PORTLAND
FOOD TRENDS
Portlanders love to eat. Whether its wrapped in bacon,
locally sourced, sustainably grown, artisan made, vegan-friendly, Paleo trendy, gluten-free, fermented, topped
with an egg or washed down with a microbrew, it’s no
doubt the City of Roses is also the City of Food.
Portland’s burgeoning food scene is so epic it’s caught
the national spotlight and the affection of the New York
Times, who lovingly and regularly mine Portland’s food
trends for “Best of” fodder. World-class fine dining chefs,
stand side-by-side with artisan butchers, craft brewers,
master mixologists, and sandwich gods in a community
fueled by locally sourced, high quality cuisine. From the
highbrow flavors of Le Pigeon’s sinful foie gras profiteroles
to the down-and-dirty satisfaction of Bunk’s pork belly
cubano, there’s no escaping the siren’s call of Stumptown’s epicurean delights.
FOOD CARTS
By far Portland’s hottest food trend contribution has been
its prolific, hyper-specialized food cart culture. While an
economic downturn forced some brick-and-mortar restaurants to close, Rose City’s industrious entrepreneur chef
types doubled down on food carts, niching out in obscure
cuisine, creative new takes on old favorites, or focusing
exclusively on perfecting or riffing on that one great dish.
Some of the biggest standouts in P-town cart culture do just
that and some even went on to become brick-and-mortar
hot-spots like:
Nong’s Khao Man Gai | www.khaomangai.com
SW 10th & Alder Street • Portland, OR 97205 • 971-255-3480
From a single food cart in downtown Portland serving just
one favorite Thai/Hainanese dish, Nong’s has perfected
the art of Khao Man Gai with hand selected ingredients
that make this flavorful chicken, rice and broth combo a
Portland favorite and have grown it to a multi-location
success story, with an eastside brick-and-mortar, in addition
to its downtown carts.
Grilled Cheese Grill | www.grilledcheesegrill.com
1027 NE Alberta Street • Portland, OR 97211 • 503-206-8959
The folks in the double decker and big yellow school bus that
make up the Grilled Cheese Grill’s food cart armada know
there’s just nothing more satisfying than the comfort of an
ooey-gooey grilled cheese sandwich. From the simple nostal-gia-inducing classic of The Kindergartner, to the meatlover’s
sanctuary of the infamous 1/3 pound beef burger, wedged
between two grilled cheese sandwiches and christened The
Cheesus, and all the awe-inspiring incarnations in between,
the GCG serves it all up with potato chips, pickle spear and a
smile – just like mom used to make.
Frying Scotsman | www.thefryingscotsmanpdx.com
SW 9th and Alder • Portland, OR 97205 • 503-706-3841
Arguably the area’s most authentic fish and chips, the Frying
Scotsman is the genuine article, run by a real Scotsman using
family recipes handed down a generation or two, direct from
Scotland. Now serving haggis.
Kim Jong Grillin | www.kimjonggrillin.com
46 SE Division Street • Portland, OR 97206 • 503-929-0522
Korean Barbeque at its finest, serving Bulgogi (marinated
strips of grilled beef), Galbi (Korean style short ribs), and
Portland’s hangover cure, The Bibim box (Korean BBQ,
Jhapchae aka glass noodles, steamed rice, topped off with
a fried egg, two kinds of Kim Chee and sesame sprouts).
DONUTS
Voodoo Doughnut | www.voodoodoughnut.com
22 SW 3rd Avenue • Portland, OR 97204 • 503-241-4704
Featured on travel and food TV shows as a “must-eat”
destination in Portland, Voodoo Doughnut’s Pepto-Bismol
pink exterior and donut boxes are instantly recognizable
to P-town denizens, as are their signature chocolate
fudge covered and jelly filled Voodoo man donut, the
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