The Top Five Places to Eat in Portland This Week

Hot Plates, coming through!

The Pyro. IMAGE: Courtesy of Great Secret Motion Pizza.
By WW Staff

1. Secret Pizza Society

7201 NE Glisan St., 503-946-1926, thegsmp.com.

At this small shop, the motto is "Vegan Pizzas That Don't Suck." But the best thing on the menu is the Pyro, a necronomic combo of pizza and gyro—essentially an entire pizza, folded in half and filled with toppings of your choice, alongside soy curls, greens and a tangy-sweet house sauce. It's the ultimate munchie for the vegan stoner.

Read the full review: Secret Pizza Society Is Making Some of Portland's Best Vegan Pies—and a Crazy-Good Pizza-Gyro Hybrid Called the Pyro.

2. Bark City BBQ

1080 SE Madison St., 971-227-9707, barkcitybbq.com.

If we had to anoint one superstar of new food cart pod Hawthorne Aslyum, it'd be this ascendant barbecue cart. Bark City gets by with a wonderfully tender and smoky brisket that should be everyone's excuse for playing hooky from work and showing up right when it opens. Load up on one of the many house sauces at the pickup window, and cap it all off with a rich and creamy banana pudding milkshake, which features crumbled Nilla Wafers and a hunk of caramelized sugar poking out the top.

Read the full review: The 10 Best Menu Items at Hawthorne Asylum, Portland's Newest Food Cart Pod.

(Laurel Kadas)

3. Gado Gado

1801 NE César E. Chávez Blvd., gadogadopdx.com.

One of 2018's best pop-ups has put down roots in the Hollywood neighborhood, with a colorful décor to match the crowd-pleasing, anything-goes flair of former Han Oak chef Thomas Pisha-Duffly's Indonesian soul food. And they're now serving brunch, including uni toast, veggie congee and stuffed Malaysian flatbread.

Related: At His Gado Gado Pop-Up, a Han Oak Alum Serves Playful Pan-Asian Creations.

(Matthew Korfhage)

4. EC Kitchen

6335 SE 82nd Ave., 503-788-6306.

After crushing a savory Taiwanese specialty or two—the housemade sausage is divine—a giant bowl of Taiwanese shaved ice (aka baobing) is your next power move at EC Kitchen. The texture of the machine-shaved-to-order frozen base is halfway between granular snow cone ice and powdery Hawaiian shave ice. For summer, go with strawberry or mango (or a combination of the two), and don't forget to ask them to add tapioca balls.

Read the full review: It's Officially Frozen Confection Season in Portland. Here Are Eight Cooling Treats That Go Beyond the Obvious.

(Cameron Vigliotta)

5. Memoz Dessert Cafe

3494 N Williams Ave., 503-477-6030, memozcafe.com.

At this charmingly intimate build-your-own dessert spot, guests can customize their own confections by choosing from over 40 mix-ins, including mint chips, caramel bits, blue cheese, black pepper and sweet corn, and finish it off with a topping of baked Alaska, ganache or flat icing. Experimentation is encouraged.

Read the full review: Memoz Dessert Cafe Invites Customers to Customize Their Own Desserts. So We Went in to Make Portland's Next Great Confection.

Willamette Week’s reporting has concrete impacts that change laws, force action from civic leaders, and drive compromised politicians from public office. Support WW's journalism today.