The best of the best

Two days in a row with exciting firsts on the site.  Yesterday introduced “Random Thought Sunday” and now I bring you the very first “Food and Travel (FAT) Monday!”  Beer helps greatly with the former and is certainly good company for the latter.

The beer in Portland, Oregon and in the Pacific Northwest in general is quite good.  The next time I head out there I plan to do some extensive research just to verify how great it really is.  Somewhat surprising to me was that I also had two food items in Portland that are (for me) at the pinnacle of their genre.

I make no apologies for saying that Voodoo Doughnuts are the best anywhere in the country.  There was something so glorious and inappropriate but oh-so-right about the bacon maple bar that I will not hear any arguments against the place.  Even my wife’s choice graced with such toppings as Oreos and peanut butter and goodness would have led me to the same conclusion had I been able to take my gaze away from the bacon floating on a sea of mapley sweetness.

Slightly out of frame is me drooling.

The S.W Third Ave. location is also where you really need to go to fully enjoy the whole experience.  I know there is another spot you can get your Voodoo fix at, but the one on Third Ave. has a certain quality about its place and surroundings that just adds to the awesomeness.  The hole in the wall location could just as easily have been a good spot for an adult video store (I mean, as I have been told) as a doughnut shop.  The inside is very small but impeccably accessorized for a shop with such a name and the line will certainly be out the door rain or shine, well rain (it is Portland).  My suggestion would be to stop by, eat a doughnut, walk it off, rinse, and repeat.

Bring your umbrella

A day or so after having what I thought was the best burger (and some great beer) at Henry’s Tavern; I found one even better down the street a few blocks.  Lucky for us, the Deschutes Brewery had opened up their Portland Pub location some months earlier.

A beacon . . .

To this moment, there is no hesitation when I am asked where I have enjoyed the best burger.  The elk burger with roasted shallot and thyme aioli topped with Gruyere cheese is without competition for the top spot in my burger hall of fame.  For me, the ensemble of those ingredients was just perfect.  Even if one day a beef burger comes along to challenge, it will only be the best burger made of beef on my list.  If only I could have as strong and immediate an opinion on my favorite beer someday.

I should also mention that even the house made veggie burger at Deschutes is in the discussion (at the very least) as the best that The Wife has ever had.  Combine all of that with the selection of excellent beers that Deschutes produces (and the really interesting bathrooms) and I was ready to move in.  Maybe moving to Portland would be a more reasonable first step?