchen, their sister restaurant, but it closed due to the VID. While I was disappointed, the burgers at Dick’s more than made up for it. They have a fully gluten free fryer, which is so exciting for someone who loves french fries but can rarely get them out at restaurants due to gluten sensitivity. We were so excited about these burgers that we got both sweet potato fries and regular french fries. On top of that my boyfriend and I bought enough food for two meals, we got regular burgers on their house made keto bun, which was so good and had such simple ingredients. Then he got the pulled pork and I got the venison burger and we were still just as in love. They do have dairy and gluten at their establishment but eating gluten and dairy free here is about as easy as it gets.

Finally we went to Verde Cocina and it was just as amazing as everything we ate on our trip. Their kitchen is 100% gluten free with lots of dairy free and paleo options available. I got the Carne Asada salad because I was in dire need of vegetables after eating so many sweets and meats over the past few days. This steak was melt in your mouth good, I wish I could have had it more than once.My boyfriend got the street tacos and they were both amazing. We also split a side of guacamole and they will give you raw vegetables to dip in the guac if you don’t eat corn which was great for me.

I eat paleo 95% of the time, with the exception being on vacation. I eat all paleo meals but I will cheat here or there with a gluten free/vegan dessert. Let me tell you every treat we had was worth the bellyache afterwards. 

Our first sweets stop was Kyra’s Bake Shop, a gluten free bakery. Upon stepping into this bakery it was evident that they knew what they were doing. It smelled delicious and I wasn’t surprised to hear they have won cupcake wars 4 times! I got a vegan blueberry handpie and my boyfriend got a dairy free chocolate cupcake. Both were unreal delicious but slightly sweet for us. These definitely weren’t “healthy” baked goods but they were delicious and gluten free!

We then went to Eb & Bean for dairy free froyo. They have a number of seasonal flavors for both dairy and dairy free options. We got the coconut milk horchata and upon first bite we were moaning the soft serve was so good. Again the froyo was very sweet, delicious but we could both only eat half and wished we had shared our ice cream.

Finally we went to Petunia’s pies and pastries. This is a fully gluten free and vegan bakery, by no means “healthy” but gluten and dairy free and they were very good about labeling if soy and other allergens were in the baked goods. Again these people knew how to bake, we instantly smelled the sweet goodness upon walking in the door. I got a cupcake here since we were full and it was delicious. Again very sweet for my palette but I prefer very lightly sweetened baked goods.

We also went to Tea Bar so I could get a matcha latte. I am not going to lie I had high expectations for the matcha here and it disappointed. I personally can make my matcha better at home and it won’t cost me $8. The atmosphere was nice but I would recommend getting a specialty drink or something if you go there because their plain matcha was mediocre.

Places we didn’t make it to:

Harlow/Prasad- Recommended to me as a great fast casual place, good for breakfast and bowls!

Por que no tacqueria- a Mexican restaurant that is easily done gluten free and dairy free.

Salt & straw- They have multiple locations and at each one lots of flavors of dairy and dairy free ice cream. There was one within walking distance to our Airbnb but we didn’t end up going here because the dairy free options didn’t sound appealing to us.

New Cascadia bakery- a fully gluten free bakery. This was recommended to me by my NTP, all gluten free breads, bagels, rolls, and baked goods. Not the most dairy free options but maybe it would be different if they were running at full capacity.

Virtuous Pie Portland- A full Vegan restaurant that I’ve heard has some amazing gluten free and dairy free pizza.

Honestly wherever you go in Portland you’re bound to enjoy this foodie City! Hopefully this review of my favorite places I went and what I ate will help you decide where to visit on your trip to Portland!