But there’s this local joint in the heart of gastown that’s pumping out some amazing fried chicken and other great bbq’d meats.
I highly recommend peck in pah for their chicken fried sandwich. And if you are anything like me, I order it sans cilantro.

To me, this has got to be one of the best fried sandwiches I have ever tried. So much yum. And really its so simple. But the fact that their chicken is juicy and fried makes it a win.
Fried chicken not your jam? Well don’t cha worry your lil self about that. There’s much more in this tiny joint. I strongly recommend the fried pickles. Again, they are the best I’ve had.

Don’t want fried. No prob. Try their mac and cheese. The portion is huge. But if you are bold enough and enjoy meat I would suggest adding the pulled pork to the mac and cheese. Its amazing.
Peck in pah also gives each table a few of their house made sauces. Honestly, I havent tried them yet. Not that I don’t think they will be good. But I just haven’t felt my meal needs the extra sauce.
I also like the location and great big windows on this restaurant. Grabbing a window seat isn’t hard since the whole place is windows over looking the brick streets of Gastown.

Oh! I almost forgot. The beers! They have a good beer selection of local beers. Unfortunately I’ve mainly been here for lunch. So I haven’t had the opportunity to drink my way through their beer menu. But I’ve noticed it and plan to try more of it when I can.
Have you been here yet? Or know of the best chicken and waffles in town? Please send us an email or leave a comment below.

I’m a planner. He’s more of a spontaneous duckling. Who says planning is all the rage¹?  So we didn’t book a hotel. We winged it.

We ended up taking the turn-off into Beaverton and found a place called Shiloh Inn. Looked chalet-ish, with a pool. But wouldn’t you know it – it was ALL booked up!¹

The front desk chicka suggested Peppertree Motel. This was casual, motel-style, low key. There was a little water feature in front & lots of guest parking.

Peppertree Hotel, Beaverton, Oregon

Hotel amenities

pool with loungers and tables, fitness room and breakfast.

Rooms

were clean and large enough, & included toiletries, a fridge and microwave. Our first 2 nights, we stayed in a king room which was great. It was on the non-parking side (& thus, quiet). Our last night was in another room with 2 doubles, a non-stop bathroom buzzing and faced the busy pool.

Surroundings

not a lot around within walking distance. A 15-minute walk will land you near a mini strip mall with a Latin market (with a bonus cafeteria section where you can order ready-made Mexican foods), pizza parlour, etc.

Conclusion: If you want something out of the busy downtown area, family style, with continental breakfast, then defo check out Peppertree. You will need a vehicle.

Coffee

Not the greatest here. Yes I said it. Deal with it.

I typically drink strong homemade stovetop espresso in the morning². Americanos are my best bet. Even if on acidic side, it is usually drinkable.

→Coffee at Peppertree was umm… not quite right-tasting. But I got my quota of caffeine.

→COFFEE AT 23RD – drip was too acidic. Had to chuck it.

→Case Study Coffee – decided to switch to Americano. Better.

To Do

Alberta Arts District (1-4 hours³)

Funky cool inclusive streets with artisan shops, cafes, restaurants, knicks, knacks and paddy whacks. Reminds us of Vancouver’s Commercial Drive with a soupçon of Kits.

Gardens

The Grotto (>1 hour)

Heavenly gardens showcasing a sheared cliff. No caves in sight.

Lan Su (<1 hour) is a gorgeous Ming Dynasty era garden, in partnership with the Chinese province of Jiangsu.

Washington Park (1-4 hours) contains various attractions such as Portland Japanese Garden, which is 12-acres of authentic J garden in 8 vignettes. Fair warning to the differently-mobiled. There are stairs and inclines heading up to the gardens. But plenty of seats to take a load off PRN.

Other stuff 

Freaky But True Peculiarium Museum (<1 hour) Hmmm hard to describe this odd collection of riff raff except to say… it’s odd… riff raff-y… fascinating and not for kidlets or the feint of heart.

Portland Aerial Tram (<1 hour) transports one from city’s South Waterfront district and the main Oregon Health & Science University. As the tram rises 500 feet high, you get amazing views of the city. Semi-surreality takes over as you step off into the expansive movie set of what they call the OHSU campus. Not an intended tourist attraction, but check it out if you want.

Don’t forget to take a peek at South Waterfront area  (<1 hour). It’s a lovely little bit of Porty greenery.

You MUST check out the best rack in Oregon: Nordstrom Rack (1-4 hours).

Cool Findings

When I used my credit card, a receipt was emailed to me (if the merchant used FourSquare).

Portland is apparently the bike-friendliest city in Amurrica.

Biking is so popular, you can do it while you have a beer with a bunch of randos.

Footnotes:

1 Yes of course I pulled a “told you so… we should’ve booked something”. This was the 2nd (& last year of “winging it”.) Yes, honey, prepping is all the gd rave.

2 I use dark or medium roast like Kicking Horse’s Kickass or Grizzly Claw. I also like Ethical Bean Bold Dark Roast.

3 Recommended time to allot to this attraction, depending on your interests, mobility abilities, photography, if you’re going to chow down, transport, etc.

This quaint little area is actually part of Bellingham, Washington. (Kind of reminds us of areas of North Van, New West and Vancouver’s West End with a bit of Steveston.)
Kells had had breakfast there previously. So she corralled us into the same joint named Skylark. I had been dying for some

clam chowda (as mentioned previously) and finally! I had a chance to get me a big ol bowl of it. It was delightfully creamy smooth with good flavour and bites of clam and potato. Then we shared the po-boy and thai fish sandwich. And whoo big portions!

Po boy was great. Would’ve been excellent with more oysters.

Thai tilapia sandwich was delish but a bit messy to eat.¹

Place is bigger than it looks – front entrance leads to another dining area.

Ambience was quiet. Its eclectic style reminded us of a spot between a tea parlour and OSF. Service was good. They don’t hover. Menu was vast with various breakfast, brunch & lunch dishes.

K’s after-brunch photoshoot

A f t e r b r u n c h We couldn’t very well have gotten back in the car with these 2 full rockabellies. So we walked around to burn off some calories² and took pix. Then some shops beckoned to us. 3 French Hens in particular. It was a shop that carried mainly clothing with a few other doodads. I was flabberghasted to see a capelet³ there… and one that fit me!

N’s after-brunch shoot

C o n c l u s i o n

∴If you’re in the mood for brunch and window shopping, Fairhaven is defo an option to consider.

What are your thoughts on Fairhaven, 3 French Hens or Skylark?

Feel free to comment below.

Footnotes
1. can be ordered without cilantro!
2. TBH, we wanted to walk around to window-shop.
3. Capelet photos coming soon.