The Top Five Places to Get Food This Week

1. Chayo

3601 SE Division St. 11:30 am-2 pm lunch, 4:30-8 pm dinner Thursday-Saturday, 11:30 am-6 pm Sunday.

When he dreamed of opening a loncheria in 2018, David Lizaola imagined serving classic Jaliscan lonches on lime- and beer-enriched birote. When he couldn’t find birote in Portland, he pivoted to ciabatta—and while it may not be traditional, it’s still damn good. In the Hot Oli, Lizaola gives his pork loin an adobado treatment by massaging the cuts with a blend of guajillo pepper, herbs, alliums and warming spices. It’s a perfect sandwich.

2. Dirty Lettuce

At Shady Pines, 5240 NE 42nd Ave. Noon-8 pm Thursday-Sunday.

An all-vegan food cart hub in Portland seems like a no-brainer, and the popularity of Shady Pines confirms it: Even on late afternoons in the middle of the week, there’s usually a constant flow of people picking up hearty vegan meals. Arguably the pod’s biggest breakout success is Dirty Lettuce. The Mississippi transplant serves up seitan versions of down-home favorites like barbecue ribs and fried chicken with a rotating array of classic Southern sides.

3. Monster Smash Burger

At Belmont Station, 4500 SE Stark St., belmont-station.com/monster-smash. Noon-6 pm Thursday and Sunday, noon-8 pm Friday-Saturday.

Pandemic Portland has more smash burgers than doughnuts these days, and one of the best comes from Monster Smash. The OG Smash Burger comes on a lofty Dos Hermanos brioche bun, with two 2.5-ounce patties of local grass-fed 80/20 beef from Fulton Provisions. The housemade pickles lean toward spicy bread and butter, while Loverde’s “Monster Sauce” is in the classic Thousand Island style—mostly ketchup and mayo, with yellow mustard and seasonings.

4. Jerry’s Pizza

At Bear Paw Inn, 3237 SE Milwaukie Ave., jerryspizzapdx.com. 4-9 pm Monday-Thursday, preorder only.

It’s easier to get a hold of Jerry’s Pizza these days than it used to be. That doesn’t mean it’s raining pies, though. Now operating out of the tiny kitchen at the Bear Paw Inn, it’s still a one-man operation. Don’t expect to roll up and order at the bar: Jerry’s holds a ticketed sale once a week. The draw for many of his customers is the taste of home, but even those who didn’t eat Chicago pizza growing up still find something nostalgic about the thin crust, the slightly sweet sauce, the salty pepperoni, and fennel-tinged sausage.

5. Sweet Lorraine’s

1331 N Killingsworth St., sweetlorraineslatkes.squarespace.com. 11:30 am-3:30 pm Monday-Tuesday, noon-8 pm Thursday-Sunday.

It’s Hanukkah year-round at Killingsworth Station—or, at least, a reasonable facsimile of the Lower East Side of New York. The cart pod is where Aaron Tomasko and Rachel Brashear serve voluptuous potato pancakes, as well as knishes, kugel, kasha varnishkes, and East Coast sweets. The crispy, pillowy latkes are fried to order and come with the traditional accompaniment of sour cream and applesauce.