Five Portland Takeout Dishes to Try This Weekend

Dining out in Portland is obviously a completely different animal than it was just a few months ago. Takeout has become the name of the game, and many chefs have started coming up with dishes very specific to the current dining landscape — dishes that travel well, comfort food, family meals, etc. These are the dishes that are worth seeking out this weekend for takeout:

Garden Ramen, Gado Gado

An ideal spring dish, Gado Gado’s garden ramen is part noodle salad, part tsukemen, part miso ramen: It comes with a tangle of cool Umi Organics ramen noodles, a bunch of Side Yard Farm vegetables, and a miso broth on the side with super silky viscosity. The vegetables are an absolute treat: the carrots and radishes are sweet, all prepared in various ways to create a nice array of textures. $15, gadogadopdx.com

Fried Chicken Sandwich, Reel M Inn

One of Portland’s longstanding fried chicken spots, lauded by nationally celebrated chefs and food writers, is back, now serving a tiny menu of takeout out of the SE Division dive bar. The bone-in chicken isn’t back just yet, but the menu does include a fried chicken sandwich. It’s as simple as can be — fried chicken, mayo, pickles, and Frank’s Red Hot if you’re feeling spicy — but the chicken is still as good as it was back then, lightly golden and wicked juicy. Plus, the sandwich comes with two jojos, as crunchy and tender as ever. $8.50, call (503) 231-3880 to order

Goat Pepper Soup or Attieke Poulet Braisé, Akadi

When it’s open for dine-in customers, Akadi’s Attieke Poisson Braisé — a fried piece of fish served over fermented cassava couscous and an absolutely transfixing, tangy dijon sauce — is the move, one of the top dishes in Northeast Portland. The fried fish travels fine, but for takeout, I’ve noticed that the version of this dish with chicken survives a car trip across town a touch better. Another takeout star is the restaurant’s goat pepper soup— it’s a steamy blend of peppers and fall-apart meat, best sponged up with a knob of fufu. For something with more significant comfort food vibes, the restaurant’s creamy mafe, a mild and soothing peanut butter stew, is a winner, especially with fufu. $15-$20, akadipdx.com

The O.G. Empanada, Miami Nice

This new vegan Cuban restaurant is already rolling, with a number of standout fried snacks ideal for a social distance picnic. The OG empanada, polka-dotted with bubbles from the fry, is filled with an extraordinarily flavorful soy picadillo, briny and just a touch sweet from the tomato. Get a few and walk over to Laurelhurst Park. $4.50, miaminicepdx.com

Cheezy Herb Biscuit Holes and Chorizo Gravy, Hunnymilk

Hunnymilk has switched up its whole schtick, and is now offering various brunch dishes centered around some version of doughnuts. This particular dish, however, is a spicy, stoner-y version of biscuits and gravy, with Mama Lil’s peppers scattered among scallions and hazelnut-brown biscuit “holes.” Pretty hard to beat on a Sunday morning. $10, hunnymilk.com/donut-dishes