MediterraneanGrocery Wholesalers in Portland, OR

OHSU uses the term “fully vaccinated” to describe the vaccination status of members and patients, and the CDC uses the term “up to date.” Individuals are considered “fully vaccinated” when they have: a) received both doses of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine, or b) one dose of a single-dose vaccine, and c) at least 14 days have passed since the individual’s final dose. Individuals are considered “up to date” regarding vaccinations when they have received all doses in the primary series and all boosters and updated vaccines recommended for them, when eligible: View the CDC’s information.

To find vaccination options near you, visit: https://govstatus.egov.com/find-covid-19-vaccine.

As the state's academic health center, Oregon Health & Science University remains engaged with state and local public health authorities and health systems across the metro area to coordinate a regional response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal is to contain the spread of the virus, including through the use of vaccines that first arrived at OHSU on Dec. 15, 2020.

Beginning in the earliest days of the pandemic, OHSU activated an emergency operations center that adapted response plans already in place from previous pandemic influenza outbreaks, and this group continues to meet.

OHSU has prepared to treat a surge of patients with COVID-19 while working proactively to contain the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and protect our workforce.

OHSU has committed its entire organization to deploying COVID-19 vaccines, starting with difficult-to-reach community members and underserved communities. The university has also engaged students and trainees to vaccinate Oregonians.

After federal and state authorities recommended two COVID-19 vaccines for children as young as 6 months old in June 2022, OHSU organized appointment-only vaccination clinics for younger children at OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. OHSU Health also continues to offer vaccinations for individuals 12 years or older by appointment only at various OHSU Health pharmacies, and for individuals 5 years or older through their doctor.

More information about OHSU vaccine services and our online vaccination appointment reservation system is available at the OHSU COVID-19 Vaccines website.

The mass vaccination clinics at the Portland International Airport, Red Economy Parking Lot and Oregon Convention Center closed June 19, 2021, after delivering more than 800,000 vaccine doses from those two sites alone. OHSU’s last day managing the Portland Expo Center location was Jan. 14, 2022. OHSU also ran an indoor vaccination clinic on OHSU’s South Waterfront campus between Jan. 19 and April 14, 2022.

OHSU is committed to ensuring all Oregonians have access to COVID-19 testing and appropriate health care, particularly people of color and other individuals from communities hardest hit by COVID-19. Throughout the pandemic, OHSU offered low-barrier drive-through testing that has tracked surges in case counts, at various points accommodating as many as 700 people a day through sites in Hillsboro, the Oregon Convention Center and the Portland Expo Center.

Patients and community members can use their insurance or purchase COVID-19 testing at OHSU immediate care clinics on its South Waterfront Campus and in Beaverton. Purchase home antigen test kits through local pharmacies or retail stores.

Learn more about other OHSU COVID-19 testing options and resources.

If you’re new to gaming, all you need to know is that games come in broad categories. “Tabletop games” is an umbrella catchall term for those typically played around a table. You can ask for specific games based on what tools they use: board games, card games, dice games, game miniatures, etc. Another popular phrase you may hear is “RPG,” which stands for “role-playing game,” in which players enact or embody the characters they’re playing with. RPGs can be a method of play for video games, board games and more, so a single game can fall into several categories. But don’t let the lingo scare you away; the Portland gaming community is friendly and happy to help new players.

The cozy Portland Game Store on North Killingsworth Street prides itself on crafting a welcoming atmosphere and a stellar selection of games, boasting the largest lineup of Magic: The Gathering products and board games in North Portland. Although the store almost closed its doors during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, a dedicated patron used his life savings to buy PGS and ensure the exceptional gathering place continued. This zeal for community is apparent in the generous open-play hours, during which gamers can pick from the extensive in-house game library or bring in their own games — all free of charge — Monday through Friday, from noon–5 p.m. Check their calendar for frequent recurring events and tournaments. If you’re in on a Saturday, check out their painting primer, which provides free paints, miniatures and lessons in the craft of board game figurine customization. Four rotating taps of draft beers, canned cocktails and other beverages, plus munchies on munchies are sure to keep you sustained through all the action.

Strolling through the spacious Red Castle Games in Foster-Powell might feel like fantasy, but thankfully it’s real life. Peruse well-stocked pine shelves filled with today’s most popular games, jigsaw puzzles, dice in every color and denomination imaginable, and even some spiffy store swag. In addition to a robust calendar of recurring events such as Digimon Tournament Mondays and Warhammer Sundays, you can rent a sleek room and/or a Dungeon Master for a private night of fun, or borrow a game from their rental library for just a few dollars. Open daily, the Cafe at Red Castle offers fuel — caffeinated, fried and adult. This Portland board game bar can appease palates of all ages.

Transport yourself into a gaming experience that oozes opulence at Mox Boarding House, an expansive retail shop and restaurant in a self-described “Parisian-inspired” atmosphere. Pick from over 200 games to play while you nosh on a rotating menu with many dietary-friendly options and sip cocktails (including zero-proof options) at long, communal tables, or snag a private room rental for a unique, whimsical space for you and your pals. The elevated excursion at this Portland board game bar comes with a price point to match, but it’s a memorable outing worth dressing up for. Tip for newbies: Worried about parking? Use the nearby parking garage, accessed through Southwest Morrison Street between the Mox building and Providence Park, and ask a Mox employee to validate your slip for up to 90 minutes on the house.

Splashing onto the scene in the summer of 2021, Puddletown Games & Puzzles is already beloved in the Beaumont neighborhood and beyond. Enter the brick building to discover all that this charming Black- and veteran-owned spot has to offer. It’s the perfect place to peruse and play in a homey, inclusive setting featuring high ceilings, baroque rugs, friendly faces and amazing natural light. A great assortment of games like Pokémon cards, indie RPGs, lawn games and more can suit every need. Stay updated on weekly events via social media, such as Adult Casual Commander on Wednesdays, Board Games on Thursdays, and Magic: The Gathering for Teens on Fridays. With every inch of the shop preserved for precious inventory, don’t forget to BYO snacks — and perhaps consider bringing enough to share with all the new friends you’ll make!

Last but not least, we’d be remiss to not mention Guardian Games, one of Portland’s largest retail stores and long-time favorites. Visitors, beware: With over 10,000 square feet (929 sq m) of space, be prepared to get lost in this enormous, well-kept space that feels like a warehouse filled with every goodie you could imagine. It even has a bar with rotating craft beers and snacks! Among its best features, Guardian Games stocks an extensive used game selection — good for the environment and your wallet — and a spectacular in-store display of locally created games like Dungeon Degenerates and Formation for the ultimate Portland souvenir. Stop by any night of the week for live events and to check out the 450+ game demo library.

This summer, a six-sculpture exhibition — ”Northwest Trolls: Way of the Bird King” — will place giant Nordic troll characters in natural landscapes across the Pacific Northwest. Five of the sculptures will be constructed in locations across the Puget Sound area, but one will land near Portland.

The trolls, ranging in height from about 12 to 20 feet, are the creation of Danish artist and environmentalist Thomas Dambo. He constructs them with volunteer help using recycled materials — namely, old wood pallets. His whimsical trolls appear in forests, along streams and rivers, and in other natural areas.

Dambo has already created about 100 troll sculptures around the world. These will be the first installed in the Pacific Northwest.

Construction of the Portland area troll, the first of the series, will begin this summer in the natural wetlands surrounding the campus of the nonprofit Nordic Northwest at 8800 S.W. Oleson Road, not far from Washington Square. The Portland troll won’t be visible from the street, and visitors will need to travel down a gravel path to find it.

The other trolls will be placed in Issaquah, Ballard, West Seattle and on Bainbridge and Vashon islands, though their exact locations won’t be revealed. Instead, “troll hunters” will be encouraged to use a geotagging app to discover them in the wild, like a scavenger hunt, and explore the natural spaces they inhabit.

The troll sculptures are scheduled to be completed in September and will remain for at least three years.

In Washington, the trolls will be located on traditional Coast Salish land, and the project includes an artist exchange program with the Muckleshoot and Snoqualmie tribes. Earlier this year, artist John Halliday, a member of the Muckleshoot tribe, traveled to Denmark to consult with Dambo’s team and create a mural.

“The project celebrates the human experience of art by amplifying the network of cultural heritage between Coast Salish tribal communities and Danish and Scandinavian traditions,” Halliday said in a statement. “It reinforces the shared values of environmental stewardship for watershed protection, restoration, and preservation of riparian habitats.”

The trolls are funded by two Seattle-based nonprofits: the Scan Design Foundation, which promotes cultural exchanges between Denmark and the United States, and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, created by the late Microsoft co-founder (and late owner of the Portland Trail Blazers.)

“For us, there’s a strong message in cultural exchange, a strong message in environmentalism, and there’s a strong connection to these local tribal communities,” said Line Larsen, program officer with the Scan Design Foundation. “Trolls have a huge place in Nordic folklore.”

The six trolls in the Pacific Northwest are part of a 10-troll storytelling series Dambo is creating across the United States, starting in New Jersey and traveling to Vermont, Michigan, Colorado and then Oregon. In Dambo’s story, “The Way of the Bird King,” trolls are protectors of natural life here to help humans reconnect with nature.

Some 200 volunteers across Oregon and Washington will help build the trolls, with Dambo’s guidance, cutting wood pieces, clearing brush and making meals for the crew. Portland volunteers are still needed to help provide lunches and building assistance for Nordic Northwest’s troll next month.

To sign up, or for more information on how you can donate to the project, email [email protected].

Welcome to Dining Confidential, a monthly column in which local chefs talk about their favorite restaurants, bars, and cafes in Portland, highlighting their own restaurant’s ethos and sharing fun personal takes. Know of a chef you’d like to see featured? Let us know via our tip line.

JustJust over a year into Canard’s expansion to Oregon City, chef and owner Gabriel Rucker still feels great about bringing his high-brow, low-brow, French-ish cuisine to the suburbs. “I’ve grown older — as a father, a husband, a chef — so to have some different scenery is nice,” he says. “I live in Milwaukie; it’s nice to operate a restaurant that services a smaller community than just Portland.”

Rucker has plenty of experience servicing Portland, however: Rucker opened Le Pigeon, arguably Portland’s most iconic restaurant of this century, 17 years ago, meaning he has spent nearly half his life on the same three-cook line, on the same corner of East Burnside, give or take a few spinoffs along the way.

Much of Portland dining seems to orbit around Rucker’s principals, consciously or otherwise. Tasting menus come and go; Le Pigeon remains. Every variation of elevated junk food that we’ve seen in the past five years (“that’s been my schtick since the beginning,” he quips) feels like a dot that’s easily connected to Canard’s steam burgers. Rucker says the key to his longevity is remaining steadfast in his personal identity while staying open to new possibilities in the workplace. “Never completely reinvent yourself, but always grow,” he says. “It’s important to have one-and-a-half feet in who you are, in what people come to love about you, but then to always be willing to put that half-foot forward. ... I’m just being true and focusing on what’s delicious.”

We caught up with Rucker to talk about where he likes to dine in Portland and beyond, from the joy of supporting old friends to 10 a.m. bacon cheeseburgers. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Eater: So where does one of Portland’s most known chefs like to eat on his time off?

Rucker: This is the hardest question I ever get asked. I’ll preface this by saying that 12 years ago, my wife and I started a family, we have three kids now, and having kids does alter the amount of time that you dine at home. The kind of restaurants I go to are different. One of my flaws is that I don’t make enough time to go out and eat, but I love it and find true joy in it.

Where do you and your wife go for a fancy dinner without the kids?

When it comes to nice restaurants, Arden is an absolutely fantastic experience. [Executive chef] Erik Van Kley is one of the most talented people. Le Pigeon would not be Le Pigeon if Erik didn’t take my job as sous chef to get it up and going. He’s one of the most talented chefs in this city and has his own vision of unique food. His identity is on the menu, and he’s someone I respect so much.

What’s your family’s go-to takeout option?

My favorite ramen in town is Kinboshi, right next to Le Pigeon, so it’s easy to take home and the whole family loves it. I love that you can add on chiles and extra crispy pork and create your own bowl the way you want it.

For the Milwaukie and Canard Oregon City crowds, what are your favorite places that are closer to home?

There’s this place called Ma-Kin Thai and Sushi, it’s in an industrial business park, and my wife discovered it. They have this spicy basil half duck, you get it stewed with rice and veggies. It pulls off the bone. We can always get a table there, my wife gets sushi, my kids get California rolls, everybody wins.

When it comes to getting breakfast, the place my family and I have been to by far the most is the Shari’s in Milwaukie. It’s my daughter’s favorite restaurant. It’s the kind of place where we come in, they recognize our family, we recognize them. On a weekend, you don’t wanna wait in Portland brunch lines.

And what do you get at Shari’s?

I’m, like, a notorious bacon cheeseburger for brunch guy. I’m up really early; on the weekends I’m usually up at 4 or 5 a.m. By the time 10 o’clock rolls around, I’ve been awake for so long, I’ve worked out, and I don’t need pancakes.

Another great place in my hood is the Milwaukie Cafe and Bottle Shop. It’s a small, they have a little smoker and make Southern biscuits, pimento cheese, brisket, and they have a little bottle shop of cute wines you can buy. That restaurant reminds me of everything I loved about going out to brunch in Portland when I first moved here. Funky, food-focused, cool skateboard art hanging up, nice chefs that are cooking and say hi to you.

I don’t mean to plug my own restaurant, but we go to Canard in Oregon City a lot. One of my kids’ favorite things are the Tokyo hot chicken tenders.

A lot of people don’t think of chefs sitting down and eating at their own restaurants.

It’s a very healthy thing to do, to know the difference between this side [the dining room] and that side [the kitchen]. I try to eat at Le Pigeon at least once a year to remind myself, ‘Oh, this is why people still like it.’

Foursquare

Milwaukie Cafe and Bottle Shop

9401 Southeast 32nd Avenue, , OR 97222 (503) 305-6522 Visit Website

Canard Oregon City

1500 Washington Street, , OR 97045 (503) 344-4247 Visit Website

Arden

417 Northwest 10th Avenue, , OR 97209 (503) 206-6097 Visit Website

Kinboshi Ramen

609 Southeast Ankeny Street, , OR 97214 (503) 894-9021 Visit Website

Ma-Kin Thai and Sushi

4630 SE International Way, Milwaukie, OR Visit Website

Foursquare

Le Pigeon

738 East Burnside Street, , OR 97214 (503) 546-8796 Visit Website

Rose Garden

More than 10,000 individual rose bushes bloom in the International Rose Test Garden (IRTG) from late May through October, representing over 610 different rose varieties. The majority of roses in the Garden are commercially available. About 10 to 20 varieties are replaced each year with some of the best new roses released onto the market. Roses bloom from late May to October depending on the weather.

The primary purpose of the Garden is to serve as a testing ground for new rose varieties. In the beginning, while World War I was raging, hybridists sent roses from around the world to Portland’s garden for testing.

Winter Pruning

The roses will be pruned down to waist height and put to bed for the winter November 1st and 2nd. Fall pruning will help to avoid damage during fall and winter storms, it also offers an excellent dormant season aesthetic. Though there will be few flowers, the garden is still worth a visit.

If interested to volunteer in the future, please call 503-823-5121

Tips For a Safe Park Visit

Car prowls occur throughout the City of Portland including within Washington Park. Please see Tips For a Safe Park visit to learn more how you can help reduce the chance of your vehicle becoming a target.

Remove valuables from your vehicle:

Getting Here

Plan your visit with parking, transit, and shuttle information from Explore Washington Park.

Pay to Park is in effect in Washington Park. When parking, use the Parking Kitty appor website.

Brochures with Maps

Download PDF fileInternational Rose Test Garden (English)2.56 MB

Download PDF fileEl Jardín Internacional de Pruebas de Rosas en Washington Park (Español)2.27 MB

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Tour Groups

Guided tours for groups of are available seasonally starting in the spring, for a nominal fee per person. Contact [email protected] to make arrangements. Please allow four weeks for planning. Memorial Day through Labor day individuals, families and small groups can take a daily tour at 1 pm which meets at the Rose Garden Store. Visit the Rose Garden Store website.

Volunteering

Volunteer opportunities are available in both garden and non-garden work. Garden tasks include deadheading, planting, pruning, sign painting, and garden improvement projects. Non-garden tasks include strategic planning, fundraising, updating educational materials, leading garden tours, maintaining inventory records, and coordinating volunteer efforts. Contact the Rose Garden at 503-823-3636 or Volunteer Services at 503-823-5121.

Portland Rose Society

Founded in 1889, the Portland Rose Society is a nonprofit organization offering educational programs on rose culture and encouraging the use of roses in the landscape. For information on Rose Society programs or membership, write or call Portland Rose Society, PO Box 515, Portland, 97207, voice mail: 503-777-4311.

Test Garden Status

The American Garden Rose Selections (AGRS) has replaced All American Rose Selections (AARS). 2013 was our inaugural season. AGRS has eleven test sites nationally:

Other independent rose testing ongoing at IRTG:

ADA Improvements

The Washington Park International Rose Test Garden celebrated its Centennial anniversary in 2017. With funding from the Parks Replacement Bond, this project removed ADA accessibility barriers from the main promenade within the Rose Garden and improved the connection to the parking lot, so that all Portland residents and visitors can equally enjoy this space for the next 100 years. Read more about these improvements on our Parks Replacement Bond page.

Accessible parking is located on SW Rose Garden Way and SW Kingston Ave. Visitors may park in these spaces and follow signs to the ramp access into the garden. Note that parking is very limited in Washington Park on sunny weekends and most days during the summer months. The Washington Park free shuttle is fully accessible and connects to the Washington Park TriMet MAX Station and various parking areas in Washington Park. Learn more at Explore Washington Park.

Leaflet

Year acquired

1917

Size in acres

6.90

History

Size in acres includes amphitheater.

Portland has long had a love affair with roses. In 1888, Georgiana Burton Pittock, wife of publisher Henry Pittock, invited her friends and neighbors to exhibit their roses in a tent set up in her garden; thus the Portland Rose Society was established.

Madame Caroline Testout was a late 19th-century French dressmaker from Grenoble, the proprietor of fashionable salons in London and Paris. She regularly purchased silks from Lyon, which was an important center for rose breeding. The nurseryman Joseph Pernet-Ducher was called 'The Wizard of Lyon' due to his success in developing hybrid tea roses. Madame Testout was an astute businesswoman and understood the value of good publicity. She asked Perner-Ducher to name one of his new roses after her. He agreed but considered her choice of seedling to be mediocre. The 'Madame Caroline Testout' rose made its debut at the salon's 1890 spring fashion show. It was not strong on scent, but became an immediate success with Madame Testout's well-to-do customers as well as the gardening public for its abundant silky, rose-pink flowers. The new variety's popularity spread to America, and in Portland, nearly half a million bushes of 'Caroline Testout' were planted along the sidewalks. By 1905 Portland had 200 miles of rose-bordered streets which helped attract visitors to the Lewis and Clark Centennial celebration. Portland came to be known as the 'City of Roses'.

In 1915 Jesse A. Currey, rose hobbyist and Sunday editor of the Oregon Journal, convinced city officials to institute a rose test garden to serve as a safe haven during World War I for hybrid roses grown in Europe. Rose lovers feared that these unique plants would be destroyed in the bombings. The Park Bureau approved the idea in 1917 and by early 1918, hybridists from England began to send roses. In 1921 Florence Holmes Gerke, the landscape architect for the city of Portland was charged with designing the International Rose Test Garden and the amphitheater. The garden was dedicated in June 1924. Currey was appointed as the garden's first rose curator and served in that capacity until his death in 1927.

Part of the original design, the Royal Rosarian Garden is home to the namesake roses of all past Prime Ministers of the Royal Rosarians, a civic group that serves as the official greeters and goodwill ambassadors for the City of Portland. Founded in 1912, the Order of Royal Rosarians modeled their mythical 'Realm of Rosaria' after the government of England’s King Henry VII, whose rise to the throne in 1485 ended the War of the Roses. Members are 'knighted' into the organization under their chosen variety of rose, which is then their 'namesake' rose. The garden also features a stone bench honoring Jesse Currey.

In 1945, the Shakespeare Garden, located at Crystal Springs Lake in southeast Portland, was moved to Washington Park to allow for the expansion of Eastmoreland Golf Course. Designed by Glenn Stanton and Florence Gerke, it was originally intended to include only herbs, trees, and flowers mentioned in William Shakespeare's plays. The garden continues to honor the Bard with roses named after characters in his plays. The focal point of the garden is the Shakespeare Memorial, a brick wall with a plaque featuring Shakespeare’s image and his quote, "Of all flowers methinks a rose is best." Donated by the LaBarre Shakespeare Club, it was dedicated on April 23, 1946 - the 382nd anniversary of Shakespeare's birth. In 1957 the club added a sundial to the garden.

In 1967, rose curator Rudolph Kalmbach wanted to establish a formal garden featuring Gold Award roses. (In 1919 the City of Portland issued its first annual Gold Award for the best new rose variety.) With the support of the Portland Rose Society, Wallace Kay Huntington was selected to design the garden which was dedicated in June 1970. In 1991, the Portland Rose Society donated the pavilion which overlooks these award-winning roses.

Established in 1975, the Miniature Rose Garden is one of only six testing grounds for the American Rose Society (ARS) miniature rose test program. The national annual winners from both ARS and AARS associations are displayed in the middle of the garden along the center aisle.

Set in a sunken section on the upper level of the garden, the Frank Beach Memorial Fountain was dedicated in June 1975. The stainless steel sculpture, titled Water Sculpture, was designed and built by Oregon artist Lee Kelly. The fountain was a gift from the Beach family to honor their father, Frank Edwin Beach (1853-1934), the man who is said to have christened Portland the 'City of Roses' and who first proposed the annual Rose Festival.

Awards The award called Portland’s Best Rose was established in 1996. Rose experts from around the world attend a one-day judging in June and select the best rose that day from thousands of submissions. Portland remains the only North American city to issue such an award. In 2006, the International Rose Test Garden received The Garden of Excellence Award from the World Federation of Rose Societies.

In 2017, the Garden’s Centennial anniversary, a construction project funded by the 2014 Parks Replacement Bond removed ADA accessibility barriers from the main promenade within the Rose Garden and improved connections to the parking lot.

Accessibility Notes

Special Note on Parking Parking for cars is very limited in Washington Park, especially during warm, sunny weekends. About 40% of all visitors skip the parking and arrive by rideshare, walking, biking or using TriMet transit service. Once you’re in the park, use the free seasonal shuttle to explore the park.