Cheap Eats 2011: Hilbilly Bento

I stepped out of the Portland drizzle and into a weird Southern dream. Shacklike downtown eatery Hillbilly Bento’s walls are lined with handmade signs that make it look more like the clubhouse from Little Rascals or a lakeside bait shop than a restaurant. Aside from a heaping pile of wet, pulverized pulled pork (served with dirty rice and flaky cornbread for $5.95), the bento menu is packed with willfully populist soul food and gut-sticking, gravy-based items you’d expect from a county fair. Great care goes into making the food, from collard greens to pecan pie. It looks and tastes homemade—or at least high-end cafeteria-made, as one can get a good look at the full spread before choosing an item. It’s just ducky.