Portland rules, and it’s a shame we have to back to the ATL.

For one, we’re definitely not looking forward to the 40 degree temperature swing when we get off the plane in Atlanta. Second, this 630 am flight had us up at 4 am, which is *way* too early.

Mad props to the crew at the Kennedy School for running a tight ship and having a great attitude while doing it. We’ll definitely be back.

Near the seedy underbelly of downtown Portland is a small bakery that cranks out some righteous goods. Voodoo Doughnuts sits just off Burnside, around the corner from a few Adult Entertainment joints. The fun here can be both PG-13 or NC-17.

I’m munching on a fruity Captain Crunch topped raised, and Andrea snacked on a chocolate glazed with Oreo chunks and peanut butter drizzle. They are also known for the Tex Ass — a 9″ round glazed doughnut that’s free if you can gobble it down in under 80 seconds.

Once I come down from the sugar rush, we’ll contemplate dinner.

We’re trying to get our steps in, and found another brewpub along the way. The New Old Lompoc has a bit of a shop-worn bar feel to it, a far cry from most of the larger restaurant showplaces that pop up as brewpubs.

I’m sipping the C-Note Imperial IPA, a 6.9 percent double IPA made with centennial, crystal, cascade, cluster, chinook and columbus hops. It’s a tasty mix of spiciness, grapefrutiness and and tongue-coating viscosity. Andrea can’t past the “smells like ass” factor inside…good thing they have an outdoor patio.

Andrea can’t go more than a day without some sort of chocolate fix. Lucky for me, one of Portland’s local chocolatiers was a short walk down the street.

Moonstruck Chocolate Cafe is a full-on chocoholic’s worst nightmare. Truffles, cakes, bars — they’ve go ‘em all. We picked out the chocolate fudge cake pictured here and a sidecar of java to pull out of the choco-coma.

This cake was so good, it made me want to curse.

Damn.

We’re walking around the Nob Hill neighborhood and stopped in for lunch and a beer.

This ‘hood has an interesting mix of old Victorian looking houses with a dash of urban hipster trendiness thrown in. There is a Starbucks and Kinko’s in the mix, but for the most part, things are small and independently-owned.

Salads are our lunch choice today, and I’m having a pint of Ettinger Amber Ale to wash it down. It’s a Düsseldorfer Alt style beer that is very well made. It has a slight smokiness, and malty character that are right on time. Well done!