Gray skies, bright city Imaginative tastes light up corner of Portland, Ore.

The neighborhood, called Northwest, even has its own streetcar, introduced in the summer of 2001, to connect commuters to the nearby Pearl District and downtown. The only thing missing in the area was a decent overnight accommodation. That changed the following year, when Jeff Passadore converted studio apartments into a suites-only hotel called the Inn at Northrup Station. Walk into the lobby and you feel as if you've entered ''Pee-wee's Playhouse" with its whimsical chairs and tables, rainbow-colored carpets, and large jugs of lollipops and other candies to dip your hand into.

''I didn't want to create an ordinary vanilla box hotel, but something fun and adventurous," says Passadore.

A Portland restaurant with an exquisite sense of place. Page E7

All of the suites are equipped with kitchens and decks, yet, with all that Portland offers, it's doubtful you'll be spending much time in your room. Ditch your car for the weekend at the inn's parking lot (no valet or exorbitant parking fees) and stroll across 21st Avenue to Wildwood, a worthy introduction to Northwest cuisine. Chef and owner Cory Schreiber is a fifth-generation Portlander who grew up shucking at his great-grandparents' restaurant, Dan & Louis Oyster Bar. After a stint in Boston in the mid-'80s, working with Lydia Shire at the Seasons Restaurant in the Bostonian Hotel, Schreiber returned to Portland and opened his own restaurant in 1994. The wavy Douglas fir wood ceiling and oversize banquettes, with leaves etched into the green cloth, set the scene for a night of indigenous fare.

Schreiber's menu changes daily, depending on what his collection of farmers and fishermen harvested that day. In spring, expect wild mushrooms such as beefy black trumpets and yellow foot chanterelles, mixed with ricotta cheese atop a pizzetta. For entrees, the tender sturgeon is caught a little more than an hour away on the coast, in the waters off Astoria. Bits of bacon, cured at Carlton Farms in Eugene, blend perfectly with the sweetness of the fish. Wash it down with an Oregon pinot noir, say a Cristom 2001 Jessie Vineyard, redolent of black cherries and cinnamon, and you'll be in a happy state of Oregon bliss.