Karen Brooks eats, drinks and thinks about food for Portland Monthly, as the magazine's trend-spotting food critic. 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 2012

The Next Wave: 5 Brand-New Restaurants to Look Out For

Here's what to watch in the final months of 2012.

10/19/2012 Edited by Rachel Ritchie and Karen Brooks With Benjamin Tepler

Best Restaurants 2012

Best of the Rest

Still hungry? We've culled the 35 local restaurants that should remain in any food lover's regular rotation.

10/16/2012 Edited by Rachel Ritchie and Karen Brooks

Best Restaurants 2012

Wine + Food = Love

Five spots taking wine pairing to the next level.

10/16/2012 Edited by Rachel Ritchie and Karen Brooks By Allison Jones

Best Restaurants 2012

Five Things You Must Eat in 2012

You don't need to rent a tux to tackle these low-brow dishes.

10/16/2012 By Mike Thelin Edited by Rachel Ritchie and Karen Brooks

Best Restaurants 2012

Chefs of the Year

Portland's top two culinary minds are French-inspired chefs from different generations.

10/16/2012 Edited by Rachel Ritchie and Karen Brooks

Best Restaurants 2012

20 Spots That Defined the Year in Food

It's our annual assemblage of Portland's most exciting eateries.

10/16/2012 With Mike Thelin, Benjamin Tepler, and Allison Jones Edited by Rachel Ritchie and Karen Brooks

BREAKING FOOD NEWS

Matt Lightner Awarded Two Michelin Stars

Oregon's avant-garde forager continues his climb to the pantheon of New York chefs.

10/03/2012 By Karen Brooks

REQUIRED READING

Feast Portland Interviews

Seven of the visiting Feast Portland food stars answer our culinary questions.

09/19/2012 By Karen Brooks and Benjamin Tepler

Feast Portland Interviews

Q&A: Chris Cosentino

San Francisco’s offal lord talks about the inspiration for pig-brain mayonnaise, his leap into online food television, and Portland’s place in the national meat hierarchy.

09/16/2012 By Karen Brooks and Benjamin Tepler

Feast Portland Interviews

Q&A: Chris Ying

Lucky Peach’s editor in chief dishes on his radical journal of food thought and underground art.

09/14/2012 By Karen Brooks

Restaurant Review

Baptism by Fire

After five years of wrangling the flames at Ned Ludd, chef Jason French delivers some of the year’s best meals.

09/13/2012 By Karen Brooks

Feast Portland Interviews

Q&A: Duff Goldman

Television’s favorite Ace of Cakes shows his cards on the future of food TV: online and user-generated content.

09/13/2012 By Karen Brooks and Benjamin Tepler

Feast Portland Interviews

Q&A: Adam Rapoport

Bon Appétit’s trendsetting chief honcho and four-day Portland ambassador dishes on New York’s P-town obsession and the future of food journalism.

09/12/2012 By Karen Brooks

Food Lover's Guide to Portland

The Food Lover's Guide to Portland: The Shops

We've wrangled all of the local shops where you can find the ingredients for your own culinary conquests.

08/27/2012 Edited by Rachel Ritchie and Karen Brooks

BREAKING FOOD NEWS

Robert Reynolds, 1942-2012

Longtime Portland culinary mentor Robert Reynolds has passed away, and his passion for life in and out of the kitchen is remembered by friends and colleagues.

08/27/2012 By Karen Brooks

Article

Excerpt: The Mighty Gastropolis

Food editor Karen Brooks’s new book charts the rise of America’s most original food destination.

08/23/2012 By Karen Brooks

Food Lover's Guide to Portland

The Food Lover's Guide to Sweets

Portlanders have a serious sweet tooth. Cheese Bar boss Steve Jones points out classy confections.

08/23/2012 By Rachel Ritchie With Karen Brooks

Food Lover's Guide to Portland

The Food Lover's Guide to Destination Markets

For these food impresarios, grocery shopping isn’t just business. It’s personal.

08/23/2012 By Karen Brooks With Benjamin Tepler

Article

The Food Lover's Guide to Portland

Join us for a wild adventure through our food-obsessed city. We’ll lead the way; your job is simply to learn, shop, explore, cook—and eat.

08/23/2012 Edited by Rachel Ritchie and Karen Brooks

Food Lover's Guide to Portland

The Food Lover's Guide to Global Foods

Mexican cuisine is soaring in popularity. So where can we find the finest and freshest ingredients?

08/23/2012 By Karen Brooks