Follow the Herd

The swarming of Bay Area culinary influence is traced through San Francisco’s Pier 39 sea lions—apparently the perceptive pinnipeds had simply followed the foodies north.

By Kasey Cordell

Right Turn

Oregon’s conservatives grow a stronger fan base as pundits and militants use red-hot rhetoric to call for revolution. But what will Oregon’s conservative uprising look like?

By Bart Blasengame

Market Madness

From SW to NE, a helpful guide of where Portland farmers markets are sprouting.

By Eva Hagberg

The Rugger

Meet San Juanita Moreno, 26-year-old from Eastern Oregon, who has found her place in Rugby amongst Portland’s premier women’s team and the Olympic US national team.

By Rachel Ritchie

Cookbook Club

Food aficionados share their favorite cookbooks. The experts include some of the best chefs, writers, and teachers in the country.

A Baker’s Dozen

A history lesson in the artisan bakery trade of Portland. Listings include different pastry shops and the variety of treats they offer.

By Mike Thelin and Eva Hagberg

Tools of the Trade

Three different locales are highlighted for those who are in dire need of crockery supplies, such as knife sharpening or restaurant quality porcelain.

By Mike Thelin

Back to School

A wide range of prices, locations and food choices, Portland chefs offer you the opportunity to learn their favorite dishes.

By Hanna Neuschwander

Raise and Write

To increase your food expertise, join how-to-workshops about raising your own chickens or writing about food.

By Veronica Martin and Mike Thelin

Order Up!

Busy Portland notables share their local takeout favorites Dante Cunningham heads to P.F. Chang’s, Naomi Pomeroy goes for rotisserie chicken.

Without Mercy

Lisa Jackson’s new novel, Without Mercy, is a fiction kick back to her time in the Pacific Northwest.

By Amber Villa-Zang

Ranch to Table

Buy your meat from local Portland farms, or butchers, or farmer’s markets, using this resource guide to get started.

By Hanna Neuschwander

Atheist on the Rocks

For more than two years, infamous atheist Christopher Hitchens has made good sport debating those who believe in God. His rapier wit and merciless debate style pack houses across the country. But after his January lecture for Literary Arts—a dinner at Bluehour organized by Portland Monthly—Portlanders learned that Hitchens’s swashbuckling stage persona is actually his soft side.

By Bart Blasengame

Cash Crop

The Portland Farmers Market has slowly blossomed into one of the city’s leading economic pulses, but lack of city support has put Portland vendor’s fees among the highest in the nation.

By Mike Thelin

The Perfect Party

Our dinner table invitees for this month; each has a notable contribution to the discussion. Includes KATU meteorologist Dave Salesky, Project Runway finalists, and late pop artist Andy Warhol.

PDX Index - Do-Gooders

Portland volunteers dollars and time, from Free Geek, Portland’s Ponytail Roundup, Habitat for Humanity, SOLV, volunteer firefighters, and Peace Corps.

By Martin Patail

Mission: Possible

Amity inventor Jarem Frye’s revolutionary prosthetic knee gives amputees hope—and the chance to compete in action sports such as skiing and snowboarding.

By Jill Davis

PERS Strings

The economic crash has left Oregon’s Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) in need of an estimated $1 billion from public employers to cover future commitments to retirees. How do gubernatorial candidates Allen Alley and Chris Dudley plan to help public employees and taxpayers weather the wave?

By Bart Blasengame

Reanimated

Travis Knight, the CEO for Hillsboro-based animation studio Laika, has his film Coraline garnering Annie Award nominations. Coraline is also up for Best Animated Feature Oscar on March 7th, against the likes of Pixar favorite Up.

By Bart Blasengame

Gael Force

The Irish have given Portland, Mayor Sam Adams, an 8,000 volume book collection to the Central Library, The Under Wonder Lounge and more.

By Kasey Cordell

Double-Click or Nothing

Northwest Portland resident Dusty Schmidt drops knowledge on how to win at Texas Hold ’Em. Schmidt knows what he is talking about—his online winnings total around $3 million in the past three years.

By Kasey Cordell

Powder Room

Atmosphere snowboarding apparel, Chris Prosser’s clothing company, is making a move to women’s style this year.

By Meghan Hilliard

Hot to Trot

Hawaii’s Big Island offers mystical volcanoes, all-inclusive resorts, sunny weather, clear water, and swimming with dolphins.

By Alexis Rehrmann

Iberian Grinder

Assemble Tabla Mediterranean Bistro chef Anthony Cafiero’s Spanish-style bocadillo at home. This sandwich includes ham or prosciutto with seasonal greens decorating a fresh baguette.

By Deena Prichep

Metrovino

Pairing a meal with a quality wine can break a diner’s budget faster than a balloon payment these days. But since Metrovino opened in the Pearl District last year, the restaurant has offered a novel way of matching a superior wine to each course on its menu.

By Mike Thelin

Prost

Drink some bier and eat your wurst at this German beer hall, located on N Mississippi Avenue.

By Rachel Ritchie

Against the Grain

Portland’s House Spirits, Clear Creek, McMenamins and other Oregon distillers are brewing locally made whiskey.

By John Chandler

Cellar Notes

Enjoy local saké from SakéOne, the only American-owned saké brewery (or kura) in the country.

By Condé Cox