Help me celebrate my golden birthday in Portland, OR!

October 7, 2016 9:13 PM

I am turning 25 on the 25th of November this year (the day after Thanksgiving) and I will be in Portland/Tualatin visiting family. I'd like to do something special to celebrate!

Specifics:

- I will probably have a car, but public transportation-friendly locations are welcome because I like to walk.
- My family lives in Tualatin but I will likely be staying in Portland, so I could do things in either place or anywhere in between. Not sure where yet in Portland so assume I can get to any part of the city.
- It may end up being just my boyfriend and me, or it might also include 10 family members, so I'm interested in a wide variety of things to choose from.
- I'm vegetarian.
- I am looking for something that feels special - a really amazing view I could see at sunset, or a fancy place for drinks, or a heart-wrenching musical, or a beautiful store where I could buy myself something nice, that kind of thing. Bonus points if it involves gold somehow!
- Things I like in no particular order: animals of all kinds, powerlifting/fitness, outdoors-y stuff, live music, drinking, eating, dressing up for fancy things.
- Things I don't like: beer, being cold (based on historical temps it doesn't look like I'd want to spend many hours outside).
- My budget is around $300 if it's just my boyfriend and I, but I'm also interested in lower cost things in case it becomes my whole family.

I have read through the previous Portland AskMes and I'll definitely be looking into the restaurant recommendations in there, but I'm also interested in non-food suggestions (as well as more recent restaurant recommendations, as all of the previous ones I saw were a year+ old).

posted by jouir to Travel & Transportation around Portland, OR (4 answers total)

Response by poster: Ah, I forgot to mention: food-wise I enjoy most any cuisine (other than meat/fish, obviously), but my favorites include Mexican, Thai, Indian, and Italian.
posted by jouir at 9:18 PM on October 7, 2016

You should check out Gilt on NE 23rd -- an amazing vintage jewelry store where you can certainly buy yourself something involving gold! They've got stuff at various price points, from $50 to "let's just pretend this is a museum."

Then right around the corner is Voicebox Karaoke, which is booth-style and delightful, if maybe not quite special enough for a big birthday (depends on how you feel about karaoke, of course).
posted by thesmallmachine at 10:50 AM on October 8, 2016

Portland City Grill (in the Bancorp tower aka "the big pink" building downtown) is going to give you an awesome view. I recommend the happy hour in the bar, rather than a full meal in the restaurant - same view for much less $$$.

For dinner, Higgins is my standard recommendation (for omnis). Pix for dessert, of course. If you want to eat vegan, Portobello is great.

Unconventional perhaps, but I had one of the most fun evening of my life, starting with a show at Darcelle's. It is convenient to the Bancorp tower.

Have fun and Happy Birthday!
posted by ainsley at 11:54 AM on October 9, 2016

If I were you, I'd stop by Alma Chocolates and treat myself to one of their gold icons.
posted by dizziest at 11:39 AM on October 10, 2016