Best Day Ever: Writer Casey Parks
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Parks at Portland's Powell Butte. Photo courtesy of Casey Parks.
Longtime Oregonian writer Casey Parks now covers gender and family issues for the Washington Post from her perch in Portland — her adopted hometown.
- In 2022, she published the book "Diary of a Misfit," rooted in her experience growing up gay in Louisiana.
When Parks is off deadline, she likes to hike, shop for plants and watch basketball.
Here's her dream Portland day.
🚫 "I'm famously against going out to eat for breakfast — I hate long lines and eggs never seem worth a $20 tab to me."
- "Plus, I am extremely picky about biscuits. I've only ever found one place in Portland that made them like my grandma (RIP Muscadine)."
🥔 But there is one breakfast spot she makes the exception for: The Mont on Belmont.
- "They have the cutest decor, the best potatoes, and a really great biscuit."
🥾 On most Saturday or Sunday mornings Parks heads out for a hike in Forest Park.
- "I never tire of the Chestnut or Newberry trailheads, in part because something new is always growing."
🌦️ Lunch depends on the weather. If it's sunny, and she's coming back from a hike, it's Fish & Rice.
- "But if it's cold, I'll order soup from Nong's Khao Man Gai — spicy style with vegetables added in."
🪴 After lunch on her ideal day, it's plant shopping time.
- "I'm kind of a plant hoarder, and in a normal year, I'd swing by two or three shops on the weekend."
- "But right now, I have a new kitten who loves to destroy everything living and green, so I'll have to stick to window shopping for a while."
👕 Next up: "I'll walk up to Worn Path, where the sweetest North Carolina man sells the kinds of shirts I like in a store that always smells good."
🕒 Once 3pm hits, she's heading for a sundae at Cheese & Crack — coconut cream pie, sweet potato pie, cornflake or dirt cup.
🍽️ For dinner, Chelo.
- "My girlfriend and I recently stumbled in here out of the rain, not knowing what it was, and I have not been able to stop thinking of the relleno or its chef since."
- She'd order a few mocktails and at least three entrees, then "sit back and watch Luna Contreras cook."
🏀 During basketball season, she "doesn't leave the house many evenings, but if I do, I'm going to go see a movie at Cinema 21."
- "One of the ushers there told me you are ALLOWED to bring in your own food, and this has totally rocked my world."