“Obviously I want to do the food tour on my birthday!” That was the answer I got from my husband when I sent him a list of tours we could do when we were in Portland, Oregon for his birthday weekend getaway. Food walking tours in my opinion are the perfect way to get to know the city, and a perfect activity for couples, and families with kids who are adventurous eaters. As my kids have grown into teens I find they love exploring a place on foot and through food, making this food tour with Side Dish Mafia the perfect way to spend a day in Portland as a family.
*Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that allows me to earn a small commission at no cost to you. I only link to products I would or have used myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. You can read the full disclaimer here.
About the Tour
Side Dish Mafia is a small locally owned business in Portland. The founder, David, is a part time teacher in the local school district, and a part time comic, which makes his tours all the more entertaining. He has a deep love for food and the food culture of Portland, and you can see it in the tour. He founded the company on the philosophy that food is not only an opportunity to share love, but also a barometer for it. He has a deep knowledge of food and the culture of Portland, and makes sure to show you the finest in Portland as you walk through the city. The tour starts in Pioneer Square, and takes you through downtown, learning about the city’s history and landmarks while eating some of the best food the city has to offer.
Food We Ate
Now let’s start with the good stuff. The tour can and does change, but these are the places we visited during our trip.
- Fried Egg I’m In Love – Portland is known for it’s food trucks so we had to start there. Attending a Pod (collection of food trucks) in Pioneer Square, we ate fried egg sandwiches with pesto while we learned about Pioneer Square, this history, and the unique public art program in Portland, evident in this square.
- Azar Indulgences – Next to the historic Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, we went to Azar Indulgences. There the owner took us through a selection of some of the best chocolate we had ever eaten. Then we all got a small cup of drinking chocolate to warm us up as we headed out the door. It was so good, we went back the next day for more.
- Tokyo Sando – One of the virally well known food trucks in Portland, it was started by a Japanese Chef that wanted to bring the amazing milk bread sandwiches of Japan to the people of Portland. It was a favorite of everyone’s.
- Nong’s Khao Man Gai – Started as a food truck, after appearing on Chopped and winning, then being shut down due to new construction, the owner then went on to open a brick and mortar restaurant, but still serving only the same three dishes. She believes that simplicity and repetition is what makes you do something well. David has some great stories about visiting her food truck in high school, but I’ll let him tell you those.
- Wailua Shave Ice – Wailua has only two locations, one in Wailua in Kauai and one in Portland. And it’s the best shaved ice I’ve ever had (My oldest wholeheartedly agrees with this statement). And I’ve been to Hawaii. This one we actually got to pick our flavors the night before, so it was ready when we arrived.
- Rachel & Rose – After dessert we thought we were done but, nope! David had one more trick up his sleeve. He took us for a drink at Rachel & Rose, a double decker bus that was brought in from London and turned into a bar. All the adults got a beer and the kids got their choice of soda or butterbeer. Then we sat at the top and chatted about the tour, our favorites, and what we enjoyed about Portland. It was a great way to end the tour.
What Else We Saw
While the tour focused on food, it was also a great introduction to Portland and the history of the city. While we walked around we learned about the art program, David was great about pointing out some of the more interesting pieces, some for their infamy and some for their interactive-ness (Did you know there is a sculpture that is intended for people to jump up and try to move it?). We also took a detour into Powell City Books, the largest independent book store in the world. We even learned why the streets North of Burnside are slightly off from those to the South. I always advocate a walking tour to start your trip in a city, and this fit that bill. We learned all about Portland, got oriented, and ate some pretty good food along the way.
Bringing Your Family
If you have kids who love to explore food then this is definitely a great tour to bring them along. It’s a walking tour, but nothing that they can’t keep up with. None of the food is so exotic that they won’t want to try or eat it. And where there was alcohol, there was non-alcoholic (and fun) options for the kids. David is a middle school teacher, so he knew how to keep my kids engaged and entertained the entire time. And being a middle school teacher, he knows how to handle sassy teens and tweens. (And no, he is not Markiplier, no matter how much your kids insist he must be.)
I would say if you are in need of high chairs or other special equipment, this may not be the tour for you. Many of the places we visit are food trucks and smaller establishments. If you have a baby that is just along for the ride, that’s great, but know that you may have difficultly bringing the stroller into places. I would recommend for those with kids five and older. I would highly recommend for families with teens and tweens.
Costs
For the cheapest option, you can book this tour directly through Side Dish Mafia at the cost of $99 a person. If you use the code COUPON-h2i0 to book, you will receive a $20 discount off your booking! (Note: If you use the discount code, I will receive a small commission at no cost to you)
You can also book through one of your favorite tour aggregators. We booked ours through Get Your Guide.
Tips
- Come with an empty stomach. You will get a lot of food and I was quite full at the end. I haven’t always had that experience on food tours. We are glad we decided to just do coffee and pastries for breakfast.
- Make sure you wear comfortable shoes. Not only will you be walking a lot, but you will also be standing a lot. Several of the places we visit are food trucks or don’t have seating. (I wore my tried and true Rothy’s and the rest of the family work their Sketchers Go Walk Sneakers).
- You have time to shop for chocolates. There will be a little time at Azar Indulgences to buy more chocolates, but it’s at the beginning of the trip. If you don’t want to carry a lot, take note of the location, and go back and shop afterwards. We actually went back the next day.
- You will not have time to shop books. There will not be time to shop at City Powell Book Store. If you are bringing along readers like mine, set expectations beforehand and make that a separate trip.
- Make sure to share your dietary restrictions ahead of time. David was able to accommodate our dairy sensitivity and does his best to accommodate other common allergies and food restrictions.
When we as a family looked back at our weekend in Portland, we collectively listed this food tour as our favorite thing we did during our weekend trip. We are still slowly savoring the chocolates we bought at Azar’s, salivating over the sandwiches we had, and wishing we could get that shaved iced again. The food was a big reason we loved Portland, and some of the best we had on the trip was introduced to us by Side Dish Mafia. If you are visiting the city for the first time, do yourself a favor and schedule this food tour right at the beginning of your trip. You will not regret it.
Edited by SKS