Twenty blocks of NE Alberta Street between MLK and 33rd, where the ice cream queues form and the bakeries open at seven. Galleries, cocktails, brunch.
Troy MacLarty's spice-loud Indian street-food canteen on NE Alberta in Portland, modelled on the chaat stalls of Mumbai and Hyderabad since 2012.
Signature: Vada pav, Kati roll
Order: The vada pav with green chutney
Tip: Counter order, table service. The Division Street outpost has closed; Alberta is the original room.
Earl Ninsom and Alan Akwai's Southern Thai chicken shop in NE Portland, with rice-flour-battered free-range chicken and sweet-spicy chili sauce.
Signature: Fried chicken, Roti and curry
Order: The three-piece fried chicken plate with curry roti
Tip: Two outposts (Killingsworth, Belmont) and a stall at Eem Pod. Killingsworth is the original room.
The LGBTQ-, women- and veteran-owned brunch garden on NE Alberta in Portland, with topping-layered potato cakes, vegan tofu bowls and pineapple mimosas.
Signature: Biscuits and bacon gravy, Vegan tofu bowl
Order: The biscuits and bacon gravy with potato cakes
Tip: Dog-friendly with a doggie menu. The covered patio is the seat to ask for in summer.
Nate and Jamie Snell's mini-doughnut counter on NE Fremont in Portland, with house-made chai flights paired to small batches of cake doughnuts since 2012.
Tip: The chai flight (cardamom, dirty, vanilla, lavender) is the order. Doughnuts come hot, six to a basket.
Worth the queue: Raw honey and sea salt doughnut
Portland's first all-vegan doughnut shop on NE Sandy, open since 2017 with handcrafted seasonal flavours and house-made vegan ice cream.
Tip: Weekend service runs until 20:00 with a sundae menu. Cash and card.
Worth the queue: Maple-blueberry vegan doughnut
Cousins Tyler and Kim Malek's farm-to-cone ice cream counter on NE Alberta in Portland, the 2011 shop that grew into the Pacific Northwest's defining brand.
Tip: Five Portland scoop counters. Alberta is the original. The rotating monthly menu is the draw.
Worth the queue: Sea salt with caramel ribbons
Yair Maidan's falafel counter in the Zipper micro-restaurant collective on NE Sandy in Portland, Portland Monthly's pick for best falafel sandwich in town.
Try: Falafel pita, salad, rice bowl
Tip: Counter order, shared dining room with four micro-restaurants and a bar. Falafel is fried to order; expect 8 minutes.
Breakside's flagship NE Dekum pub in Portland, the 2010 brewery that grew into one of the Pacific Northwest's most decorated craft houses with IPA-led lineup.
Tip: Wood-fired pizzas from the kitchen pair to the IPA. Free street parking is easier than the Slabtown brewery.
Great Notion's R&D brewery on NE Alberta in Portland, originator of the hazy-IPA Pacific Northwest style with a beer garden, taqueria and experimental pours.
Tip: The Alberta flagship pours brewery-only beers. The NW 28th outpost has more food. Beer-garden patio in summer.
Christina Luu and William Vuong's Vietnamese soup counter on SE 82nd in Portland, with two rotating soups daily and the city's most authoritative pho-shop pricing.
Try: Daily rotating Vietnamese soup
Tip: Open Wed-Sun 08:00-15:00. Two soups daily, each runs only one day a week. They sell out by noon.
Yair Maidan's $11 falafel-pita counter in the Zipper micro-restaurant pod in northeast Portland, Washington-grown chickpea falafel with chopped vegetables.
Try: Falafel pita sandwich
Tip: Order at the counter; share the dining room with four micro-restaurants and a bar.
The dog-friendly garden brunch cafe on NE Alberta in Portland, with potato cakes, bacon biscuits and pineapple mimosas served on a covered heated patio.
Order: Biscuits and bacon gravy with potato cakes
Tip: Doggie menu and a covered patio. Reservations available; walk-ins absorbed within 25 minutes.
Christina Luu and William Vuong's Vietnamese soup counter on SE 82nd in Portland for morning soup, with two daily soups, banh mi and a strict sellout policy.
Order: The daily soup and a Vietnamese coffee
Tip: Open from 08:00, but most regulars eat soup for lunch. They sell out by noon on weekends.