Portland's 5 Best Eats at Pop-Ups This Summer

Summer is a time for catching chefs in their experimental phase at summer pop-ups. Here are the five not to miss, according to the Oregonian’s restaurant critic Michael Russell, who talked to the City Cast Portland podcast this week.

🍕 Cafe Olli @ Division Winemaking Co.

“They're an urban winemaker. They have a new location, and to draw attention to that new location, they invited Cafe Olli to bring their mobile pizza oven down and cook pizzas every few Fridays down there. I wish it was happening every Friday. You'll have to go on their website to check the dates on that, but that's a fun one.”

🍔 Paradise Hamburguesas @ Güero

Güero has “expanded their signature hamburguesas into a full food cart menu. They've got cocktails; they've got big bombas of beer; they've got wines from Mexico. It's really fun — lots of plants, shaded areas, and misters keeping you cool. If I had to pick one, that might be actually the number one, but I'm not picking one because they're all really good.”

📚 Peter Cat @ Nodoguro

“I called [Nodoguro] the best restaurant in Portland in a review earlier this year…. They are kind of obsessed with this writer, Haruki Murakami, and before he became a famous novelist, he ran a jazz bar in Tokyo called Peter Cat. So this summer, Nodoguro is bringing back their Peter Cat popup, which the idea is to have something a bit more approachable, a bit more accessible financially.” (Russell also notes it’s still pretty spendy, and there are limited reservations available.)

🇲🇽 Tacos Con Onda @ Hungry Heart Bakery & Woodsman Tavern

“[Chef Adán Fausto]’s mission is to revive flour tortillas’ reputation because up here way in the north, in Portland, we do kind of think of authentic tacos — quote unquote — as being corn tortillas only. But you probably actually do want to order the flour tortillas there because that's what goes better with the steak.”

🇲🇽🇨🇺 Tocayo @ Palomar

“So what they're doing is — I call it Mexican-Cuban fusion. It's Mexican taqueria-style food with Cuban influences…. Look, the reason to go there isn't necessarily the food. I'm sure it'll be delicious. It's the views. The views up there are fantastic.“