2218 NE Broadway, 180pdx.com. Breakfast and lunch daily.
180 comes from Jose Chesa and Cristina Baez, owners of the excellent Spanish eatery Ataula in Northwest. Their new project is self-assuredly simple. It's a bare-bones space, more kitchen than cafe, with high ceilings, concrete floors and 10 metal stools along chest-high counters. They serve several varieties of deep-fried dough, little cups of sauce-thick cocoa and coffee. The best are the churros rellenos, 4-inch stubs that come in pairs for $3, filled with chocolate, dulce de leche or creme brulee. They're served on stainless-steel racks, and get even better when you dip them in xocolata, a thick sauce of rich, warm and only mildly sweet liquid cocoa ($4 for 4 ounces) served in a small mug à la Turkish coffee. Everyone I know who's been to both Spain and 180 has praised the shop's authenticity, though locals might eventually demand cushier seats and a cocktail version of the chocolaty beverage.
Check out Willamette Week's 2016 Cheap Eats guide here.
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