The Unmissable Charms of Mississippi Ave
Whether you have an afternoon or a weekend, Mississippi offers a full range of Portland culture.
Just a 10-minute ride from the Oregon Convention Center lies one of Portland’s most vibrant and popular neighborhoods: Mississippi.
Whether you’re looking for an amazing meal, the perfect cocktail, a lively afternoon stroll or a Portland-made souvenir, Mississippi is the place to go. A multicultural district brimming with Black history and BIPOC-owned businesses, Mississippi is packed with an eclectic — and uniquely Portland — mix of restaurants, shops, bars and food carts.
Restaurants are one of Mississippi’s most exciting draws — and, as is often the case in Portland, you’ll find no shortage of beloved options. Brunch at Gravy is a longtime favorite, as are the tacos at ¿Por Que No? Taqueria, barbeque at Miss Delta, sushi and fried chicken at Uchu and the housemade ice cream and wood-fired pizza at Lovely’s Fifty Fifty. (You might recognize Chef Sarah Minnick, a finalist for the 2024 James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef, from her appearance on Netflix’s “Chef’s Table.”)
Credit: NASHCO Photo
The street’s acclaimed food trucks and carts offer even more options. Prost Marketplace, which has appeared on Netflix’s “Somebody Feed Phil,” features a collection of carts that includes the famed Matt’s BBQ and Koi Fusion, where Mexican meets Korean BBQ. If any of this makes you thirsty, don’t worry: adjacent to Prost Marketplace is Prost!, a German bier bar with a slew of beers, both on tap and bottled.
Speaking of drinks, Mississippi is also home to the original location of Stormbreaker Brewing, with a name inspired by one of the city’s defining landmarks, Mt. Hood, and a slew of fresh-brewed offerings and rotating taps. The Black-owned Portland location of Tipsy Scoop will soon serve “boozy ice cream” in an ice cream “barlour.” Further south, at the intersection of Fremont and Mississippi, are several popular Black-owned food carts: the cocktail cart Rose City Taps and Rosé and J’s Cuts and Wraps, offering po’boys, Philly cheesesteaks and smash burgers.
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Meanwhile, multiple patios and firepits make neighborhood bar The Rambler feel instantly homey — a sensation that’s helped, in no small part, by the fact the building is a former house. Find beer and cocktails (and excellent burgers) at Bar Bar’s sprawling patio next door to Mississippi Studios, one of the city’s best venues for live music. Nearby, the cozy Siren Theater hosts some of the best sketch and improv comedy in town.
Credit: Catalina Gaitan
If you’ve got free time between a meal and live music and comedy, Mississippi also boasts a remarkably wide array of boutiques and shops. Check out Rock Paper Scissor, which offers unique stationery and work from local artists; The Meadow, a destination for chefs from Portland (and elsewhere!) looking to discover countless varieties of rare and gourmet salt; and Paxton Gate, an emporium offering “treasures and oddities” inspired by the natural world — from jewelry to taxidermy and preserved snakes to bird skulls — along with fossils, carnivorous plants, and classes on how to pin butterflies and (eek!) tarantulas.
On Mississippi, each block showcases more unique places than the last, resulting in a concentrated, unforgettable distillation of Portland. From breakfast to late night, and from live music to food carts, it’s all on Mississippi.
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