First published 2012
This comprehensive travel guide opens the doors to a peculiar Pacific Northwest city where every establishment requires detailed symbols to navigate its complex social codes. Readers discover restaurants marked for vegans, freegans, sea-gans, and venues that welcome polyamorous diners or offer clothing-optional dining experiences. The guide maps extensive dog parks throughout the metropolis while providing separate directories for cat-friendly and mouse-friendly establishments. Spyke and his cycling collective have established nine official bicycle rules that govern transportation in this car-free utopia. The book addresses older adults trapped in extended twentysomething lifestyles and offers shopping recommendations alongside school directories. Food establishments range from regionally-sourced ingredients to house-sourced meals that live and die on the plate. The guide captures a city where accessibility extends to skateboards and Segways, where waitstaff must be locally sourced, and where social consciousness permeates every transaction. This manual reveals the authentic spirit behind the television phenomenon.
Genres: satire, travel, humor, contemporary
Vibes: thought-provoking, whimsical
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Pacific Northwest, Portland
Period: 21st-century
336 pages · Kindle Edition · Grand Central Publishing