Danielle Centoni

For most people who grew up in the United States, the idea of Russian food usually conjures images of hardscrabble, Cold War-era subsistence — nothing but beets and cabbage, long bread lines and markets with empty shelves. And due to nearly 50 years of Iron Curtain policies that kept Soviets in and Westerners out, most of us had never had the opportunity to experience the culture firsthand and see Russian food any differently. More

The beauty of the Pacific Northwest can have a powerful effect on people. Just ask Scott Kranz. In 2013 the Minnesota native followed his wife out west, took a hike in the Cascades and promptly realized his law career was keeping him from what he was really born to do: trek through the region’s snowcapped peaks and misty forests with a camera in hand. More

Six years ago, when Vancouver, B.C., native Vicki Ng moved to Portland, she left behind one of the most important things in her life: her sister, Vanessa. The two are “just one and a half years apart and best friends,” says Vanessa Ng. So of course she didn’t stay behind for long. Three years later she made the move herself, and the two transplants quickly figured out that the best way to get to know a city is through its food scene. More

Most weekends find Elena Pressprich on the road, heading out from her home in Central Oregon in search of fresh powder, unexplored trails and wide, sandy beaches. But no matter where she’s going and no matter what time of year, this avid outdoor enthusiast never leaves home without three essentials: Baya, Rio and Millie. More

If you’ve ever been hesitant about taking a long road trip with young kids (and what parent or grandparent hasn’t?), just check out @2TravelDads on Instagram. Rob and Chris Taylor’s enthusiasm for trekking with their sons, Oliver (7) and Elliott (4), is downright infectious. They leave no stone unturned, no bug unexamined, no question unanswered. That’s because for this adventurous family, the world is a classroom. More

Rounded hills stained deep terra-cotta red rise all around us, their dry, barren surfaces intricately crackled like the glaze on antique pottery. There’s not a single piece of vegetation in sight, and if it weren’t for the wooden boardwalk at our feet (and the lack of space suits), I could almost imagine we were walking on Mars. More

My kids are antsy this morning. My 10-year-old daughter eyes the little packets of jam on the table like a bear that’s just spotted honey. Meanwhile, her 14-year-old sister has stolen my phone to take a picture of the cute handmade ceramic creamer emblazoned with “Otis Cafe” for an Instagram account she doesn’t even have. I brace for the onslaught of pleas, but just in time the server sets down our plates, heavy with fluffy sourdough pancakes, bacon, hash browns, scrambled eggs and sweet molasses...

Way up in North Portland, where the Willamette and Columbia rivers converge, sits a bastion of old-school cool. It’s a place where decades-old dive bars coexist with artists’ boutiques, where longshoremen from the nearby port sit side by side with 20-something creatives, and where you can catch a live band, play bingo or trot out your trivia at one of the many bars and pubs any night of the week. More