Where to eat, stay, and have fun in Portland, Oregon

Why It's Good:

Rain or shine, this city of fragrant rose gardens, daily farmers markets, vast parklands, and delicious microbrews suddenly seems like the next American Eden.

Why It's Green:

The chic Ace Hotel and yummy Rocket restaurant are LEED certified; Powell's City of Books has a killer recycling program. Basically, the whole city is a green paradise.

Where To Get It:

For information on the Ace Hotel, visit acehotel.com, 503.228.2277; For information on Powell’s City of Books, powells.com, 503.228.4651. For information on Rocket, rocketpdx.com, 503.236.1110.

Have a Great Green Weekend: Portland, OR

For some cities it's not easy being green. Not so much for Portland. And I'm not just talking about the near constant drip drip of rain. The first thing visitors notice after just a few hours in the City of Roses is that all locals pepper their sentences—organically, of course—with terms like sustainability and LEED certified. Everyone. The moment after checking in to the new chic hipster-centric Ace Hotel (1022 S.W. Stark St.) the property's "cultural engineer" bragged about the use of reclaimed timber, found furniture, and non-toxic paint in the hotel's construction. In the same Pearl District neighborhood, I walked over to one of Portland's landmarks, the world’s largest new and used bookstore, Powell's City of Books (1005 W. Burnside St.). I foolishly thought the city-block sized behemoth bursting with of the pulp of millions of dead trees would be the one place I wouldn't hear anything eco. But this being Portland, I'm not there ten minutes and a manager starts talking up Powell's recycling cred pointing out that every day they buy 3,000 – 5,000 used books from the public. At night, I found that the restaurants are equally eco-obsessed. One of the city's most talked about new eateries, Rocket (1111 E. Burnside St.), sits perched on the top floor of a bright red certified LEED Platinum building with a green roof that’s home to garden beds, chickens, and its own well. I had the shrimp fritters and tomato cocktail to start, and braised beef rib with mushrooms & red wine—both were delicious, but the view of all Portland on the deck might be the best thing about the restaurant. —Charles Runnette