Aviary

Fodor’s guide to Portland, Oregon | 2014 edition

Disregarding culinary conventions, this visionary Alberta Street eatery serves up innovative dishes that will likely push your boundaries while also delighting your palate. Its simple menu of small plates (order 2-3 per person) influenced by Asian flavors and using European cooking techniques, combines unusual ingredients into dishes that work not in spite of, but because of their contrasts in flavor and texture.

Screen Door

Fodor’s guide to Portland, Oregon | 2014 edition

The line that forms outside this Southern cooking restaurant at brunch and dinner is as epic as the food itself. But think of the wait that precedes the meal—which you can spice up with cocktails from the bar—as a chance to ramp up your appetite and fully anticipate the experience to come. A large, packed dining room with canned pickles and peppers along the walls, this Portland hot spot does justice to the Southern cooking tradition.

Bunk Sandwiches

Fodor’s guide to Portland, Oregon | 2014 edition

Watch out: you’re about to have a new favorite sandwich shop. This trendy hole-in-the-wall establishment serves up inventive creations like the pork belly cubano with ham, swiss, pickles, and mustard on a light poppyseed bun that will put all other sandwiches to shame.