Best Restaurants 2021

30 Next-Wave Spots Defining How We Eat Right Now! Plus: The Enduring Appeal of Stand by Me, 10 New Local Stores We Love + 12 Old Favorites; Top Doctors, Nurse Practitioners, and More

In this issue:

Arts & Culture

Theater

Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble Is Transporting Chekhov to the Arctic

For the latest installment in its Chekhov project, the Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble heads north.

06/16/2022 By Conner Reed

Music

Portland Monthly’s Essential Winter 2021 Playlist

Icy tracks from Oregonians old and new to help you through the dwindling daylight

12/02/2021 By Conner Reed

Books

Portland Author Juhea Kim Looks to Korea in Dazzling Debut Novel

Beasts of a Little Land is set against the backdrop of the country’s independence.

12/01/2021 By Fiona McCann

Film History

Remembering Stand by Me, 35 Years Later

Fans, cast, and crew recall the enduring Oregon-shot classic three and a half decades after its initial release.

11/23/2021 By Conner Reed

Eat & Drink

Best Restaurants 2021

Best Restaurants 2021: The Next Eat Wave

New voices and cuisines are rising. Tables look different, literally and figuratively. Meet the charismatic newcomers, fearless cooks, and daring dishes charting a path forward.

12/09/2021 Edited by Karen Brooks and Katherine Chew Hamilton

Best Restaurants 2021

A New Kind of Food Cart Pod

From living-room-like nooks to cavernous food halls, these places are reinventing the long-beloved food cart pod.

12/07/2021 By Katherine Chew Hamilton

Best Restaurants 2021

Portland's Best New Dining Experiences: Toki, St. Jack, Sweedeedee & Oma’s Hideaway

Meet the restaurants—beyond República—that transported us into their worlds and mindsets.

12/01/2021 By Karen Brooks and Katherine Chew Hamilton

Booze

A Whimsical, Wonderful Winter Cocktail at Quaintrelle’s Tiny New Bar

After a move from N Mississippi to SE Clinton, bartender Camille Cavan is feeling right at home.

12/01/2021 By Katherine Chew Hamilton

Best Restaurants 2021

In the Portland Dining Scene, These Little Lights Really Shine

The city’s sweet spot has always been the small, the intimate, the passionate—and no two alike.

11/30/2021 By Karen Brooks

Eat

These Portland Classics Gave Many Locals Their First Taste of Korean Cuisine

Long-standing Cameo Café, Du’s Grill & Taste Tickler aren’t strictly Korean restaurants, but they’ve been bringing the bulgogi for years.

11/29/2021 By Katherine Chew Hamilton Photography by Thomas Teal

Best Restaurants 2021

Pizza Hits Peak Pie Time in Portland

Three newcomers bolster the case that Portland is America’s best pizza city.

11/19/2021 By Karen Brooks

Best Restaurants 2021

República Is Portland Monthly's Restaurant of the Year

Ingredients from flying ants to corn truffles weave through a heartfelt, ambitious Mexican-forward tasting menu.

11/17/2021 By Katherine Chew Hamilton

Health & Wellness

Health

Why Do Some People Get Long COVID? And What Does Recovery Look Like?

Long COVID isn’t yet well understood—but Oregon doctors, researchers, and long haulers themselves are trying to figure it out.

11/24/2021 By Julia Silverman

Top Doctors, Nurses & More

Portland’s Top Medical Providers 2022

Here are the city’s best doctors, nurses, physician assistants, chiropractors, and more, according to their peers.

12/03/2020 Edited by Margaret Seiler

Home & Real Estate

Spaces

Trauma-Informed Design Turns an Old Church into a Family Shelter

With pro bono help from a local designer, Family Village has soft curves, open sight lines, and a sense of place.

12/10/2021 By Angela Uherbelau

News & City Life

Afterlife

The Hills We Die On

In Oregon and beyond, a growing alternative deathcare movement is bringing people back to the land.

01/05/2022 By Emily Gillespie Illustrations by Alessandro Gottardo

Nonprofits

Light a Fire 2021

Honoring Portland’s most innovative community leaders and volunteers

11/30/2021 Edited by Fiona McCann and Gabriel Granillo

Light a Fire

4 Organizations Fighting for Equity throughout Oregon

Unite Oregon, Equitable Giving Circle, Brown Hope, and Don't Shoot Portland are training leaders and providing direct aid, with racial justice at the forefront of their work.

11/30/2021 By Karly Quadros and Conner Reed

Light a Fire

4 Local Nonprofits Working on Environmental Issues

From salmon to stewardship to wildfire repair and more, these organizations are putting our planetary health front and center.

11/30/2021 By Cami Hughes and Gabriel Granillo

Light a Fire

Next Up's New Executive Director Breaks the Cycle

Elona J. Wilson talks about her path to leading the youth voting organization.

11/30/2021 By Hanna Merzbach

Light a Fire

How 4 Nonprofits Stepped Up in the Pandemic

Vaccine clinics, mental health hotlines, hot meals, business support—these groups got help to those who most needed it.

11/30/2021 By Julia Silverman and Margaret Seiler

Style & Shopping

Shopping

Great Little Shops

From brand-new spots to long-standing favorites, here’s why Portland is a shopper’s Shangri-la.

03/10/2022 Edited by Fiona McCann

Shopping

Shops Worth the Drive

Bookstores at the beach, German groceries next to the world’s largest oyster, and kitchen finds in Eastern Oregon

12/21/2021 By Margaret Seiler

Shopping

Cigars to Light Bulbs, We Love These Portland Retail Classics

Some of the shops we’ve come to rely on, whether they’ve been around a decade or a century

12/20/2021 By Fiona McCann, Margaret Seiler, and Julia Silverman

Shopping

10 New Portland Stores that Make Us Happy

Fresh tees, vintage sneakers, the perfect card: find them all at these new shops.

12/14/2021 Edited by Fiona McCann

LONG STORY SHORT

Blue Moon Camera & Machine Celebrates 20 Years of Bringing Film to Portland

We talk with owner Jake Shivery about the longevity of film photography, customer service, and why he wants to sell you the last camera you’ll ever buy.

11/10/2021 Edited by Gabriel Granillo

Travel & Outdoors

Travel

Inside Breitenbush Hot Springs Resort's Winter Glow Up

After 2020’s heartbreaking fires, the resort sees a rebirth.

12/29/2021 By Julia Silverman

Getaways

Who Needs Wi-Fi? Off-Grid Can Be a Draw for Vacation Rentals

Tune out and turn off at these gorgeous Oregon Airbnbs.

12/21/2021 By Fiona McCann

Staycation

History on the Walls at Old Town’s Society Hotel

New artwork at the Society Hotel celebrates Old Town-Chinatown’s history.

12/09/2021 By Margaret Seiler