Catch Feast Portland fever early, and enter to win Feast Portland “The Package” passes for LIFE! You know what time of year it is, folks? Back-to-school? Summer-to-fall? Football season? WRONG! Well, fine, you’re technically correct (and I’ve got a LOT of back-to-school recipes & tips coming soon), but in my local food & beverage obsessed…
Restaurant Reviews
New Summer Dairy-Free Ice Cream Specials at Departure Portland
Departure Portland offers new summer dairy-free ice cream flavors each week that are beautiful and delicious! Summer is the best in Portland, Oregon. The weather is warm but not humid, and Mother Nature shines with an abundance of outdoor adventures for 24/7 fun. This is when the mountains, lakes, beaches, and desert are all buzzing…
Where to Eat in Mendocino County, California: The Bewildered Pig restaurant
Serving beautifully plated dishes made with fresh local ingredients in a cozy, warm setting, The Bewildered Pig is the top Urban Bliss Life Pick for Where to Eat in Mendocino County, California. “This is it?” I asked as we made a quick left turn off of the highway and almost immediately into a parking spot…
California Avocado Month at Pine Street Market
June is California Avocado Month! Check out the avocado deliciousness that some Pine Street Market restaurants will be dishing out during the month of June. Mmmm…. avocados. I didn’t always like them, but once I discovered how delicious, nutritious, and versatile these beautiful green fruits were, I fell in love. HARD. While I’m all about…
Tusk Launches Weekend Happy Hour
Tusk, a Middle Eastern restaurant in Portland, Oregon, launches a weekend happy hour full of colorful cocktails and tempting bites. Tusk restaurant’s new weekend happy hour to help you celebrate the sunshine in their now-enclosed, all-season patio! I’ve waxed poetic about my love for Tusk before. It’s a gorgeous, light and airy restaurant on Burnside…
Jackrabbit Introduces Adventurous Spring Menu Items
Jackrabbit in downtown Portland adds sophisticated dishes to their spring menu. Located on the first floor of the sophisticated Duniway Hotel (which celebrates its first anniversary in May), Jackrabbit restaurant is part romantic, sexy intimate dinner spot, part business power meal hub, and part hip, independent traveler hangout. Dine at Jackrabbit with an adventurous appetite, because this…
Il Solito: the Ultimate Italian Comfort Food in Portland, Oregon
Chef Matt Sigler serves up classic, unfussy, fully satisfying Italian comfort cuisine in Portland’s new Il Solito restaurant. Portland, Oregon’s brand new Il Solito is like a dream restaurant where carbs reign and rich pasta sauces beg to be followed by sips of bold Italian wines. It’s a place you’ll want to leave your keto-paleo-whatever-trendy-diets at…
Oregon Coast Travel Guide: Lincoln City, Oregon
Thinking of vacationing on the Oregon Coast? Here’s a quick Oregon Coast Travel Guide for Lincoln City, with a video reel of our recent Spring Break trip. While my family and I enjoy traveling to distant places throughout the year, we typically prefer to stay close to home during spring break. Last year, I actually…
Brunch in Portland, Oregon: Bar Casa Vale
The newer Bar Casa Vale Brunch program includes wake-you-up citrus-focused cocktails and warm savory treats to keep those weekend vibes alive in this brunch-obsessed town. As much as we thrive on sharing our finds with the world, there are some places that we food, wine, and travel writers wish we could keep all to ourselves….
Caribbean meets Creole Cuisine at Compère Lapin in New Orleans, Louisiana
A trio of culinary influences are combined to shine in creative dishes at Compère Lapin in New Orleans, Louisiana. Today, my daughter turns 11. Eleven! She’s taller than me, full of curiosity and creativity, loves sports and science, and is an absolute joy to travel with. Last fall, we had the pleasure of taking a mother-daughter…
Hi-Lo Cuvée Wines: a Chehalem Winery and Hi-Lo Hotel Collaboration
The Hi-Lo Cuvée wines bring the best of three different vineyards from three Oregon wine AVAs to Hi-Lo Hotel guests in Portland, Oregon. In Oregon’s Willamette Valley, collaboration is the name of the game. Chefs regularly partner with one another to create limited-time collab creations. Distilleries partner with breweries, breweries partner with chocolatiers, chocolatiers partner with…
Can Font Portland: Catalan Cuisine in the Pacific Northwest
Can Font Portland brings Catalan cuisine to the Pacific Northwest and launches an all day happy hour on Mondays. In a world where fast casual dining and crazy cuisine (I’m looking at you, Unicorn-themed food) seem to be taking over our Instagram-obsessed world of dining, a restaurant like Can Font Portland is a delicious breath…
Portland Dining Month 2018
Portland Dining Month, March 1 – 31, 2018, is a great opportunity to try new restaurants and revisit old favorites. Enter the Urban Bliss Life giveaway below to win one of three Portland Dining Month gift cards! March is Portland Dining Month! Starting tomorrow, March 1, through March 31, 2018, several restaurants in the Portland, Oregon…
Party Downtown restaurant & catering in Eugene, Oregon
Traveling to Eugene, Oregon? Check out Party Downtown, a cute restaurant and catering company serving fresh local cuisine. Party Downtown Like many college towns, food carts are popular in Eugene, Oregon. Eugene is the second largest city in Oregon, and is located about two hours south of Portland. In 2011, Tiffany Norton and Mark…
Urban Bliss Life Pick for 2018: Roe restaurant – Portland, Oregon
Roe restaurant in Portland, Oregon offers a unique, intimate seafood-focused dining experience in which each detail is delicately and beautifully executed from start to finish. “Oh, I know where that is. It’s in my old (work) building!” “Okay, but I was told it’s a little tricky to find. Look for this sign!” (I show my…
Bar Casa Vale: Spanish tapas bar in Portland, Oregon
Bar Casa Vale in Portland, Oregon is a cozy, dark Spanish tapas bar with an impressive wine and cocktails program and mouthwatering dishes. Bar Casa Vale If you’re looking for a low-key, hip night spot in Portland, Oregon, check out Bar Casa Vale. Located in Southeast Portland near the curved intersection of SE 9th and…
Sumptuous Seafood at Cabezon restaurant in Northeast Portland
Sumptuous seafood dishes shine at Cabezon restaurant in Northeast Portland, Oregon. Tucked away onto a tiny side street off of Northeast Sandy Boulevard is Cabezon restaurant. A warm, inviting space, this neighborhood bistro has been serving fresh seafood dishes since 2009. You would think that with being so close to the Pacific Ocean, wonderful…
New Orleans Charm and Creole Cuisine: Brennan’s Restaurant
In the center of the historic French Quarter in New Orleans, Louisiana is Brennan’s restaurant. Full of tradition and charm, this restaurant has been serving innovative Creole cuisine since 1946. New Orleans, Louisiana is one of my favorite cities in the United States. My daughter and I had such a fantastic time exploring The Big…
Swiss Cuisine in the Midwest: André’s Confiserie Suisse in Kansas City
André’s Confiserie Suisse brings a little bit of Switzerland – and a whole lot of deliciousness – to the Midwest. In the Midwest, there’s a special place that will transport your tastebuds temporarily from the warm glow of gentle flat plains to the vibrant rollings hills, snowy mountains, and bustling cities of Switzerland. Since 1955,…
Tanner Creek Tavern in Portland’s Pearl District
Newcomer Tanner Creek Tavern offers diners a warm reprieve from the cold with elevated, seasonal tavern fare. The Pearl District is like the fancier, designer-brand cousin who blew into town in the late 1990s and decided to try set up shop and out-stage its gritty, all-business, been-here-done-that cousin, Downtown Portland. I had the pleasure of working in…