The Linguistics Society of America’s Annual Conference will take place from Thursday, 8 January-Sunday, 11 January at the Hilton Portland & Executive Tower in Portland, Oregon. This meeting will bring together linguists from all over the world for a weekend filled with presentations, films, mini-courses, panels, and more.
If you’re looking for fun places to check out in Portland before and/or after the conference, look no further. In order to get the scoop on the best places to check out in Portland, I checked in with our resident Portland expert Jenny Catchings, the newest addition to our Academic/Trade Marketing Team. Before she moved to New York, Jenny lived in Portland for three years, and she’s ready to share a local’s guide to the “The City of Roses.”
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Best Part about the PDX Airport: the carpet.
Believe it or not, the carpet at the airport enjoys a tremendous amount of love and fame. It even has its own Facebook fan page! (DSC01384 PDX Airport Carpet by Adam Dachis. CC BY 2.0 via Flickr.)
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Best Breakfast Place: Juniors Café.
Sparkle booths, mismatched cups, almost never featuring one of those epic brunch lines as mocked in Portlandia. (Junior’s Café by VJ Beauchamp. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 via Flickr.)
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Best Bookstore: Powell's Books.
In Portland, the book game is run by Powell’s. You walk in and it’s kind of like a museum — you could spend the whole day in there. There are lots of readings, even by big name authors, so you really get the full bookstore experience. Fun fact: There are a few smaller branches in SE Portland which are more specialized and low-key, if you’re looking for that teeny, indie-bookstore vibe. (Powell’s City of Books by Kenn Wilson. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 via Flickr.)
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Best Museum: Portland Art Museum.
Like many Northwestern art museums, The Portland Art Museum tends to feature indigenous art work, which is really beautiful. There are also a lot of local artists on display. (Portland Art Museum by Roger. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 via Flickr.)
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Best Doughnuts: Blue Star Donuts.
Portland does doughnuts exceptionally well. Everyone knows about Voodoo Doughnuts (and their legendary NyQuil doughnut), but locals prefer less gimmicky stuff. The thought of fresh Blue Star treats makes me homesick. Note: there are three locations ‘round the city. (Blue Star Donuts by Rick Chung. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 via Flickr.)
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Best Vintage Shopping: Lounge Lizard.
Lounge Lizard is this very curated, very beautiful house filled with mid-century housewares and gorgeous antiques. Best part? It’s pretty affordable! (Lounge Lizard, SE Hawthorne Portland, Or by Mike Krzeszak. CC BY-ND 2.0 via Flickr.)
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Best Quirky Spot: Waffle Window.
It’s this tiny cart with ridiculously wonderful waffle creations. Just delicious. (Pumpkin Pie Waffle from Waffle Window by Stella Hwang. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 via Flickr.)
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Best Park: Laurelhurst Park.
It’s gigantic. It’s the kind of place where people go and hang out all day. It’s a great place to go if you want to meet the locals… people from Portland are very friendly! (Laurelhurst Park, Portland, Oregon, 2014 by Where Is Your Toothbrush? CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 via Flickr.)
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Best Ice Cream Spot: Salt and Straw.
Salt and Straw creates some really beautiful, often seasonal flavors. Some of the flavors may sound strange, but trust me, they always work. Their biggest hit is the ‘Strawberry Honey Balsamic with Black Pepper’ flavor. (Salt & Straw by jpellgen. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 via Flickr.)
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Best Music Venue: The Doug Fir.
Small and fun shows, looks like a log cabin inside, and sweet martinis in the bar. (Doug Fir Lounge — Portland, OR by Beyond Neon. CC BY-NC 2.0 via Flickr.)
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Best Bar in a House: Liberty Glass.
Liberty Glass is literally a house in NE Portland, a big pink one at that. Portland used to have a few of these types of establishments, but this is one of the last ones standing now. You can sit in the ‘living room,’ upstairs in what used to be bedrooms or on the awesome porch when the weather is fine. (8:36pm: a drink at the Liberty Glass with Tom by Liene Verzemnieks. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 via Flickr.)
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Jenny’s Favorite Local Spot: Cinema 21.
This place has AMAZING films and features some great film series. It’s also a beautiful, old theater, which is really pretty and unique. I just love going there. (Cinema 21, Portland, Oregon by Curtis Cronn. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 by Flickr.)
It’s going to be a great weekend in Portland and we can’t wait to see you there — be sure to come visit us at the Oxford University Press Booth (#3) in the Exhibit Hall!
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I was just there a week ago and can confirm that Salt & Straw (where I had egg nog ice cream), Powell’s (where I found various book versions of Sather lectures), and the Waffle Window (where I had a fresh basil/brie/bacon waffle) were all fantastic. I’d further suggest stops at Monograph Bookwerks (art-oriented) and Table of Contents (clothes/objects/magazines).