Mt. Hood Ski Bowl

Experience the excitement of Oregon winter   Mt. Hood Skibowl’s origin dates back to 1928, making the resort one of the oldest remaining ski resorts in the country. The ski area began as two separate resorts Skibowl and Multorpor. While Skibowl’s name was derived from the natural shape of it’s Upper Bowl, Multorpor’s name came from the combination Multnomah County, Oregon and Portland. (503) 272-3206 Mt. Hood Skibowl, U.S. 26, Government Camp, OR

Designer Spotlight: Designer Jessica Helgerson on chic and timeless kitchen design

Designer Spotlight interview by Melissa Dalton, photos by Lincoln Barbour Twenty-two years ago, Jessica Helgerson started her design career in Santa Barbara, working for a green-building nonprofit called The Sustainability Project. So what’s the greenest move you can make in a kitchen? First, she says, “Get the design right for that house so that the kitchen never has to get ripped out again.” We asked her to elaborate on her secrets for doing just that. 1. Take cues from the existing house. At Helgerson’s firm, designers pore over old photos for inspiration. For instance, in a recent remodel of a Portland home that was once a library, Helgerson referenced the house’s past in the kitchen with built-in shelves and a rolling library ladder. 2. Build stylish storage and, bonus, hide the fridge. To balance open shelves with the room’s storage needs, Helgerson’s firm has recently been installing walls of smart…

The New Scotch Lodge, Portland

written by Jen Stevenson When the holiday euphoria fades and January digs in its dreary heels, it’s best to have a designated grey day den to retreat to, preferably one with Burnt Orange Sherry Cobbler cocktails, soft shell crab sandwiches and a single malt Scotch collection one dreams of getting snowed in with. Enter the Scotch Lodge, a peaty, piquant inner Southeast speakeasy by prized Portland bartender Tommy Klus, who mixed and muddled at Teardrop Lounge, Multnomah Whiskey Library and La Moule before opening the doors of his much-anticipated, instantly revered “cocktail bar for whisky lovers.” Nesting in the cozy, sunken space formerly occupied by beloved Biwa, the bar feels like a secret. Patrons enter via a nondescript door at the corner of SE Ash and 9th Avenue, twist to the right and down, and eventually emerge in a warm, whisky-filled womb of dark wood and gleaming marble, soft forest-green…

Oregon Convention Center gets a facelift

  written by Sheila G. Miller Since 1990, the Oregon Convention Center’s glass towers have been a part of Portland’s skyline. And now, the convention center has a new look, thanks to a $39.5 million renovation that reimagines what it means to go on your next dreaded work trip. Craig Stroud, the executive director of the Oregon Convention Center, said there were two big reasons to upgrade the facility. One, it needed a refresh—Portland in 1990 was a lot different than it is today, and he wanted the aesthetic of the center to reflect that. Two, the Hyatt Regency Portland at the Oregon Convention Center is slated to open in January. The Oregon Convention Center holds about 500 events each year, Stroud said, with fifty or more conventions and between 500,000 and 600,000 visitors. Stroud said the design of the convention center is poised to be a gamechanger—when you’re in…

Puppies in Prison

Woman’s best friend is freeing lives outside—and inside—prison written by Shirley Hancock | photography by Shauna Intelisano   AMY DUARTE’S FREEDOM is rooted in Oregon’s postcard landscapes. As a child, collecting bugs in the high desert. As a snowboard instructor, guiding young shredders down a volcano. As a wildland firefighter, lugging 40 pounds of gear up a mountain. But one violent, summer night in 2011, Duarte’s freedom shrank to a 6-by-12-foot cell. Arrested for domestic violence, she claimed it was in self-defense that she grabbed a lamp and swung. Her sentence—almost six years in Oregon’s “big house” for women, Coffee Creek Correctional Facility. “I was like a zombie. An empty shell, with no hope,” Duarte said. “Hearing that cell door shut—that was the most traumatizing moment of my life.” Two years later hope arrived, in a wiggly pup named Sonic. Duarte is among sixty-four Oregon women who, since 1995, have…

Eem — Smoked Meats and Vacation Drinks

written by Jen Stevenson It’s hard to argue with a restaurant concept that promises “smoked meats and vacation drinks,” and that’s just what you’ll get (with a side of tamarind-spiked Thai BBQ fried rice) at North Portland’s Eem, a boozy, boisterous, funk and fire-kissed collaboration between James Beard Award-nominated restaurateur Earl Ninsom (Langbaan, Hat Yai), Matt’s BBQ pitmaster Matt Vicedomini and acclaimed bartender Eric Nelson (Shipwreck). Start the night with a long look at Nelson’s cocktail list—it’s hard to resist the siren call of the Nocturnal Worker, made with Thai rice liquor, Oaxacan rum, banana, soursop and cardamom, and bearing a provocative “limit two per guest” warning label. Tiki mug in hand, dive into fish sauce-doused fried cauliflower and roasted beets topped with fresh herbs and puffed jasmine rice, followed by the sweet-and-sour fried chicken, soy-honey-glazed baby back ribs and sliced pork steak served with crisp greens and spicy nahm…

Wild and Romantic Outdoor Getaways

Getting outside can be an aphrodisiac— turn up the heat this summer with an outdoor adventure written by Kevin Max We know you like to make travel plans around new and exciting experiences in the outdoors, so we happily brought together some of our top picks for outdoor getaways in every region of Oregon. These range from remote hike-in cabins in Eastern Oregon to hot springs resorts in Central Oregon, a fabulous Mid-century makeover in Southern Oregon, a fire lookout in the Willamette Valley and more. Here is the fruit of this exploration. Eastern Oregon » Halfway In a southwest breach of the Wallowa Whitman National Forest and 10 miles west of the Snake River lies tiny Halfway. It’s the remoteness of Halfway and the cuteness of Pine Valley Lodge that makes this a romantic outdoorsy getaway. The bed & breakfast has twelve rooms with two stand-alone cottages, one that…

Best places for a bountiful brunch

BEST PLACES FOR BOUNTIFUL BRUNCHING HUNNYMILK With both a West Burnside brick and mortar and an eastside weekends-only pop-up, this pretty prix fixe brunch cafe makes it easy to treat mom to something a little unexpected this Mother’s Day. Chef Brandon Weeks’ $23 menus rotate regularly, but the format stays the same—first, choose a drink (obviously the caramel hot chocolate with toasted milk marshmallows), then something from both the sweet and savory sections, perhaps the smoky bacon Dutch baby and key lime curd-filled poppy seed crêpe, or the crispy pork ribs and cheesy garlic grits with a honey butter-dipped fortune cookie waffle. 1981 W BURNSIDE ST. PORTLAND www.hunnymilk.com FOXTAIL BAKESHOP AND KITCHEN Part of Bend’s exciting and ever-evolving Box Factory project near the Old Mill, pastry chef-owner Nickol Hayden-Cady’s comely bakery and cafe promises an artful experience, from the gorgeous wall mural to the dazzling pastry case to the plates…

A timber-frame outdoor pavilion draws a West Linn family outside

written by Melissa Dalton An Outdoor Pavilion, rustic and accommodating When Daniel Harkavy and his wife bought their West Linn house in 2013, its 5-acre plot included woodland, pasture and lovely valley views, but the deck off the back door overlooked a swing set. On warm weather days, you might sit on the deck’s built-in bench while waiting for the barbecue to fire up, but there was little else to beckon anyone outdoors. Yet the prospect of enjoying all that acreage was just what had attracted the family to buy in the first place. “We moved from three-quarters of an acre to 5 acres,” said Harkavy, an executive coach. “I always had a dream of living out on a bit more land and having more to play with.” The classic timber-frame home that came with the land had excellent bones, including vaulted ceilings and exposed beams, but the worn fixtures…