Güero

(Sam Gehrke)

The new Kerns restaurant from ridiculously beloved torta cart Güero is pretty much a poster child for how to do everything right. Güero still serves those mammoth carnitas and pollo pibil tortas ($11 each), which come on telera bread slathered with lime-chili mayo and laden with fresh avocado, lettuce and pink pickled onions. The bright space distills the cart's sunny essence with very little fat, and a mezcal-happy cocktail list makes the place buzz. The owners have also thrown in some new dishes, and the best is their desayuno torta ($11) in a hoagie-style bolillo bun with eggs and a fried cheese slice bolstering beef slow-braised to a salty perfection.

GO: 200 NE 28th Ave., 503-887-9258, gueropdx.com, 11 am-10 pm daily. $.

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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