My Favorite Dishes of 2024

Ending the year with some shoutouts.

One of the many things I love about Portland’s food scene is that there’s always somewhere new to try (currently eyeing Trela Greek Kitchen and Astral) and there’s always somewhere familiar to go (Bellwether forever).

To keep my “finger on the pulse,” I go out to eat a lot. I try my best to share everything here or on my Instagram, but not all of it makes the cut. So I thought it would be fun to highlight my favorite dishes of the year—some new, some familiar—to close out RR in 2024.

As a little bonus, every person who shares this post will be entered into a drawing to win one of my favorite cookbooks: Everyone’s Table by Gregory Gourdet. Just click the button below to share. I’ll announce the winner on Instagram on Jan 2 and contact them via email.

10. Corn Dog @ Liftoff Lounge

You might think that corn dogs belong at carnivals and fairs and shitty bars. And you’d be right. But also, corndogs belong at the Liftoff Lounge on NE Sandy. Like most items on their menu, Liftoff’s corn dog challenges expectations. This corn dog is not dry or in desperate need of ketchup or mustard. The cornmeal batter is made fresh, seasoned with honey, and adds a nice bready exterior to the all-beef frankfurter hiding inside. It’s magnificent.

Corn dogs might be the perfect bar food. They aren’t messy, and they have the right amount of carbs and protein to steady your intake of cocktails and beer. Sure, we’ve all read that study that says hot dogs shorten your life span, but we’re not eating hot dogs for health. We’re eating hot dogs because they’re really good. This was a surprisingly enjoyable eat, and I’m not above including a corn dog in my top ten list.

Read the full Liftoff Lounge review here.

9. Seasonal Danish @ Tabor Bread

I used to average maybe one to two croissants per year. But now that I live near Tabor Bread, my average is probably closer to 8. And I’m pleased. There are things in life that you aren’t meant to do yourself, and one of those things is make croissants.

Do you know how much time and effort goes into laminated dough? Why choose a muffin—a bready, easily replicable thing—when you can have a buttery pastry that takes more than 2 days to make and has more layers than your most avoidant and secretive friend?

The danish—a fellow laminated pastry—at Tabor Bread is a sight to behold. It’s a square-shaped croissant that frames a delicate custard center topped with whatever fruit is in season. Currently, that’s apple, almond, and honey. At $8, you might think to skip. But it’s one of the best items in the case. While the Figgy Buckwheat Scone at Bakeshop might be a worthy runner up, Tabor Bread’s seasonal danish was undoubtedly my go-to pastry in 2024.

Read the full Tabor Bread review here.

8. Short-Rib Borsch @ Kachka

When you think of borsch, visions of bright red soup with rings of sliced beet may come to mind. But made traditionally, a true borsch is a deep redish purple broth, flavored with slowly stewed marbled meat and spiked with mirepoix, julienned beets, and potatoes.

The borsch at Kachka is made from short-rib and is accompanied by two shiny butter rolls, perfect for tearing and dipping. The borsch is on this list because it surprised me how much I enjoyed it, and because I forgot how much I love Kachka, especially during these chilly winter months. Seasonal affective disorder hates to see this borsch coming!!

Read the full Kachka review here.

7. Mia Colucci Latte @ La Perlita

I’m obsessed with the early 2000s telenovela, Rebelde, which is about a group of high schoolers in Mexico City who start a band at their boarding school. The diva of the group is named Mia Colucci. She wears a gold star sticker on her forehead and loves to exclaim “You don’t know how hard it is to be me!” even though she is phenomenally wealthy and has no split-ends.

Anyways, when I saw that a Mia Colucci-themed latte was on the menu at La Perlita, the Mexican-owned cafe on N Interstate, I had to order it. It was sweet and pink and a treat for someone who normally orders black coffee.

La Perlita used to be part of the Republica restaurant group, but has been since passed off to former employees who have a knack for creative seasonal drinks, sourcing the best conchas, and being overall incredibly kind. They also sell their coffee beans by the bag near the front counter, which are worth the buy.

6. Pork Belly Burnt Ends @ Grasslands BBQ

I’m at the point where I don’t really feel the need to go to Hood River unless I know Grasslands is going to be open. It feels wrong to drive all that way and not eat barbecue from this beloved cart.

The Pork Belly Burnt Ends remain my favorite on the menu. They are black pepper crusted chunks of pork belly, smoked and glazed with a ginger, soy, and serrano vinaigrette. They oddly remind me of bacon wrapped dates — there’s a fatty, crunchy exterior that leads to a sweet, tender center. The burnt ends are highly poppable and perfect for lunch, alongside one of Grasslands’ knockout sides like the Tex-Mex Slaw or Green Chile Hominy. Creative yet familiar, these dudes know what they’re doing. I’m a loyal customer, and it pains me to even think about this pork belly when I know Grasslands is currently closed for winter and out of reach.

5. Chicories and Pistachio Butter Salad @ No Saint

I was resigned to Caesar salads being the only valid salad order to accompany pizza. But then I had the chicories and pistachio butter salad at No Saint, my favorite pizza restaurant in Portland, and my worldview was changed. Pistachio butter is a genius emulsifier for dressing. It gives a rich, creamy flavor and perfectly coats the chicory leaves.

The entire salad is a textbook example of why crunch + acid + fat + fruit is the perfect salad formula. In this case, that means apples, toasted pistachios, pickled fennel, and shaved brabander goat cheese.

I’ve contemplated going to No Saint just to eat this salad. I could eat it every day. I should probably try to recreate it at home, but there’s magic at No Saint you just can’t replicate in your kitchen.

Read the full No Saint review here.

4. Toasted Buns @ Yaowarat

I have a sweet tooth. It was hard not to put 10 desserts on here (honorable mentions include No Saint’s tiramisu and Cornet Custard’s Pine Nut Torrone ice cream). But of all the desserts I ordered this year, the toasted buns at Yaowarat are some of the most memorable bites I had in 2024.

The buns are plush, warm, and come with plate-licking dipping sauces. They smell like Auntie Anne’s in the best possible way. You rip them apart and dunk in the pandan and thai tea custards. Reminiscent of dulce de leche, but decidedly less sweet, these two custards are the stuff of dreams. Like the rest of Yaowarat’s cooking, the buns showcase the restaurant’s ability to be playful while still taking themselves very seriously.

Read the full Yaowarat review here.