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.

BREAKING FOOD NEWS

Boke Bowl West to Open This Spring

A second branch of Southeast Portland’s popular ramen-for-all shop readies to open at Northwest 18th and Northrup in April

01/27/2014 By Karen Brooks

EAT THIS NOW

Neo-Pop Noodle House Boxer Ramen

Three reasons to slurp the goods at Micah Camden’s new experimental ramen epicenter.

01/02/2014 By Karen Brooks

ROUNDUP

Ten Things to Devour in 2014

Welcome to Portland's hunger games! Follow this guide to the city's most promising plates, and there will be no sacrificing flavor in the new year.

01/02/2014 Photography by Stuart Mullenberg By Karen Brooks

EAT HERE NOW

Lauretta Jean's: Biscuit Sandwich Heaven

With an expanded menu, Portland's premier pie shop emerges as Division's dessert destination, breakfast sandwich epicenter, and date night find.

12/10/2013 By Karen Brooks

BREAKING FOOD NEWS

Monday Night Pizza Coming to Ned Ludd

Jason French's Northeast Portland house of eccentricity will transform once a week with checkered cloths, hip hop, and wood-fired pizza.

12/10/2013 By Karen Brooks

PITCH IN

Portland's Best Sandwich?

Attention sandwich citizens: In 2014, Portland Monthly will build the ultimate sandwich list, but we need your help!

12/05/2013 By Karen Brooks

RESTAURANT & BAR UPDATES

Portland News to Chew

Great news for lovers of all kinds of pie, the Ruddick/Wood Tavern opens its doors, and Gabriel Rucker does Portland proud (again).

12/04/2013 By Karen Brooks and Roxanne Davis

ROUNDUP

Cooklandia

From books revealing the secret recipes of Portland's top chefs to essential DIY guides from local cooks, editors from New York to San Francisco are working the 503 area code.

12/02/2013 By Karen Brooks

DREAM TEAM

From Russia, With Love

They were born in the USSR, made friends at Juilliard, then went on to win James Beard awards. Now, Vitaly Paley and Anya Von Bremzen, author of the buzzed about Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking, are collaborating on a Russian feast.

11/27/2013 By Karen Brooks

BREAKING FOOD NEWS

Tastebud’s Bagels Rise in Downtown Portland

Farmer market star Mark Doxtader brings his bagel love and seasonal farm toppings to a new cart at SW 10th and Alder.

11/26/2013 By Karen Brooks

DINNER FOR A CAUSE

Portland Chefs Team Up For Typhoon Relief

Check out our slide show of photos from the recent benefit dinner at Beast, featuring the city's top culinary talent, six killer courses, and $12,000 donated to Mercy Corps's typhoon relief efforts.

11/26/2013 Photography by Stuart Mullenberg By Karen Brooks

OPENING WATCH

Sneak Peek Inside Ken Forkish's Trifecta

As America’s first “bakery tavern” readies to rise on SE Sixth Avenue, we decode the vision and menu set to debut next week.

11/11/2013 By Karen Brooks

BEST RESTAURANTS 2013

The Ultimate Week of Portland Dining

Your guide to a week of serious noshing in America's most original food city

11/01/2013 By Karen Brooks

BEST RESTAURANTS 2013

Portland's 10 Best New Restaurants

A guide to the delicious spots writing Portland's next food chapter

11/01/2013 Photography by Stuart Mullenberg By Karen Brooks

BEST RESTAURANTS 2013

Dessert of the Year: Le Pigeon's Curried Carrot Cake

How Chef Gabriel Rucker and rising pastry talent Eli Gregory found the sweet spot of 2013.

11/01/2013 By Karen Brooks

BEST RESTAURANTS 2013

The Best of the Rest

Hungry for more? Read on for 25 of our other favorite spots.

11/01/2013 Edited by Rachel Ritchie and Karen Brooks

OPENING WATCH

First Look at Boxer Ramen

Micah Camden and Katie Poppe are ready to unleash downtown Portland's newest ramen shop, with noodles, amazing mochi, and a side of neo-pop cool. We got an early look at the vision and menu set to debut Nov 1.

10/23/2013 By Karen Brooks

BREAKING FOOD NEWS

Roe’s New Head-to-Fin Tasting Menus

Next week, Portland’s forward-thinking seafood speakeasy plans to unveil a new tasting menu concept—experimental, seasonal, and intimate.

10/15/2013 By Karen Brooks

BREAKING FOOD NEWS

Portland Gets Its Cake

As Northwest’s Two Tarts Bakery launches a new line of “Palace Cakes,” Southwest’s Baker & Spice cooks up a cake-shop headquarters, unfolding in mid-October.

10/02/2013 By Karen Brooks and Tuck Woodstock

RESTAURANT REVIEW

Holdfast Dining's One-Man Show

With just 10 stools and a rented kitchen, Will Preisch presents a pop-up vision of high-end eating: casual, personal, and thrilling.

10/01/2013 By Karen Brooks