Random & Saturday

I love it when there are Saturday where we don't have any plans and don't know what to do. So we decided to drive around Portland to random places.  On this particular summer Saturday, we ended up in the Williams area in North Portland.  We took our time and hung out at Ristretto Roasters in the Lincoln building.  Keila randomly wanted to be a turtle.

Next to Ristretto Roasters is a home goods/floral store called Ink&Peat which is another store that I always end up going to because they have so many cool items that I want to buy. Not the floral stuff though, more like their display tables, letters, signs, etc...

 Cool light fixture at Ink&Peat

Mississippi Field Guide

Here are some of my favorite stores that I usually always check out when I'm in the Mississippi Avenue area. I really like unique decor pieces for my house so I usually like to go to many home/decor stores. This store with the live birds above is called Flutter, they are a specialty home goods carrying very random pieces like books, posters, cards, letter blocks, carpet, mirrors, frames, etc.. you get the point.  I like them because they don't carry normal stuff, they have unique items you can't find anywhere else in Portland. The wombat card and the chandelier are also from Flutter.

Manifesto is another cool store that I usually go to, they are one of many collection of worthy independent  shoe store to visit in Portland if you don't like big retail chains. They carry women's and men's shoes, hats, bags, and accessories.  I always want to buy boots when I come here.

Last but not least is Porch Light, a very cool home goods/furnishing/vintage store. They are currently my all time favorite store of any kind to go to in Portland. If you are into cool home pieces or thinking about giving more character to your home, Porch Light is the best place to find items to do so. Some of their items that I always like to look at are old bicycles, window frames and shutters, vintage books, old boxes, ball jars (the blue ones), chairs, crates, tables.  I would live in their store if  possible. That's how much I like the store.

Many cool items like vintage maps.

They also have vintage cameras, you have to be quick though because they sell very well.

Mississippi Flea

Here we are at the first ever Mississippi flea market. I had this picture in my head that the flea market would be awesome because Mississippi is such an awesome area, but in reality it wasn't like what I imagined.  My first impression was, did everyone just came from Urban Outfitters?  Seriously, all the people in this flea were all hipsters.  Anyways, these are my thoughts on the market, first it took only about 5 minutes to go through all the vendors, second, the reason we stayed about 20 minutes in the market was because we were waiting for tacos. At least they were good. I'm not here to bash on the market and it wasn't a total failure either. I will give props though to whoever started this because I see the potential for this flea to grow and really be a stable event in years to come.  There were some items that were pretty cool like the typewriter below.

The tacos were pretty good. Very fresh.

Nice.

Most of the items are good alternative and more affordable pieces compared to Urban Outfitters.

Mississippi Street Fair pt. 2

One of the cool things about the fair was that there were three stages for local bands to play in. This one of the the smaller stages, the main stage was in the middle of the street fair. 

Moustache craft vendor. Nice, plus you get a free plant.

This was a cool thrift/vintage clothing place. It's a vendor, but the Wanderlust is actually located in this small trailer and they go all around Portland.  Nana got a cool looking belt here.

This was the view of the street fair looking down towards downtown Portland. I still can't believe how packed the street were. It's like a zoo.

Craft vendor.

Nana and I took some pictures with Keila around the Mississippi neighborhood. I love this place, I wouldn't mind moving to the area someday.

Musician's Alley

Old car.

Red Owls in Mississippi

Mississippi Street Fair

The coolest event of the year in Portland is definitely the Mississippi Street Fair located in the Historical Mississippi Ave in North Portland.  The street itself has a good collection of coffee shops, eats, local clothing store, and vintage stores.  The street fair expects around 30,000 people to come along this five block stretch of street.  All I can say is that this was a must for people who think Portland is boring.  Unfortunately the street fair is only a one time thing per year.  So don't miss it next year, it will probably be even bigger than this year's event.

There were many types of vendors in the Mississippi street fair.  Jewelry were among the most popular while there were also clothing vendors, handmade leather bag vendors, arts and craft vendors, you get the point.

Some store were nice enough to provide water, Keila was tired from all the excitement and from meeting new dog friends.  

Nana looking at some vintage clothing.

 Cool building.

Tasty n Sons

So far this summer, one of the coolest new restaurants I tried is called Tasty n Sons.  They are located in the Lincoln Building complex on Williams Ave in North Portland.  We went here for brunch because that is what they're know for and I knew it would be an awesome experience because wait time as of 10am when we got there was an hour and a half; but worth the wait.

What made this place really cool was definitely the decor and look of the place.  I love their wooden tables and seating, the walls was concrete with a huge bicycle painting on one side of the restaurant, and the garage door front that was opened.  Just an awesome combination of creating a cozy atmosphere.

My wife and sister ordered the Fried Egg & Cheddar Biscuit with fried chicken or smoked guanciale or sausage.  The fried chicken was really good.

I ordered the House Bacon Burger with beecher's cheddar or smoked bleu cheese which was pure awesomeness.  We ended up ordering two of this burger.

My dad ordered the Boudin Blanc Omelette with fava bean tapenade, truffle cheese & white sausage which was ok.

My mom ordered the Cast Iron Frittata with asparagus, snap peas, confit green beans, english peas, asparagus, caramelized onions, mint & feta which was really good.

Overall, I'm really happy with the food though their portions was a bit small but great if you're on a strict diet. The place and service were awesome and the whole experience was great. I would come back here.