The Best Things the Eater Portland Team Ate This Week

Welcome to The Best Dishes the Eater Portland Team Ate This Week. Every Friday, the Portland-based Eater team shares Portland-area dishes each of us ate this week that we can’t stop thinking about.

July 19, 2024

I ate some not-basic basics — cheese and bread — at Dolly Olive’s new companion spot Bar Dolly this week. The bar’s menu has a burrata of the day and a focaccia of the day, and on this visit, the cheese was served with blackberries, hazelnuts, basil, and hit with some vinaigrette. I’m not being hyperbolic when I say I could eat a fruit and cheese dish everyday during the summer and be a happy camper. This combo was elite, and with a hunk of fluffy sun-dried tomato focaccia on the side with a limoncello spritz to wash it all down? Bellissima. —Janey Wong, Eater Portland reporter

Sorry to all the of-the-moment pop-ups out there, but there’s exactly one dish that I will actually wait in line for in this fine city: the breakfast burrito at Enchanted Sun, the unassuming farmers’ market stand that’s been an anchor at the PSU and King markets for years now. This is a balanced burrito: softly scrambled eggs with Hatch chiles are folded with seasoned potatoes, shredded cheddar, and perfectly crisp bacon (trust me, get the version with bacon); douse with the spicy red salsa. This burrito is a weekly part of my routine: I’m almost always guaranteed to hit at least one of these two markets every weekend, which means that I eat probably a few dozen of these burritos in a year. It never disappoints. (And FWIW, the line moves fast.) —Erin DeJesus, Eater executive editor

July 12, 2024

I stopped by the Houston Blacklight to try Adán Fausto’s Mariscos Con Onda menu, which is running at the bar all summer. Loved each of the dishes we ordered, but the standout for me was the albacore crudo tostada, which had gorgeously fresh pieces of albacore tuna, creamy avocado, and punchy green olives. The dish was perfectly balanced and seasoned with shoyu, morita mayo, and Sonoran chiltepin for a bit of a kick. This is now one of my ideal dishes to eat in hot weather! —Janey Wong, Eater Portland reporter

Jill Dehnert/Eater Portland

Is there anything better than a hot dog, a cold beer, and some ice cream on a warm summer night? Yes — if you take all of those ingredients and mix them with a Pickles game and the ice cream comes in a plastic baseball hat. Lil’ P’s Long Dog at Dill’s Grill may be the platonic ideal of a hot dog, perfectly grilled and served with all the accoutrement (though I’d recommend they add jalapeños to their offerings). For Portlanders, this is undeniably the best way to participate in Eater’s celebration of hot dogs this summer. What are you waiting for? Get to Walker Stadium for a game this summer and see for yourselves. —Jill Dehnert, vice president and general manager, Eater, Punch, PS, and Thrillist

June 28, 2024

I was craving a good burger, so I went to one of my burger standbys, Tulip Shop Tavern. Smash burgers generally aren’t my favorite type of burger, but Tulip Shop does them so well, maintaining a supremely juicy patty in its smash. You really can’t go wrong with any of the tavern’s burgers/sandwiches, but my favorite on the permanent menu is the Fair Burger. It’s nothing too fancy, dressed with caramelized onions, white American cheese, shredded lettuce, and pickles, but they slather this garlic aioli on there that’s so creamy and flavorful, I would buy it by the bottle if it was available. —Janey Wong, Eater Portland reporter

I recently moved across town, and I will admit that being within walking distance of Duality Brewing and Astral was one of the motivating forces for relocating. After a frenetic day of unpacking, I strolled over to the 2023 Eater Best New Restaurant winner to unwind with one of Duality’s crisp patio beers (Mild Mannered, a light and refreshing summer ale) and a couple of small plates from Astral. Everything brimmed with fresh, bright flavors, but the snap pea esquites stole the show. The jumble of sweet, tender peas tossed with smoked green garlic, lime mayo, crispy corn, and chile, and blanketed with fiore sardo unlocked a new pleasure center in my brain. The dish made me wonder what other vegetables could benefit from the esquites treatment and made me determined to recreate some variation at home. —Kaitlin Bray, Eater director of audience development

June 21, 2024

It was one of those June Saturdays where the weather couldn’t decide if it was summer yet, and I was in the mood for something cozy — plus, we had friends in town so wanted to impress. Luckily, Someday never disappoints. The Vermouth Preparado is just a touch sweeter (perhaps a touch creamier?) than a negroni, but the anchovy stuffed olive garnish levels it up to a near perfect cocktail. The food at Someday is really the star of the show: White beans bathed in savory, lemony, herby butter. A strawberry fennel salad that I initially resisted ordering but was thrust upon me by our companions and I’m so glad it was. Beef tartare served with crunchy endives and crusty bread. There were so many good bites it’s impossible to pick just one. —Jill Dehnert, vice president and general manager, Eater, Punch, PS, and Thrillist

Janey Wong/Eater Portland

I checked out Moonshot Tavern in the old Goose space and was impressed by the food and the drinks. A lot of things on their Pacific Northwest-inspired Southern menu looked good, but I went for the Filet-o-Rockfish sandwich this time, which had a nicely cooked and well-seasoned piece of Oregon rockfish. I was also very into the Meowi Breeze cocktail, a fruity refresher with passionfruit, pink guava, elderflower, and lemonade that’s made with your choice of gin or vodka (I’m a gin girly). —Janey Wong, Eater Portland reporter

June 14, 2024

First up, I finally made my way to Ba Mee Thai Noodle House — named for a Chinese-inspired type of egg noodle — and was delighted to find what I now consider the best wonton noodle soup within a stone’s throw from my place. The house noodle soup with roasted duck featured wontons surprisingly delicate in flavor. But the real draw here is the noodles, hand-pulled in house and cooked to the perfect level of toothsomeness — noodles with the perfect little bite. The dish I truly can’t stop thinking about right now, though, is from Matta’s soon-to-end pop-up in the Dame space: ca chua nhoi thit, an heirloom tomato stuffed with ground pork, mushrooms, and glass noodles. Matta’s version was almost aggressively savory, which I mean as the ultimate compliment: hearty and herbaceous thanks to a bath in a spicy tomato sauce. Matta only has a couple services left at its current residency; this dish has me absolutely riveted to learn what’s coming from them next. —Erin DeJesus, Eater executive editor

After picking seven pounds of strawberries out at Sauvie Island earlier this week, I was in need of sustenance and a cold beverage. So, I hightailed it to Mosaic Taphouse in St. Johns where I ordered pork belly and shrimp banh xeo tacos and some pork ribs from Chém Gió, the taphouse’s Vietnamese street food residency. Taco form is such a fun way to eat banh xeo; this version had a nice crunch factor and is served with some punchy calamansi sauce. —Janey Wong, Eater Portland reporter

Janey Wong/Eater Portland

June 7, 2024

I ended up at the Indigenous Marketplace on Sunday and finally got to try Javelina, an Indigenous food pop-up. I went for the fry bread taco, which piled bean and beef chili, tomato, lettuce, cheese, and sour cream on top of a fry bread. It was raining that day, and this was the perfect comfort food. Under the weight of the warm chili, the fry bread wasn’t as crisp as it would be if you were eating it alone, but I didn’t mind that at all. It served as a tender, fluffy vehicle for all of the toppings. Really looking forward to trying more of Javelina’s dishes, like whatever preparation of salmon, bison, or elk they might have on the menu the next time I pull up to one of their pop-ups. —Janey Wong, Eater Portland reporter

On Wednesday, I celebrated my last week as the editor of Eater Portland with an impromptu farewell dinner at Urdaneta. It’s hard to think of a single dish that stood out; it was one of the best meals I’ve had in Portland in a while. I think the highlight had to be this foie gras banana bread situation: Chef Javier Canteras tops a crumbly layer of toasted banana bread (nothing too saccharine; almost like a salted banana sablé or something) with this super delicate, ultra smooth foie gras ganache; it came with both plum coulis and pepper jelly, which kept the dish in the middle of the sweet-salty spectrum. I notice that sometimes foie dishes can be a little iron-heavy or almost too rich, but this felt just silky and luxurious and delicious and elegant. What a way to end my six-year run. — Brooke Jackson-Glidden, Eater Portland editor (for now)

Janey Wong/Eater Portland

May 31, 2024

I hustled over to Toki twice before they closed for good: once for dinner and again for their final brunch service. It was great to revisit some of the restaurant’s greatest hits — like the bao burger, essence of ramen chicken wings, and omurice — but I thought the cook on the grilled mackerel was exceptional. I can’t remember what the sauce was exactly, but it was slightly sweet and seemed to be gochujang-based. Until we meet again at Han Oak or Jeju! —Janey Wong, Eater Portland reporter

I ate a sickening amount of ice cream while working on the ice cream map update, but I encountered so many delicious scoops along the way. When visiting Pronto Gelato on its first day open, I made a spumoni-esque sundae out of the flavors available: chocolate hazelnut, Oregon strawberry, and California pistachio, topped with Bordeaux cherries. The flavors worked so well together — the pistachio and strawberry were both very delicate, and the two of them together kept the richness of the chocolate hazelnut from overpowering the mix. And I’ll be honest, I’d eat a giant bowl of those cherries in one sitting if I had the opportunity. —Brooke Jackson-Glidden, Eater Portland editor

Brooke Jackson-Glidden/Eater Portland

May 24, 2024

I turned 30 this week, and the morning after the delightfully silly Eurotrash-themed birthday party my friends threw me (complete with a Cafe Olli chocolate fudge cake, one of my favorite cakes in town), we shared a hangover dim sum brunch at Excellent Cuisine. I was revived with the help of plump har gow, massive shu mai, slippery cheung fun, and springy-crisp red rice rolls, plus our current favorite there, a seafood dumpling filled with shrimp and scallops. Dim sum is my go-to celebration meal; it was the first thing I ate after my colonoscopy and a post-finals tradition during college. It only felt right to honor my entry into a new decade with steamer baskets full of dumplings. —Brooke Jackson-Glidden, Eater Portland editor

I ventured to Beaverton this week to try a new casual Korean spot called Gangnam Teriyaki & Korean Cuisine (cue “Gangnam Style”). We got the jajangmyeon, jjampong, and tangsuyuk, but my favorite dish was the yetnal tongdak, a Korean-style deep-fried whole chicken. I’ve never eaten deep-fried turkey on a certain problematic holiday, but I imagine it tastes something like this — succulent meat with lightly crispy skin. Judging by its size, the chicken they use here are Cornish hens, but at $16, the dish is a great bang for your buck. The chicken is conveniently spatchcocked and comes with chicken mu, pickled radish that traditionally accompanies Korean fried chicken, and a sweet gochujang-esque sauce. —Janey Wong, Eater Portland reporter

Janey Wong/Eater Portland

May 17, 2024

The Paper Bridge continues to amaze me — it’s the best Vietnamese food I’ve had outside of Hanoi. The menu here can be daunting for first-timers until you flip to the back and read through the detailed descriptions that lend context to the regional dishes they serve here. On this visit, I tried the Lang Son-style pho, which is a dry pho dish packed with barbecue pork, pork tenderloin, crispy pork belly, thin strings of fried sweet potato, and chile sauce. Toss before eating, and voila. Chefs Carlo Reinardy and Quynh Nguyen make their own rice noodles and chile sauces, but the star of this dish is unequivocally the pork belly, which had a luscious layer of fat and gloriously crisp skin. It was so good that my table lobbied the chefs to make it a standalone dish on the menu; I’m confident in my assertion that it’s the best roasted pork in Portland...and this restaurant doesn’t even specialize in roasted pork. The lime snow blended drink was a great accompaniment/end to the meal and everything I want in a slushie: refreshing with an even texture all the way through to the last slurp. — Janey Wong, Eater Portland reporter

Brooke Jackson-Glidden/Eater Portland

I was invited to the Wine + Dine for Hope and Joy event, a fundraiser for the organization Ukandu — a summer camp program for families impacted by childhood cancer. It’s a meaningful cause, but it also is a super fun event: Tons of really great Portland chefs end up making dishes for it, and it feels reminiscent of one of the invitational events at Feast. I had a ton of great dishes while I was there, but I was super blown away by this steamed halibut dish from the team at República; it came with this bright and springy rhubarb sauce, wrapped in a banana leaf. The team at Arden served this cute little gochujang meatball in a bao bun I loved, and I really adored the Thai curry and brisket dish from Hat Yai. Paired with some wine from Kelley Fox and that’s a pretty dang good evening. — Brooke Jackson-Glidden, Eater Portland editor