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.

Best Restaurants 2016: Brunch Bliss

Three Exceptional New Portland Brunches—Without Lines

Only chumps wait for their waffles.

10/10/2016 By Karen Brooks and Zach Dundas

Best Restaurants: On the Verge

Four Intriguing Portland Restaurants Opening Soon

From lavish Russian tea service to pakora-fried chicken, these spots should light up our winter.

10/10/2016 By Kelly Clarke, Karen Brooks, and Ramona DeNies

Best Restaurants 2016: Almost Perfect

Three New Portland Spots That Are 80 Percent Awesome

Superbite, Pine Street Market, and Tastebud: it’s complicated.

10/10/2016 By Kelly Clarke and Karen Brooks

Best Restaurants 2016: Neighborhood Excellence

Portland’s Best Everyday, Michelin-Caliber Restaurant: Coquine

This neighborhood spot came to slay—very politely.

10/10/2016 By Karen Brooks

Best Restaurants 2016: Xurroland

Portland’s Best Dessert of 2016: Xurros at 180

Behold the life-altering power of a tube of fried dough.

10/10/2016 By Karen Brooks

Best Restaurants 2016: Catalan Modernism

Portland’s Best Spot for Real Barcelona Paella (and Xurros): Chesa

Where Catalan modernism meets the ultimate X(urros) factor.

10/10/2016 By Karen Brooks

Best Restaurants 2016: Supahardcore

Portland’s Best “Supahardcore” Japanese: Nodoguro

From pop-up beginnings to a new Zen-vintage space on Belmont, the champion of “Supahardcore” Japanese doubles down.

10/10/2016 By Karen Brooks

Best Restaurants 2016: Pumped-Up Korean

Portland Monthly’s Rising Star Restaurant of 2016: Revelry

Seattle stars and local nightlife talent bring us pumped-up Korean and throwback hip-hop.

10/10/2016 By Karen Brooks

Best Restaurants 2016: Mideast Remix

Portland Monthly’s Rising Star Restaurant of 2016: Tusk

With a beautiful room and beautiful food, a Mideast-meets-Portland restaurant turns heads with the most unlikely of stars: salads.

10/10/2016 By Karen Brooks

Breaking News

Biwa to Reboot as Two Eateries: A Sashimi Chef’s Counter and a DJ-Spinning Japanese Bar

On October 16, Portland’s DIY Japanese pub pioneer moves down the hall to become Biwa Izakaya. The original space will become Parasol Bar in November.

10/05/2016 By Karen Brooks

Food Coma

Feast Portland 2016: A Retrospective

Senior editor Kelly Clarke and restaurant critic Karen Brooks recount four days of country ham chocolate bars, enormous shrimp tower phalluses, and heavenly Asian breakfast.

09/21/2016 By Karen Brooks and Kelly Clarke

Word of Mouth

Find Portland’s Best Unknown Brunch at Whiskey Soda Lounge

Food critic Karen Brooks dishes with Pok Pok kingpin Andy Ricker over Vietnamese coffee, patangko doughnuts, and coddled eggs.

09/13/2016 By Karen Brooks

Review

Lovely’s Fifty Fifty Perfects the Portland Pizza

After nearly seven years, the N Mississippi Avenue spot has gone from solid to sensational.

09/13/2016 By Karen Brooks

The Long Play

PODCAST: Mike Thelin and Karen Brooks on the Madness and Inspiration behind Feast Portland

The food festival cofounder joins Portland Monthly's food critic to talk overnight lamb shipments, muse on what makes Portland chefs different, and taste-test some brisket-filled chocolate.

09/12/2016 By Karen Brooks