Neighborhood:
Mississippi Graffiti-stained walls and the odd shoplifter remind visitors that this burgeoning pocket of Portland is still in conflict with its gentrified frills. (read more) But the local indie boutiques and farm-to-table eateries keep on coming despite the quiet unrest. Find your happy place at Gravy (3957 N Mississippi Ave., 287-8800), where pancakes are the size of your face, or down inventive cocktails come dinnertime at the ever-charming Lovely Hula Hands (4057 N Mississippi Ave., 445-9910). Shop until your pad is full at whimsical boutiques like Flutter (3948 N Mississippi Ave., 288-1649), then explore tiny but spiffy Video Vérité (3956 N Mississippi Ave., 445-9902), which houses an exhaustive selection of indie and foreign flicks. If you’re on the resourceful side, the ReBuilding Center (3625 N Mississippi Ave., 331-1877) will be a regular haunt—this temple of salvaged building components is always bustling with worker bees. And speaking of bees, Pistils Nursery (3811 N Mississippi Ave., 288-4889) not only supplies local and sustainably grown flora, it also holds workshops on everything from urban chicken farming to beekeeping. Then again, North Mississippi is sooo 2005; a newer crop of businesses is sprouting on its even rougher neighbor, North Williams. The one-two sweets ’n’ suds punch of Pix Pâtisserie (3901 N Williams Ave., 282-6539) and Fifth Quadrant brewpub (3901 N Williams Ave. # B, 288-3996) delights revelers nearly every night, while construction on The Hub building project nearby will add a new Ristretto Roasters outpost and fine-dining restaurant Lincoln to a block that already houses vegan-central Nutshell (3808 N Williams Ave., 292-2627) and a yoga studio. —Elianna Bar-El.
Featured in Restaurant Guide 2008
There are a lot of Mexi spots in town these days that go beyond big plates and tacos, but what sets Trébol apart is an outstanding early/late happy hour, chef-owner Kenny Hill’s penchant for farm-fresh produce, and an enormous, 80-bottle-strong tequila list with more than 10 house margaritas. There are tasty entrees to be had—including a smoked albacore tostada spiked with chipotle aioli and a braised chicken with black-bean flatbread—but small plates such as the lingcod ceviche, Manila clams with housemade chorizo, and house sopes have more flavor and are generally more fun. The early/late happy hour features several shaken margaritas, a steal at $5 a pop, including prickly pear, tamarind and wild berry. If you’re the DD, the blood orange-basil and mango-mint agua frescas are as good as they sound.
IDEAL MEAL: Prickly pear margarita, house salad with pickled veggies and jalapeño-lime vinaigrette, raw oysters with jalapeño and cucumber granité, chorizo-and-bean tacos.
Liz Crain
