I’ll be off early tomorrow morning for Portland, Oregon to attend the World Horror Convention, but as my friends know, sometimes it’s debatable what’s actually bringing me to a town—the con or the food. And since I’m often asked where I plan to eat while traveling, here are are my Portland foodie destinations.

Friday night’s dinner will be at Pok Pok, chef Andy Ricker’s restaurant which, according to everything I’ve heard, serves Thai food unadulterated for U.S. tastes. Per their FAQ: “We serve food found at pubs, restaurants, homes and the streets of Southeast Asia with the majority of the food coming from Thailand, and specifically from the North and Northeast of Thailand. We do not make ‘fusion’ food here; everything has been researched, eaten, and/or prepared in the country of its origin prior to being put on the Pok Pok menu.”

My number one goal will be to sink my teeth into their signature dish, Ike’s Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings. They’re available regular and spicy, and I assume our party will try both.

Saturday night, the Stoker Awards will be handed out, and my guess is that it will be standard banquet fare, which mean as long as I don’t get food poisoning, I’ll be satisfied. But Sunday night I have reservations at Le Pigeon, chef Gabriel Rucker’s French restaurant, often touted as Portland’s best. Bizarrely, my Clarion classmate Gene O’Nell’s kids used to babysit the chef when they were neighbors, and I supposedly met him when he was a toddler. I doubt I’ll recognize him, though.

I’ll also be intrigued to see what pastry chef Nora Antene, currently a semi-finalist for an Eater Young Guns Award, whips up. That’s one of her creations above—white chocolate and caraway pudding with mango, peach bitters and flowers.

There’s also a triumvirate of Man v. Food restaurants I’d like to hit, since wherever I go, I try to walk in Adam Richman’s footsteps. Getting to Voodoo Doughnuts was high on my list until I learned that the con had arranged for VD to park its food truck outside the hotel Friday night during the mass signing. So that’s one expedition I won’t have to make.

Instead of having to go to the jelly-filled voodoo doll donut, the jelly-filled voodoo doll donut will be coming to me! (Which might leave time for Blue Star Donuts, which is purportedly even better.)

The two other Man v. Food destinations are the Stepping Stone Cafe (with its motto, “You eat here because we let you”) for their manhole-cover sized “mancakes” …

… and Salvador Molly’s, where Adam Richman faced down the Great Balls of Fire Challenge, eating five habanero chile cheese fritters covered in habanero chile sauce.

I don’t think I’ll take that challenge … but I hope I’ll get to see someone else take it on!

And that’s all I think I can handle during a trip that’ll only have me in town for 56 hours or so. Though if you have any other suggestions, let me know!