Triangle Trip

Portland, Oregon is known for its Pinot Noir, fancy restaurants – steakhouses in particular. Yes. Believe it or not, there are several great steakhouses in the Pacific Northwest where they are known for fish. During my time in Oregon, I had the opportunity to dine at some of the best steakhouses in Portand. Below is a review of the top 3 steakhouses in Portland:

1.  RingSide Steakhouse – Ringside is a family owned and operated restaurant with locations downtown and Glendoveer. The place is a bit west of the center of town. You will get great steak and a wide variety of meats at RingSide. RingSide also has special sauces to go with each steak. Be sure to get the steak with the peppercorn sauce. RingSide also offers a great selection of Portland Pinots and California Cabs. This is a great place to dine like a local!

2.  Jake’s Grill – Jake’s is part of McCormick & Schmick’s restaurant chain but it certainly does not feel like one when you are inside restaurant. Jake’s has the classic American grill look and feel with a very local Pacific Northwest atmosphere. Best dish at Jake’s is the shrimp cocktail appetizer. The jumbo shrimp is fresh and awesome. My personal favorite steak at Jake’s is the New York. Jake’s also offer a wide selection of scotches – they are so so when it comes to wine selection. You will also find nice cigars and see people smoking outside before 9PM. Portland allows smoking after 9PM.

3. El Gaucho – El Gaucho is a Pacific Northwest steakhouse with restaurants in Oregon and Washington. El Gaucho offers live Latin guitar as a part of your dining experience. In addition to the standard USDA steaks,  El Gaucho als offers “carved table side” and “flaming swords.” The “carved table side” is a selection of meats cut at your table. The “flaming swords” are kabobs which is also served at your table. El Gaucho also has a cigar room where you can dine and enjoy a fine cigar before, during and after dinner.

If you are not ready to try the local joints, go to Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse for a consistent steak. Portland’s Ruth’s did some experimentation with the menu when we were there. We did not like the experiments and the chef was very accommodating and still offer me my personal favorite: two petite filets with shrimp. It was a good experience overall.

Honorable Mentioned: Shula’s Steakhouse – which was located inside the Marriott on Broadway but recently closed. Shula’s was a great place to catch Monday Night Football. I was said to hear that they have closed down. I believe it’s a restaurant called Mez which is very lamed compared to Shula’s Steakhouse.

If you are a travel expert and are familiar with Starwood hotel brands, you would always choose to stay at a Westin over a Sheraton. However if you are ever stuck at one of the worst airports in the US, you should pick the LAX Sheraton over the LAX Westin. The other SPG property around LAX is the ghetto Four Points which you should not even consider.

So why is the LAX Sheraton (known as Sheraton Gateway) better than the LAX Westin? Below is a detailed analysis:

1.  Room – The Sheraton Gateway rooms are newer top to bottom compared to the Westin LAX. The LAX Sheraton has newer bathrooms, flat screen LCD TV and newer carpets. The LAX Westin still has big old tube TV with dirty carpets and dingy bathrooms.

2.  Club Lounge – The LAX Sheraton Club Lounge offers free breakfast with oatmeal, fresh fruit, cereal, broiled eggs, coffee and juice. They also offer cocktail in the evenings. The LAX Westin has a lounge that only offers coffee and tea throughout the day. Internet is also spotty inside the LAX Westin.

3.  Food/Bar – Shula’s restaurant is inside the Sheraton Gateway. Enough said… The LAX Westin is on par with the Sheraton Gateway bar, but it cannot be compared to having Shula 347 Grill inside the hotel.

4.  Shuttle buses from airport – I think the shuttle buses are operated by the same operator but there seems to be more buses that go to/from the LAX Sheraton than the LAX Westin. Perhaps it is because the LAX Sheraton is closer to the airport. I also noticed the LAX Westin buses are more full as many people use the LAX Westin Parking facility as an alternative to expensive LAX Airport Parking but more convenient than LAX long term parking.

5.  Price – Although the Sheraton Gateway and Westin at LAX are similar in price, you would assume to get more amenities when you are at a Westin. With corporate/client discounts, the LAX Sheraton is at times cheaper than the Westin. Despite the being the weaker brand, the Sheraton at LAX will give you a better value.

The above reasons are why you will see the LAX Sheraton Gateway is a Starwood Category 3 hotel and the LAX Westin is only a Starwood Category 2 hotel.

New York City is known as a great place to shop. If you are in retail or any type of brand, you must have a New York address. This also applies to retail outlet stores. If you really want a bargain and have a few days left in New York after you have completed my efficient New York City Guided Tour, I highly recommend you visit Woodbury Commons – a place where you will find all the major brand names in one location.

There are multiple ways from NYC to Woodbury Commons. You can rent a car and drive North on New York State Thruway (I-87) to Harriman, Exit 16. You can easily find Woodbury Commons after the toll plaza. The drive from NYC to Woodbury Commons is about a 90 minute drive with traffic plus approximately $10 of tolls. One day car rental in NYC will cost you around $80 with taxes.

To save you the hassle of driving and some money for shopping, there are buses that operate hourly from NYC to Woodbury Commons. You can take a bus from NY Port Authority Bus Terminal (on 42nd Street and 8th Avenue, one block west of Time Square) to Woodbury Commons. Here’s the link to the NY Port Authority bus schedule.

If you are staying on the East side of NYC and do not want to cab/walk cross town, there is a daily bus that will take you to Woodbury Commons in the morning and back in the evening. The East side NYC to Woodbury Commons bus goes up 3rd Avenue at around 8AM and returns from Woodbury Commons at around 2:00PM. Here’s the link to the East Side bus schedule. Enjoy your shopping.

Here are two recent posts regarding New York City:

1.  Economic way to get from NYC to Philly, DC and Boston

2.  Where to eat in NYC Chinatown