Restaurant Guide 2009

To most Portlanders, the Daily Cafe is a Pearl District diner landmark—though they have two other locations—with mix-’n’-match $14 prix fixe morning fare (scarily, they call it “price-fix,” just like the petrol companies do) ranging from Korean bibimbap to eggy hazelnut pizza to candied ginger pancakes. The decor is Edward Hopper diner gone cosmo-casual, with windowed garage doors. Dinners are often sparsely attended to the point of creepiness—nobody knows they’re serving it, apparently—and deserves much greater recognition as a mid-priced neighborhood option for heartwarming comfort food like pork chops with peach barbecue sauce or housemade pesto tagliatelle.