I’ve always had a soft spot for downtown Vancouver. Seriously, if you haven’t been up there, it’s great. There’s a big farmers market on Saturdays, Esther Short Park is a treasure, and they just put serious money into making its waterfront on the Columbia 10 times cooler than ours.
The only downside? Until recently, the food sucked. I worked as a reporter for the Columbian for a couple of years in my mid-20s, and things were pretty bleak come lunchtime. Things have changed—Vancouver is becoming reliably more liberal in its voting patterns, and there are a handful of spots that are destination-worthy for even the most jaded Portland diners.
Of these, the breakaway hit is Little Conejo, a taco and Mezcal-heavy spot co-owned by former Nodoguro sous chef Mark Wooten and former Noble Rot bartender and farmer Mychal Dynes.
