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A bowl containing a colorful salad.
Matta’s farm salad.
Christine Dong

The Hottest New Restaurants and Food Carts in Portland, September 2023

A stellar Burmese stall within a Portland food hall, a Vietnamese American farm-to-table residency, and more

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Matta’s farm salad.
| Christine Dong

As a city rife with turnover, sitting comfortably on the culinary cutting edge, Portland sees restaurants open doors with regularity, hoping to make a splash in a town that’s overabundant with talent for its size. Some of those newcomers become the talk of the town quickly, among food writers or neighborhood regulars in search of something special.

Thus, we present the Eater Heatmap, which covers some of the most exciting restaurants that have opened in the past six months. Know of a spot that should be on our radar? Send us a tip by emailing pdx@eater.com. For more established, bucket-list restaurants in Portland, check out the Eater 38.

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Eater maps are curated by editors and aim to reflect a diversity of neighborhoods, cuisines, and prices. Learn more about our editorial process.

Gracie’s Apizza

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This St. Johns pizzeria has existed in a variety of forms — as a farmers market stand, a mobile food cart, a restaurant, a pop-up — but its latest version feels the most dialed in. In a sunny corner cafe, owner and pizzaiolo Craig Melillo makes Pacific Northwestern sourdough pizzas topped with green garlic, morels, boquerones, and whatever else Melillo feels inspired by any given week. But beyond the pizzas, the new Gracie’s has also reintroduced Melillo’s broader spectrum of dishes, including beautiful salads made with seasonal produce, petals of prosciutto punctuated with pickled cherries, and house-made ice cream in fun sundae preparations.

The Việt Kiều food cart Matta has existed in several forms over its years open, but now that Richard Le has left the cart behind in favor of a residency at Concordia’s Lil’ Dame space, the chef has leveled up without losing sight of its origins. Dishes from the cart’s original menu remain — thit kho falling apart in a caramel-y, soy-salty broth; mom’s shrimp omelet, the sweetness of coconut milk an undercurrent within the sheet of tomato-studded egg. However, other additions showcase Pacific Northwestern produce and seafood with a Vietnamese culinary palette. A highlight: slices of albacore and end-of-season watermelon sitting over half-moons of pickled daikon, heat and sesame permeating each bite.

Titos Taquitos Swan Island

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Those who live on Portland’s east side have braved the Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway to reach this stellar taquito cart, but now, Tito’s has opened a restaurant in Swan Island, of all places. Anthony La Pietra’s crispy, potato-filled taquitos are as good as ever here, piled high with braised beef or citrusy pork; Tito’s tres leches, loaded with berries, is a worthy conclusion to any meal.

Norma Jean’s Soul Cuisine

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Marquise Cross, the man behind Gourmet Brothers, opened this soul food spot in the former Yonder space, naming the restaurant for the matriarch of his family and the woman who raised him. As such, the team at Norma Jean’s treats you like a loved one, loading plates with standards like red beans and rice or smothered oxtails. The oxtails here, fall-apart tender and drenched in a rich gravy, roast for seven or eight hours until the fat becomes silken; they’re well-complemented by a classic baked mac and cheese and tender collard greens with cabbage, bolstered with smoked turkey leg.

A plate of three smothered oxtails includes a cup of collard greens and cabbage, as well as a pile of baked mac and cheese.
Smothered oxtails with greens and mac and cheese.
Brooke Jackson-Glidden/Eater Portland

Duality Brewing & Astral

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There’s a casual, cool shrug to this sparse combination taproom and restaurant in Kerns — the entire staff consists of its four owners, some of them taking orders while others tend to omelets or arrange conchas on plates. But as anyone who has visited Duality or Astral’s pop-ups knows, the food and beer here are some of the most exciting in town, despite the taproom’s laissez-faire trappings. Menus change often, and regularly incorporate seasonal produce; for instance, chef John Boisse’s pea tendril salads attain a light smokiness that doesn’t overpower the peas’ delicate sweetness, while a summery take on a “BLT” is more of a pork belly chicharrón ssam, with sungold tomato pico de gallo, salsa morita mayo, and little gems. But at brunch, the breakfast sandwich is the clear star, if available: A satisfyingly squishy, maple sugar-encrusted concha from pastry maven Lauren Breneman, filled with a soft omelet, green chorizo, and gooey quesillo with the browned lace of a sear.

Câche Câche

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At this breezy, open-air seafood bar, tucked behind food cart pod Lil’ America, couples share bottles of Muscadet while swiping radishes through seaweed butter and dunking juicy shrimp in Mama Lil’s cocktail sauce. The real draw here is Cache Cache’s lobster roll: Chef John Denison, the former chef de cuisine at St. Jack, hollows out a hunk of browned brioche and fills it with lobster meat coated in tarragon-scented aioli, with just a murmur of brown butter. The finishing touch is genius: a frosty layer of sweet cream buttermilk powder, giving the sandwich a touch of acidity without weighing down the fish.

Jeju Restaurant

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At the latest restaurant from Han Oak duo Peter Cho and Sun Young Park, K-Pop blasts within a warm, sleek space teeming with pale woods and hanging lanterns. True to the restaurateurs’ form, the tasting menu here is a fun, interactive tour through creative Korean fare: A rush of banchan precede beef-and-pork mandu under a toasty, crispy lace, sitting in a pool of bone broth with unending depth. Pieces of dry-aged kanpachi swim in a bright, almost pickle-y broth, dotted with yuja chojang. For the main event, ssam-style meats arrive on a platter alongside piles of greens for wrapping and a buttery, crisp purple rice — bulgogi flank and bavette lounge next to a sleeper hit hot dog speckled with gochugaru. For accompaniments, the bottle list sports a nice selection of wine, soju, and makgeolli.

L’ Orange

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Up a flight of stairs just a few blocks from Ladd’s Addition, L’Orange bathes in natural light as co-owner Jeff Vejr details the environmental context and history of each wine he pours. In the kitchen, chef Joel Stocks uses an impermanent cast of seasonal produce for elegant, focused dishes. Chilled melon soup, energized with lemon oil, spills over a pile of chopped Marcona almonds. Scattered Parisian gnocchi, almost custardy on the inside, sits over a corn pudding topped, cheekily, with popcorn. The menu will shift with the seasons, but the sense of uncomplicated deliciousness will likely remain constant.

Lightly crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside, Heyday’s wheat and rice flour doughnuts come in rotating flavors like baked ube and matcha strawberry. The former pop-up’s doughnut counter now resides within the CORE building, and with the increased kitchen capacity, baker Lisa Nguyen has branched out into other baked goods, such as brownies and banana bread. Morning pick-me-ups from Heyday aren’t complete without a pandan latte or other espresso drink, which uses beans from Portland Ca Phe.

Sandy's Myanmar Cuisine

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Decades in the making, Mya Sandy Myint’s Southeast 82nd restaurant — well, stall within the CORE food hall — serves perhaps the city’s finest version of lahpet thoke, or tea leaf salad. The blue cheese funk of fermented and marinated tea leaves mingles with dried shrimp, fresh cabbage, and peanuts, adding dimension without distracting from the star of the dish. Other items on the menu are straight comfort food, executed with layers of flavor and nuance. The shop’s ohn no khao swè, Myanmar’s answer to Thai khao soi, is silky on the tongue with coconut milk and schmaltz, sweeter and richer than other versions in town. And Myint’s mohinga — a seafood noodle stew often considered Myanmar’s national dish — balances the sweetness of the shellfish in the broth with lemongrass, ginger, and allium.

Magna Kubo

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Carlo Lamagna’s breakout hit, Magna Kusina, is already among Portland culinary royalty; for his next venture, he decided to explore the world of Filipino rotisserie, lechon meats accompanied by atcharra (pickles), white rice, and a house-made dipping sauce. The skin on the pork belly is astoundingly crackly, with just a hint of lemongrass and allium integrated into the meat; a cola-soy sauce brisket is unlike any other available in Portland, particularly nice with a side of garlic fried rice. For dessert, halo-halo arrives with house-made leche flan and generous scoops of ube ice cream.

Village Kitchen

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This Sellwood-Moreland food cart specializes in the cuisine of the Kachin people of Northeastern Myanmar, using herbs like shalap leaf and culantro to make distinctive, complex braises, curries, and stir-fries. The Village Cooking is a particular standout, balancing an earthy foundation of turmeric, paprika, and Sichuan peppercorn with fresh herbs and bamboo shoots — a mound of coconut rice adds a lovely sweetness to the overall dish.

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Gracie’s Apizza

This St. Johns pizzeria has existed in a variety of forms — as a farmers market stand, a mobile food cart, a restaurant, a pop-up — but its latest version feels the most dialed in. In a sunny corner cafe, owner and pizzaiolo Craig Melillo makes Pacific Northwestern sourdough pizzas topped with green garlic, morels, boquerones, and whatever else Melillo feels inspired by any given week. But beyond the pizzas, the new Gracie’s has also reintroduced Melillo’s broader spectrum of dishes, including beautiful salads made with seasonal produce, petals of prosciutto punctuated with pickled cherries, and house-made ice cream in fun sundae preparations.

Matta

The Việt Kiều food cart Matta has existed in several forms over its years open, but now that Richard Le has left the cart behind in favor of a residency at Concordia’s Lil’ Dame space, the chef has leveled up without losing sight of its origins. Dishes from the cart’s original menu remain — thit kho falling apart in a caramel-y, soy-salty broth; mom’s shrimp omelet, the sweetness of coconut milk an undercurrent within the sheet of tomato-studded egg. However, other additions showcase Pacific Northwestern produce and seafood with a Vietnamese culinary palette. A highlight: slices of albacore and end-of-season watermelon sitting over half-moons of pickled daikon, heat and sesame permeating each bite.

Titos Taquitos Swan Island

Those who live on Portland’s east side have braved the Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway to reach this stellar taquito cart, but now, Tito’s has opened a restaurant in Swan Island, of all places. Anthony La Pietra’s crispy, potato-filled taquitos are as good as ever here, piled high with braised beef or citrusy pork; Tito’s tres leches, loaded with berries, is a worthy conclusion to any meal.

Norma Jean’s Soul Cuisine

Marquise Cross, the man behind Gourmet Brothers, opened this soul food spot in the former Yonder space, naming the restaurant for the matriarch of his family and the woman who raised him. As such, the team at Norma Jean’s treats you like a loved one, loading plates with standards like red beans and rice or smothered oxtails. The oxtails here, fall-apart tender and drenched in a rich gravy, roast for seven or eight hours until the fat becomes silken; they’re well-complemented by a classic baked mac and cheese and tender collard greens with cabbage, bolstered with smoked turkey leg.

A plate of three smothered oxtails includes a cup of collard greens and cabbage, as well as a pile of baked mac and cheese.
Smothered oxtails with greens and mac and cheese.
Brooke Jackson-Glidden/Eater Portland

Duality Brewing & Astral

There’s a casual, cool shrug to this sparse combination taproom and restaurant in Kerns — the entire staff consists of its four owners, some of them taking orders while others tend to omelets or arrange conchas on plates. But as anyone who has visited Duality or Astral’s pop-ups knows, the food and beer here are some of the most exciting in town, despite the taproom’s laissez-faire trappings. Menus change often, and regularly incorporate seasonal produce; for instance, chef John Boisse’s pea tendril salads attain a light smokiness that doesn’t overpower the peas’ delicate sweetness, while a summery take on a “BLT” is more of a pork belly chicharrón ssam, with sungold tomato pico de gallo, salsa morita mayo, and little gems. But at brunch, the breakfast sandwich is the clear star, if available: A satisfyingly squishy, maple sugar-encrusted concha from pastry maven Lauren Breneman, filled with a soft omelet, green chorizo, and gooey quesillo with the browned lace of a sear.

Câche Câche

At this breezy, open-air seafood bar, tucked behind food cart pod Lil’ America, couples share bottles of Muscadet while swiping radishes through seaweed butter and dunking juicy shrimp in Mama Lil’s cocktail sauce. The real draw here is Cache Cache’s lobster roll: Chef John Denison, the former chef de cuisine at St. Jack, hollows out a hunk of browned brioche and fills it with lobster meat coated in tarragon-scented aioli, with just a murmur of brown butter. The finishing touch is genius: a frosty layer of sweet cream buttermilk powder, giving the sandwich a touch of acidity without weighing down the fish.

Jeju Restaurant

At the latest restaurant from Han Oak duo Peter Cho and Sun Young Park, K-Pop blasts within a warm, sleek space teeming with pale woods and hanging lanterns. True to the restaurateurs’ form, the tasting menu here is a fun, interactive tour through creative Korean fare: A rush of banchan precede beef-and-pork mandu under a toasty, crispy lace, sitting in a pool of bone broth with unending depth. Pieces of dry-aged kanpachi swim in a bright, almost pickle-y broth, dotted with yuja chojang. For the main event, ssam-style meats arrive on a platter alongside piles of greens for wrapping and a buttery, crisp purple rice — bulgogi flank and bavette lounge next to a sleeper hit hot dog speckled with gochugaru. For accompaniments, the bottle list sports a nice selection of wine, soju, and makgeolli.

L’ Orange

Up a flight of stairs just a few blocks from Ladd’s Addition, L’Orange bathes in natural light as co-owner Jeff Vejr details the environmental context and history of each wine he pours. In the kitchen, chef Joel Stocks uses an impermanent cast of seasonal produce for elegant, focused dishes. Chilled melon soup, energized with lemon oil, spills over a pile of chopped Marcona almonds. Scattered Parisian gnocchi, almost custardy on the inside, sits over a corn pudding topped, cheekily, with popcorn. The menu will shift with the seasons, but the sense of uncomplicated deliciousness will likely remain constant.

Heyday

Lightly crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside, Heyday’s wheat and rice flour doughnuts come in rotating flavors like baked ube and matcha strawberry. The former pop-up’s doughnut counter now resides within the CORE building, and with the increased kitchen capacity, baker Lisa Nguyen has branched out into other baked goods, such as brownies and banana bread. Morning pick-me-ups from Heyday aren’t complete without a pandan latte or other espresso drink, which uses beans from Portland Ca Phe.

Sandy's Myanmar Cuisine

Decades in the making, Mya Sandy Myint’s Southeast 82nd restaurant — well, stall within the CORE food hall — serves perhaps the city’s finest version of lahpet thoke, or tea leaf salad. The blue cheese funk of fermented and marinated tea leaves mingles with dried shrimp, fresh cabbage, and peanuts, adding dimension without distracting from the star of the dish. Other items on the menu are straight comfort food, executed with layers of flavor and nuance. The shop’s ohn no khao swè, Myanmar’s answer to Thai khao soi, is silky on the tongue with coconut milk and schmaltz, sweeter and richer than other versions in town. And Myint’s mohinga — a seafood noodle stew often considered Myanmar’s national dish — balances the sweetness of the shellfish in the broth with lemongrass, ginger, and allium.

Magna Kubo

Carlo Lamagna’s breakout hit, Magna Kusina, is already among Portland culinary royalty; for his next venture, he decided to explore the world of Filipino rotisserie, lechon meats accompanied by atcharra (pickles), white rice, and a house-made dipping sauce. The skin on the pork belly is astoundingly crackly, with just a hint of lemongrass and allium integrated into the meat; a cola-soy sauce brisket is unlike any other available in Portland, particularly nice with a side of garlic fried rice. For dessert, halo-halo arrives with house-made leche flan and generous scoops of ube ice cream.

Village Kitchen

This Sellwood-Moreland food cart specializes in the cuisine of the Kachin people of Northeastern Myanmar, using herbs like shalap leaf and culantro to make distinctive, complex braises, curries, and stir-fries. The Village Cooking is a particular standout, balancing an earthy foundation of turmeric, paprika, and Sichuan peppercorn with fresh herbs and bamboo shoots — a mound of coconut rice adds a lovely sweetness to the overall dish.

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