Karen Brooks eats, drinks and thinks about food for Portland Monthly, as the magazine's trend-spotting food critic at large. Karen's reviews and think pieces ferret out the restaurants, food carts, and maverick thinkers defining Portland's food voice. In 2017, Karen won one of the food world's most prestigious titles: the James Beard Craig Claiborne Distinguished Restaurant Reviewer Award. She's penned nine books on food and drink, and in 2020 guest-starred on Hulu's food series, Eater's Guide to the World.

I'm With Her

Get to Know These 4 Standout Women in Portland's Culinary Scene

Food industry folks gush about some of their favorite local ladies.

04/24/2018 By Karen Brooks and Kelly Clarke

Word of Mouth

Meet Portland Chocolate Phenom Sebastian Cisneros

The Ecuador-born chocolatier opens Cloudforest, a shrine to chocolate making and chocolate drinking on SE Stark.

04/24/2018 By Karen Brooks

Eat Here Now

Where to Eat This Week: Apr 18–24

Multisensory salmon carpaccio at Bistro Agnes and buttery media noche at Palomar are your required eating for the week.

04/18/2018 By Eat Beat Team

Breaking News

After 17 Years, Portland Icon Café Castagna Will Close Mid-May

The SE Hawthorne café calls it quits next month. Get the vaunted burger while you can.

04/10/2018 By Karen Brooks

Breaking News

Le Pigeon's Sister Restaurant, Canard, Opens April 16. We've Got Menu Details.

"Wild French bar food" only hints at Gabriel Rucker's new menu, with a major, geeky wine list from partner Andrew Fortgang.

04/05/2018 By Karen Brooks

Breaking News

Hat Yai to Team with Modernist Pop-Up Jolie Laide and (Maybe!) Top Chef Winner Mei Lin

Thai restaurateur Earl Ninsom hopes to bring the crew together for a trio of restaurants on SE Belmont in 2018.

04/03/2018 By Karen Brooks

Breaking News

Cloudforest Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Factory & Espresso Bar Opens on SE Stark

Portland's premier chocolate maker, Sebastian Cisneros, rebrands the Cocanu name with a brick-and-mortar, drinking chocolate, and wild new bars.

03/28/2018 By Karen Brooks

Breaking News

Downtown's Bistro Agnes Launches Lunch Service

James Beard Award-winning chefs Greg and Gabi Denton bring their downtown French comfort menu into the daylight.

03/28/2018 By Karen Brooks

Word of Mouth

Caffe Mingo Is a Portland Restaurant Success Story 25 Years in the Making

The city’s food scene ought to take notes from a pair of cool old pasta dudes on NW 21st Avenue.

03/27/2018 By Karen Brooks

Review

Nomad.PDX Was a Modernist Pop-Up Wonder. Then It Became a Slick Restaurant.

Too slick.

03/27/2018 By Karen Brooks

Word of Mouth

Get Schooled at This Family-Run Vancouver Pho Spot

Pho Le serves up a serious bowl of beef noodle soup—and a how-to lesson.

02/27/2018 By Karen Brooks

Review

Can Chef Erik Van Kley Vault Belmont's Accanto into a Citywide Must-Eat?

The longtime restaurant ace slid into the unassuming neighborhood spot in November. Can he make it worthy of a drive across town?

02/27/2018 By Karen Brooks

Global Comfort Food

We Asked 20 Portland Chefs and Foodies: What Tastes Like Home?

From hearty Haitian soups to pupusas, here's what makes these locals feel safe and loved—and where to score these touchstone eats.

02/27/2018 Edited by Kelly Clarke By Karen Brooks, Ramona DeNies, Zach Dundas, Rebecca Jacobson, Pechluck Laskey, Fiona McCann, Benjamin Tepler, and Tuck Woodstock

Breaking News

Bollywood Theater’s Troy MacLarty to Launch Churchgate Station Supper Club

The Chez Panisse alum heads back to the kitchen this summer for an intimate new supper club, next to his popular Mumbai street-food emporium on SE Division.

02/13/2018 By Karen Brooks