Pollo Norte

By Matthew Korfhage

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5427 NE 42nd Ave., 287-0669, pollonorte.com. Lunch and dinner daily.

Pollo Norte cooks up estilo-Distrito Federal pollo on a rotisserie imported from Mexico, slow-cooking meticulously sourced and brined birds spiced with lime juice and achiote powder on a rotating spit, while letting the juices drip down onto the cabbage served with it. The shop's been industrious this year, building a pod out back housing not only neighbor carts but also a walk-in fridge that lets it brine and store a lot more chicken. The chicken is moist and flavorful, the skin browned to a lovely crisp crackle. We found no use for the distracting smoked ancho sauce, but the best-in-Portland coleslaw is fresh, citric and spicy, the meaty pintos are rich as hell, and the tomatillo sauce remains one of the freshest-tasting salsas in the city.

Check out Willamette Week's 2016 Cheap Eats guide here.

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Matthew Korfhage

Matthew Korfhage

Matthew Korfhage has lived in St. Louis, Chicago, Munich and Bordeaux, but comes from Portland, where he makes guides to the city and writes about food, booze and books. He likes the Oxford comma but can't use it in the newspaper.

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