Alameda, Freemont and Alberta.

We moved to Alameda in May 2015 and happen to end up just between Freemont and Alberta.

Back then I wasn’t really sure I would like the area we decided to rent a house in. I hadn’t spend much time on Portland’s east side and I was hesitant if we wouldn’t be to “far out”. ( funny, right?).

Besides the fact that we ended up loving the house we stayed in, the neighborhood has been growing on us day by day and we still very much like it.

The question leaving our house basically was: “Left or Right?” Which either meant we would end up on Alberta Street or Freemont Street ;-).

// When on Alberta //

A sun downer, a happy hour, a blazer’s game or just a little snack and IPA. So many times we ended up in THE STATION. It’s definitely my favorite sports bar on Alberta. Great game watching plus awesome bar food ( they even have vegan options) and great drinks. They also have a little patio to hang out outside if the weather allows.

It’s packed on game days ( Timbers and Blazers, NCAA & NFL) but all other than that you will always find a nice spot at the bar or a booth.

CIAO VITO is right on Alberta and offers awesome Italian food served in a great atmosphere. During the summer they have tables on the site walk and it’s the perfect people watching spot.

The inside of the restaurant is equipped with a nice bar and as well as a lot of cozy tables, just super casual.

Their menu isn’t super big, but always offers a lot of specials and as everything on the menu tastes A+ so there is no need for it to be bigger I think. Their wine selection is also very fitting.

A lot of times we shared an appetizer followed by two main dishes or the other way around, depending on how hungry we were. It’s definitely worth to leave room for dessert at this place. The tiramisu is killer and tastes just like Italy and we always felt the prices are more than fair and very budget friendly.

// When on Freemont //

Our go-to sport’s bar on Freemont is definitely McPEETS.

A classic neighborhood dive bar, although it has a lot of day light ;-). It is a great spot to watch any kind of sports and just enjoy a cold beverage in the sun sitting on their picnic tables on the site walk of Freemont. The staff is super nice, they never make you wait for drink and they now how to make a good gin&tonic or an old-fashioned. Seriously. Besides that it’s classic bar food if you get hungry, just down and dirty, but good.

LUCCA is also a proofed spot on our go-to list. To me it’s the classic “family-neighborhood” restaruant. Families, elderly people, young couples – we all end up there and it’s always pretty busy, so it’s definitely worth to call and make a reservation if you are more than two people.

A must have on their menu is the pizza out of the wood oven. The dough is thin like to you want a real Italian style Pizza to be and you can either create your pizza and order individual toppings and order one of their creations, which are really yummy as well. The great thing about the place it that it isn’s just pizza and pasta, their changing main dishes ( varies by season) are always amazing, too. I’d call it “italian inspired pacific north-west food”, like a salmon with lentils and tomato pesto topped with parmesan chips.

// The next morning – Wilshire Park //

Most of my running / walking routes I planned around WILSHIRE PARK. A little neighborhood block park located on 33rd Ave between Alberta and Freemont as well.

No matter how big your running route is supposed to be and which direction you coming from you can enter the park from all directions. One round in the park is more or less 1k – so that makes it easy to count as well as to add a couple of km’ / miles to your running loop.

It’s just a well maintained beautiful little park, you get a lot of shade in the summer and but also it’s nice and sunny, there are always kids playing, dogs are allowed too, there are some rest rooms and water fountains if in need and it’s like your little green oasis in your neighborhood. Besides spending time there while running I also went their to do outside strength training and we meet for pot locks with friends or just an afternoon in the park from time to time because it’s so easy accessible. There is also a base-ball field and some bleachers as well as soccer goals if you are ready of a round of play.

If we felt we wanted to refuel after the our run we went to CAFFE VITA on Alberta and 29th. Really good coffee, little pastries and water as much as you like.