The Top Five Places to Eat in Portland This Week

Hot Plates, coming through!

(Reid Kille)

1. Matt’s BBQ Tacos

3207 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 503-956-7455.

Breakfast tacos are one of the few major food trends Portland has yet to successfully pilfer. Leave it to Matt Vicedomini to change that. The new venture from the pitmaster behind the city's best Texas barbecue and 2019 Restaurant of the Year contender Eem is almost comically perfunctory, but nothing much matters beyond the namesake chef's magical experiments in smoky-sweet protein. Our top pick is the brisket, which is packed with Vicedomini's trademark notes of brassy, woody flavors with a melt-in-your-mouth texture and just the perfect amount of char on the edges.

Read the full review: Two Food Carts Are Finally Making Portland Players in the Breakfast Taco Game.

(Thomas Teal)

2. Yonder

4636 NE 42nd Ave. Suite A, 503-444-7947, maepdx.com.

Superstar Southern chef Maya Lovelace's long-delayed permanent home for her exalted fried-chicken pop-up Mae's is finally open. There are a lot of candidates for the best fried chicken in town, but Lovelace's buttermilk-brined, impossibly juicy birds are hard to argue against.

Related: Our Most Anticipated Restaurant and Bar Openings for 2019.

(Reid Kille)

3. Erizo

215 SE 9th Ave., Suite 101, 503-206-8619, erizopdx.com.

These earnest young chefs behind this new sustainability-focused prix fixe spot have made "by-catch" and "invasive species" the center of their culinary universe—and it might be the most extraordinary seafood restaurant the city has seen in nearly a decade.

Read the full review: Erizo's Eco-Conscious Seafood Is Some of the Best Portland Has Seen in Years

(Christine Dong)

4. Eem

3808 N Williams Ave., Suite 127, 971-295-1645, eemportland.com.

The restaurant from the superstar trio behind Hat Yai, Matt's BBQ and the Shipwreck cocktail pop-up has finally arrived, and it somehow manages to exceed all expectations. The white curry with brisket burnt ends is a dish so rich and nuanced it's almost without precedent, while the chopped barbecue fried rice is another mashup that's bafflingly simple yet unbeatable in flavor.

Read the full review: Eem Brings Together a Trio of Portland Food Heavyweights for Thai Barbecue That Somehow Surpasses the Hype

(Reid Kille)

5. Grant’s Philly Cheesesteaks

1203 NW 23rd Ave., 503-477-7133.

Here is where you'll find Portland's best sandwich. So many small touches make these cheesesteaks sing: the soft but sturdy Amoroso's rolls shipped in from Pennsylvania, the sweet and cherry peppers, the housemade potato chips. The only real debate is which cheese variation is best. Many swear by the Portland, made with Tillamook cheddar—it's hard to eat one without cussing from joy.

Related: Where to Eat Cheap in Northwest Portland.

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