as an under-the-radar american city, portland has quietly become the leader in a couple of important arenas. this quiet leadership will bring portland to the forefront of the coming economic recovery. you just watch. just don’t stare. like how watched water never boils, a stared-at city never booms. here is my evidence.

#1 we are green central - the democratic nominee for congress last year won on the platform (against a long-seated GOP incumbent) that he will bring the green revolution to washington and position oregon to be the leader in green technologies. just as the bay area blew up with the dot.com era, look for the pacific NW to be the next magnet for the young, educated, and socially conscious working class. portland is the anti-detroit and anything that’s made “greener” in the next decade (like…everything) will be based on technology created here. seems like “being green” somehow finally made it into the cliché pop culture lexicon in 2007/08 – well it’s been going on here since the hippies in the 60’s.

#2 we are hippie central - ...and some of them finally stopped dosing themselves long enough to develop some business sense. this has, in my mind, also put portland on the verge of becoming the nation’s leader in snacktacular deliciousness. that can only be good for economic stimulus and snack-related blogging, both of which we need more of.

exhibit A - is called cozmic charlie’s espresso, on the corner of 82nd & foster in SE portland. this entrepreneur has cleverly mixed his love for the grateful dead, his desire to make money, and portlanders' need for a 24/7 IV drip of coffee or the next best thing – a drive through espresso. cozmic charlie has recently turned a good idea into a cash cow by offering voodoo doughnuts at his coffee stand.

exhibit B - voodoo doughnuts is a portland legend for its proximity to popular downtown concert venues, "keep portland weird" attitude and crazy good (and some just crazy!) doughnut creations. “the magic is in the hole” the sign proudly boasts. who am i to argue? some of their offerings include the giant doobie-shaped portland trailblazer, cap’n crunch or cocoa puff crusted glazed doughnuts & the infamous bacon-maple log, which is just what it sounds like – a maple log topped with 2 strips of delicious crispy bacon.

once an obscure, late-night only hole-in-the-wall, voodoo was recently featured on anthony bourdain’s "no reservations" show on the travel channel and have expanded their open hours and started distributing doughnuts daily across the city. talk about economic stimulus! i visited cozmic charlie’s for coffee once in the last year or so since I first noticed it BVD (before voodoo). i’ve been there three times in the past two weeks PVD (post voodoo)!

it is only a matter of time before this concept of “save the planet, eat more snacks, and drink lots of beer” takes hold of our modern world and takes it to the next level. i think it’s the basis for the mysterious end-of-time upheaval in 2012 prophesied by the ancient mayans. just remember that the end of time is also the beginning of a new collective consciousness, an awareness of how our love for the environment, equality & proliferation of both sweet & salty snacks and ancient love for beer can create a blissful balance in our lives and continue to power our economy past this recession and into the next generation. portland will be the epicenter of it all.

snack away! #2 - ol' dirty hippies.
guest blogger: tom elkins, portland, oregon

snack: “old dirty bastard” voodoo doughnut
drink: “24 oz hell in a bucket” from cozmic charlie’s espresso

the old dirty bastard is a chocolate glazed doughnut rolled in oreo crumbles and drizzled with peanut butter. i guarantee that you will be rich if you can duplicate it in your hometown. you’ll at least impress your friends. the doughnut itself was average for a glazed doughnut - certainly no krispy kreme. however, crumbled oreos and PB drizzle take this doughnut to a place on the snack meter rarely attained by mortal junk food. the magic is indeed in the hole.

hell in a bucket is charlie’s clever grateful dead-inspired specialty at his drive through coffee shack. it’s 20 oz of coffee with 4 oz of espresso. he topped it off with organic half-and-half and three packets of raw sugar. if red bull gives you wings, hell in a bucket shoots you out of a cannon into a giant net in front hundreds of adoring fans. hooray for cozmic charlie. he’s dropped his antiestablishmentarianism and has found a delicious way to make a buck. i’ll keep coming back.

thanks for virtually visiting snacktown with me. i didn’t even get into the beer this time – reason #3 that portland is ready to R-O-C-K in the U-S-A! until next time…keep snacking!

tom elkins is an admitted snackaholic and lives in portland, OR with his pie-loving wife jennie and their two-year old marquez, who can’t get enough of blow-pops or sour gummy worms.