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Portland’s Favorite Dishes

The best way to savor Portland’s most iconic dishes? One bite at a time.

Updated Apr. 30, 2020 3 min read

Benjamin Tepler

Benjamin Tepler is Portland Monthly magazine's associate editor. Read More

Searching for the best ways to savor Portland’s most iconic dishes? Locals suggest taking it one bite at a time – especially when it’s at one of these favorite eateries.

Portland’s Favorite Dishes

Le Pigeon Burger

For years, James Beard Award-winning chef Gabriel Rucker made only five of these a night at his eastside Le Pigeon, to avoid turning the bistro into a burger shack. (He’s since relented and no longer enforces a limit.) The coveted ground round comes pierced with a knife and oozes with aged white cheddar, iceberg slaw and pickled onions on a sturdy Ken’s Artisan Bakery roll.

Bacon Maple Bar

Voodoo Doughnut has been serving outrageous creations 24 hours a day for nearly a decade: Toppings have ranged from Cap’n Crunch cereal to a NyQuil glaze (an option quickly quashed by health officials). But the doughnut that launched a thousand bacon-themed spinoffs — the Bacon Maple Bar — celebrates the same happy marriage of pork and syrup found on the breakfast plate. As the ultimate sinful indulgence, it earned a big nod from the late Anthony Bourdain and inspired an eponymous ale from Oregon brewery Rogue.

Voodoo Doughnut

Since 2003, Portland's Voodoo Doughnut has sold millions of wacky, sugary snacks — and the 24-hour Old Town landmark still attracts lines all hours of the day.

Ike’s Wings

Pok Pok’s fish sauce wings may be Portland’s most successful culinary export. After conquering the Rose City with three acclaimed restaurants, Thai grilling expert Andy Ricker took his Southeast Asian authenticity to the streets of New York, where Ike’s Wings were extolled as “New York’s Best Wings” in 2012 by New York Magazine. Try them at their original home (or sibling locations, Whiskey Soda Lounge and Pok Pok Wing) and plan to lick your fingers.

A group of people enjoying fried chicken wings, a favorite at Pok Pok — Diners dig in at Pok Pok, home of the famous Ike’s wings.

The Reggie Deluxe

From its humble farmers’ market beginnings to a full-blown biscuit empire, Pine State Biscuits has garnered a serious reputation for hefty North Carolina-style butter biscuits and creative fillings. The pièce de résistance: a towering sandwich stacked high with buttermilk-fried chicken, a fried egg, cheddar, bacon and sausage gravy. D\ubbed a “hangover cure” by Esquire, this one’s worth the sometimes lengthy wait at the original Alberta location, Central Eastside, Southeast Division or NW 23rd. Also available at Portland Farmers Market at PSU on Saturdays or a Lloyd take-out window.

Foie Gras Bon-Bon

While no two menus are ever the same at Naomi Pomeroy’s dinner party- like restaurant Beast, the Foie Gras Bon-Bon happens to be one luxurious staple. This goose-liver gem appears on Beast’s charcuterie plate alongside chicken liver mousse, steak tartare with quail egg on toast, and pork and pistachio pâté. But the buttery lobe crowned with a quivering slice of salted gelée of Sauternes (a French dessert wine) is in a league of its own

Khao Man Gai

One of Portland’s favorites started out selling just one dish: khao man ghai, a Thai street-food staple that’s as simple as it is delicious. Succulent poached chicken and rice come wrapped in butcher paper, along with a soybean sauce infused with concentrated garlic, ginger and Thai chili heat, and simple, brothy soup. Owner Nong Poonsukwattana has since expanded to brick and mortar locations in Southeast and Southwest Portland and has added even more Thai specialties to her menus.

Food