10100 SW Park Way, 477-9976; Southwest 9th Avenue and Washington Street (cart), 713-8008; 808grinds.com. Lunch and dinner Monday-Saturday, lunch Monday-Friday at the downtown cart.
In a tucked-away location in a Cedar Hills strip mall—often hidden behind its own mobile catering truck—808 Grinds serves up tasty garlic furikake fries, kalbi ribs and its trademark fried chicken. Those fries ($4) are somehow perfect comfort food—although I am biased, deeply nostalgic for the furikake rice I used to share each meal with my islander roommate in college. But what elevates the new Cedar Hills cafe over the cart are dishes like the kalbi ribs ($11) and those sweetly smoked, tender-inside chicken quarters served with rice and mac for a mere $9.50.
Check out Willamette Week's 2016 Cheap Eats guide here.
Willamette Week