BEST PAD THAI Pad Thai Kitchen
2309 SE Belmont St / 503.232.8766 Pad Thai Kitchen makes Portland’s best pad thai because of course it does. It’d have to change the name if it didn’t. Runner Up:
E-San Thai Cuisine 133 SW 2nd Ave / 503.223.4090 e-santhai.com Third Place:
Cha’ba Thai Two locations. chabathaipdx.com
BEST PHO Pho Van
Three locations. phovanrestaurant.com Beginning on Southeast 82nd Avenue in 1992, Pho Van has been serving pho since before many of us knew what pho was. Runner-Up:
Lúc Lác Vietnamese Kitchen 835 SW 2nd Ave / 503.222.0047 luclackitchen.com Third Place:
Pho Hung Two locations.
BEST TERIYAKI Du’s Grill
5365 NE Sandy Blvd / 503.284.1773 dusgrill.com There aren’t any frills about this small teriyaki shack on Sandy Boulevard: just pick a meat and start munching away on this grill-kissed, garlic-ginger perfection on rice. Runner-Up:
Ate-Oh-Ate 2454 E Burnside St / 503.445.6101 ate-oh-ate.com Third Place:
Noho’s Hawaiian Cafe Two locations. nohos.com
Third Place:
Henry Higgins Boiled Bagels 6420 SE Foster Rd / 971.271.8613 hhboiledbagels.com
Third Place:
BEST WINGS Fire on the Mountain
Three locations. portlandwings.com While wings are on nearly every brewery menu, Fire on the Mountain took a decidedly different route to this destination: It began as a wings joint that expanded into a brewery. Try the Caribbean Jerk. Or the spicy peanut. Or el Jefe. Who are we kidding? Try them all. Runner-Up:
Pok Pok 3226 SE Division St / 503.232.1387 pokpokpdx.com Third Place:
NEPO 42 5403 NE 42nd Ave / 503.288.8080 nepo42.com
BEST CHOWDER Salty’s on the Columbia
3839 NE Marine Dr / 503.288.4444 saltys.com
OX Restaurant 2225 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd 503.284.3366 / oxpdx.com Third Place:
Hawthorne Fish House 4343 SE Hawthorne Blvd 503.548.4434 corbettfishhouse.com/hawthornefish-house
Omelets are a mother’s way of saying that she truly loves you. The omelet du jour curated from mothers everywhere is Mother’s way of saying she loves Portland.
Spielman’s signature sourdough bagels are covered with enough seeds to make a loaf of Dave’s Killer Bread blush. Runner-Up:
Bowery Bagels 310 NW Broadway / 503.227.6674 bowerybagels.com
Runner-Up:
Jam on Hawthorne 2239 SE Hawthorne Blvd 503.234.4790 jamonhawthorne.com
The spiritual sister of Best Pad Thaiwinner Pad Thai Kitchen, Hot Pot City is fairly straight forward: you get a burner, some broth, a wealth of meat, vegetable and vegetable offerings and, baby, you’ve got a hot pot going. Runner-Up:
Beijing Hot Pot 2768 SE 82nd Ave / 503.774.2525 thebeijinghotpot.com Third Place:
Good Taste Noodle House 7525 SE Tualatin Valley Hwy, Hillsboro, OR / 503.718.7452 goodtastenoodlehouse.com
Runner-Up:
Miho Izakaya 4057 N Interstate Ave / 503.719.6152 mihopdx.com Third Place:
Tanuki 8029 SE Stark St / tanukipdx.com
BEST DONUT
Blue Star Donuts
Third Place:
Missionary Chocolates 2712 NE Glisan St / 503.206.8439 missionarychocolates.com
BEST PIE Lauretta Jean’s
Two locations. laurettajeans.com
Unlike some of the city’s other notable doughnut makers, Blue Star doesn’t rely on kitsch or stale cereal to sell doughnuts. Blue Star’s secret is buttery brioche.
Piemaker Kate McMillen learned everything she knows about pie making from her grandmother, the titular Lauretta Jean. Let’s just say there’s a reason why Willamette Week dubbed her the “Queen of Crusts.”
Runner-Up:
Pip’s Original Doughnuts 4759 NE Fremont St / 503.206.8692 facebook.com/PipsOriginal Third Place:
Tonallis Donuts & Cream 2805 NE Alberta St / 503.284.4510
Runner-Up:
Pacific Pie Co. Two locations / pacificpie.com Third Place:
Random Order Coffeehouse 1800 NE Alberta St / 971.340.6995 randomordercoffee.com
BEST BLOODY MARY Tasty n Sons
3808 N Williams Ave / 503.621.1400 tastynsons.com
Two locations. olympiaprovisions.com
These fatty, salty, sometimes spicy cured sausages are the platonic ideal of what salame, chorizo and loukaniko can be. Runner-Up:
Runner-Up:
Alma Chocolate 140 NE 28th Ave / 503.517.0262 almachocolate.com
Multiple locations. bluestardonuts.com
Olympia Provisions
BEST ICE CREAM
The Bloody Mary is the rarely mentioned key to a good brunch spot. Tasty n Sons’ mary menu goes five large with Asian-inspired Dim Summore standing out with its Srirachay goodness. Runner-Up:
Salt & Straw
Third Place:
Multiple locations. saltandstraw.com
The Country Cat Dinner House 7937 SE Stark St / 503.408.1414 thecountrycat.net Third Place:
BEST FISH & CHIPS
Fish sauce, dill pickles and olive oil aren’t the first flavoring agents that come to mind when you think of ice cream, but don’t tell that to Salt & Straw, Portland’s most popular and adventurous ice cream company.
Edelweiss Sausage & Delicatessen 3119 SE 12th Ave / 503.238.4411 edelweissdeli.com
Horse Brass Pub
Runner-Up:
Holman’s Bar & Grill 15 SE 28th Ave / 503.231.1093 holmanspdx.com
BEST MARGARITA ¿Por Que No?
4534 SE Belmont St / 503.232.2202 horsebrass.com
Ruby Jewel Three locations. / rubyjewel.com
Like most pub food, fish and chips is an exercise in greasy simplicity. Fish, batter and a deep fryer are pretty much all you need. It’s no wonder that one of the city’s finest pubs also serves Portland’s favorite beerbattered halibut.
Third Place:
Two locations. porquenotacos.com
BEST FROZEN YOGURT
Once again, ¿Por Que No? wins the Best of Portland triple crown: Best Mexican, Best Taco and Best Margarita. Owner Bryan Steelman was even kind enough to share his margarita recipe with the public.
Runner-Up:
Hawthorne Fish House 4343 SE Hawthorne Blvd 503.548.4434 corbettfishhouse.com/hawthornefish-house Third Place:
The Frying Scotsman 9 SW Alder St / 503.706.3841
Fifty Licks 2021 SE Clinton St #101 503.395.3333 / fifty-licks.com
Eb & Bean
1425 NE Broadway St / 503.281.6081 ebandbean.com By getting all of its dairy from within 100 miles of Portland, Eb & Bean has staked its claim as the city’s first and best farm-to-cone frozen yogurt joint. Runner-Up:
The Maple Parlor 3538 SE Hawthorne Blvd 503.206.4757 / themapleparlor.com
Original Hotcake House 1002 SE Powell Blvd / 503.236.7402 hotcakehouse.com
¿Por Que No? BEST IZAKAYA Biwa
215 SE 9th Ave / 503.239.8830 biwarestaurant.com Biwa is that rare izakaya joint that is most famous for its late night burger,
Third Place:
Nuestra Cocina 2135 SE Division St / 503.232.2135 nuestracocina.com
BEST MIMOSA Night Light Lounge
2100 SE Clinton St / 503.731.6500 nightlightlounge.net
BEST CHOCOLATIER
The name “Night Light Lounge” doesn’t exactly conjure up the image of a good mimosa spot. That is, until you see the “Mix Your Own Mimosa” option where the server drops a bottle off at your table.
Moonstruck
Two locations. porquenotacos.com
Runner-Up:
The Matador Two locations. matadorrestaurants.com
Third Place:
Nectar Froyo Two locations. / nectarfroyo.com
BEST TACO
Willamette Week JULY 15, 2015 wweek.com
a juicy burger topped with char siu pork and kimchi mayo.
BEST SAUSAGE
Third Place:
Some people thought $2.50 was too much for a taco when ¿Por Que No? opened its doors in 2005. Over a decade later and Bryan Steelman’s Oaxaca-meets-Pacific Northwest taco joint still has lines going around the block. 52
Hot Pot City
1975 SW 1st Ave / 503.224.6696
Runner-Up:
212 SW Stark St / 503.464.1122 mothersbistro.com
2200 NE Broadway St 503.477.9045 / Spielmanbagels.com
BEST HOT POT
Otto’s Sausage Kitchen 4138 SE Woodstock Blvd 503.771.6714 / ottossausage.com
Mother’s Bistro & Bar
Spielman Bagels
Taqueria Nueve 727 SE Washington St 503.954.1987 / taquerianueve.com
Salty’s seafood chowder—a wonderful creamy mixture of clams, Oregon Bay shrimp, scallops and bacon—is more than just an exceptional bowl of chowder. Slurping it down with the Columbia on your side and Mount Hood in the distance feels like a celebration of the Pacific Northwest.
BEST OMELET
BEST BAGEL
Runner-Up:
Robo Taco 607 SE Morrison St / 503.232.3707 robotacopdx.com
Multiple locations. moonstruckchocolate.com Moonstruck is more than a fantastic chocolatier in Portland, it frequently collaborates with the robust local liquor industry to bring you some of the tastiest, booziest chocolate truffles you’ve ever tasted.
Runner-Up:
Salty’s on the Columbia 3839 NE Marine Dr / 503.288.4444 saltys.com/portland Third Place:
Brix Tavern 1338 NW Hoyt St / 503.943.5995 brixtavern.com