While I love Lake Oswego and often feature its highlights including food spots like my guides to gluten-free dining, outdoor eating, and the iconic Giant Drive-In, I feel I’d be remiss not to mention that Lake Oswego is practically next door to one of the world’s current culinary hot spots.

Portland Oregon has been featured on some very prominent “Best of” lists recently that speak to the foodie destination spot it has become in the eyes of the rest of the world. Sometimes we tend to take the things closest to us for granted but the next time you have a hankering to go out to eat, or get a cup of coffee, maybe you should head up to Portland—it’s only a 15-minute drive (okay, maybe a little longer than that during rush hour). Time it right and you’ll be there before the food cravings get out of control.

Jetsetter named Portland best food city in the U.S. When I mention this to people they look at me incredulously and say, “Above New York?” (Yes, it came in second), “Above San Francisco?” (Yes, it came in third). How did our little hipster haven upstage these behemoths? With a plethora of coffee shops, food trucks, craft breweries, urban wineries, donut improvisers, ice cream experimenters, chocolate purveyors and artisanal cheese producers. Some of the spots they call out are Pok Pok Thai, Le Pigeon,  and Stumptown Roasters. Those of us who live here know that list is already outdated with newcomers like The Harry Lobster shared plate dining, PushXPull coffee roasters and BreakBreadPDX sandwich shop.

WalletHub named Portland best foodie city in the U.S.  WalletHub’s criterion is a little different—they’re looking for where you can get the best food on a tight budget. The things they look at include the cost of groceries to the affordability and accessibility of high-quality food products. Some of the rankings that boosted Portland’s score included the number of craft breweries and wineries per capita (Portland came in second behind Santa Rosa, Ca), the number of coffee shops (third place behind New York City and San Francisco but in front of Seattle), and coming in fifth in terms of diversity, accessibility and quality. Where Portland took a hit in the analysis was coming in as the city with the highest average beer and wine prices.

SmartAsset named Portland best coffee city in the U.S. This personal finance tech company gave Portland its top honors in its third annual survey last year. Influential factors included average Yelp ratings for coffee shops and the overall number of coffee shops and roasters. At the time of the survey, they counted 20 dedicated roasters within the Portland city limits (think Heart, Sterling, Coava and Nossa Familia).

The Daily Meal listed Portland as the home of the World’s Best Ice Cream Parlour. That honor goes to Salt & Straw, which just this past year staked a location in Lake Oswego. Part of its notoriety relies on its imaginative flavors which have been known to incorporate jaw-dropping ingredients into their frozen concoctions, most notably chocolate covered crickets and pig’s blood as part of last October’s Spooktacular Series. Known for sourcing local ingredients, Portlanders found Hibiscus with Rosé Lemon Curd as an April flavor featuring pinot noir rosé from Sokol Blosser Winery while the San Francisco menu incorporated green tea buds from the local Red Blossom Tea Company into its Jasmine Blossom Milk Tea and Chocolate flavor. Honorable mention also goes to #13 on the world’s best list: Portland’s Cool Moon Ice Cream.

Best Life gave Portland top honors as the most caffeinated city in the U.S. It is easier and cheaper to get your caffeine fix if you live in the Portland area according to Best Life’s valuation which looked at four factors: the number of coffee shops, the number of coffee shops per 100,000 people, the annual value of sales, shipments, receipts, revenue and business done and the average price of a cappuccino. Next time you grumble about how much that cup of java is costing you, count your blessings. The average price of a cappuccino in Portland is $3.94 compared to $4.46 in San Francisco and $4.43 in Seattle.

Looking to move to Lake Oswego? Or thinking about selling your home in Lake Oswego? Let’s talk! Maybe over one of those crafted cups of coffee this area is so well known for–my treat! Give me a call at 503.939.9801 and/or check out my website. I’d love to put my over 30 years experience as a Realtor to work for you.