by Ashley Gartland - 183 Reviews - 53 List
Fall's favorite gourd can do more than decorate your front porch. With its warm flavor and soft texture, pumpkin has its place not only on dinner menus but also at the breakfast table, coffee bar and holistic spa. Here's where to eat it, drink it and smear it on your face this fall.
Updated: December 31, 2009
Join out-of-town guests at this elegant hotel restaurant for a breakfast that puts pumpkin on your plate at the start of the day. The dish: famous pumpkin ginger pancakes. If you thought sweet pumpkin preparations ended at pie, think again. This hearty morning meal proves otherwise.
The downtown lunch crowd samples vegetarian curry in various seasonal variations at this contemporary Indian restaurant; come October, they'll get an introduction to pumpkin in a pumpkin-coconut curry served over rice with salad, naan and a yogurt based stew. It's a favorite fall ingredient, served with an ethnic flourish.
Bike commuters and Northeast neighbors will take shelter from the rain in this cozy corner restaurant over plates of pumpkin risotto. Chef Jenn Louis pairs sage with seasonal pumpkin in the creamy rice dish, then tops it off with a poached duck egg, pecorino and sea salt. Get it before pumpkin season wanes.
Pumpkin moves beyond the edible at this holistic sanctuary in Northwest Portland, where spa-goers who order the monthly special can experience a rejuvenating pumpkin enzyme mask to brighten sluggish skin. Also part of the package: a chai foot soak, 20-minute hand massage and 30-minute Swedish full body massage.
Update your latte with a squirt of pumpkin spice syrup this fall at this cozy local coffee and tea house. The drink's a fall favorite for a clientele that ranges from self-employed creatives to downtown suits and skirts. Order it like they do, with a slab of dense coffee cake on the side.
