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1. Momo Master
1533 NE Alberta St. 503-997-6901. Noon-8 pm Friday-Monday.
Regulars at Alberta’s Bantu Island Pod have a new appetizing option: the Momo Master. To try all of the titular Himalayan dumplings, get the “Plattery,” a sampler of the three styles the cart offers. The veggie dumplings made with Impossible Burger aren’t to be missed—generously packed into chewy dough folded like a fishtail, the sweet curry edge waits to be cut with the bright sesame oil tomato chutney that comes with it.
2. Chicha
1314 NW Glisan St., 503-953-1933, chichapdx.com. 4-9 pm Wednesday-Sunday.
A long-planned, takeout sister of Andina popped up this past May, with a menu featuring empanadas, croquettes and skewers that pay tribute to the street food of Lima and the neighboring seaside city Callao. Though Andina is reopening on Aug. 18, Chicha will remain, offering patio dining, delivery and pickup.
3. Miami Nice
2117 NE Oregon St., 818-200-5571, miaminicepdx.com. Noon-9 pm Wednesday-Sunday.
At Miami Nice, you may not immediately realize you’re eating vegan. The croquettas are fried up tightly, and the Cubanito is neatly pressed. Many menu items are versions of street/comfort food that owner Valerie Espinoza loves—with a vegan twist. The chop salad comes with marinated soy curls on top instead of chicken. The dish’s bright yellow sauce draws stares; it’s a mixture of curry, mustard and mayonnaise she worked on to get just right. Other menu items stand out for their Miami-specific flavor, like the Big Papi, which has green olives in the picadillo instead of raisins. The starchy food works well to stave off the high ABV in beers at Culmination Brewing, where Espinoza runs the kitchen.
4. Chayo
3601 SE Division St. 11:30 am-2 pm lunch, 4:30-8 pm dinner Thursday-Saturday; 11:30 am-6 pm Sunday.
When he dreamed of opening a loncheria in 2018, David Lizaola imagined serving classic Jaliscan lonches on lime- and beer-enriched birote. When he couldn’t find birote in Portland, he pivoted to ciabatta—and while it may not be traditional, it’s still damn good. In the Hot Oli, Lizaola gives his pork loin an adobado treatment by massaging the cuts with a blend of guajillo pepper, herbs, alliums and warming spices. It’s a perfect sandwich.
5. Sweet Lorraine’s
1331 N Killingsworth St., sweetlorraineslatkes.squarespace.com. 11:30 am-3:30 pm Monday, noon-8 pm Thursday-Sunday.
It’s Hanukkah year-round at Killingsworth Station—or, at least, a reasonable facsimile of the Lower East Side of New York. The cart pod is where Aaron Tomasko and Rachel Brashear are serving voluptuous potato pancakes, as well as knishes, kugel, kasha varnishkes and East Coast sweets. The crispy, pillowy latkes are fried to order and come with the traditional accompaniment of sour cream and applesauce.