Cheap Eats: The Best Budget-Friendly Dining Options in Portland
The khao pyan sane, or KPS, at Rangoon Bistro.
Portlanders love dining out, at tasting menu spots, hot new bistros, late-night cart pods—anywhere but home. Once upon a time, it used to be a lot cheaper to do so. As rising food costs continually push check averages up, more and more meals out carry the price tag of a special occasion. Still, if you know where to look, there are deals to be had. We’ve done a bit of that homework for you, and rounded up some of our favorite places to grab a filling meal without draining your bank account.
The combination banh mi at An Xuyen.
Banh Mi at An Xuyen: $6.75
foster-powell
This tiny, exceptional Vietnamese bakery draws long lines on weekends, as Portlanders vie for sponge cakes, bao, puff pastries, macarons, and croissants. But you’re here for the banh mi. Seven bucks gets you a BBQ pork, lemongrass chicken, tofu, pâté, or any of the rest of the multitude of sandwiches on offer. They’re all served on An Xuyen’s own fresh-baked, flaky baguette (glossy on the outside but soft all the way through), smeared with mayo, and topped with the classic carrots, cucumbers, cilantro, and jalapeños. —Alex Frane
Basilisk’s towering fried chicken sandwich requires a knife.
Fried Chicken Sandwich at Basilisk: $13
kerns
One of our favorite spots in town for fried chicken is a counter-service restaurant stationed at the busy Zipper food hall. Basilisk fries chicken thighs into massive, juicy slabs of craggy bronze, piling them high on a sweet honey brioche roll. Slices of lightly pickled cucumber and a buttermilk slaw add color and (more) crunch. The resulting sandwich is taller than it is wide and best approached with a knife. Heat fiends will love the hot chicken version (Basilisk was one of the first places in town to adopt the Nashville trend), and vegetarians can find just as good a deal in the tofu variant, which clocks in a dollar cheaper while maintaining most of the height. —AF
Bing Mi’s classic jian bing is a handheld brunch, lunch, or dinner.
Classic Jian Bing from Bing Mi: $10+
downtown, Northwest District
If you need to wrap your head around what jian bing are, Taco Bell’s Crunchwrap can get you part of the way there. It’s a delicate, savory Chinese crepe filled with friable wonton crackers and scrambled egg; tangy and subtly spiced fermented bean paste, shredded mustard root, and a fresh hit of green onion and cilantro lighten the handheld brunch, lunch, or dinner. There are gussied up—what you might call “supreme”—versions on the menu at Bing Mi, with extra fillings like Chinese sausage and shredded duck, but the classic is the classic for a reason. And at just $10, it’s one of the best lunch deals in town. At the restaurant’s food cart, at the Midtown Beer Garden, the slightly heftier “loaded” version ($12) is the baseline. —Matthew Trueherz
Bui’s unassuming storefront hides a plethora of tofu treats.
Assorted Goods at Bui Tofu: Under $12
montavilla
Where else can you get top-tier salad rolls, enough dessert for two, and tofu for tonight’s dinner for around $12? Tofu rolls ($4.75) don’t get much better than these, loaded with housemade fried tofu, thick vermicelli, lettuce, and herbs in a super-fresh rice paper roll with a side of the best peanut sauce we’ve ever tried. Dessert picks range from a chewy layered green and yellow pandan and mung bean cake ($2.25) to silken tofu pudding with ginger sauce ($3) to banana pudding with coconut cream ($2.75). —Katherine Chew Hamilton
Du’s Grill’s teriyaki plate is among the best in town.
Chicken Teriyaki Plate at Du’s Grill: $14.50
Rose city park
This Sandy Boulevard teriyaki spot, open since 1995, is Aminé-approved: “Friends used to do pills and only eat at Du’s Grill,” the Portland-raised hip-hop sensation raps in “Turf.” Though teriyaki originated in Japan, Du’s is a fine example of the Korean-style teriyaki prominent throughout the Pacific Northwest. The chicken’s bulgogi-style sweet soy marinade caramelizes and chars just so, and hefty pile of it sits beside hefty scoops of white rice and a crunchy iceberg salad napped with a poppyseed dressing. —KCH
Kabba’s fataya meat pies aren’t complete without a sidecar of warm, savory tomato dip.
Fataya (Hand Pies) at Kabba’s Kitchen: $12.20
Albina, Buckman
The Spanish have empanadas, Russians have piroshki, Americans have Hot Pockets, and the Senegalese have fataya. These hand pies are stuffed with a mixture of beef and chicken and sport a bracingly crisp thin shell. Served with a sidecar of warm tomato dip, the ostensible on-the-go snack or appetizer is actually a substantial, handheld meal. $12.20 gets you three. —MT
You can mix and match dumplings at Momo House.
Momos at Momo House: $12
rose city park
Dumplings, regardless of cuisine, are a consummate affordable treat, and the hearty, doughy Tibetan ones at this Rose City Food Park cart are no exception. There are vegetarian, vegan, chicken, and beef options, and $12 gets you eight of any variety, which you can mix and match to your heart’s content. Don’t skip on the vegetarian ones, whose chewy exterior gives way to a creamy mix of carrot, cheese, and potatoes, with pops of peas throughout. Another standout: the chicken momos, which taste a bit like a gyoza with a denser wrapping. —AF
Döner Kebab at PDX Dönerland: $13
king
Berlin’s favorite post-clubbing sandwich with Turkish roots comes to Portland at this Piedmont Station cart (one of the owners is from Germany). The bread is housemade and airy like a thin, oversize English muffin, split apart and stuffed with a deeply savory quarter pound of lamb and beef mix (or chicken), shaved straight from the spit. A mess of toppings provides a fresh and tangy crunch: pepperoncini, tomato, red onion, lettuce, pickled red cabbage, and yogurt. Let the party begin. —KCH
The Khao pyan sane at Rangoon Bistro pushes the definition of a dumpling.
Khao Pyan Sane at Rangoon Bistro: $9
boise, richmond
The menu at Burmese farmers market stall turned full on restaurant duo Rangoon Bistro is affordable across the board, but this pork and cabbage loaded rice noodle dumpling provides the most bang for your buck. The KPS is listed as a side, but trust us when we say it’s enough for a full meal. It approximates the size of a large burrito. Calling it a “dumpling” stretches the word a bit. Rice noodle sheets stuffed with meaty filling get another layer of banana leaf before hitting the steamer. The bundle eats like a bowl of noodles: As you dig in, the filling mixes with a vinegar and chile oil sauce, turning into a tangy ragu for the shredded dumpling wrapper. —MT
Burritos at Tienda Santa Cruz: $9.50
st. johns
When it comes to dining on the cheap, it’s hard to beat a well-made burrito, especially when that burrito is the size of a small child. That’s the case at St. Johns cult-favorite Tienda Santa Cruz, a taqueria and burrito shop hidden away in the back of a sprawling market. The massive burritos could easily make a meal and a half, filled with rice, beans, shredded lettuce, pico de gallo, and options like carne asada, lengua, or pollo. Be sure to grab some hot sauce and a few containers of the restaurant’s signature avocado salsa, something between guacamole and salsa verde. —AF
The tavern burger from Tulip Shop, piled just right.
Tavern Burger from Tulip Shop Tavern: $12
King
There are two distinct approaches to the emblem of Americana that is the cheeseburger: classic, and those gluttonously towering with inclusions. Tulip Shop’s tavern burger scratches the itch for a classic. A lovingly smashed patty piled high with finely shredded lettuce, pickles, and special sauce sits on a Gabriel’s Bakery bun that delicately toes the line between soft and sturdy. At just $12, it makes you question why anyone tried to reinvent the wheel. —MT
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