Get a snack at Don Pancho, 2000 NE Alberta

go to the lucky dumpster, if it is still there/open :)

and get breakfast at helsers.. cause the tinshed is played out.

Alberta is the closest retail street near my house (just a few blocks away). It's easy to walk the strip and takes about 20-30 minutes from tail end of NE 7th to NE 33rd. I've lived in this neighborhood for 10 years and woo-boy have I seen changes. Some for the better and some (that the article didn't mention), not for the better. Still:

Random Order rocks. Terrific food, great people watching and mmmmm PIES

Other picks?
Brunch at Helsers - absolutely. They have a cheap early-bird menu of 1/2 eggs bennie etc for way cheap. My roommate however is found of brunch at Francis.

Cork - a wine shop for wonderful selections, excellent chocolates, olive oils, etc.

Siam Society for happy hour and terrific cocktails/Thai inspired food in a very cool old building. The patio is amazing.

Fun cocktails and fancy southern food at Bernies. The space is sexy, the patio in the summer can't be beat.

Lolo's for fancy Spanish tapas in a chic space.

Very decent, very good, very cheap Mexican Food at La Sirenita or La Bonita.

Good local produce and other healthy foods and groceries at the Alberta Street Co-op

Fun drinks and atmosphere at the Bye-and-Bye or the Radio Room. The radio room has a great outdoor fire pit and seats on the roof.

Locally owned video store - Videorama with a huge foreign and independent movie selection

Well picked selection of fabrics at Bolt - a lot like Purl or Sew Mama Sew

PedX has great shoes, bags and jewels.

Really unusual one of a kind rice paper art lamps at Hi-IH or IH-HI Gallery. I always get the name wrong.

Good crepes at Fold.

Great fish and chips and beer at no-nonsense atmosphere of Halibut's

Largest sake selection in Oregon, and good Japanese nibbles at Zilla Sake (next to Random Order). Japanese movie night there is fun.

decent slices of pizza at Bella Faccia (New Haven Style Pizza)

$4.95 breakfast bagel egg sandwiches and strong coffee ($1.50 for a cup and includes a refill!) at Fuel, with a peaceful covered patio

Excellent microbrews and cheap pub grub at Amnesia Brewing.

Last Thursday art madness...every last Thursday. (although there have been major neighborhood tensions and a few "incidents" in recent years)

Decent refurbished bikes for a good community cause at Community Cycling Center

I just wish we had a Vietnamese or Ethiopian restaurant instead of the 5 Thai restaurants on the street.

God, there's tons more. Living near Alberta has made living in Portland easy. I pretty much can walk from my house to get whatever basics I need.

Oh, and here's a funny story from the early Alberta "revitalization" days. A local conceptual artist, as a joke/statement put up "Starbucks Coming Soon" posters up and down the street. The amount of neighborhood out roar was fierce, intense, and even bordering on scary.

This was back when the place was still filled with "punk rock houses" and lots of anarchist (trust funder) types, so they really had it out for Starbucks anyway and you know, those kids love their causes...

I think the chain stores sort of realized this and have stayed out. Also, parking can be an issue, so the street doesn't really have room for parking lots, is zoned against drive throughs and is still just funky enough and rough around the edges to keep certain chains from thinking they might have a market here. I just worry that articles like the ones in the NY Times will change all this...sigh.

I remember that! It was April Fools Day, IIRC.

I bought a house there about ten years ago, and sold in 2006 (to a Californian, sorry!). I was on 31st between Wygant and Going, and was fed up with the pedestrian, auto and bike traffic adding a good ten minutes onto any trip I made out of the area. Parking, especially on Last Thursday, was a joke. People wandering out into the street was a problem, and I nearly got doored several times.

It's a lovely nabe to visit (especially Bernie's Southern Bistro!), but I'm so glad I moved to a quieter section of North Portland. Plus, I'm walking distance to the light rail and close enough to I-5 to make visiting friends in other quadrants MUCH easier.

are you gonna visit other neighborhoods? let me know if you come to southeast.

Vintage PINK! In SE. There's also another decent antique-ish store up the block from there that I can't remember the name of.

STARS has some good finds as well.

Yay Portland :)

FiatLex - Oy, I hear you with the last Thursday hassle. Luckily I live on the "other side of the tracks" (Killingsworth) in a super quiet neighborhood, but Alberta is just close enough.

Lily, and other PDX AT readers. I'm going to throw this out there: Any interest in organizing a Portland AT meetup when Lily is in town? I know how passionate people in this city are about design, especially DIY, green and other innovative stuff. I also know there are lots of AT readers here. It would be cool to meet some of you. I offer to help.

You'll soon realize if you haven't already that Portlanders love Portland. Here is my some of my faves. Brunch is really popular in PDX, so my fave is Screen Door on Burnside, then head to Life and Limb for stylish plant/design-for-home. If you're in the SE check out House Vintage on Hawthorne Ave. for 13,000 sq. ft. of vintage stuff and 50 dealers. There's also bunch of other vintage furniture shops on Hawthorne. And if you have time or get the chance, check out Ace Hotel. Also, keep me posted if there is going to be a AT gather.

If it's Ethiopian food you want, Horn of Africa, a few blocks north of Alberta St. at 5337 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. is excellent and friendly. It's in the new Vanport Square development. They have a very minimal website at http://www.hornofafrica.net/.

if you venture beyond NE, be sure to go to Elements International (1825 NW 19th ave) in the NW (but no, it's not around 23rd). the area north of the Pearl is a good up and coming design area with lots of new businesses taking advantage of some amazing old buildings. also be sure to grab a coffee at sydney's cafe down the street.

seriously, your jaw will drop at Elements. just be sure to get Karen's permission before you take any pictures.

Thank you for all the tips! I'm not sure which neighborhood I'll be staying in, but I'm going to try and explore as much of the city as possible in the few days I'm there.

And I'd love to plan some sort of meet up.

-Lily

Portlanders DO love Portland! Sadly, I still live in Seattle (and am leaving for good when the viaduct is torn down!)

Not too far from Alberta on Mississippi is the ReStore home recycling center.

And if it a cocktail you need, go to 820.

Thanks Lily, I dropped you a line in the AT contact form with my phone number and email address info regarding organizing a meet-up. When will you be in Portland?

Ruby Jane, I love Horn of Africa - I just wish there was an Ethiopian restaurant within an easy walk of my house on the Alberta Strip itself rather than 4 Thai places. Also, there is a new Ethiopian place on N. Killingsworth called Enjoni. Their Sunday lunch buffet is outstanding.