Food Reviews & Stories Great Thai dishes and extremely friendly service keep North Portlanders coming back to this spot, where soothing music and traditional decorations almost make diners forget they're in a mini-strip mall. Go for the unforgettable pra ram noodle: rice noodles with broccoli, carrots and cabbage, topped    More

Food Reviews & Stories Formerly La Playa Azul, this strip-mall Mexican restaurant has a new name, new management and a predominantly Guadalajaran menu. The house specialty is its selection of tortas (sandwiches, $5.95-$6.95), with stewed or roasted meat served warm with lettuce, tomato and a thin spread of mayonnaise on a   More

Food Reviews & Stories Brunch is the big star at this cozy Northwest cafe, where classy offerings like the house-smoked wild-salmon scramble ($9.50) lure sleepy-eyed Portlanders in droves. As fluffy and tempting as the Belgian waffles ($5.50) are, homestyle American lunch items like the exquisitely adorned house burger ($   More

Food Reviews & Stories This cedar-paneled strip-mall joint's homestyle Korean cooking draws both Korean-Americans and newcomers to the spicy, meat-heavy cuisine. Traditional staples like sizzling bi bim bap ($9.95), with a mound of tender beef strips, egg and vegetables on a plate of steaming rice, come with eight classic   More

Food Reviews & Stories Peanut Butter & Ellie's aims right for the kid crowd, but you have to love a lofty establishment that also pays homage to the PB&J. This high-ceilinged, metropolitan-chic bakery's version is delightfully no-frills: peanut butter and Oregon raspberry preserves on house-baked Italian country-s   More

Food Reviews & Stories With a case full of exquisite-looking cakes and pastries, a lunch menu that's both faster and cheaper than clarklewis across the street, and Stumptown coffee on offer, Bakery Bar is something of an oasis in the gritty eastside industrial district. Helpful counter people serve lovingly fashioned past   More

Food Reviews & Stories This is the cleanest barbecue joint this side of, well, anywhere. The tasty, homestyle meats are all naturally raised, and the menu pushes local beers ($3.50 pint/$11.50 pitcher), wines ($5 glass/$20 bottle) and Pacific Northwest strawberry lemonade ($2.50). Entrees like the juicy Virginia-style pul   More

Food Reviews & Stories A little heart can go a long way in the gritty eastside industrial district. Developer Brad Malsin was passed over during last year's Burnside Bridgehead revitalization scuffle, but he's quietly carry ...   More