Rewards Aplenty in Portland

 

9/13/25 My new laptop

I made a short visit to Portland last week, and I have lots of sketches to share from that delightful trip. The week leading up to my departure, however, was taken up with a long-dreaded, onerous task: Making the transition from my old laptop to a brand new one. Typically, this task is time-consuming and tedious but relatively easy to manage. The difference this time was that the new machine runs Windows 11, which added a whole new level of onerous, sometimes aggravating tedium.

By the time I left for Portland, I was in celebration mode for conquering most of the Microsoft beast (still one task to go). Before I launch into all my Portland sketches, I’m starting here with a celebration croissant. By pure happenstance, the hotel where I always stay in Portland is within walking distance of the bakery that purportedly makes the best croissants “this side of Paris” (one reviewer said): Ken’s Artisan Bakery. After trying two, I must concur that the croissants are at least as good as Rosellini’s in Seattle, which are the best I’ve eaten outside of France.

9/19/25 Ken's Artisan Bakery

Always one for further pastry research, I needed to also sample Nuvrei, another acclaimed bakery not too far from my hotel. This one came recommended by my nephew-in-law. The chocolate croissant there was excellent but still not quite as good as Ken’s.

9/21/25 Chocolate croissant from Nuvrei

Some readers may recall my personal Portland donut tour last year. Since the city is not necessarily known for French pastries as it is for donuts, I didn’t feel compelled to sample and review all the best croissants (though if I had found one more bakery nearby, I would have been tempted to call three enough for a proper comparison). I did, however, go back to Blue Star, the winner of last year’s donut tour, as a fitting final reward for courageously wrangling my operating system.

9/22/25 Apple fritter from Blue Star Donuts