Categories > Guides and Tips
How to Explore Crestwood, Portland Like a Local
- Grab a plate at Buster’s Texas-Style Barbecue
- Try out Egyptian dishes at Halal Brother
- Taste authentic Japanese at SHO | Japanese
- Get your caffeine fix at Black Rock Coffee Bar
- Purchase rare items at Barbur World Foods
- Savor authentic Thai cuisine at Thai Orchid Portland
- Buy organically grown flowers at Blooming Porch Flower Farm and Design Studio
- Get your hands on some high quality Cannabis at Green Goddess Remedies
- Take a breather at Dickinson Park & Woods
- Go on a peaceful hike at Woods Memorial Natural Area
- Solve exciting puzzles at Escapism: The Ritual Room Escape Room
With numerous quality restaurants and exciting activities to indulge in, it’s really no wonder locals and tourists both flock to Crestwood regularly. Want to see it for yourself? You’re on the right page, then!
Put on your walking shoes and let’s discover the local gems and hidden treasures that we think make the neighborhood a must-visit destination. Here are our favorite things to do in the area!
1. Grab a plate at Buster’s Texas-Style Barbecue
Website: https://www.bustersbarbecue.com/milwaukieoregonlocation.asp
Address: 17883 SE McLoughlin Blvd, Portland, OR
Contact details: +1 503-652-1076
Operating hours:
- Monday to Sunday – 11 AM to 9 PM
If you’re craving some authentic Texan barbecue, this one’s the real deal! Buster’s Texas-Style Barbecue cooks their steaks for 12 hours until each one is done to perfection.
A lot of locals who frequent here are a fan of their pulled pork, tender beef brisket, turkey breast, and more. Everything we’ve tried on their menu has been nothing but splendid, so we definitely can’t recommend it enough.
Pro tip:
Here’s how our orders at Buster’s Texas-Style Barbecue usually look like: baby back pork ribs, pork loin, Steve’s custom link sausage, and texas pecan pie. We usually share most of the dishes as a group, so we can try as many as possible! After all, their portions are quite generous that you’ll be so full with just one dish.
2. Try out Egyptian dishes at Halal Brother
Website: https://www.halalbrother.com
Address: 10075 SW Barbur Blvd set6B, 10075 SW Barbur Blvd, Portland, OR
Contact details:+ 1 503-719-7906
Operating hours:
- Monday – closed
- Tuesday to Thursday, Sunday 11 AM to 7 PM
- Friday & Saturday 11 AM to 9 PM
While Crestwood is not that big a neighborhood, you’ll see that they have a lot of worthy restaurant options. Halal Brother is no exception.
A lot of what they have for sale is something you won’t be able to see in the city. That’s why if you’re looking for the perfect opportunity to try out Egyptian dishes, snacks, and such, you know where to go next.
Pro tip:
You should try their Egyptian pie with sausage and romy cheese with pastrami. Just a warning though: it’s impossible not to come back for seconds!
3. Taste authentic Japanese at SHO | Japanese
Website: https://www.shorestaurant.com
Address: 10100 SW Barbur Blvd, Portland, OR
Contact details: +1 503-977-3100
Operating hours:
- Monday – Friday – 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM; 4 PM to 8:30 PM
- Saturday & Sunday – 11:30 AM to 8:30 PM
Are you looking for an authentic Japanese restaurant in the city? Try out Sho!
They offer a lot of food options like small plates, bento, sushi, curry rice, ramen, rice meals, and udon. Basically, you can get the most well-known Japanese dishes all in one spot.
You can even make your own bento and sushi combination, so you have the chance to order something that would best suit your taste. Don’t forget to try their tempura ice cream!
Pro tip:
Sometimes they host events like Sake tasting. Make sure to check their website every now and then if you want to attend one!
4. Get your caffeine fix at Black Rock Coffee Bar
Website: https://br.coffee
Address: 8128 SE Powell Blvd, Portland, OR
Contact details: +1 971-272-8952
Operating hours:
- Monday to Sunday – 5 AM to 7 PM
An article about what to do in a neighborhood in Portland feels incomplete without adding a coffee shop! We say that because there are a lot of great coffee options all around the city.
A lot of what they offer on the menu are the more classic options like latte, drip coffee, americano, caramel mocha, and such.
What we like the most though are their syrup flavors because they have tons for you to choose from. So if you want an exciting twist to your drinks, you can ask for an extra pump of something or a drizzle of one of their three sauces – caramel, chocolate, and white chocolate.
Pro tip:Are you looking for a drink with a kick enough to make you feel like you can run a full marathon? You have to try the I.V.! It has Irish cream, Vanilla Breve, and…drum roll please – 6 shots of espresso! If that doesn’t help you stay awake, we don’t know what will!
5. Purchase rare items at Barbur World Foods
Website: https://www.worldfoodsportland.com
Address: 9845 SW Barbur Blvd, Portland, OR
Contact details: +1 503-244-0670
Operating hours:
- Monday to Sunday – 8 AM to 10 PM
If you’re waiting for the perfect chance to dabble in Middle Eastern cuisine, this is your sign to go for it!
At Barbur World Foods, you’ll be able to shop for ingredients and other food items that you won’t see in usual groceries around the city, or in the whole of Oregon for that matter.
It’s because most of their selections are imported from different parts of the globe. From 50 different countries, in fact!
Pro tip:
You shouldn’t miss trying out their deli. They serve amazing and fresh food. We recommend getting their falafel with tahini, but we have a strong feeling that you’d like all the other options as well.
6. Savor authentic Thai cuisine at Thai Orchid Portland
Image from Thai Orchid Portland
Website: https://www.thaiorchidinportland.com
Address: 10075 SW Barbur Blvd #1, Portland, OR
Contact details: +1 503-452-2544
Operating hours:
- Monda to Thursday – 11 AM to 9 PM
Another thing we like about the Crestwood neighborhood is that it also has a pretty good Thai restaurant option. To be honest, a lot of the foodies here at Rip City Review are obsessed with Thai food.
If you were to ask us to list the best Thai restaurants in Portland, it would make it to our list. They serve a lot of popular Thai dishes like tom yum soup, lemongrass chicken, pad thai, etc.
Pro tip:
If you’re someone trying out Thai food for the first time, we also recommend trying out the popular dishes we stated above. However, if you want to go on a more adventurous route, we suggest tom kha soup and the rad nha. If you’re craving something sweet, definitely try their sweet rice with coconut milk.
7. Buy organically grown flowers at Blooming Porch Flower Farm and Design Studio
Website: https://bloomingporch.square.site
Address: 9923 SW 55th Ave, Portland, OR
Contact details: +1 971-335-2112
Operating hours:
- Monday to Friday – 9 AM to 5 PM
- Saturday & Sunday – 9 AM to 4 PM
You can make your loved one smile by getting them flowers to let them know you thought about them. Fortunately, there’s a beautiful flower shop in the Crestwood neighborhood that can help you translate how you feel.
Blooming Porch Flower Farm and Design Studio makes a lot of lovely bouquets with flowers that are grown organically. This means that they weren’t sprayed with any pesticides and herbicides.
Pro tip:
If you want to make buying flowers a weekly habit, they have subscription options you can purchase such as 5, 10, and even 20 weeks of flowers.
8. Get your hands on some high quality Cannabis at Green Goddess Remedies
Website: https://greengoddesspdx.com
Address: 5435 SW Taylors Ferry Rd, Portland, OR
Contact details: +1 503-764-9000
Operating hours:
- Monday to Saturday – 10 AM to 8 PM
One of the best things about Portland is that Cannabis is completely legal. That’s why you would see a lot of dispensaries all over the city selling high-quality yet affordable weed.
If you’re in Crestwood, the Green Goddess Remedies is a dispensary we highly recommend.
We find it quite convenient that their menu is easily accessible (some dispensaries’ menus aren’t). That’s why you can go to their shop already with an idea on what to purchase.
They have numerous options like Sativa, CBD, Indica and Hybrid – just like what you’d see in any other stores. However, Green Goddess Remedies has a generous variety under edibles, extracts, tinctures, vapes, etc.
Pro tip:
While looking at what they have available on their website, you can filter what’s perfect for you depending on how you want to get high. Are you going to hang out with your friends and smoke a joint? Do you want to sleep better or get rid of the anxiety? They have plenty of suggestions for that.
9. Take a breather at Dickinson Park & Woods
Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/LEGBU3DF9ejR3tHy8
Address: SW 55th Ave, Portland, OR
Contact details: +1 503-823-2525
Operating hours:
- Monday to Sunday – 5 AM to 12 AM
Price: Free
Although there are much bigger parks with nicer facilities in Portland, we’d still say that Dickinson Park & Woods is worth the visit if you’re in the Crestwood neighborhood.
There’s a uniquely modern-looking playground where you can take your kids to and it also offers a fantastic view that not a lot know about. There are usually no crowds, so the area is quite serene.
Pro tip:
While you’re in the area, we highly suggest stopping by Yalla, a restaurant that serves delicious Mediterranean dishes. Their herbed rigatoni and burnt beef are to die for! It’s an easy 5-minute car ride, so you’ll get there in no time. For directions on how to get there, you can consult Google Maps.
10. Go on a peaceful hike at Woods Memorial Natural Area
Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/Cx88Uyiw2Mg88CQC6
Address: 9550 SW Wood Pkwy, Portland, OR
Contact details: +1 503-823-7529
Operating hours:
- Monday to Sunday – 6 AM to 8 PM
What a lot of people don’t expect about Portland is the number of spots in the city you can hike in. If you’re in Crestwood, we suggest checking out Woods Memorial Natural Area.
It’s a quiet trail that’s home to a lot of wildlife, so you can expect to see some here. It’s a great place for nature-lovers.
Pro tips:
- The path in Woods Memorial would take you to a 2.3-mile hike, so it should be relatively quick and easy.
- We recommend going here around April to September, if you want to experience everything in full bloom.
11. Solve exciting puzzles at Escapism: The Ritual Room Escape Room
Website: https://escapismportland.com
Address: 10505 SW Barbur Blvd #302a, Portland, OR
Contact details: +1 503-850-8148
Operating hours:
- Monday to Sunday – 10 AM to 9:30 PM
Here’s an exciting and interesting way to spend your time here at Crestwood – escape rooms!
The Escapism has seven rooms, all of which have different levels of difficulty. If you’re up for a challenge, try one of their most challenging rooms which is The Wizard’s Lair.
Basically, you just have to figure out answers to several clues and challenges to be able to find the wizard and take him to his apprentice.
Pro tip:
Note that most rooms require at least 2 people, with 10 being the maximum number. Just something to keep in mind in case you think you can take on most of the rooms all by your lonesome or with an extremely large group.
