Before I moved to Austin I never……..heard anyone say the name Portland so many times. If I had a dollar for every time someone said, “Oh yeah, that’s like our sister city”, I would have gone to find out myself a long time ago. When I first moved back around the capital it really seemed like everyone I met had either lived in Portland, was from Portland, about to take a road trip to Portland, or just plain flew out there “all the time”. A close friend of mine has recently relocated to Portland from Brooklyn.  So, when yet another of my Austin compadres found himself making a trip I said, “This time I’m going”, and I did.

Within my first 24 hours of being there I sure enough spied a Keep Portland Weird bumper sticker, and thought, “Well I’ll be damned!” While there’s more than a few differences between the cities (Portland, I’ve heard some some say, is one of the best designed cities in the country, while Austin is choked to the point of Saturday afternoon traffic) they definitely share the same granola & bacon doughnut with an almond milk latte out of a food cart at 3A.M. after a long day of kayaking to the independent book store while drinking a coffee porter and snapping instagram pics on a fixed gear to the sk8 park in a thrift store denim vest with a wu-tang button on it, kind of attitude. Just, maybe a little cleaner and with better public transit, less Blaqu people and seemingly less pretty girls all the away around.

However…..I would like to take this opportunity to inform you that Portland weighs in at whopping 50+ strip clubs supported by a population of only 529,121 giving it what most believe is the most titty-bars per capita in the country. To give you some perspective Austin has a population of 786,386 and isn’t even breaking 20 to the best of my knowledge. (Some one please correct me if I’m wrong). Best believe the fact all the girls got buck naked and that there was no cover, a ridiculous situation to be sure, was not lost on me.

Having said that, I arrived on Tuesday and by Thursday I was prompted to turn to my man outside The Someday Lounge like, “Tell me why it seems like all the best looking women around here all take their clothes off for a living?” But I digress, let us see what the warm weather brings out later this summer.
Over all it seems like if you could import some talent you’d have the perfect time. This means bring a cute travel partner and come and do something new. Drive out to the Pacific ocean or for that matter go check out the mountains. If you sk8 bring your stick because so help me God that city is one giant slab of brick and concrete going down hill in every direction, and I found park under one of the bridges. This was the only thing I didn’t get to do that I really wanted to, that and try a Voodoo doughnut.

Around happy hour find a decent sushi bar and start warming up, I recommend Bamboo (Try the albacore sashimi style). Bamboo is the first restaurant of it’s kind to be certified sustainable in the world, but there are definitely cheaper options. For you visual art fans theres a three or four block gallery district downtown that has a collective opening every first thursday of the month with a bevy of styles to admire and/or purchase. Gaze at some fresh pieces while you sip some free microbrews.
On the L8 fall through the Produce Row Cafe on a tuesday night or the afore mentioned Someday Lounge on a thursday, and build with the local Hip Hop heads. You can get little Dub or Drum and Bass in you at the Crown club on most any other night it seemed ,and some how I just managed to miss Black Thought before I came and Dead Prez after I left, so shows are being thrown and appreciated.

Needless to say this trip was a blast, and from this point on it’ll only get ruffer. Fellas grab a lady, ladies you can grab me, and let’s find out what else Portland has to offer. Shit we fit right in already. At least us “weird” maphackas anywayz.

For your scrutiny.

Peace![/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]