Skip to main contentFIVE MORE BADASS BURGERS
Carafe: Deliciously salted and seasoned beef on a Ken's Artisan roll. Get it with Gruyère.
Davis St. Tavern: Lamb burger with feta, dried apricots, pine nuts and mint yogurt.
Farm Cafe: The only vegetable burger we'll eat, made from eggplant and breadcrumbs.
Toro Bravo: Bacon, Manchego, romesco and pickled vegetables.
Wildwood: Housemade bun, Dijon aioli and garlic confit. Heaven.
FIVE QUICKIE VACATIONS
Alexis: Never been to a taverna in Greece? They're just like Alexis, but the food isn't as good.
Carafe: The ceiling is tin, the wine comes in carafes and the croque monsieur is perfect.
Giorgio's: Feels like an upscale bistro in Bologna.
Piazza Italia: Noodles, football and a big ol' deli case. Is this the Pearl or the North End?
Yuzu: An izakaya of the traditional stripe: You will drink here.
FIVE VEGAN-COMPATIBLE DINNERS
Bete-Lukas: Veggie combo!
Farm Cafe: Roasted garlic, beet salad, wild-mushroom gnocchi.
Karam: Veggie mezza, ful medamas, pumpkin kibbe.
Indish: Peanut salad, vegetable korma, pan-fried cabbage, fried eggplant with yogurt.
Portobello: Any damn thing you'd like.
FIVE SAFE PLACES TO TAKE GRANDMA
Blue Plate: Food just like they made when Nana was a girl.
Gracie's: Still Portland's most elegant brunch.
Laurelhurst Market: Like the chain steakhouses she keeps dragging you to, only good.
Lincoln: It's named for a Republican, but the food's anything but conservative.
South Park: Good fish, nice service, nothing too weird.
FIVE EXCELLENT USES OF FIRE
Du Kuh Bee: How do these cooks still have eyebrows?
Ned Ludd: If you're eating it, it came out of the oven.
Nel Centro: A rotisserie as big as a Geo Metro turns out magnificent chicken and lamb.
Nostrana: Take a look at the char machine.
Podnah's Pit: Those spareribs are smoked over 100 percent hardwood.
FIVE PLACES TO TAKE THE KIDS
Broder: What tyke doesn't love breakfast for dinner?
The Country Cat: Kids under 10 eat for free on Sunday nights.
Kenny & Zuke's: My First Pastrami Platter. Need we say more?
Nostrana: Little ones get fruit and cheese immediately. No whining!
Serratto: For bolder children, the kids' menu includes steak frites.
FIVE WAYS TO EAT RAW FLESH
Bamboo: Anago sea-eel sashimi.
Kurata: Herring roe nigiri.
Laurelhurst Market: Steak tartare.
Nel Centro: Tuna carpaccio.
Nuestra Cocina: Rockfish ceviche.
FIVE MIND-BLOWING DESSERTS
Belly: Sour-cream pound cake, sautéed peaches and sweetened mascarpone.
Farm Cafe: The sunken chocolate souffle is worth the 15-minute wait.
Metrovino: Cowgirl Creamery Red Hawk cheese, pecans, butternut squash crumble.
Nostrana: The butterscotch budino might kill you, but it's a pleasant death.
Ten 01: Blackberry float with sweet corn ice cream and white chocolate-polenta cookies.
FIVE GOOD NON-STEAKHOUSE STEAKS
Del Inti: The hanger steak "saltado" comes with taters and, oddly, soy sauce.
Lauro: The grilled culotte with garlic butter is simply perfect.
Nostrana: The bistecca alla Fiorentina is a 2-inch-thick, 36-ounce, $60 beast.
Paley's Place: Go on Saturday for the 40-day dry-aged Highland Oak ribeye.
Toro Bravo: The cold-smoked, dry-aged coppa steak is Portland's best meat deal at $14.
FIVE WAYS TO EAT CHICKEN
East India Co.: Marinated in yogurt and grilled in a tandoor oven.
Nel Centro: Perfectly rotisserie-roasted.
Ping: Wing, liver, heart, butt or breast, skewered and grilled.
Red Onion Thai: Ground and stir-fried with chiles and crispy basil.
Screen Door: Breaded, deep-fried and perched atop a waffle.
FIVE RESTAURANTS WITH GREAT BARS
Belly Timber: Bradley Dawson makes his own Cynar and amaro.
Carlyle: Excellent, classy cocktails with a sense of humor.
Gracie's: Discriminating conspirators meet at the Driftwood Room.
Noble Rot: It's the same ol' wine bar, blinged out and hoisted three stories up.
Ten 01: Spirits-centric cocktails, classic and new, with no simple syrup in sight.
FIVE UNCONVENTIONAL BRUNCHES
Autentica: Torta with fried eggs, pickled carrots and avocado.
Broder: The Swedish breakfast "bord" includes salami, gravlax and hard cheese.
Fats: British food, twisted—chicken liver and onion PBJ, anyone?
Pambiche: The tortilla de plátano—onion, plantain and peppered-egg frittata.
Podnah's: Fresh-smoked trout hash!
FIVE EXCELLENT PRIX FIXE DEALS
Beast: Dinner is spendy, but the $28, four-course Sunday brunch is a steal.
BeWon: Seven courses of top-notch Korean for $24.95 per person.
Navarre: For $28, the kitchen brings more than you can eat—but they pick the menu.
Tabla: Appetizer, pasta and entree for $24! Add wine pairings for $16.
Toro Bravo: Five to six courses for $25 per person.
FIVE BARS WITH GOOD FOOD
Tanuki: Janis Martin insists her pub, with its amazing Japanese food, isn't a restaurant.
Branch Whiskey Bar: The former Alberta Street Oyster Bar still has great grub.
Slow Bar: Slow Bar's Slowburger has been featured on thisiswhyyourefat.com.
Victory: Try the venison burger.
Amnesia Brewing: There's nothing like sausages on the patio in summer.
WWeek 2015