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

This ‘Cherry Orchard’ shifts the Russian playwright's setting to the Arctic.

06/16/2022 By Conner Reed

Music

Portland Monthly’s Essential Winter 2021 Playlist

Chromatics, Decemberists, Jinkx Monsoon, and more: 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 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 char...

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

Thơm, Coquine Market, Meals 4 Heels, and Le Clos are some of our new favorites.

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

Dimo’s, Pizza Thief, and Cafe Olli 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

Find out why our editors chose República, located in NW Portland, as Portland Monthly's Restaurant of the Year for 2021.

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

From dedicated spaces to new options at traditional cemeteries to a new human composting law, green burial is on the rise.

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 fore.

11/30/2021 By Karly Quadros and Conner Reed