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Cooperativa
1250 NW 9th Ave., 971-275-2762, cooperativapdx.com. 7 am-8 pm Tuesday-Saturday.
Cooperativa was already in the planning stages long before COVID-19, but it's now perfectly suited to our current takeout, cook-at-home reality. It's a grocery store, a coffee shop, an ice cream place, a sandwich shop, a bar, a restaurant and a pizzeria. Cooperativa is all about the vibe and flavors of Bologna, of Florence, of Rome and the "slow food" movement that was born in Italy. But there's plenty of Portland DNA. In addition to Italian-accented food, drink and sundries, Sarah Schafer and Anna Caporael's Pearl District market has eight local vendor partners who provide much of what you'll find inside.
First Street Dining Commons
Southwest 1st Street between Watson and Washington avenues, downtownbeaverton.org/blog/dining-commons. 7 am-8 pm daily.
Beaverton has been quietly amassing a collection of the Rose City's best spinoff restaurants in the heart of its Old Town. When the COVID-19 outbreak prompted a pavilion to sprout in the main drag, it created the perfect opportunity for people to abandon the normal requirement to stick with one dining room for the duration of their dinner. At the outdoor dining hall, you can get the unfettered thrill of plate hopping some of Portland's best spinoff restaurants—Ex Novo Brewing, Big's Chicken, Top Burmese, and lauded ramen spot Afuri Izakaya. You can now cavort from restaurant to restaurant, collecting an assortment of spectacular dishes never before assembled for the same feast that you'll unfurl and enjoy in the road.
Fills Donuts
1237 SW Washington St., 503-477-5994. 8 am-2 pm Wednesday-Sunday.
If you thought Portland didn't need another doughnut maker, this one introduces a new style to the culinary scene: the Berliner, traditional German pastries with no center hole and a filling of fruit, chocolate or custard. At Fills, the focus is on seasonality, quality ingredients, and unexpected flavor combinations, both sweet and savory. Expect plenty of inventiveness in Fills' finished products, including flavors like matcha, pumpkin, hazelnut and a pimento cheese with a sesame seed topping. There's even a doughnut breakfast sandwich that's griddled in butter and filled with a scramble of bacon and eggs, plus a chile aioli.
Birrieria PDX
16544 SE Division St., Portland, 971-336-6804. 11 am-9 pm Tuesday-Thursday, 9:30 am-9 pm Friday-Sunday.
The birria boom has reached Portland, and this cart in deep Southeast is one of its main purveyors. Birria de res, like its sibling, barbacoa de res, has a long tradition in many parts of Mexico, but Birrieria PDX's menu goes beyond classic applications: Other inventive options include the keto taco, made with crispy melted cheese instead of a tortilla, and birria ramen, the Japanese noodle soup made with the broth of the birria, resulting in something that tastes more like pho or Thai boat noodles.
Rock Paper Fish
2605 SE Burnside St., rockpaperfishandchips.com. 11 am-9 pm Wednesday-Sunday.
Rock Paper Fish is yet another fast-casual Micah Camden restaurant, and yet another quick pandemic pivot. Open since mid-August, it's a pickup- and delivery-only fish-and-chips window operating out of what used to be Boxer Ramen in the Burnside 26 building. The seafood may be mostly local or regional, but the style is New England: double-battered, double-fried, with thick fries reminiscent of Belgian frites. The fish is dipped in apple juice and seasoned with Old Bay, and double-battered, double-fried so it holds up to delivery. Keeping with the "like Maine, but Oregon" theme, there's a Dungeness crab and Bay shrimp roll instead of lobster roll, while the New England clam chowder also comes as "poutine" over chips.