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1. Street Disco
1305 SE 8th Ave., street-disco.com. 3-9 pm daily.
Summarized simply, Disco Snacks is a multifaceted snack bar concept at White Owl Social Club comprising a series of distinct concepts. That includes Taco Tuesdays, a public school cafeteria homage to tacos of the hard shell variety, and pizza inspired by the suburban food court experience, currently available for pre-order on Fridays and Saturdays. The stunner is the cheeseburger pie, a heavyweight concoction of pickles, ketchup, onions and American cheese. There is nothing else quite like it in Portland.
2. Sugarpine Drive-In
1208 E Historic Columbia River Highway, Troutdale, 503-665-6558, sugarpinedrivein.com. 11 am-5 pm Thursday-Monday.
Ryan Domingo and Emily Cafazzo's adorable, drive-in-style lunch shack—located at the gateway to the Gorge, adjacent to the Sandy River—conjures memories of rural summers spent diving into freezing lakes and running to the nearest Tastee Freez…only better. A fast food chili dog can't compete with Sugarpine's pulled-pork sandwich ($11), and while classic soft serve is also on the menu, the sundaes are sculptures of molded, mountainous sweetness.
3. Kachka Alfresca
960 SE 11th Ave., 503-235-0059, kachkapdx.com/alfresca. 3-10 pm daily.
A pop-up in the truest sense of the term, Kachka's outdoor spinoff is so utterly of its time and place in this shared moment that it feels like a vital addition to the food landscape. It has allowed owner Bonnie Morales to dive into the nostalgia of her childhood spent watching her Soviet émigré parents run a 1990s bistro in the Chicago suburbs. It doesn't all necessarily make sense—it's like a trans-Siberian TGI Friday's—but it is damn fun.
Read more: Kachka's Outdoor Spinoff Is Like a Trans-Siberian TGI Friday's.
4. Holler
7119 SE Milwaukie Ave., 971-200-1391, hollerpdx.com. 11 am-6 pm Tuesday-Saturday, online ordering available 3-5 pm.
On the one hand, over the last year and a half, Portland has overloaded with options for fried chicken. On the other hand, can you ever really have too much fried chicken—particularly when the city's latest chicken shack is courtesy of Doug Adams, the Top Chef alum behind Texas barbecue haven Bullard? Adams recently opened the casual, family-friendly Holler for takeout, and while we haven't had a chance to sample the birds yet, we're confident offering a blind recommendation.
5. Riot Ribs
SW Salmon and 4th Ave., twitter.com/riotribs. Open 24 hours.
The most talked-out restaurant in town right now is located under a blue tent in Lownsdale Square. Riot Ribs has been feeding protesters everything from hamburgers to pork butt off a 30-inch metal grill—all for free, though donations are strongly encouraged. While it's volunteer-run, this is no amateur operation: The ribs showed expertise on the grill, striking the perfect balance of crispy and juicy. Somebody here knows what they're doing.
Related: Protesters Feast on Riot Ribs, a Donations-Only Barbecue in the Center of a Standoff With the Feds.
