Portland

Food Carts

The downtown core is home to a small army of Food Carts (http://foodcartsportland.com/). With less overhead than the traditional indoor restaurant, you can pick up a delicious meal on the cheap and choose from a variety of foods including Indian, Mexican, pastries, and hot dogs.

EuroTrash

4262 se belmont, just north of belmont station. mediterranean food with a sloppy american twist - cute pink black and teal cart, fantastic for lunch and dinner. in the good food here food cart lot.

Fat City Cafe

Multnomah village. local favorite, serves excellent breakfasts. the french toast is recommended.

Golden Dragon

Sw 3rd at stark above cameron's books. pretty good food for a cheap, dive-y chinese buffet. the decor is well-worn, but it still has a lot of classic chinese kitsch character. pick a window seat so you can enjoy the people watching while you eat.

Equinox

830 n shaver st at mississippi st, (http://www.equinoxrestaur...). excellent variety of egg scrambles, vegetarian fare.

Gravy

3957 n mississippi ave. great egg scrambles and other hearty breakfast fare. can be a long wait on weekends.

Laughing Planet

Nw 21st & lovejoy, se 41st and woodstock and se 33rd and belmont. another great budget option. they have a number of vegetarian & vegan dishes available. also they have a small outside dining area when the weather is nice.

Burgerville

1135 ne martin luther king blvd multiple locations around the portland area, (http://burgerville.com/). the nw's own fast food chain with a decidedly nw flavor promoting organic, fresh and seasonal ingredients. great burgers and traditional fast food fare. amazing seasonal items including sweet potato fries, asparagus, strawberries, blackberries, onion rings and more.

A uniquely Portland spot, where you can get unusual donuts and a marriage while learning Swahili. While they do have the standard cake doughnuts, the real stars are the doughnuts topped with cereal, candy bars, strawberry Quik powder, and the maple bar with bacon yes, bacon on it. It's also the place to get vegan doughnuts. If you want a sugar rush and possibly a free huge doughnut, take the Tex-Ass Challenge; eat one of their oversized glazed doughnuts in under a minute and a half and it's free. Of course, you have to purchase it in advance! Lines are frequently long and wrap around the block, with wait times up to two hours.

Nicholas' Restaurant

318 se grand ave, (http://nicholasrestaurant.com/). great value lebanese food, family owned and operated where everything is made from scratch. small seating area so there can be waits.

Dockside Saloon and Restaurant

2047 nw front, probably the best classic breakfast in portland: perfect eggs to order, great bacon and world class golden hash browns. pleasant waitresses, good coffee and excellent value.

Taqueria Los Gorditos

Se 50th and se division st. vegan and non-vegan food, cheap but delicious and with a very expansive menu for a taco cart, including quite large burritos. the ingredients are fresh and the staff friendly.

Detour Cafe

3035 se division st. (http://detourcafe.com/). fresh and mostly organic fare in a cozy setting.

Taco Del Mar

Various locations around the downtown area. although more authentic mexican food can be found around the city, this place is notable for serving up a 2-lb burrito. the ingredients are fresh and the staff are mostly laid-back hipsters. try the fish taco their namesake. $5

Cheesesteaks & Burgers

* pioneer courthouse square, 701 sw sixth ave. delicious philly cheese steaks and burgers, as well as tastey home-brewed pickled eggs.

Original Hotcake House

1002 se powell blvd. open 24/7. a local landmark, famous for excellent food, great prices, and a quirky after-hours clientã¨le after 1am the place gets a bit rough.

The Delta

46th & se woodstock st. southern food chicken fried steak, jambalaya, grits, etc. on the cheap. the food is excellent and in large portions.

Riyadh's

Se 14th and hawthorne. an excellent source of affordable lebanese food.

Cha! Cha! Cha!

Several portland locations. good quality mexican food at a middling price.

Pine State Biscuits

3640 se belmont st, (http://www.pinestatebiscu...). excellent biscuits, gravy and bacon.

Grand Central Bakery

5 locations: sellwood, multnomah village, on fremont in mississippi district, hawthorne at 22nd, and on ne weidler at 15th irvington district, (http://grandcentralbakery.com). artisan breads, pastries, soups, sandwiches and salads.

Helvetia Tavern

A 15-20 minute drive to a rural area west of town, but outstanding burgers, fries and onion rings. Good selection of local and national beers on tap.

Le Bistro Montage

Under the east end of the morrison bridge, (http://www.montageportlan...). good portland character, with cajun style food including mac and cheese, alligator bites, and great mud pie. service is quirky.

Byways Cafe

1212 nw glisan st. a very '50s-style diner in the middle of the trendy pearl district, with spectacular breakfast eating and enormous portions. get a serious blast from the past, and enjoy the food too.

Flying Pie Pizzeria

(http://www.flying-pie.com) has been voted one portland's favorite pizza restaurants for the past decade by hungry locals and media critics alike. they have stores located in se portland, gresham and lake oswego.

Huber’s

411 sw 3rd ave, inside the historic oregon pioneer building, +1 503 228-5686, (http://www.hubers.com). portland’s oldest restaurant since 1879, dinner is priced between $11.95 to 23.95; lunch menu is similar with prices between $6.95 and $12.95. known for its turkey dinners and spanish coffees, pour right at your table.

Kornblatt's Delicatessen

At 628 nw 23rd av. serves up a mean corned beef sandwich, better than most of what you'll get on the west coast, not to mention their famous bagels. outside tables in the summertime add to the pleasure.

Pizzicato

Or hot lips pizza, pizzicato is throughout the metro area; hot lips 1909 sw 6th ave. downtown near portland state university and 710 nw 10th ave in the pearl district. excellent thin-crust pizza at both. at pizzicato, try the faux-italian options, and at hot lips get any of the surprisingly good veggie pizza toppings, like artichoke.

Chinese Delicacy

6411 se 82nd ave., serves delicious chinese food and is open fairly late.

Mio Sushi

Near nw 23rd st., is a great and constantly crowded place to eat sushi. it's also pretty reasonably priced. the sushi is fresh and even when crowded the service is pretty quick. 2271 nw johnson st.

Escape from New York

For New York-style pizza, it's hard to beat Escape from New York at 622 NW 23rd., and New York, NY, 7737 SW Barbur Blvd. uptown. The restaurants are shrines to New York, unlike their chain-restaurant counterpart, Pizza Schmizza, also quite good and spread throughout Portland. Also worth checking out are Bella Faccia, 2934 NE Alberta St. and Pizza A Go-Go, 3420 N Williams Av.

Pearl Bakery

Portland is famous for its bread, and the bakery that started it all, Pearl Bakery, anchors the Pearl District. The bread is rightly acclaimed as the best in town, and you can eat in and get a variety of sandwiches or even excellent breakfast pastries. 102 NW 9th Ave., in the Pearl District.

Salvador Molly's

(http://www.salvadormollys.com/), 1523 sw sunset bld, +1 503 293-1790, +1 503 234-0896. pirate cookin'! caribbean and south american cuisine with a pirate twist. try the great balls of fire a habanero cheese fritter, eat 5 and get your photo on the wall of fame. these were featured on the food network as a top 5 spicy treat.

Vegetarian House

22 nw 4th ave., (http://www.vegetarianhous...). a great oasis of chinese food for vegetarians. most dishes are vegan all are vegetarian but feature american-chinese staples such as veggie kung pao chicken, orange flavored veggie chicken, fried rice ham-, pork-, chicken-flavored, and crab rangoons. although a little on the pricey side $9.45 for a chicken dish, the food is delicious!

Marrakesh

(http://marrakesh.citysear...) for a truly unique dining experience, try this restaurant. great food and the atmosphere is truly one-of-a-kind, with the guests sitting on long, ornately decorated couches or on huge pillows on the floor and moroccan tapestries hanging on the walls. they also make sure you get your money's worth as $18.50 buys a five-course meal.

Andina

At 1314 nw glisan st. (http://www.andinarestaura...). a peruvian restaurant with a good selection of platas like spanish tapas as well as contemporary and traditional peruvian entrees. live music is performed most evenings in the lounge, a popular date destination.

El Gaucho

319 sw broadway ave., downtown (http://www.elgaucho.com/e...). a chain with other restaurants in seattle and tacoma. the steak and ambiance don't come cheaply, however, so be prepared.

Ken's Artisan Pizza

304 se 28th ave, (http://www.kensartisan.co...). wood fired oven cooking amazing pizza and other superbly executed italian dishes. expect a wait.

McCormick and Schmick's

Downtown at 235 sw first ave. (http://www.mccormickandsc...) mccormick and schmick's seafood restaurant, 0309 sw montgomery st. mccormick and schmick's harborside at the marina, 401 sw 12th ave. jake's famous crawfish, 611 sw 10th av. jake's grill. has now expanded across the us, but "way back when" it was just four now five portland fresh seafood restaurants. they still serve fresh seafood, too, and it's excellent almost any way they prepare it.

Papa Haydn

701 nw 23rd av., near downtown, or 5829 se milwaukie ave., in sellwood. if you like dessert, this is the place to go. although the entrees aren't all that impressive, sometimes there are four different lemon desserts, not to mention a wide selection of chocolates of every kind.

Basta's Trattoria

At 410 nw 21st av., serves excellent italian food in a rustic-style decor. the wine list is extensive, and the menu is long but not overwhelming.

Pazzo Ristorante

621 sw washington st. downtown. both an excellent location near several movie theaters and the shopping district and solid italian-pacific northwest fusion cuisine. it gets quite crowded on friday and saturday nights, however, so be forewarned.

Southpark Seafood Grill & Wine Bar

901 sw salmon st. located in the southwest corner of the shopping district and near a few movie theaters and the main portland center for the performing arts facilities. the food is excellent mediterranean-italian fare with a regional seafood twist.

Park Kitchen

422 nw eighth st. pearl district. wonderfully inventive, delicious cuisine served in a lovely setting, with a view of the park blocks.