Oregon

Reed College

From the Admission Staff and students of Reed College:

Albina Press
5012 SE Hawthorne Boulevard
Portland, OR

A bright, airy space with garage-style windows that open to the breeze on hot days, an abundance of seating, decent art on the walls, and award-winning, nonchalant baristas make this a favorite place to work off-campus -- for both students and profs. They brew the famed local Stumptown Coffee and have a selection of baked goods. Their black sarsaparilla iced tea is very good.

Alice’s Bagels
“Good Food Here” food cart pod
SE Belmont Street at 43rd Avenue
Portland, OR

Reed graduate Alice Newton used to coordinate our year-end feast for the whole campus. Now she makes cold-fermented, hand-formed, boiled, and freshly baked bagels using locally-milled flour. In addition to handmade salt, poppy, onion, or plain bagels, Alice’s cart offers house-cured lox, handmade blackberry jam, flavored schmears (maple bacon, anyone?), and a seasonally-rotating lunch sandwich, salad, and soup made with fresh produce sourced from local farms.

Andina
1314 NW Glisan Street
Portland, OR

Andina is where Reedies want to go for every special occasion; many birthdays and special dates take place in this energetic, music-filled room in Portland’s sparkling “new downtown” -- the Pearl District. The owners classify Andina as Nuevo-Andean-Peruvian! Go with the avocado stuffed with crab, and quinoa cannoli with passion-fruit filling. And be sure and hit a couple of art galleries in the Pearl before or after dinner.

Anxuyen Bakery
5345 SE Foster Road
Portland, OR

Oh, the magical majesty of French-influenced Vietnamese sandwiches! This hole-in-the-wall offers delicious Vietnamese, Chinese and French takeout. They have the best banh mi sandwiches in Portland. You must try the barbecued pork and lemongrass on freshly baked French rolls. Only $3.00! Add delicious Vietnamese-style iced coffee and red velvet cupcakes or guava cookies. You will never eat American fast food again. Seriously.

The Doug Fir
830 E Burnside Street
Portland, OR

Named for our state’s venerable Douglas fir trees, this place has a dual identity. Downstairs, it’s one of the hippest live-music venues in town. Upstairs, it’s a fun diner (open till 4 a.m.) that resembles a cross between the Jetsons’ futuristic house and a Northwest logging camp. The menu offers stick-to-your-ribs burgers, pork chops, fried chicken, and good old mac-n-cheese, plus regional goodies like Willapa Bay oysters and Dungeness crab cakes.

El Nutri Taco
8438 SE Woodstock Boulevard
Portland, OR

The humble exterior of this beloved taco truck belies the quality of the food it dispenses.  Their burritos are massive, imaginative, and staggeringly delicious. Of all the Portland-ized Mexican food trucks that offer vegan and vegetarian alternatives to carne, this is a local and personal favorite.

Farm Café
10 SE 7th Avenue
Portland, OR

You walk into a dimly-lit restaurant and as you are seated in the inviting dining room, you realize that you are in a beautiful old Portland farmhouse. The locally-sourced, organic menu will remind you of your health-nut aunt who somehow even got the five-year-old to eat her vegetables. This place is great for “my-parents-are-in-town” dinners.

Jade Teahouse & Patisserie
7912 SE 13th Avenue
Portland, OR

A favorite spot for professors and students, Jade starts with Vietnamese cuisine and adds smart elements of French, Laotian, and Thai. Lunchtime picks include tapioca-battered salmon, wide rice noodles with broccoli, bok choy, and tofu, or ginger-poached chicken with eclairs, black rice pudding, or green pandanus cake for dessert. Afternoons, there’s an extensive tea menu, from Assam to Pu-Erh and White Peony to Jasmine Green.

Laughing Planet
4110 SE Woodstock Boulevard
Portland, OR

A nice walk up the road from campus in the Woodstock district, we love the non-traditional/exotic burritos (the steamed spinach & black bean is amazing), fresh veggies, homemade salsas, juice smoothies, and homemade lemonade. A good place to grab a filling lunch!

Meriwether’s
2601 NW Vaughn Street
Portland, OR

A special-occasion place perfect for parents, Meriwether’s is in a beautiful “Old Portland” house with a cozy fireside room and perhaps the most beautiful outdoor garden dining space in the city. Beef, lamb, seafood, and vegetarian options abound. The sophisticated cuisine is truly “farm to table,” as nearly all the produce comes from Skyline Farm, owned and operated by the restaurant, high in the hills over Portland.

Pok Pok
3226 SE Division
Portland, OR

Even if you know Thai food, Pok Pok will astound you. The chef has attracted national attention, in addition to many local “restaurant of the year” citations, with a mix of Bangkok, Northern Thai, and “street food” culinary traditions based on his years of travel. Chicken wings with hot fish sauce, lemongrass-roasted game hen, French-Vietnamese style condensed milk ice cream drowned in dark espresso—all served in a setting that will make you think you’re in an undiscovered night-market in Chiang Mai.

Potato Champion
“Cartopia” food cart pod
1207 SE Hawthorne Boulevard
Portland, OR

One of several great options in the classic Portland food cart pod a mile from campus, Potato Champion is open till 2 a.m.! You can get Belgian fries with any one of the specialty sauces here or the poutine, a Québécois specialty: fries smothered in gravy and cheese curds (there is also a vegetarian option!). If you go with the classic pommes frites, get the rosemary-truffle ketchup or the peanut satay sauce. (Crêperie Perreira is another favorite cart in the pod; other carts offer burritos, pizza, and pie.)

Salt & Straw Ice Cream
838 NW 23rd Avenue

or

3025 NE Alberta Street
Portland, OR

Salt & Straw is a new entry in the local gourmet ice cream scene. Emphasis on local—the scoopers will regale you with their knowledge of locally-sourced ingredients in their ice creams. Choose among standards, such as Almond Brittle, Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons or Honey Balsamic Strawberry with Cracked Pepper or opt for seasonal offerings such as Rhubarb Crumble, Horchata Sorbet, and Rocky Road with Honey Marshmallows and Candied Hazelnuts. So yeah… good luck with that choice.

Sonny Bowl
SW 3rd Ave at Washington
Portland, OR

Portland's vegan, local organic food scene shines at this food cart. The $4 small Number Three bowl, consisting of brown rice, barbecue soy curls, yams, and kale-cabbage salad tossed with tahini dressing and crunchy noodles will leave even meat-eaters stuffed and smiling. With salads, smoothies and breakfast options all on the menu, this food cart really makes the case for you to give vegan a shot.

Stumptown Coffee Roasters
4525 SE Division
Or
3356 SE Belmont
Or
128 SW 3rd Avenue
Portland, OR

The folks who put Portland on the map as Coffee Town USA, Stumptown now has locations in Seattle and NYC. But it all began only two miles from Reed. The Stumptowners literally travel the world finding the perfect varietals, then roast beans and craft beverages by hand.

Tea Chai Té
7983 SE 13th Avenue
Portland, OR

 

 

There is nothing more cheery than drinking tea on a drizzly day in a bright red (and real) train caboose. Like Doctor Who’s TARDIS, this tea shop is definitely bigger on the inside, and full of tea! Whether you like bubble tea, classic oolong, or chocolate chipotle chai, this place is awesome.

Tom Yum Thai
4309 SE Woodstock Boulevard
#140
Portland, OR

Just a short walk up the Woodstock hill from Reed, Tom Yum lures a constant stream of Reedies. Some of our favorites: pad thai, flaming beef (it's on fire!) and home-made coconut ice cream.