A Michelin-Starred Texan Barbecue Restaurant Is Now Open at Tough Luck
Image: Courtesy Tough Luck
Portland’s food scene IS praiseD for its local produce, its Thai restaurants, and its pizzerias, breweries, coffee, and more. But one area where the city is less developed is barbecue, not in quality so much as quantity: The places we have tend to be excellent, but number few. So, when news arrived this summer that Austin’s La Barbecue was opening a Portland offshoot, there was plenty of excitement. Originally planned as a brick-and-mortar, Lil’ Barbecue instead landed this October at Woodlawn cocktail bar, Tough Luck. Seven days a week, diners can find brisket, sausages, pork ribs, and vegan “beet ends.”
La Barbecue has received global accolades—including a Michelin star in November last year—for its smoked brisket, sausages, and ribs. Its former pitmaster, Ben Vaughan, moved to Portland with his wife back in June, the two having fallen for the city on a previous visit. His original plan was to open a brick-and-mortar sister location to La Barbecue. However, after he told The Oregonian that he was looking for a location, he got a call from Ezra Caraeff, co-owner of bar group Three on a Match, which includes the Old Gold, Paydirt, and Tough Luck. Caraeff was looking for someone to take over kitchen operations at his Woodlawn bar, and the two agreed to collaborate.
Lil’ Barbecue opened quietly, as Vaughan said he wanted to ease into things and not get slammed immediately. “We didn’t want to make a bad impression for first-time visitors,” he says. So far, it’s been mostly neighborhood residents and regulars coming in for the new menu, he says, and the feedback has been largely positive. The surprise hit: the chicken thighs, not found on La Barbecue’s menu. Vaughan smokes them for a much shorter time than the brisket or ribs, then stores them in tallow and gives them a quick fry before serving. He says that people who order the sampler tray have told him that the chicken thighs are their favorite part. Another popular dish is the “beet ends,” a vegan twist on the classic brisket burnt ends. “I wanted something vegan but crispy, like a real burnt end,” he says.
Also on the menu: bar snacks, like Frito pie and chips with queso, sandwiches loaded with smoked meat, a La Barbecue cheeseburger, and sides including coleslaw, mac and cheese, and a mini Caesar salad. Rather than potato salad, Vaughan opted for tater tots for more of that Pacific Northwest flavor.
Other Openings to Know
Sunday Sauce
opened Oct 23
Portland’s 2025 Italian restaurant boom shows no signs of slowing—Sunday Sauce is the latest addition, an East Coast Italian American–style restaurant in the Humboldt neighborhood. The red sauce restaurant comes from Amanda Cannon, a New York transplant and the co-owner of the seafood-heavy Frenchish bistro Normandie. Sunday Sauce serves Italian American starters and salads, chicken and eggplant parmesan, pastas like seafood ravioli and spaghetti with marinara, and the titular braised meat in tomato sauce, served here over rigatoni. A playful, ’90s-themed cocktail menu and a list of Italian wines round things out.
Coquelico
Opened oct 16
The Portland Art Museum has a new café: Coquelico, from specialty foods market Providore, serves pastries and breakfast items like tartines, crêpes, tarts, and Lyonnaise salad.
Rhinestone
Opened oct 15
While the Gado Gado team’s wild party bar the Houston Blacklight closed at the end of 2024, the space is now home to Rhinestone. With rockabilly and glam vibes, the bar serves a menu of Southern-inspired bar snacks (think barbecue cheeseburgers and deep-fried pork ribs) and bold cocktails, like a buttered popcorn–washed old-fashioned.
Bar Nouveau
Opened oct 9
After its summer pop-up at Gracie’s Apizza made such a splash, Bar Nouveau may have been fall’s most anticipated restaurant. It’s now open in its own space, where chef and cofounder Althea Grey Potter can serve her playfully unique approach to Pacific Northwest and French cooking.
Image: Courtesy Hey Luigi
Hey Luigi
opened oct 5
Earlier this year, former Top Chef competitor Gabriel Pascuzzi shut down his roast chicken restaurant to make room for Bistecca, an Italian wood-fire steakhouse. Then this fall he shuttered Tip Top Burger and his grain bowl restaurant Feel Good to open Hey Luigi, a more casual Italian eatery with pasta dishes, cocktails, and seafood snacks.
Vtopian Artisan Cheeses & Adelleda
opened oct 3
Vtopia has been selling its dairy-free vegan cheeses in Portland for over a decade and has had various pop-ups and food cart restaurants, as well as some name changes and owner swaps. Now, under the name Vtopian Artisan Cheeses, it has a brick-and-mortar on SE Grand Avenue. During the day, customers can find vegan sandwiches and salads. In the evenings, Adelleda takes over, serving vegan pasta dishes, snacks, and cocktails.
LaVerne’s
opened late sept
Opening in the old Oregon Public House in the Woodlawn neighborhood (just down the street from Tough Luck), LaVerne’s is throwing it back to the 1970s, but with thankfully more modern food and drinks. Rotisserie chicken is the main draw here, served with tortillas and beans and other accoutrements. Since it opened in early fall, the long bar has been stacked with diners, there to knock back scoots and beer backs, as well as mini martinis and fun old-fashioned variations.
