Go to town on Pizza Jerk's classic pepperoni pie

No need to get fancy at Tommy Habetz's new punk-family pizza parlor, where the pepperoni pie's flexible, char-spotted crust is slathered in bright, fruity marinara, puddles of Grande mozzarella, and tiny rounds of Molinari pepperoni. For maximum gluttony, unleash the housemade ranch dressing. 

Munch an order of Thrive's Delicata squash fries

Spuds, you’ve been replaced. NE Portland's new "veggie centric" kitchen batters seasonal squash in a rice flour slurry to produce savory, salty, bubble-crunch sticks that taste like sweet potato fries on steroids. They’re molten hot, so dunk each and every one liberally in house buttermilk dill sauce.

Slurp ramen at Food Koma

The spicy ramen from the Korean-tinged Food Koma food cart cost $5. Five dollars. Is it as good as, say, Boxer Ramen, where ramen starts at $11? No. Is it half as good? No. It’s like 70 percent as good—you do the math. And after 3 pm, Koma knocks the price down to $4, and by that point you might as well be making money.

Get cozy with Coquine’s whole roasted chicken

Portland Monthly’s Rising Star Restaurant of the Year, Coquine, turns out a bronzed, glistening bird worthy of the holidays. It takes an hour to make, but the latest rendition brings a juicy, crisp-skinned roast with a bulgur salad sided by red kuri squash, pomegranate, cashews, all set over a slick of spiced yoghurt.

Carve into Departure’s Peking duck

This is the final week for Top Chef star Gregory Gourdet’s rich, moist, and ceremonious Peking duck. It’s cured in 7 spice, blanched in shaoxing wine, dried for 24 hours, and flash fried to order. Gourdet delivers the whole duck to your table with mandarin pancakes and house made plum and hoisin sauces for dipping. It’ll cost you $85, but feeds three to four.