Portland, OR to San Francisco - the long way

We'll be heading out in August on this car trip, taking Route 5 down through southern Ore. before diverting to the coast to drive down 101 and 1 the rest of the way.
 
Any suggestions?
 
Thanks.

Start off at Stanich's in Portland for a burger ... actually, you could spend weeks in Portland.  I love that town.

Thanks. I love Portland too, but am not familiar with that restaurant. I'll have to try it.

Hey D15, Mr. Chips can show you around Stumptown  And I'll Show you Southern Oregon. :)
High end or dives?  Or both?

depends on what u like. Got some great stops on I-5 in Albany and Rice Hill and a a lot of places in portland depending on what u like. I must tell u that food  carts are probably the place to get the best food though there are a couple pie places that are outstanding here in portland.

I'm traveling with my wife and two boys. We're looking for low-end, not high. And my brother lives in Portland, so I'm trusting him to tell me about where to eat there. I'm hoping to find food in between Portland and SF. We'll probably spend a night in Eureka.
 
Thanks.

Places to eat along the way
 
Novack's-Albany, oregon
                        Hungarian restaurant and bakery. Good Hungarian food. excellent bakery. All three meals are good, bakery good, even snacks worth a stop. 75 miles from portland
 
   A and R Drive-in-Rice H-ill, oregon- Located halyway between Eugene and Roseburg, Oregon. Huge ice cream cones with Umqua ice cream,a local brand,. over 35 flavors with a minimum of two scoops of ice cream if you order more than one flavor. Nice stop about 140 miles from Portland.
Heaven on Earth-Azalea, oregon 86 miles from california border, 230 miles from Porland. huge cinnamon rolls, great baked goods. A Christian truck stop but a lot of fun

For a good pie stop in southern Oregon, try the Powderhorn Cafe in Grants Pass.

Thanks for the suggestions so far!

Great Route. If you want SF recs let me know what kind of things you are looking for. Former Chicagoan living in SF.

We used to stop at the HEAVEN ON EARTH cafe in Azalea, Oregon, for the past 15 years of trips north from California to Portland.  It used to be wonderful but not now.  We stopped there again about a month ago and were very disappointed in it.  Seems it went way downhill from what it was even 2 years ago, and the prices went way up.   They had expanded the restaurant into the next door place and the whole place looked ramshackle and filthy.  Yes they are still turning out huge doughy cinnamon rolls and baked goods but we will not stop there again.  Another case of expanding beyond their capabilities.

When we stopped at Heaven on Earth in December of 2011, it was still good.  The soups were homemade and delicious and my girlfriend loved her liver and onions.

Canada


We used to stop at the HEAVEN ON EARTH cafe in Azalea, Oregon, for the past 15 years of trips north from California to Portland.  It used to be wonderful but not now.  We stopped there again about a month ago and were very disappointed in it.  Seems it went way downhill from what it was even 2 years ago, and the prices went way up.   They had expanded the restaurant into the next door place and the whole place looked ramshackle and filthy.  Yes they are still turning out huge doughy cinnamon rolls and baked goods but we will not stop there again.  Another case of expanding beyond their capabilities.

sorry to hear this. i know the regular food has always been a little hit or miss. Always have loved the cinnamon rolls. 
 

Eugene is only two hours south of Portland, but if you're stopping here, I highly recommend Delacata.  It's a food cart serving delicious southern food.  I've eaten here twice and have been very impressed both times, even though I don't usually eat this kind of food (I'm more into ethnic cuisine).  Located downtown in a parking lot on the corner of 8th and Olive.  They close at 3:00.  

In the PNW, Southern qualifies as ethnic. :)

Eureka, eh? I remember having not bad country fried steak, mashed potatoes and green beans there in 1979 at Denny's.

It has been over a decade since my last visit, but we enjoyed our meal at Samoa Cookhouse in Eureka, CA.

Don't know how old your kids are, but  we always enjoyed the fish ladders/viewing
in Roseburg-
 ODFW Winchester Dam Fish Counts
Assuming you're turning off on US 199, you  won't make it down to Ashland or the lower RV, so I'll write up some GP recs separately.
 I think you should  slow down a bit and stay towards Cave Junction.
   You could see the Oregon Caves National Monument,
Oregon Caves National Monument
 
and experience the Redwoods
in all their majesty. Zach's Adventures - Boy Scout Tree (Jed Smith Redwoods State Park)
You could also stop at Taylor's Country Store  for some of their fabulous sausages
 Country Store - Taylor's Sausage
 and checkout  the treehouses in Takilma
 Welcome to Treehouses.com
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thanks, everyone. This is great!

Cave Junction looks like it's definitely worth a stop. We were planning to see the Redwoods down by Eureka, but that photo looks spectacular.
 
I would appreciate San Francisco recommendations as well -thanks. But I figured there's a dozen threads on Roadfood about where to eat there.
 

My daughter and two of her friends just completed a two week BICYCLE trip from Portland to San Francisco. They took 101 down to Leggett, CA through the redwoods and then 1 down the coast and across the Golden Gate. They figure they did about 850 miles! She highly recommends this place in SF.
http://www.tripadvisor.co...ncisco_California.html

That bicycle trip sounds like a terrific adventure.

Michael Hoffman


That bicycle trip sounds like a terrific adventure.

Thanks...it was an epic journey. The first five days consisted of heavy rain and wind almost the entire Oregon coast. They pushed on and persevered and hit some sunshine finally in Eureka, CA.  All three had just graduated from college two weeks before and this had been planned for years. Very proud to say the least.

You have good reason to be proud.

Being a midwestern boy far from home myself, I know it is hard to imagine  the immense
and overwhelming aura of the redwoods. They stretch  from the Oregon border to 
Santa Cruz. In my opinion, Jed Smith State Park is nicer and much less  crowded than the National Park.  Our local secret. The Lost Coast is also worth  a side trip if you have time.
(Where Ca.1 separates from US101 for awhile and follows the ocean)
You'll be exausted and won't have time to see any natural wonders, of which there are many, if you try and drive clear to Eureka. Just my opinion from having traversed
these roads a fair amount
Bill

The oregon caves are well worth a visit. i concur with bill that the redwoods in the state park are wonderful to visit.And they are literally just off the highway.

Probably won't apply to your trip, but  here's a story about our food and wine offerings
 Trails to Feast – The New Wine Pioneers - Travel Oregon
 

1bbqboy, You sure sold me!

I just posted a trip report that we did in May.  Here is a link of restaurants on the Oregon and California coast I had put together while planning the trip
 
maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=209442774027186416274.0004be1ea446a1a54de2d
 
 

In Portland, if you want some fabulous dessert, I recommend Papa Haydn.  I went to the location on 23rd.
 
I'll try to provide a link, but apparently I'm too "junior" to have these approved yet, so if it's not here, just google them. :)
 
www.papahaydn.com/dessert.php

Two places for pie--The Bipartisan Cafe in the Montavilla section of portland
                             random order coffeehouse on Alberta Street in N.E. portland