Michael Novak is the Art Director of Portland Monthly. Over a 20-year career, he’s been an editorial AD at Time Warner and Portland Monthly, as well as an illustrator, designer, animator, photographer and storyboard artist. His duties at Portland Monthly consist of making things look fantastic by designing, assigning, and photographing most of the stories we tell. In his free time he likes to sleep.

Eat & Drink

Local Fermented and Frozen Foods to Help You Hibernate for the Winter

Warm up with a freezer full of dumplings, Hmong sausages, and horseradish vodka.

11/18/2020 By Katherine Chew Hamilton

Food News

Every Doughnut at Fills, Ranked

What you need to know about Portland's first Berliner shop (yes, you want the maple bacon butterscotch).

10/15/2020 By Karen Brooks

Fashion

Get an Instant Glow-Up with These Local Earrings

Make a statement on your next Zoom meeting.

10/04/2020 By Eden Dawn

Candy

Celebrate Halloween at Home with These Locally Made Treats

Sea glass jelly? Boba pearls? Chocolate baby heads? Weird flex, but OK.

10/02/2020 By Katherine Chew Hamilton

Politics

Here Are the Races We’re Clocking This Election Season

Wheeler vs. Iannarone, Mapps vs. Eudaly, Merkley vs. Perkins, and more.

10/01/2020 By Julia Silverman

Politics

Here's What You Need to Know About Portland's Upcoming Election

Got questions about voting in Oregon? We've got answers.

10/01/2020 By Margaret Seiler

Kids

May Your Kids Never Be Bored Again with These Local Toys

We asked the owners of three beloved local shops about their popular pandemic toys for the bored, the brave, and the incorrigibly boisterous.

10/01/2020 By Fiona McCann

Best Restaurants 2020

Malka Shows There Can Be Beauty in Chaos

Call it global hippie food from a mad scientist or a tornado twisting of Thai food and Shabbat. We call it delicious.

09/29/2020 By Karen Brooks

Fall Cocktails

5 Portland Bartenders Capture the Autumnal Spirit in a Glass

Bye, pumpkin spice. Hello, turmeric, Oregon pears & fig jam.

09/23/2020 By Katherine Chew Hamilton Photography by Celeste Noche

Little Joys of Summer

Walk This Way toward Your Own Personal Portland Scavenger Hunt

Neighborhood walks aren't canceled this year, so add these spots to your route and explore the city.

08/01/2020 By Margaret Seiler Photography by Mike Novak

Little Joys of Summer

Organize Your Own Virtual Run Across Oregon

The Oregon Run offers three different routes across the state. But with time and technology on our hands, you can also, in true Portland style, make your own.

08/01/2020 By Fiona McCann

Little Joys of Summer

Might As Well Pick Up a Hobby This Summer

From book binding to wood burning, put these stay-at-home hours to good use and learn something new.

08/01/2020 By Marty Patail

The Little Joys of Summer

Here's What You Need Right Now to Party at a Distance

Celebrate local eateries and drink makers with your own backyard feast of homey takeout, icy drinks, and vividly flavored market finds.

08/01/2020 By Kelly Clarke

Vendgame

This East Burnside Vending Machine Is Raising the Bar for Quick Snacks

The Pix-O-Matic offers Pix Pâtisserie's wide selection of its trademark French-inflected delicacies.

08/01/2020 By Julia Silverman

Hill House

The Bizarre History of the Maryhill Museum of Art

How a motley crew spanning royalty and railroad execs built one of the Northwest's strangest cultural institutions.

08/01/2020 By Conner Reed

Tie Fighter

Our State Epidemiologist’s Bow Ties Are Unsung Heroes of Oregon’s Pandemic Response

“If you can have something that brings a smile to your face, that helps,” says Dr. Dean Sidelinger.

06/01/2020 By Margaret Seiler

Sidewalk Frogger

Portland City Officials Resist Calls to Close Off Low-Traffic Residential Streets

Some neighborhood residents are taking things into their own hands.

04/14/2020 By Julia Silverman

Birds of a Feather

A New Study Aims to Learn the Impacts of Social Distancing on Birds in the Pacific Northwest

Join in on the citizen science project and reap the cathartic benefits of bird-watching from your own backyard.

04/09/2020 By Gabriel Granillo

Coronavirus

Our City in the Time of Covid

Portland Monthly's Art Director Michael Novak went outside to document the city while we all stay home.

04/03/2020 Photography by Mike Novak By Fiona McCann

good hoods

Portland Hoods You Should Know

It's the best time to buy in years. Where should you be looking to spend your money and why?

04/01/2020 By Ben Tepler, Conner Reed, Julia Silverman, Margaret Seiler, and Kyle Sosa