We all know that Portland is America's Great Restaurant Destination, and given proper planning you could likely come up with enough incredible meals to fill a full week without repeats (ahem, like we did here). But when time is short and budget is a major concern—like during a panicked lunch hour downtown—all of that foodie research and preparation flies out the window and you're left staring down at a $15 Whole Foods salad or a risky cart purchase you made on a whim just because it had the shortest line. 

We get it. We work downtown, making the magazine that informs Portland about the all-time best meals this city has to offer, and even we get overwhelmed with all the options and default to a few tried-and-true favorites. To help out our fellow man—and acknowledge that it's not always practical to sit down to a two-hour, $40 meal worthy of our cover shot in the middle of a busy Thursday—we assembled a list our favorite downtown meals. Behold, how Portland Monthly really eats.

• Caspian Kabob: Doner kabob on pita bread (Wednesdays only)
• Addy’s Sandwich Bar: Duck confit, cranberry relish, and shredded cabbage sandwich
• Korean Twist: Taco combo (3 tacos with Korean salad and fried rice)

Michael Novak, Art Director

• The carnitas burrito with everything at La Jarochita ("Make sure to get the green sauce called 'guacamole.'”)
• Tuna and White bean salad at Café Voila ("If you’re feeling guilty after eating the burrito.")
• Double burger with fries at Lardo
• The Kelsey sandwich at Grilled Cheese Grill, with added grilled mushrooms and turkey

Kelly Clarke, Senior Editor

• Bing Mi!, add Chinese sausage and double cracker
• Café Voila chicken caesar
• Spielman Bagels
• Maya Taco chicken mole burrito w/ extra salsa
• Garden Bar ("I usually try out the special or anything with kale.")
• All-Way cheeseburger & fries
• Sawasdee Thai cart pad kee mao medium spicy w/ extra veggie ("Because the owner Sunny is the nicest human on the planet and she has remembered my order for a decade")
• No 1 Bento bulgogi with yam noodle salad
• In case of emotional emergency: Lardo's meatball banh mi.

A photo posted by Nong's Khao Man Gai (@nongskhaomangai) onJun 3, 2015 at 1:25pm PDT

Fiona McCann, Arts Editor

• Northwest Bowl with chicken subbed in instead of tempeh at Garden Bar
• Nong’s Chicken at Nong’s
• Wolf and Bear's falafel sandwich
• Rolling Gourmet Fusion's veggie combo with kimchi roll on the side
• Bing Mi!

Allison Jones, Digital Editor/Health Editor

• Wolf & Bear's: sabich on greens instead of pita with a side of grilled potato and extra green sauce
• Lardo's sandwiches made as salads!
• Imperial: Kale & Vegetable Salad with rotisserie grilled chicken
• Kure Juice Bar: Honey Be Good bowl
• Prasad: Utopian Dream "Pasta" (shredded green papaya, carrots, shredded collard greens, scallions and broccoli tossed in almond butter pad thai sauce) and a Gilt smoothie (carrot juice, coconut milk, mango, pineapple, turmeric, ginger, bee pollen).
• But, really, homemade leftovers from the night before...

Zach Dundas, Executive Editor

• Caspian Kabob
• Bing Mi!
• Garden Bar

Marty Patail, Associate Editor

• Café Voila, Caesar Salad
• Huong’s Vietnamese Cart on 10th, Bahn Mi
• Kelvin’s Döners next to Caspian Kabob
• Thai Cart on Oak and 2nd, salad rolls with spicy version of peanut sauce

Benjamin Tepler, Associate Food Editor

• Wolf & Bear's, Guero, Spielman Bagels, NKMG, Bing Mi!, Maurice, Tasty N Alder, Marmo, Lardo, Grassa, All-Way, Dime Store, Garden Bar, Boxer Ramen, Little T, Lauretta Jean's, Portland Penny Diner, Little Big Burger, and Kalé

Amy Martin, Associate Art Director

• Boxer Ramen, Wolf & Bear's, Addy’s Sandwich Bar, and Guero

Margaret Seiler, Copy Editor

• BBQ pork bahn mi at Roll Plus Sushi ("So cheap!")
• Bulgogi burrito at Korean Twist
• "The thing with the meat and the egg" at Emame’s Ethiopian
• "And I do like the polenta clafouti with an oyster on the side at Maurice on those days when the following are all true: I’m in absolutely no hurry and have something to read. I just feel like pretending I'm a wealthy femme d’un certain âge. I’m kind of hungover."

Eden Dawn, Style Editor

• Caspian Kabob: Veggie kabob over salad, side of rice
• Rolling Gourmet Fusion: Tuna roll with ginger and wasabi salad sides
• Kargi Gogo Georgian Cart: Mushroom soup dumplings and tomato/cuke salad

A photo posted by ALL-WAY (@allwaypdx) onNov 21, 2014 at 4:50pm PST

Ramona DeNies, Assistant Editor

• I admit to medicating myself about once a month, or as needed, with an All-Way burger. Also like the soup n sandwich cart (Savor Soup House) and Nong’s of course.

Sika Stanton, Web Producer

• Caspian Kabob: Kubideh Kabob over salad (juicy grilled lamb and beef meatballs)
• Garden Bar: Northwest Bowl sub avocado for cheese ("Solid.")
• Verde Cocina farmer’s market stand on Wednesdays: Paleo Verde plate ("Simple, generous, and done right!")

Molly Woodstock, Digital Content Coordinator

• Sonny Bowl's OKQ Salad
• Prasad’s Smokey Tempeh Scramble (or anything)
• Los Gordito’s vegan garbage burrito
• Sizzle Pie’s salad & slice combo (ideally with a slice of vegan brunch pie)

Brian Barker, Contributing Editor

• Pork banh mi at Houng’s (cart on Alder)
• Tomato and Mozzarella sandwich at Little T 
• Shredded pork torta at Guero