If you dare to take a shot as in pic of the steaming hot crew, you too risk being shot. Apparently, it’s so not cool to pose for pix in Portland. When they band together like a union or an impassioned political group with a cause and say in unsion with their Northern Euro specs, hip grimaces and mono chromatic monologues, “No, no pictures.” You’ll really feel like a geek, not a chic geek, but an odd, awkward, slash borderline groupie geek, as you realize you are so not in Kansas let alone LA any more. Exhale…

Next door to The Ace is Clyde Commons one of Portland’s favorite restos where tables are shared. Groups and couples alike or lone riders join in at a big table, creating a common space and a shared experience. This is quite common in Portland. Even wildly guarded Jen Anniston & Woody Harrelson hit Clyde Common while filming in town last year.
Try Simpatica Dining Hall on the opposite side of town for a shared Sunday brunch. The prices are crazy great, the food is excellent and the crowd is effortlessly sexy for a Sunday. Couples, kids and hangovers are all welcome.

FLOSS is the noted and well-followed culinary standard in Portland with Fresh, Local, Organic, Seasonal and Sustainable. Portland has been eco chic and evergreen since way back when. They are only too happy that the rest of the country has finally caught on.

There are so many great restaurants and exceptional chefs in town, it’s hard to keep track. The icing on the culinary cake is that the prices are not bank breaking. Here are a few, can’t misses for a festive night out. For a hip fix, Vino Paradiso is the best pre dinner stop in the city. Their menu changes monthly and their pairings (inclusive of apps) worked on by both the sommelier and the geek chic sexy chef are so precise. Their synergy is celebrated on every plate and in every pour. Between the fab foods, amazing wine list, groovy décor, lounge music and the local insider vibe; you won’t ever want to leave. Oh and famed filmmaker Gus Van Zandt lives upstairs and is said to pop by often.