Earlier on, I had mentioned a mysterious Bryan, seemingly guiding our way through Portland. Bryan told us to go to Blue Star Donuts. Bryan told us how we should go up to Pittock Mansion. Bryan told us a lot of things, essentially writing us a giant blurb of things to see and do in Portland.
But who is Bryan?
Bryan knows Portland because he lives there currently, and has been for the past few years. Pran and I met Bryan years ago when we were in school before Bryan left for other opportunities he was more interested in. It had been around 2-3 years since we had last seen him, so now that we were in Portland, it was time to meet up again. On the Easter Weekend Saturday, we all agreed to meet at the Hair of the Dog brewery.
Portland is known for its countless breweries. There are more than 60 breweries in operation, more than in any other American city. Now, I’m not a huge fan of beer, I can usually have one or two at a time before I start to really dislike the taste. I was in Portland though, so I might as well drink some beer.
Outside the brewery, we saw Bryan pull up on an orange BIKETOWN bike, one of many scattered throughout the city as part of the city’s bike share program. (Side note: We were considering riding the bikes too except Bee had a bad experience on a bike and now refuses to get on a bike.) We had almost forgotten how tall this guy was, watching as he walked in.
The usual conversation, catching up on what everyone was doing. Bee and I ordered a tasting flight. The lighter beers were nice, but when we got to the darker ones, we could barely finish it. I suppose it was an acquired taste.
Trying the tasting flight.
“So what do you guys have planned for tonight?” Bryan asked.
“Nothing really, we’re up for anything,” we replied.
We decided that Bryan could take us to a few other breweries or bars, as well as check out Salt and Straw (because Bee and I definitely wanted our ice cream).
The lineup.
From Hair of the Dog, we got in a Lyft and headed down to Salt and Straw. Of course, there was a huge lineup outside. We couldn’t avoid it this time, it was now or never, so we got into line. We each got an ice cream cone (I got a Honey Lavender) and headed back on our way. Was the ice cream worth the wait? I’ll admit that the ice cream was tasty, but it’s similar to ice cream shops like Earnest’s Ice Cream and Rain or Shine back in Vancouver Canada, so it wasn’t anything jaw-dropping.
We strolled along, feeling giddy (Was it the beer or the ice cream? Or both?). It was nice for once not having to be the one trying to navigate our walking directions, and just to follow. He led us to another large brewery/bar. I think after this point I stopped paying attention to the names of the bars we went to.
My stomach really wasn’t feeling another beer, after the ice cream, but I got one anyway. It had an appealing name and description but when I drank it, it was too bitter (for me). After shooting the shit some more, we moved on to another bar, this one smaller and darker, and with some old-school game machines like Pinball and Pac-Man around in the back. It was happy hour, so I got another drink (not a beer). At the moment, Bryan was challenging Pran to another Rainier, after having had Pran buy them both a Rainier to start. The problem was Pran was clearly getting quite drunk, but boys will be boys and he had to accept the challenge.
“You’re gonna regret this, why can’t you just be a strong independent woman and refuse it?” Bee and I laughed at Pran.
Pran shook his head, “I gotta do this, man.”
Alright, I guess. That night, Pran ate the two slices of cold leftover pizza in our hotel room and then passed out on his bed. Bee and I left a Gatorade next to him before heading to bed ourselves. The next morning Pran would tell us how magical it was when he woke and saw the Gatorade next to his bed.
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