Best Day Ever: "Wait, Wait" host Peter Sagal
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Peter Sagal runs everywhere he goes — including Philly's Fairmount Park (in this picture) and Forest Park when he's in Portland. Photo: Kyle Cassidy
Keep your eye out for Peter Sagal — host of the NPR news quiz show "Wait, Wait … Don't Tell Me!" — running around Portland.
What's happening: He's in town for a sold-out show at the Schnitz Thursday, but he's definitely getting a run in.
- Because Forest Park is his favorite place to run in any city in the world.
We caught up with Peter via email — although we'd like to think we could keep up with him on the trail — to find out what else he likes to do when he comes through Stumptown.
- You can also see how Peter's best Portland day stacks up against his Best Day in Chicago, his hometown.
When in Portland, Peter's dream day looks like this:
👟 First thing: "The only downside to running in Forest Park, my single favorite urban running destination in the world, is that I don't get to run the bridge loops downtown — my fourth or fifth favorite urban run."
- "It's been demoted from No. 2 because of all the scooters."
☕ Breakfast: "My one Portland apostasy is I'm not a fan of Voodoo Donuts, so I'd probably just get a coffee and watch the people in Pioneer Square."
- "If it's Saturday, I'd go to the Saturday market, hopefully to find that person selling the delicious chocolate spread I bought there in 2011 that the TSA then seized when I tried to bring it on my flight home. A SPREAD IS NOT A LIQUID."
😋 Lunch: "Food trucks! Well, I wouldn't eat a food truck, I'd find one that seemed interesting, authentic or both and order something I've never had before."
- "If it's my One Perfect Day, it's not raining, so I'm eating outside, maybe in front of the Art Museum in the South Park Blocks."
📚 Free time: "I believe it's a federal law that on every visit to Portland I have to spend a minimum of two hours and a hundred dollars at Powell's City of Books."
- "It may not be, but I'd better do it anyway just to be on the safe side."
🍨 Dinner: "I'm still not over the fact that Pok Pok, purveyor of one of the single greatest meals I've ever had, is no more. And then I found out my OTHER favorite restaurant in Portland, the Country Cat, is now only at the airport. My God, people, what's happening here?"
- "So, basically, I'm at a loss. However, wherever I end up dining, I'm going to Salt and Straw for dessert. Even though they've gone national."
🎟️ After the show: "[Most Interesting Man in the World Voice] I rarely go to strip clubs, but when I do, it's Mary's Club. Family owned! Craft beers! They provide health benefits to the dancers (or so I was once told by the hostess!)"