Portland, OR. good cheap eats?

[vash]

i blew it. i booked a trip with my brother, and cant get back home in time for my wife's birthday. she is cool with it, and took the opp to take a road trip with a couple of girlfriends. they are going to roadtrip it to oregon. she is very excited.

one of her friends is kinda frugal. any great cheap restaurants you recommend?
bonus points for any cheap places to eat in between san francisco and portland!

in addition, i want to find a good restaurant to make reservations for them. i want to either buy a gift certificate, or pay ahead. i think i know where to send them. none of them drink, so i can buy some great food!

cliff

[Wilywilly]

Book a table at the Ringside, no dissapointments. On the low end are several Brew Pubs McMiniims (sp) several locations. I like the one in Vancouver right accross the river the best. Another place is Tadish Grill. Again my spelling is F****ed up.

[scottmandue]

I haven't tried them but Portland has a bunch of street food if your wife and friends are up for it (only thing that comes to mind in the cheap catagory.)

Food Carts Portland

For nice you can do this:

Portland City Grill - Home

I know you said they don't drink but many of the brewpubs have good food and don't mind if you have soft drinks.

I realy like the food here:

Deschutes Brewery & Public House
210 NW 11th Ave
Portland, OR 97209
Neighborhood: Pearl District

(503) 296-4906

And here:

Rogue Ales Public House
1339 NW Flanders St
Portland, OR 97209
Neighborhood: Pearl District

(503) 222-5910

And

(Great Reuben)
Goose Hollow Inn
1927 SW Jefferson Street
Portland, OR 97201
Neighborhoods: Goose Hollow, Southwest Portland

(503) 228-7010

[looneybin]

isn't Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland?

[vash]

Originally Posted by looneybin

isn't Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland?

she is bringing me a dozen! they will probably suck, stale.

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by vash

she is bringing me a dozen! they will probably suck, stale.

Tell her to get there early.

Sunday afternoon downtown there was a line around the block... I'm not waiting that long for a donut.

On a similar note, wife used to bring her daughter back In-n-Out fries to Portland from L.A.

[pavulon]

We ate at Nicola's Pizza at 4826 N. Lombard . It was pretty good but we were pretty hungry!

[herr_oberst]

Chez Jose on NE Broadway has good Mexican

Sweet Basil Thai on NE Broadway is pretty good

Lots and Lots and Lots of restaurants on NE Alberta. Try Petite Provence for breakfast.

PDX has more restaurants than you can imagine, and now there is a trend to street carts, some really good cheap eats.

And then there's always The Taproom where an offshoot of the Porsche club meets. You KNOW that's cheap eats, ha ha.

[kanadary]

when we visit portland we have two must dos.. powell books and burgerville.

[RWebb]

here are a few from my field notes and gleanings from Willy Week and etc.:

Cheap Places

Hoda's
3401 SE Belmont Street
(503) 236-8325
"Hoda" means enlightenment. Enlighten your wallet with tasty Middle Eastern food at this unpretentious restaurant.

La Calaca Comelona
1408 SE 12th Avenue
(503) 239-9675
Dine family-style to take advantage of modest prices for modest servings. And don't expect a burrito.

Pho Van
1919 SE 82nd Avenue
(503) 788-5244
Despite its almost elegant setting, this pho joint offers some of the cheapest (and best) Vietnamese noodle soups around, plus non-soup dishes that are equally great bargains.

Restaurant Russia
6433 SE Foster Road
(503) 771-8873
If you can resist indulging a taste for caviar, you can dine cheaply and heartily at Restaurant Russia.

Queen of Sheba
2413 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
(503) 282-2117
Ethiopian eatery with firey stews, great food, low prices

Delta Cafe
4607 SE Woodstock Boulevard
(503) 771-3101
This little temple of Southern food is always packed for three reasons: great food, huge portions and incredibly cheap prices. You'll find comforting dishes like hush puppies, fried chicken, creole, jambalaya, and mac-n-cheese—most of which come in at well under ten bucks a plate.

Gustav's Bier Stube
5035 NE Sandy Boulevard
(503) 288-5503
Be prepared to wait in line at this German pub-style restaurant, which specializes in big plates of sausage, along with rotisserie chicken and pork dishes, schnitzels, fondue and American favorites that rise head-and-shoulders above the usual bar fare.

Le Bistro Montage
301 SE Morrison Street
(503) 234-1324
In these parts, the Montage is famous for its Cajun-style food that varies from super-inexpensive bowls of mac-n-cheese to blackened catfish and frogs legs. If breakfast is in order, try the Dr. Seuss special: Green Eggs and Spam.

Noho's Hawaiian Cafe
2525 SE Clinton Street
(503) 233-5301
Portions here are huge, and the food tastes so authentic it's known to make transplanted Hawaiians homesick. Beware the "large"—or in Hawaiian, "blalah"—unless you're really, really hungry. We're talking a gigantic heap of food, all of it good.

The Roxy
1121 SW Stark Street
(503) 223-9160
The Roxy is awake 24 hours a day, and this is good news for famished vamps and nocturnal noshers on a budget. If the food here is designed to raise your blood pressure, the prices are not. You'll find big breakfasts, more-than-substantial burgers, and a number of deep-fried delights, all hovering around the $7 mark.

Magpie
1303 NE Fremont
(503) 331-8137
Mary Ellen Rowe makes all her main dishes heart-healthy and low-fat, saving the butter for no-holds-barred desserts and "really yummy cookies." Most of her dishes are vegetarian, too.

Nicholas
318 SE Grand Avenue
(503) 235-5123
One of Portland's most interesting restaurants also happens to be one of its cheapest. Menu items are constructed from wholesome staples—garbanzo and fava beans, spinach, eggplant, lentils, rice, chicken and beef—which are then mixed with a variety of spices to yield very tasty results.

Paradox Palace
3439 SE Belmont Street
(503) 232-7508
Paradox makes all its own baked goods, many of which are vegan, and offers organically grown products and wheat-, dairy- and sugar-free selections. And, at this '50s-diner-type joint, you'll be hard-pressed to find anything over six bucks.

Vita Cafe
3024 NE Alberta Street
(503) 335-8233
A very large and nutritious menu awaits health-conscious diners at Vita. You'll find a range of vegetarian and vegan Asian, Mediterranean and Mexican dishes, with breakfast served anytime. And the bill leaves plenty of change in your pocket.

[Nine17]

We were just up in PDX at the beginning of August. Pok Pok is fabulous -- tell her to be sure to get the chicken wings. We went there twice. Thai food with a Portland twist...

Pok Pok . PDX . + 1 503 232 1387

[gtc]

Acropolis Steakhouse for breakfast... ~$4 steak and eggs. The view aint bad, either.

[gtc]

Wild River Pizza (4 locations in southern OR) is pretty tasty.

[Noah930]

Pizza Schmizza. About 325 locations.

There are a couple restaurants in John's Landing (just south of downtown). A hawaiian place and a burger joint. Can't recall the names. They're literally around the corner from each other. I'll have to ask my friend who still lives in the neighborhood. There's a mexican place in the Pearl. I think it's within half a block of the DWR showroom.

edit: Bamboo Grove Hawaiian Food Portland restaurant

If you can, go out and have a nice dinner in PDX, too. There are a lot of great restaurants, particularly in the downtown/Pearl/NorthWest 23rd neighborhoods. Free bus/trolley system within the downtown area, too, IIRC.

[vash]

thanks everyone!! pokpok made the list. she loves thai.

and i think i have a line on a great italian joint. i may have to buy TWO gift certificates.

[artplumber]

Jin Wah in Beaverton. Chinese/Vietnamese

[Noah930]

Burger joint in Johns Landing was called Stanich's, but they're now closed. However, they have a location over on the east side of town, IIRC.

My friend also recommends Toro Bravo by the Rose Garden.

[jyl]

Pambiche is a popular and very good Cuban restaurant at NE 32 and NE Glisan. Love the oxtail.

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by gtc

Acropolis Steakhouse for breakfast... ~$4 steak and eggs. The view aint bad, either.

(Caution, this is a titty bar)

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by Noah930

Burger joint in Johns Landing was called Stanich's, but they're now closed.

Avoid Stanich's, it's a shadow of it's old self, and the service will make you weep.