Food History

The 25 Restaurants That Made Portland

Portland was not a food city in the year 2000. Over the past quarter century, these restaurants changed that.

11/14/2025 Edited by Matthew Trueherz By Portland Monthly Staff Illustrations by Max-O-Matic

In Memoriam

Portlanders We Lost This Year: Naomi Pomeroy

The legendary Beast chef and restaurant industry advocate died earlier this year. With months to reflect, this is how her collaborators remember her.

12/16/2024 By Brooke Jackson-Glidden

Best Restaurants 2022

Canard’s Steam Burgers & Duck Stack Pancakes Have a New Roost in Oregon City

Gabriel Rucker of Le Pigeon fame brings retro dinner party dishes to the Portland suburb.

11/30/2022 By Katherine Chew Hamilton Photography by Thomas Teal

Review

Move Over, Peanuts. Meet Canard's Dairy Queen-Inspired Pine Nut Buster Parfait

Chef Taylor Daugherty goes all in on pine nuts to create the great new Portland sundae.

06/10/2021 By Karen Brooks

Food News

Goodbye, Le Pigeon Burger: Big Changes Ahead for Rucker’s Restaurants

The iconic Le Pigeon will move to a tasting menu-only model on May 4; Canard is dinner-only for the foreseeable future.

04/28/2021 By Karen Brooks

Food News

Food News: Outdoor Dining Is Back

Plus, a fire at Reo’s Ribs and new menus from Langbaan and Le Pigeon.

11/25/2020 By Katherine Chew Hamilton

Breaking News

Gabriel Rucker’s Riff on the Crunchwrap Supreme Coming to Alit Wines

What better pairing for a glass of pinot noir than a Taco Bell–inspired snack?

07/16/2020 By Katherine Chew Hamilton

Quarantine Cooking

Gabriel Rucker, Vitaly Paley, and Gregory Gourdet Launch Instagram Cooking Shows

You still can’t buy a Canard steam burger, but now you can make it for yourself.

03/30/2020 By Benjamin Tepler

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

Food For Thought

How Feast Portland Set The Table for New, Collaborative “Chef Dinners”

Meals that celebrated sober culture or trace the African diaspora reveal how local chefs are using Feast to tell their stories.

09/18/2019 By Karen Brooks

Eat & Drink

Kitchen Consequential

Drugs and booze nearly gutted a generation of Portland's best chefs. Now they're setting the table for sober kitchen culture.

01/29/2019 By Karen Brooks Illustrations by Molly Mendoza

Breaking News

Little Bird Bistro Unveils New Menu and Chef

Le Pigeon and Canard are Portland food stars. Now, famed chef Gabriel Rucker and wine maven Andy Fortgang are sharpening the focus on their downtown bistro.

01/07/2019 By Karen Brooks

Year in Review

The 10 Biggest Restaurant Openings and Closings of 2018

It was a bullish year for Portland eating.

12/19/2018 By Eat Beat Team

Best Restaurants 2018

Portland's Best New Restaurants of 2018

Ten amazing dining destinations, five must-eat dishes, and one neighborhood on the rise. It's an excellent year to eat in Portland.

10/10/2018 By Karen Brooks, Kelly Clarke, and Benjamin Tepler Photography by Stuart Mullenberg

Best Restaurants 2018: Duck Stacks & Steam Burgers

Portland Monthly's 2018 Restaurant of the Year: Canard

With his third restaurant, famed Le Pigeon chef Gabriel Rucker proves he’s still an original.

10/10/2018 By Karen Brooks

Feast 2018

Why a Booze-Free Dinner Was the Most Important Meal at Feast Portland 2018

Five of the nation’s best-known chefs, Gabriel Rucker to Andrew Zimmern, are the new face of food culture sobriety.

09/19/2018 By Karen Brooks

Best Bars 2018: The Next Round

Portland's 15 Best New Bars

Natural wine in every neighborhood. Wild cocktails from hotshot bartenders. A real Irish pub. Cheers, Portland.

08/14/2018 By Ramona DeNies, Zach Dundas, Rebecca Jacobson, Fiona McCann, Marty Patail, and Benjamin Tepler

Food Event Spotlight

Departure’s Gregory Gourdet to Host Talent-Studded James Beard Dinner Fundraiser

Thirteen of Portland's James Beard stars (and Congressman Earl Blumenauer) join forces to fight for a fair food system.

07/24/2018 By Natasha Tandler

Review

Gabriel Rucker's Canard Is 2018’s Best Restaurant (So Far)

From funfetti pancakes to rare Burgundy wines, Le Pigeon's sister spot is a gloriously odd duck.

07/17/2018 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