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G Station
550 NW 6th Ave., 503-224-0776, gstationdiner.com. 5:30 am-1 pm and 3-11 pm Monday-Saturday, 7 am-7 pm Sunday.
Opened in 2015 inside the Greyhound station in Old Town, G Station is like Portland's answer to Bob's Burgers, if it were set in a port town bus station. The cheeseburger ($6.75) brings to mind Burger King's Whopper, with onions, pickles, tomatoes and secret sauce. Bus stations aren't my first stop for fish, but the fried seafood platter ($12.99), with prawns, halibut bites, clams and fries, is a shockingly safe, satisfying bet. But G Station's best item is perhaps its Impossible Burger, which, at $10.99, is among the most affordable in the city. ANDREW JANKOWSKI.
Bar Miranda
827 SW 2nd Ave., 971-319-1184, barmirandapdx.com. Noon-9 pm Monday-Friday, 4-9 pm Saturday, closed Sunday.
Tucked away in the mezzanine of the Portland Food Hall, you'd never know there was a tropical retreat amid downtown's World Trade Center office buildings unless you were looking for it. Named after Carmen Miranda, Bar Miranda injects the loft with its namesake's hip-swaying effervescence. The cocktail list is what you'd expect at a South American resort, and the "beach vacation" vibe is abetted by the food downstairs. In particular, Lechon provides flavors from Argentina, Chile and Patagonia via crab tostadas ($8), burrata caprese ($7) and sweet, tender brisket ($8) that comes nestled in tortillas with velvety avocado and a zesty Peruvian red onion relish. ANDI PREWITT.
Bob’s Red Mill Café
5000 SE International Way, Milwaukie, (503) 607-6455, 7 am-6 pm Mon-Sat.
Push past the throngs of gluten-free retirees to Bob's Red Mill's in-house café and order your middle-American breakfast or lunch fare—perhaps a sensible turkey on wheat, plus chips and a pickle ($4.99 half, $6.99 whole). Then take a seat in the back—upstairs, if you can—and gaze out the window, thinking of the good old Bower's Bakery days. You might even look up and see Bob himself. Try to contain your astonishment. HEATHER ARNDT ANDERSON.
Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital Lovejoy Station Cafe
1015 NW 22nd Ave.
Two Thursdays out of the month, I like to go to the cafeteria at the hospital a few blocks from work. There's a pattern to their menus that I haven't quite gotten a handle on where they rotate the items on it in a three week cycle. Two of those items are particular favorites and they only drop on Thursdays. Certain Thursdays, they'll feature a monstrous chicken "enchilada" (basically a massive chicken burrito drenched in enchilada sauce and cheese, $7). Other Thursdays, it's a large slab of meatloaf ($6), with impossibly glossy brown gravy and mashed potatoes. BRIAN PANGANIBAN.
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