Why Portland raises the bar

It could be the ultimate foodie break too. But it’s food carts, rather than restaurants, that define the scene. “They’ve changed the palette of people here,” Brett Burmeister, owner of Food Carts Portland, tells me as we take a tour of some of the best. “We don’t have fast food chains downtown anymore.” It’s a remarkable transformation: burgers and hot dogs have been replaced with Ethiopian stew and Moroccan mint tea. In a single hour I munch through handmade Chinese dumplings, authentic Yucatan panucho tacos, Carolina barbecue and Belgian leige waffles smothered in pearl sugar and honey. It’s like pic-n-mix for grown-ups.

Afterwards I stroll through Portland Farmer’s Market on South Park Blocks: 15,000 people, live music and 150 stalls of fresh, inspiring and downright weird locally-produced product. Need some Yak Jerky, Wasabi Arugula or Spicy Cress that genuinely burns in your mouth? They’ve got you covered. Then for dinner, a highlight: tattoos and fine dining at new restaurant Farm Spirit – an exquisite 12-course vegan tasting menu.

Craft beer fans will not be disappointed either. There are 91 microbreweries in the city, more than anywhere else in the US. I hop on a bike tour to some of the best – Hopworks, the city’s first organic eco-pub; Stormbreaker whose 11% Jean-Claud’s Quads brew nearly knocks me off my ride – and end up on the waterfront dancing to a hip hop brass band. Things like that happen here.

Downtown is fun: high street shopping, upscale galleries, theatres and museums. But the real magic happens on the east side, where the usual suburban sprawl has been replaced with a collection of vibrant, independent communities that appear to have sprung up like flowers in the pavement.

Neighbourhoods such as Hawthorne and the Alberta Arts District are filled with vintage boutiques and funky galleries, eco-cafes, trendy bars and brasseries with queues around the block. There is a blossoming uniqueness on every corner. I walk for an hour and don’t see a single chain store. It feels real, evolving and alive.

There’s lots else to do, of course: Powell’s Books, the largest independent bookstore in the US – five floors and an entire city block of paradise for bookworms; one of the best rose gardens in the world; magnificent city parks; near constant festivals; and a world-renowned music scene. But tell your clients not to rush around too much: this is a city of lounge cats, not worker bees. Eat well, work less, be green. That’s why Portland’s happening. Sounds like a good place to retire to me.