As food businesses were forced to adapt to the pandemic over the past year, Portland’s taco spots managed to hang in there — partly due to the resilience of the restaurant industry, partly because tacos are well suited for outdoor dining and takeout. Vegans and vegetarians have no shortage of options, as many taco shops offer at least one meatless or can-be-made-vegan item. In addition to covering Mexican restaurants and food carts serving complex guisados and juicy nopales with spicy salsas on hand-pressed tortillas, this map also explores other meatless interpretations: seitan asada, fried tofu chicharrón, beer-battered banana blossom “fish,” and even panko-breaded pea protein “shrimp.”
The points on this map guide are not ranked; rather, they’re organized geographically.
A number of Portland restaurants have resumed outdoor dine-in service. The level of service offered is indicated on each map point. However, this should not be taken as endorsement for onsite dining, as there are still safety concerns: for updated information on coronavirus cases in your area, please visit the Oregon Health Authority’s COVID update page. Studies indicate that there is a lower exposure risk when outdoors, but the level of risk involved with patio dining is contingent on restaurants following strict social distancing and other safety guidelines.
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