For a restaurant named Beast, it's no surprise that a rustically prepared cut — rack of lamb, braised goat, etc. — acts as each tasting menu's central focus. But the one constant on chef Naomi Pomeroy's constantly changing menu is her infamous charcuterie plate, featuring bite-sized preps like a quail-egg topped steak tartare, head cheese with parsley and lemon, and most exquisitely, the foie gras bon-bon topped with a Sauternes gelee.

No sandwich in Bunk's impressive, meaty line-up has a following quite like its pork belly Cubano, which swaps a caramelized version of fattier cut for the traditional roast pork. The thick belly fat plays well alongside the more thinly cut ham, and the double-shot of pork is topped with pickles and Swiss cheese. [Photo

Chef Adam Sappington's homespun restaurant is probably best known for its fried chicken, but Sappington's passion for in-house butchery shows up best on his "Whole Hog" plate. The plate arrives with four pork preparations — a brined and grilled loin, a braised shoulder, roasted pork belly, and a crispy fritter of head cheese. [Photo]

Long before house-made charcuterie and whole-animal butchery became synonymous with Portland dining, chef Greg Higgins has been breaking down pigs, stuffing sausage, and dry-curing salamis. Higgins' own "Whole Pig Plate" (featuring pork loin, ribs, Longaniza sausage, and braised belly) would be an equally worthy entry on this list, the charcuterie plate gets the nod here for spearheading the trend. [Photo]

If you're headed to downtown's Kenny & Zuke's, chances are the deli's week-cured, 10-hour-smoked pastrami will show up somehow on your table. In addition to the traditional pastrami on rye sandwich, the brisket pastrami appears on a slew of combination sandwiches, atop burgers and hot dogs, alongside eggs, and serving as the second layer on a decadent platter of pastrami cheese fries. [Photo]

With all due respect to the iconic Le Pigeon burger and its dessert-menu foie gras profiteroles, the meatiest of chef Gabriel Rucker's icons — the beef cheek bourguignon — has evolved during its lengthy stay on the menu. It's arguably the least inventive of Rucker's famously unexpected menu, but the dish's comforting richness makes it a go-to during Portland's rainy winter months. [Photo]

Nick's Famous Coney Island, in business on SE Hawthorne since 1935, keeps things simple: The namesake dish features a griddled hot dog topped with melted cheese and a "sauce" made of ground beef and onions. Once upon a time, Nick's menu sold the original Coney Island dog for 10 cents (15 cents with fries) alongside dishes like "veal loaf" sandwiches and something called "Heinz soup." [Photo]

Cathy Whims's Italian restaurant boasts a couple iconic dishes — a namesake salad and honey-drizzled pizza chief among them — but a sleeper icon is the bistecca alla Fiorentina, weighing in at two pounds and meant to be eaten by two. [Photo]

House-made charcuterie is practically ubiquitous on Portland menus, thanks in part to the astronomic rise of Olympic Provisions and its USDA-certified curing facility, which is now distributing its sopressatas, chorizos, and saucissons nationwide. At its flagship SE restaurant, the charcuterie board could feature a wide range of products, from mortadella to salami to head cheese terrine, depending on the chef's whims of the day. [Photo]

Because the clam chowder with a marrow bone "garnish" is technically a seafood dish, and because it would otherwise be near-impossible to identify one signature cut of grilled meat, Greg and Gabrielle Denton's Argentine steakhouse Ox is possibly best represented by its Asado Argentino, a meat-filled platter piled high with short ribs, chorizo, blood sausage, skirt steak, and sweetbreads. Obviously, it's meant "for two." [Photo]

Like any French-leaning chef, Vitaly Paley offers his fare share of offal on the menu at Paley's Place: sweetbreads, beef tongue, and foie-gras-infused beef jus. But it's his traditional preparation of roasted bone marrow (accompanied by escargot and Bordelaise sauce) that emerges as the icon. [Photo]

Chicken has been deemed not-quite meaty enough for the Five Days of Meat, knocking Pok Pok's inarguably iconic Vietnamese chicken wings out of contention. Luckily, chef Andy Ricker's second-most-iconic dish rubs boar collar with garlic, coriander, and pepper before flaming it over coals. Photo]

This iconic steakhouse celebrates its 70th anniversary this year, and if you were to ask a guest to identify one representative cut, the choice would vary widely depending on who's doing the eating. For the budget-conscious, it'd be the cheap-but-meaty "steak bites" served during happy hour; for high rollers, maybe the bone-in New York strip or a cut of prime rib. Either way, RingSide is inarguably Portland's most iconic steakhouse, a temple of meat done well (ie, not well-done). [Photo]