Let’s go back to September of 1989, when the age of the Oregon mushroom hunter became a globally known resource for fungi cuisine. Driven by a skyrocketing demand in Japan and parts of Europe for matsutakes and other varieties that grow like weeds in Oregon forests, a significant underground economy sprang up overnight in small rural towns. At times, transient mushroom hunters outnumbered local populations and with the logging industry laying off its work-force, many loggers turned to foraging for money, making the industry of wild mushrooms in Oregon lucrative, competitive, dangerous, and a highly secretive endeavor. Mushroom brokers were buying $40 million of wild mushrooms each year and selling them for millions more to fine dining establishments globally. The perfect breeding ground for many varieties of mushrooms including chanterelles, morels and matsutakes was created through the unique combination of this region's moist, temperate rainforest climate and the easily accessible forests via railroads previously used for logging. While the 1980's may have been the beginning of the commercial mushroom gold rush, people have been foraging for mushrooms and other native edible species for millennia in the PNW. Indigenous peoples in the Portland area, including the Chinook, Kalapuya, and other tribes, cultivated and gathered a variety of mushrooms and native plants for their nutritional and medicinal value, spiritually connecting with this region they recognized as the land of plenty. Our fungi friends may be king but berries aren’t too far behind. Blackberry, elderberry, blueberry, huckleberry, cranberry, and Oregon grape all grow wild, especially in the summer. Dandelion, chickweed, lemon balm and chicory are other favorites for the curious. As you make your way through eateries in the city, foraging for your next best dining experience, notice how these ingredients take up menus, fueling chefs and bartenders creativity. There are very few places, if any at all, that can match the Pacific Northwest's variety, abundance and availability when it comes to foraging. Ask a Portland foodie about foraging and odds are they’ll have a favorite foraging spot, but don’t be surprised if no one tells you where it is…Happy Hunting

Oregon’s craft beer movement began in the early 1980s, driven by passionate beer lovers like Art Larrance, the  McMenamin brothers, and the Widmer brothers. These pioneers reshaped the state’s beer culture, advocating for legislative changes that allowed brewpubs to sell beer directly to customers, setting the stage for the state’s thriving  beer scene today. Before this transformation, Oregon’s beer industry was dominated by large breweries, and strict laws prohibited breweries  from selling beer on-site. Small brewers had limited opportunities to interact with customers, and this restrictive environment  pushed early craft beer advocates to seek change. Art Larrance, who co-founded Portland Brewing in 1984, played a key role in pushing for this change. He and other  brewers, including the McMenamin brothers, recognized the need to overhaul outdated regulations. In 1985, after lobbying  efforts, the Oregon Legislature passed the Brewpub Bill (House Bill 3296), allowing breweries to sell beer limited opportunities to interact with customers, and this restrictive environment  pushed early craft beer advocates to seek change. Mike and Brian McMenamin opened Oregon’s first brewpub, Hillsdale Brewery and Public House, shortly after the Brewpub Bill passed.  The McMenamins were not just brewers but creators of community spaces where people could enjoy beer, food, and conversation.  Their brewpubs and historic properties have since become cornerstones of the Pacific Northwest’s craft beer culture. The Widmer brothers, Kurt and Rob, also made a major impact on Oregon’s craft beer scene. In 1984, they founded  Widmer Brothers Brewing and gained national attention with their innovative Hefeweizen, a cloudy wheat beer that introduced many  Americans to craft beer. The Widmers also helped establish the Oregon Brewers Guild, which united local  brewers and strengthened Oregon’s beer indutry.  Art Larrance continued to contribute to Oregon’s beer culture by co-founding the Oregon Brewers Festival in 1988. The festival,  held at Portland’s waterfront, quickly grew into one of the largest beer festivals in the U.S., showcasing the creativity  of Oregon’s brewers and fostering a sense of community. Thanks to these pioneers, Oregon is now home to over 300 breweries, known for their innovation, and a deep commitment to quality.

James Beard, the father of American Gastronomy and pioneer of farm-to-table dining, was born right here in Portland, OR in 1903, not far from this very airbnb. Known as America's first foodie, James Beard was also America's first dinner party host. To him, eating was an experience to be had, a way to bring people together, a way to entertain, a way to enjoy life to fullest. The idea of an intimate, gourmet dinner party, commonplace nowadays, was largely made popular by Beard. Much of his legacy can be traced back to the woman and the place that raised him. Beard’s mother Mary, who was a foodie in her own right, was one of the first American women in the burgeoning hotel and hospitality industry in the region. She raised him between Portland & Gearhart, OR, where she showered him with local delicacies like wild-harvested chanterelle mushrooms, freshly picked huckleberries & stone fruit, fresh-caught shad, salmon, and shellfish. Beard's love of and devotion to food began through his exposure to delicious locally sourced, seasonally available ingredients that inspired his palette and his life's legacy. An extremely accomplished culinary genius, he was an author, a chef, an entertainer, a food critic, a restaurateur, a cooking-school founder, host of America’s first food-television and most important of all a teacher - he taught an entire country how to enjoy food again, inspiring a groundbreaking movement to celebrate local, seasonal foodways once again. While Beard enjoyed the finer things in life, he also understood the simple importance of eating with the seasons and within the regions you’re in. In one of his earlier cookbooks, he describes the Portland of 1880’s as a “food-conscious city” and one plentiful with native ingredients and natural abundance. And while he drew inspiration from the city's earliest perspectives on food, he spent his entire life repopularizing these age-old beliefs. His spirit is embodied in every restaurant, bar, dining table and communal eating space in this city. Portland’s vibrant dining scene continues to be the nation’s foodie darling, regularly cleaning up at award shows and winning the most prestigious honors from the James Beard Foundation. In 2023 Portland won Best New Restaurant (Kann) among others, and in 2024 Portland took home Outstanding Restaurant (Langbaan) and 2024 Best Chef (Gregory Gourdet, Kann). If you dine here during your stay, consider you’ve now dined with James Beard himself and he’s so happy you got to experience it.