Cakewalk in NW Portland
Sunday, December 2, 2007 
Portland is an up and coming city, with burgeoning music, design, culinary and literary scenes. It also happens to be the home of some of our favorite visual artists: Amy Ruppel, Evan B. Harris and Trish Grantham. And frankly, it's got to have something going on if Michelle Williams is up and moving there; one might even say that Portland is enjoying the darling-city status that Seattle had in the 90's. But are hip boutiques, cool art and nice city planning enough? No way: take us to the bakeries. Cakespy recently took a trip to the NW districts of Portland; here's what we found:
City Market: We can't resist a good-looking market, and we were rewarded by a lovely bakery section, which had an impressive array of baked goods from local bakeries. But what we found most exciting was getting a sneak peek at the wares of Pix Patisserie (which itself is located in the SE part of the city), a beautiful collection of tarts, gateaux and other French-style pastries which made us very eager to do a Cakewalk in SE Portland. 735 NW 21st Ave., (503) 221-3007.
Cupcake Jones: Unlike the retro-trendy cupcakes that are abounding right now, Cupcake Jones' wares leaned more toward a European style of cake, with cream fillings and rich, ganache-y frostings. The cupcakes are good, but in our opinion, not quite as good as those up the street at Saint Cupcake. However, this is just our opinion; if you do prefer the more rich and dense type of frosting, this might be your place. 307 NW 10th Ave., (503) 222-4404; online at cupcakejones.net.
Ken's Artisan Bakery: Beautiful artisinal treats presented in a large, high-ceilinged and lovely space, with rows and rows of European-style bakery cases that were like boulangerie meets patisserie, with a dose of American Comfort food. The leafy, buttery puff pastry was to die for; the hazelnut cake was rich, moist and crave-inducing. Cakespy Note: the Ken's camp also recently opened Ken's Artisan Pizza; even we know that sometimes you need to eat something savory to work up your appetite for dessert. 338 NW 21st Ave., (503) 248-2202; online at kensartisan.com.
Papa Haydn: This is the type of place that always gets awarded "best dessert"...and it's fully deserved. It's a sit-down cafe and a little bit pricey, but worth it: the cakes are made with precision, impeccably decorated yet still extremely inviting, and portions are extremely generous. The Baked Alaska was wonderful; dare we say it was "the bombe"? (sorry, just a little pastry humor). 701 NW 23rd Ave., (503) 228-7317; online at papahaydn.com.
Pearl Bakery: Their t-shirts say "Eat Bread", and we like that carbohydrate-friendly attitude. Their shortbread cookies crumbled just right, and their cakes are of the more muffin-y sort, a buttery delight. The large streetside windows are ideal for people-watching in the fashionable Pearl district; we couldn't imagine a nicer place to while away a chilly northwest afternoon. 102 NW 9th Ave., (503) 827-0910; online at pearlbakery.com.
Powell's City of Books: Sure, it's the Mecca for book lovers, but we were pleased to see that they didn't skimp on the baked goods in their cafe. Their pastries come from several local bakeries, and included several good-lookin' vegan options. Plus, there are always magazines and books to browse through. 1005 W Burnside St., (503) 228-4651; online at powells.com.
Saint Cupcake: It was love at first bite here once we were able to choose a flavor from the festive rows of sweetly decorated cupcakes . The taste was vaguely reminiscent of the cupcakes from elementary school class parties...but a major step up in quality. As a bonus, there's a cute legend of the patron Saint Cupcake on the wall to give you a little story to go with your cake. Cakespy Note: They also carry a nice selection of vegan and gluten-free cupcakes. 407 NW 17th Ave. (with another location in SE Portland), (503) 473-8760; online at saintcupcake.com.
St. Honore Boulangerie: This place was hella crowded when we walked in around lunch time, and it's not hard to see why. A beautiful selection of French breads greets you as you walk in the door, but we resisted the urge, instead going for the gorgeous namesake St. Honore pastries, the rows of glistening eclairs and a ridiculously perfect apple chiboust. 2335 N.W. Thurman St., (503) 445-4342; online at sainthonorebakery.com.
Sweet Masterpiece: Upon heading back to the Amtrak station to return to Seattle, this cute chocolate cafe was well-lit and inviting; we figured, one last stop couldn't hurt. And we were rewarded, with tiny but exceedingly flavorful little truffles that tasted so much bigger than their tiny presence would let on (and made us understand why they were so pricey per piece!). We hear their hot chocolate is excellent as well. 922 NW Davis St., (503) 221-0055
Whole Foods: A veritable best-of, Whole foods in the Pearl District features beautiful offerings from the Pearl Bakery, St. Honore Boulangerie, and many other local bakeries. But they also have a fine selection of their own made in-house pastries which are exceedingly good: cookie sandwiches with a maple frosting filling; creamy and adorably decorated cupcakes, and scones of all sorts. 1210 NW Couch St., (503) 525-4343; online at wholefoodsmarket.com.
Reader Comments (16)
You are such a walking encyclopedia for finding sweet goodies in Portland..this post craves me to death to do a little promenade over there he hehe ....it is always nice to read post like this..they prove to be useful when i travel..
Great blog, what a visual feast! Definitely bookmarking you!
Great blog, what a visual feast! Definitely bookmarking you!
Oh and I LOVE your illustrations.
OMG Now I will Have to visit Portland!!! Not that that would be any kind of a hardship at all. Thanks for stopping by. Love what you do too! Bookmarked. All best, Jan
I spent time in Portland when all these shops were just opening up! I'm so glad to see the shops and the area are doing so well!
i wish i could try some of them...
i wish i could try those cakes... looks yummy!!
LOVE it ALL. Huge new fan! Love the subject, the text, the illustrations...I am obsessed! Just sent this to my best friend, her sister, my sister...seriously! LOVE it!
God that looked so good! My mouth is watering from the pictures and the descriptions. This is sheer torture when I don't even have a poptart in my pantry to satisfy my sweet tooth!
Oh, you're killing me! Lovely sweets! I'm booking a ticket to Portland just for the deliciousness!
dhangitt:Yes! We all hope you'll use it as a reference guide!
Kat: Thank you for your kind comments...so glad you like the artwork! Sweet!
Janice:You know, I think some of the Portland treats look like some of your paintings!
eb: That's awesome! It must be cool to look and see how someplace has developed like that.
ti: When you come to the Northwest, let's take a road trip to Portland! Yea!
Bethany:You're making us blush :-)
ello: Oh no! Make a beeline for CakeLove in DC!
Wow, is there any place you DIDN'T like? It sounds like you didn't leave town hungry or unsatisfied, but you really did miss some good Portland sweet spots. Next time you come to town, you'll have to venture out of N.W./Pearl District. I'll be your sugar chaperone. Just say the word.
Nuvrei (in Pearl District)
Baker and Spice (Hillsdale)
Fleur de Lis (Hollywood)
Sahagun (16th and W. Burnside)
Bakery Bar (SE Water)
To name only a few...
Joanna, Yeah!! We decided to take Portland neihborhood by neighborhood so we didn't miss anyplace! We were hoping to to SE next time. It would be AWESOME to get some tips or have a companion!!
Overall, I personally was impressed by all of the bakeries above in various capacities; I think my group of gumshoe / tasters agreed! I look forward to exploring more of Portland's bakeries.
A few months have been a fancy links of london foreign-funded enterprises is proud to work in there, I thought there can be huge in the company's development, but her job is to work as an office links of london sale facing the young girl to copy the file each day with my colleagues do not care month children feel so helpless at this time, WEI Qing-Chuang near several months of life WEI Qing foreign office manager mature without losing affinity for the Prince in the office agreed that the Office of the Moon is no exception to this is very good impression, but in charge of their own in the office of status can only sneak a look at the back of the Prince bar links of london jewellery a day every day so over-regard the bubble every morning a few months in charge of a good coffee delivered to the table while they themselves never to say a word
Long after the prince married a few months links of london with the cute baby a few months younger sister is not doing the Prince's Office also opened his own company, they are so lucky to live .......... a lot of people understand why the Prince will follow a few months that I love you when links of london jewellery they asked the prince said with a smile when the prince is only a few months, I understand the heart
I think we do not understand how the prince's heart to read the bar a few months problem lies in the Moon, taken in the Prince sent the prince to links of london sweetie bracelet bring a gift when the bracelet he read the minds of children with bracelet on both sides of Prince was written with the name of the connection a few months there is a two hollowing hearts is very often invest a little thought can have a wish that the world can not think of harvest lovers get married ~