The Early Word on High Noon, the New Downtown Fry Bread Spot

Located just up the street from Luc Lac at 822 SW 2nd Ave., High Noon opened up in September with a menu of fry bread tacos, arepas, and other Southwestern fare. Now, word is trickling in from amateur reviewers and food critics on when and what to eat at High Noon, and we've put it together in a little something we like to call, Good News/Bad News.

The Good News—"High Noon is a Southwestern oasis in the desert of [...] Southwest Portland," says the Merc's Andrea Damewood. It "is a worthy lunchtime oasis for downtown diners."

The Bad News—"But I imagine only the frybread freaks will go out of their way for it," says Damewood.

The Cavernous-Versus-Incredible News—WWeek's Matthew Korfhage found the decor dismal, saying, "the mood is closer to upscale Southwest-themed cafeteria," but Yelpers appear head-over-heels: Tina L. says it's "one of best environments I have ever experienced," and Heather W. writes, "The decor is really appealing to me, but I love old Westerns."

The Five-Dollar-Corn-Might-Be-Worth-It News—"The street corn was unbelievably good," writes Yelper Catherine A, and Ryan E. adds that getting the corn is a "pro" move. Damewood and Korfhage leave no mention of the corn, but cakemouth c. writes, "The corn is stupid expensive: $5 for a corn cob cut into 3 pieces. Also, it didn't seem like very high quality corn."

The Best-Dish News—Damewood "loved" the flan and would order the "corn-cake arepas" over the "solid" fry bread; Scott C. called the roasted veggie fry bread "amazing"; Ryan E. thought the "ooey, doughy, salty, filling" fry breads were "hot and delicious"; and then there's that corn again...

The Bland News—Korfhage calls High Noon's two house salsas "indistinguishable by extreme mildness," and Cakemouth c. responds to the arepas by saying, "Neither of us [cakemouth c. and fellow diner] are 'hot' food people, but both of us wish we had drowned ours in hot sauce to give it a bit more flavor."

The High-Noon-As-Private-Bar News—The word is that High Noon is packed for lunch and quiet in the evenings and for late-night. "As a business-district bar, it could possibly be a favorite," writes Korfhage, thanks to "one of the best" mezcal selections in the city and careful mixology. His final advice is to "skip the restaurant at busy lunch hour, and treat the place as your own private bar."