Piedmont is perhaps Portland’s oldest planned community, with a deed dating back to 1889, when Edward Quackenbush and The Investment Company platted the area and began marketing it as “The Emerald, Portland’s Evergreen Suburb, Devoted Exclusively to Dwellings, A Place of Homes.” Surviving residences of that era are few and far between, but the Charles Crook House was added to the national register in 1997.
Why You Should Visit This Week: ‘To Cross the Face of the Moon’
That’s the translation of “Cruzar la Cara de la Luna,” the world’s first mariachi opera, which makes its Oregon debut this weekend. Opera in the Park Portland will host this production, free to the public for the first time, at the historic gazebo in Peninsula Park, July 26 at 6 p.m. The 70-minute performance features a bilingual libretto in Spanish and English, a full orchestra, chorus, and seven soloists, all of which sets the stage for a “poignant and timely story of migration, cultural identity, and generational divides within the Mexican-American community.”
Eat & Drink: Colorful Cuisine
This neighborhood, which straddles North and Northeast Portland, leans heavily residential, but there are still a few worthwhile dining destinations to check out in Piedmont. At the top of the list is Casa Zoraya, where you can enjoy Peruvian dishes like ceviche, papa rellena, anticuchos de pollo (chicken skewers), empanadas, and chicharron de puerco, as well as a few flavorful takes on a pisco sour, all outside on a vibrant patio that sometimes hosts live music.
Off of Northeast MLK Boulevard, you’ll find Park the Carts, a food truck pod with menus ranging from Thai and gyros to sushi and boba tea. Electric Rice Company earns rave reviews for its Hawaiian hits and a secret menu (the Katsubi, a katsu musubi soaked in hot honey and chipotle adobo has our mouths watering). Hearty and made with heavenly focaccia, Desperados Sandwiches’ recipes range from gabagool to flank steak and are the perfect lunch to get you through the day.
Dessert is hands-on this time; Creo Chocolate offers an educational Build-A-Bar workshop where you not only make a custom treat to take home, you also get to learn about where the cacao is sourced and how it’s made into award-winning confections.
Get Creative: Full of Hot Air? Perfect.
Piedmont’s northern section juts into the industrial area along the Columbia Slough. There, you’ll find The Pickle Factory — a former foundry that now serves as artist studios and an occasional events space — named not for briny cucumbers, but the process of removing surface impurities from cast parts. Get to know creatives like glassblower Evan Burnette of Local Art Glass, who apart from creating surrealist vases, earrings, ornaments, and sculptures, also hosts classes where you can try the craft for yourself.
What do you love about Piedmont? Send us a line to share your recs.
