America's BEST Food City? My Honest Portland Food Experience
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 มิ.ย. 2024
- Portland was recently rated the 10th best food city in the entire world by Time Out Magazine. This was my honest experience eating my way around Portland on a food tour with Lost Plate Tours.
Book a tour with Lost Plate tours and eat those amazing waffles here: lostplate.com/
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I have lived in Portland for a decade and I think the reason that it wins in ranking like this is the variety of solid offerings. There are only a few spots here where it is amazing. Most spots will be as good as your favorite in another city- not blow you away. But, that said , you can get 7-9 stars of Ramen, Thai fried chicken, pork belly, waffles, donuts, pizza, farm to table meats, indian and pakistani food, seafood, lots of South American... and on and on.. we are not likely to beat a city in what it is known for.. we are likely for anyone who spends a lot of time here able to give you 2 dozen meals all really really good and none of them the same.
Choices were made this day, mostly not the best. Beginning with that tour! Should have started across the street at Lardo's for a great sandwich, then either eat Chinese on Hawthorne or go to a different neighborhood's pod. Or just go to Alberta or Division
haha fair enough! I thought it would be a good way to get to know some off the beaten path spots, but I will definitely be back to give the food carts another chance. Next time I'll be armed with more local recommendations!
I came here to say this. I am shocked at some of the food choices at the pods. I think I just found my new side business as a food guide.
I think it's they got the ranking on the massive amount of food establishments, diversity of food, generally high quality and tasty, and (even being a US city) very affordable. Are you going to get better tacos in Mexico City? Sure. Are you going to get more high-end fine dining in New York? Of course. But I have to say.. if you want an all types of good food that won't break the bank adventure.. I'm heading to Portland. (also.. you took a food tour, as opposed to vetted recos? Seems weird)
City Thai is a small local place in southwest Portland that my wife and I cannot stop eating at. The menu is enormous and so far every item we've ordered has been a new favorite.
Food tours can be hit or miss. It's always fun to find a gem or two.
They're definitely worth it to get to know the city better!
Aloha. That’s considered a win in my book.
I'm a Portland local and I have to say I think the majority of our carts are mediocre or are coasting on their reputations from ten years ago. Plus best of lists are weird - and food tours can feel pretty biased and canned (I always feel like I am at someone's cousin's restaurant). I think we really shine with our smaller farm-to-table-ish places - both small, casual cafes and nicer fine dining restaurants - and with our farmers markets. And of course our Pinot Noir. That being said, my one meal I go to time and time again in PDX is from a cart (or their more recent brick and mortar) - the Roasted Duck Jian Bing from BIng Mi! I could eat that every week and never tire of it!
Thanks for your thoughtful comment - best of lists are definitely heavily biased. I appreciate the tips for other places to try next time I'm in town!
I find the carts are also just more expensive. I really like the kind of restaurants where you can order at the counter. I think food here is amazing in that category, they're consistently quite good, and i enjoy quick and casual meals. I also love the drive thru Mexican places. Or I go to a restaurant. I've had great food at food carts, but they kinda are overrated, most places I'd recommend people aren't food carts.
Me and my wife on our way next week, can’t wait to try a million food spots and see what Portland has to offer us!
dont listen to anything she said. she's clueless. check out eater Portland and they wont steer you wrong.
Thanks. I’ve only been through Portland. You make really good videos. I’ve been watching your channel a few years
Portland native here, and I will just say that any "best of" ranking is nearly useless. There are amazing resturants here (try Nostrana or Arden) and there are sub-par resturants...just like anywhere else. Not sure I would let a few random food carts (we have LOTS) color your expeience of the Portland "food scene." Honestly, next time you visit, find a local foodie to share some gems then see what you think.
Thanks for the fun video!
Portland food culture is so rich and diverse, but you pick Nostrana as a go-to destination? You can have the Nostrana experience in any number of bougie restaurants in any city in the country, and most of them do it better. Nostrana isn't a reason to come to Portland, it's a way to blow $500 to impress a date.
@@queztocoaxial yes it's a bit bougie and expensive, but a James Beard award will do that to a place. When talking pizza, tthe two best in Portland (in my opinion) are Nostrana and Ken's. If you can't afford the prices, orderr a full size margarita pizza for $10 after 9:00. So simple, yet so sublime.
I live in Portland and have for 30 years. No longer eat out at all. But I shop the farmers market and get amazing food there. I prefer that we not be so glamorized. Makes for overcrowding.
Chicken and Guns makes a great chicken. Burritos at El Brasero are way better than decent. Burgers at Bottle Rocket? Yes please. Poutine at Potato Champion…also yes please especially after a few beers at Apex on the other side of Ladd’s Addition. I’d rather have poutine in Quebec…but here I am not far
from Cartopia.
There’s great pizza here in town as well, but not so much (that I’ve found) at food carts-there’s some amazing pizza around SE and NE Portland.
Mmmmmmmm….Rogue. But check the food cart at the Barley Pod (60th and Halsey) where one can get great beer from Baerlic and an amazing chicken sandwich at Flew the Coop.
So many great food trucks here in town.
def a must try chicken and guns in pdx or on the way to the coast
Thank you for visiting!
The vietnamese food here is awesome, some good ones on Sandy Blvd in Hollywood district. And so many good choices of mexican food here. I like El Sombrero in the Parkrose district on Sandy Blvd. Neighborhood a little sketchy, but good chili colorado and pork verde and seafood dishes too.
Lilla's in inner se portland has great italian food
Thanks for this yummy vlog Laura!My favorites: Waffle and lamb curry! I enjoyed it a lot! Thanks!
Those were definitely my favorites! Glad you enjoyed the video :)
Loved the video Laura 🙂 it’s so much fun to see US videos with you 🙂
Thank you so much, I'm so glad you enjoy the US travels! There will be plenty more this summer as I head around the western part of the country exploring!
@@laura-bronner Awesome, looking forward to it 🙂
@@laura-bronner what happened to your life in Europe?
Another Portland native here.. and worked for the public.. rankings are nice, it brings in tourists but never have I figured out exactly what other people's tastes are and in comparison and experiences of others who highly rate certain cuisines and therefore whenever someone asks me what I would recommend they could go and try and eat, I could never provide them that answer w/o being biased based on the cost, quality, and quantity of what they would find satisfaction from. Though I am sad that after the pandemic, a lot of places have closed down and whenever new management takes over businesses, the niche foods I enjoy no longer exists. One example would be Noodle Company's Steak Stroganoff, though they've brought it back a few times on special occasions, the flavorful and tenderness of the steak which completes it is irreplaceable even though the sauce and noodles have been replicated. Another place I favored was this place in Downtown Portland called Boxer Ramen where their broth was rich and creamy that it helped elevate their noodles and toppings.
Thanks for sharing
"I don't even like waffles" ???? wha??? who doesn't like waffles? I'm originally from Portland. Left there in 1989. I am moving back this fall and am so proud of how far it's come since I left. Go, PDX!!!
First bridge - Hawthorne! Cartopia is good - hard to find parking tho. Our whole food-cart scene was much bigger and better a few years before Covid, especially downtown. Things have changed a lot - but there is still amazing food in Portland! Sadly, you only went to a few places - everything is spread out these days. Girl, I could have taken you a food tour - it would have been a more authentic food tour of what Portland has to offer. Maybe next time.
Yes, I was speaking to a few other locals while I was there who said similar things about how much it has changed since Covid. Next time I'm in Portland, I'll be sure to get in touch so I can see and taste the good stuff!
I live in this neighborhood snd i have to say its a shame you didn't name more of the carts you went to, the people making your food deserve the recognition
You hit food carts. Yes, they are great, but that is only one part of Portland's food scene... and not the best. There are innovative young chefs here and old established eateries here. You didn't even walk by and smell them.
But thanks for coming. Hope you return a wider, more balanced eye. And, yes, hit those waffles and lamb again, too.
Cascade brewing, grassa, salt and straw
Although we are famous for our food carts, I always had better meals at the restaurants. Portland is such a beer city, I am surprised the food tour picked Rogue. Cough... That is probably the last one I would recommend, but feel like food tours kind of partner with vendors. Maybe you should come back and visit our wineries and the fantastic farm to table restaurants in that area. Or If you are a beer lover, head out to Bend where you find the most gorgeous landscapes, awesome food and the best beer in Oregon. Or if you want the best Indian food, you have to come out to the suburbs. It is really hard to not to gain weight in this state. LOL
Hi Laura OMG do not do tours in portland right now My advice if you come thru again watch Somebody feed Phil He found some of our best spots Prost Kachka Han Oak Ruthie's ....
Thanks for the tips! I'm sure I'll be back there at some point, so will add those to my list!
Rogue Brewery is a solid choice among a long list of good breweries in Oregon.
Variety and diversity. That's why it's up there. Also. You should probably try some expensive food
you missed Kim Jong Grillin, I eat there at least once a week, it's amazing
Some years back there was a place in Portland called Stanich’s that served a really good burger. One of the best I've ever had (not the best, but very good), and it was just a grungy little neighborhood dive bar. Then a food wtiter named the place his pick for best burger in America, and Stanich's closed five months later. It had been overrun with tourists and hipsters all complaining that the place was low class, dingy, the burger wasn't that good actually, and now you have you wait five hours to get a burger. Sixty-eight years it was open, and died within five months of being named the best. That's how strongly hype can effect people. Maybe it wasn't actually the best in America, but it was good, and hype killed it (along with a heaping portion of human nature).
Portland is a really good place for food, generally speaking. But if you come here with the idea in mind that you're going to have some kind of transcendent, life-altering experience then you're setting yourself up for disappointment. No city can beat that kind of hype.
What’s the name of the waffle food cart? It looks amazing! 😊
It was called Smaaken - www.smaaken.com/location/bg-food-cartel/
It was SO good!!
Mmm, I'm still dreaming about all the food in Portland...
The food cart place we went in the downtown where we met was one of my favorites!
@@laura-bronner Same here
It was great. The riots and then covid hit Portland especially hard. As far as getting base ingredients Portland is still a top ten city. For example u-pick fruit. Meat quality for the price. Farmer markets. etc
6:49 Just get recommendations next time! Food tours get a kickback
I'm not sure how long your visit was, but you've only scratched the surface of the food scene. Hope you get to stay for a month next time. I live in Portland and can suggest a bunch of places, but I too have so many places yet to discover.
Btw, you can find an even better Indian lamb dish, a lamb saag, at Dwaraka, which was relatively close to the area you were in. However, now I'm curious about that Indian cart you went to.
If you make it back to the Hawthorn Asylum, I would recommend checking out the Montage cart. It's a remnant of a former Portland mainstay called Le Bistro Montage. Unfortunately, that was a victim of the pandemic, but the cart emerged as a torchbearer of its famous Mac and cheese. The Spold Mac was always my favorite, because I like spice.
If there's any good advice I could give, focus on a part of the city and find the recommended offerings, quadrant by quadrant. You were in the heart of SE, but you need to explore SE Division, NE Alberta, the Woodstock neighborhood, Sellwood, Downtown, the Pearl District, NW 21st and 23rd, Montevilla, the Jade District, and St. Johns. This is not including the suburbs, such as Beaverton and Hillsborough, which boast top notch Indian, Korean and and Japanese restaurants. On top of everything else, recent James Beard winner Kaan is in Portland.
Btw, I would have recommended a Taste of Poland if that cart was still around, but next time you may want to try a Russian restaurant called Kachka for a fancy take on various comfort foods. It was only a couple blocks from the Rogue Brewery you went to.
Bro went on a food tour omg just go to lardo, kati, doe donuts, queen of shiba, eem
Great vid. Bummer that some of the food options were disappointing. Years ago, I took one of the walking food truck tours there. I was thoroughly impressed, not only by the food, but by the stories behind it. There was the guy who only served salmon that he had personally caught in a particular river in Alaska. Then, there was the couple - Korean woman, Mexican guy, or maybe vice versa - who served Mexican-Korean fusion such as Bulgogi tacos, which were were amazing. I also ended my tour with incredible waffles (not sure if the same as yours or not). All that was to say: definitely try it again some time!
The stories definitely make the tours better, I wish we were able to speak to the vendors during the tour, but that wasn't part of the interaction unfortunately. But all of these comments do make me want to go back and try a few more places on my own and explore with friends!
I think it's a little unfair to compare food carts to the restaurants that have been getting Portland ranked as one of the top 10 food places in the world. Food carts are definitely part of the culture, but none of the top listed restaurants, like Kaan or Lechon, were reviewed. There's a few places that are really special.
Portland punches above its weight for the size, but there’s no world that exists where Portland is the 10th best food city on the planet, let alone in the US. I’m not even sure on the smaller city scale, it outdoes places like Austin or Charleston. There are literal neighborhoods within Los Angeles, not even considering the city as a whole, that offer better food than Portland. That being said, PDX is a really good food city for its size, and great place to be and dine and drink when the sun is shining.
My sister visited Charleston, she was blown away by the food and apparently its a hidden gem foodie that still doesnt get the spotlight. I want to visit Dallas, Houston and San antonio for the food. Im from portland, I dont get it here LOL
I still had a few really great meals and would go back at some point to explore more based on a few more local recommendations next time, but I agree with you, there are other US cities that I would put above Portland based on similar experiences.
Coming from Portland. In my experience it's a hit and miss town. We have amazing food. It can bring up your expectations but then the next day you can be let down. This city has a problem with consistency. But the ingredients on the other hand are amazing.
I was in Portland for 7 months on business and ate out every meal. I never understood how it got such a high ranking. It trys hard to have food from everywhere, just not exactly like the food from where they are representing. Plus, girl, you are such a well-traveled foodie nobody can fool you.
😂 Thanks - This might be one of my favorite ever comments!!
That's cause its not good LOL, im from there. Many different types of cuisines and experiences like food carts to small spots...its average. I wanna visit Texas, Tennessee and NEw Orleans for food LOL.
Aloha. Personally, I think you have to go somewhere that has an actual identity.
@@kaylaschregardus4062Aloha. New Orleans will ruin you.
@@adamyoung480 how will it ruin a person?
I've lived in the PNW most of my life and can honestly say I prefer Portland, ME over Portland, OR (MY OPINION)
Same here 👍
Excellent video as always. Thanks for always being honest. We felt the same about Portland. Surprisingly Seattle blew us away, which was completely opposite of what we expected!
Seattle does have some great food! Lots of interesting food trucks and hole-in-the-wall spots that I've enjoyed there!
Hello again Laura, im from portland. Glad you were honest, I really dont understand the hype. 10th in the WORLD?! So the food carts are fun and unique I will give it that. Theres lots of little spots in Portland, many types of cuisine, but its all mediocre! I have eaten food in Mexico and even Californians say "there is no good mexican food here" so I completely get that aspect.
I've never been to Charleston S.C., New Orleans, or had BBQ in Memphis TN or Houston Tx...I heard these places know what food is!!
My favorite Indian food cart is Best Taste of India on 82nd in Cartlandia, and Christinas Cartel food cart in clackmas. Other food places in Portland outside of that area dont seem to get enough attention too. Ive been to that waffle cart, I do like the dessert style waffles I will say.
Those waffles are definitely some of the best! Thanks for your other tips for good food carts. I'm sure I'll be back to the city at some point since I'm based just up the road in Seattle! I haven't been to those cities either, but I've heard they're pretty amazing!
I used to like The Frying Scotsman but I don't know where he went after they closed the food carts at 10th & Washington
@@scotthuish67 never heard of that
Happy Pride month 🏳️🌈♥️
So much negativity in the comments. Bunch of miserable people. The food carts are one of the things I miss about Portland since moving away six years ago. Nowhere is all good or all bad. The food cart pods are one of the good things about Portland.
@@jazzcatjohn there’s only negativity because the title of this episode is “is portland really a top 10 food destination?” Like I said above, her experience was incredibly limited to pretty mediocre places. If the title was instead “i ate at Portland’s food carts” No one would have commented, I certainly would not have.
Your first mistake was thinking the “best food” is from a food truck pod. Maybe skip the shitty tour and try one of the many incredible restaurants Portland has to offer.
Classism? In Portland? Well, I never 🧐
Portland is a progressive pit!
No more tours you gotta stop this
completely incorrect, city is burned down, please don't come, nobody here but us fish
Absolute crap take on Portland's food scene, this video should be taken down. Where to begin with the criticism? First, you went to food trucks only, Portland is much more then that. Portland's dining scene is revered for its delicious and relatively inexpensive fine dining restaurants: Le Pigeon, Canard, St Jack, Urdaneta, Yaowarat, Magna Kusina, Kann, Kachka, Republica. Not to mention places like Lardo, Grassa, Frybaby, and Pasture. You went to none of them. You also went to two of the crappier food cart pods, the Asylum is a joke. Good work visiting the OG at 12th and Hawthorne but no chicken and guns? no fish sauce Brussels from bottlerocket? why didn't you go to Prost food cart or Hinterlands for Matt's bbq tacos? To top it off you got beers at Rogue? The worst Oregon brewery by a country mile! No Breakside, no Baerlic, no Level??? Do your research, don't be so lazy and don't slander my awesome city's food and beer scene ever again. Shame on you.
Portland is NOT in the top 10 in the US. 😂
Thanks for honesty. I'm don't know why Portland is considered a "foodie town". Has to be cause of the venues and the variety, not neccessarily because of the quality.
I moved to Portland from San Francisco and Portland food should not be in the top 10. Sorry. People here are very passionate but food here is lackluster.
Agreed... I moved here from Atlanta awhile back. The food is good, but BEST is a looooong stretch
The best food carts are gone now and never coming back
While I agree Portland probably isn't top ten in the world, the only things SF has over Portland are sushi and Chinese. Other than those two options Portland is all around better. Atlanta could make a good case, but the food culture is so different it's like comparing apples and oranges. Or marionberries and peaches, I guess.
@@queztocoaxial SF has good food in every corner of its suburbs and surrounding cities. If a city is going to be in the top 10, it should have more than 1 or 2 great places of any cuisine. And the so-called best places should be phenomenal but I'm generally disappointed at all the hyped-up places. I'm not trying to compare SF to PDX but to in the top 10, it should be excellent at more places than 1.
You have to live in a food city for a while, and find the best food. You're definitely not going to do it on a walking tour, or in two days. The whole idea of a food City is living in it and experiencing all it has to offer. There are dozens of amazing restaurants all over the city, it's not all about the food carts though there are certainly some gems like Juicy's Jambalaya 8 miles from downtown.
I would never go to Portland
@@dw4861 excellent
I can't stand Portland or the people there. I'll bet the food prices were outrageous too.
Average even fast food to sit-down...$14-15 here I would say. SOmeone I knew went home to Seattle a few weekends ago and said the food was a little cheaper.
Then don’t go.
With that attitude, we wouldn't like you either. Try Boise. Might be right up your alley.
@@kaylaschregardus4062 seattle food prices are 10% higher than Portland
@@akahina or Tigard!
Portland could have been in the Top Ten but the people are too Lazy. I live here.
"Top Ten"? Oh Hell No. I live here. Any City in Southern California kills this place.