Senior Editor

Benjamin Tepler edits Portland Monthly’s Eat & Drink section, manages the Eat Beat blog, and writes across various departments, with a special love for weird science and the great outdoors.

The New York native and Oberlin College graduate joined Portland Monthly in 2010, equipped with a culinary degree and a failed career in marine biology. To counter-balance his high-caloric diet, Benjamin spends his free time running, hiking, and climbing up Oregon’s various peaks.

Weekend Away

Hood River’s First Climbing Gym is Being Built Inside of a 108-Year-Old Church

Brimstone Boulders will open its doors by January.

12/06/2019 By Benjamin Tepler

Pie High

Gracie’s New Haven–Inspired Pizzeria in St. Johns Is Worth the Drive

Two key things make Gracie’s worth a trip across town: the crunch and the sauce.

11/26/2019 By Benjamin Tepler

EAT WITH YOUR EYES

First Look: Nordic-Inspired Vivian Opens in the New Kex Hotel

The Icelandic hotel’s anchor restaurant opens November 7.

11/06/2019 Photography by Alli Weseman By Benjamin Tepler

Best New Restaurants 2019

Portland Monthly’s Best New Restaurants 2019

Asian flavors—wild to traditional—ruled the day, a scotch destination was born, vegan fine dining got serious, and two bakeries cracked our list. And that’s just a taster of 2019. Pull up a seat.

10/18/2019 By Karen Brooks, Kelly Clarke, Benjamin Tepler, and Ramona DeNies Photography by Stuart Mullenberg

Best New Restaurants 2019

2019’s Cart Standouts Were All About the Meat and Potatoes

The year belonged to Austin barbecue, Tex-Mex tacos, and chicken n’ jojos.

10/18/2019 By Kelly Clarke, Benjamin Tepler, and Ramona DeNies

Best New Restaurants 2019

Bullard’s Doug Adams Is More Than Fried Chicken

The celeb chef finds his own brand of Lone Star–meets–Beaver State cooking at his meaty hotel restaurant.

10/18/2019 By Benjamin Tepler

Best New Restaurants 2019

Bella’s Italian Bakery and Market Is a Stealth Red Sauce Haven

The Lents bakery—a destination for killer cannoli and sfogliatelle—also does weekly pizza and lasagna nights.

10/18/2019 By Benjamin Tepler

Best New Restaurants 2019

Radical Thinking, Southeast Asian Rarities, and Heart Make Gado Gado Our Rising Star Restaurant 2019

Come for the salty-funky smoked pork shank, stay for the Capt’n Crunch–covered pandan waffle puffs.

10/18/2019 By Benjamin Tepler

Breaking News

Ataula Team to Open Masia Inside Downtown’s New Hyatt Centric Hotel

Jose Chesa will bring his brand of modernist Spanish cooking to breakfast, lunch, and dinner starting January 2020.

10/12/2019 By Benjamin Tepler

Weekly Planner

Mezcal Celebrations, James Beard ROOTS Dinners, and More Fall Food Events

Plus: Cambodian cooking at Irving Street Kitchen, a guest appearance from pickle pro Michiko Tateno, and a cider harvest dinner at Son of Man.

10/11/2019 By Eat Beat Team

Restaurant Closures

Little Bird to Close on October 27

The once-standout French bistro from star chef Gabriel Rucker will end its nine-year run

10/08/2019 By Benjamin Tepler

PDX Airport Guide: Food

What to Eat Before Your Flight Out of Portland

PDX proves airport food doesn’t have to suck.

09/23/2019 By Benjamin Tepler, Shannon Henderson, and Margaret Seiler

Food Finds

This Hand-Pulled Noodle Sensation Is Hiding in Happy Valley

Noodle Man's glass-walled kitchen gives a front-row seat to experts twisting, slamming, and flinging strands of elastic dough into regional Chinese dishes.

09/23/2019 By Benjamin Tepler