Places I Ate at and Loved in New York and Portland

Just a little PS on my trip last week.  While my time in both New York City and Portland Oregon were fleeting, and I was entertained for many meals in ...

Just a little PS on my trip last week.  While my time in both New York City and Portland Oregon were fleeting, and I was entertained for many meals in the homes of friends and family, I wanted to share my favourite food stops from each city in case you ever want to check them out yourselves.

NEW YORK CITY

Breads Bakerywhere I was introduced to the best coffee I think I have ever had in NYC.  And a cretzel (a croissant shaped as a pretzel which by the way is much better than a cronut).  They also have the finest babka outside of Tel Aviv.

Hu Kitchen where a delicious lunch revived my tired body.  And the juices were also fantastic.  Fresh, healthy (in the true sense of the word) and totally satisfying in a wonderfully designed space.

Gotham West Market  is a collection of 8 artisanal food purveyors under one roof.  We chose a sensational bowl of vegetarian Shoyu with rye noodles and negi salad from Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop.  But I have to say I had a lot of difficulty deciding what to eat as the selection of delicacies available at Gotham Market is vast and tempting…..

PORTLAND OREGON

Salt & Straw – when you walk down the block and there is a queue down the road and around the corner, you know you have to go in and try the goods.  The almond brittle with salted chocolate ganache ice cream had a vanilla base that was not too sweet and was one of the most moreish flavours I have ever tasted.

Pearl Bakery – the Pacific Northwest is littered with artisan bakers, so I wanted to try them all, but alas only tried two.  Had a rolled fig cookie – an adult fig roll with layers of flavours.  I wanted to take the whole batch home with me, but by this time my bag was quite full.

Ken’s Artisan Bakery  I have been baking bread out of his book this year, so I HAD to go and try the real McCoy.   The pastries were as good as in Paris, and the crust on the sourdough was totally aspirational.

Would love to hear from you if you have been to any of these places and what you thought of them.  Any recommendations for my next trip?