The January Hit List: Le Pigeon, Mama Dut, the Waiting Room, and More

When you just really need a quality bottle of wine without leaving the house, Northeast Killingsworth’s Dame can fix you right up. Order before 3 p.m. from their online bottle shop and have bottles delivered to your door, same day. Options change frequently, but range from a healthy selection of affordable orange wines to celebration-worthy magnums and high-end reds. A short dinner menu is also available for takeout and delivery, Thursday through Saturday, with a handful of pastas, seasonal soups and salads and a burger topped with shaved foie gras to round out your bottle purchase.

Dining status: Takeout and delivery available.

There’s something particularly cozy about Tuscan classics in the wintertime. At the beginning of the pandemic, Northwest Portland’s modern Italian restaurant Gallo Nero transitioned their entire menu to takeout and delivery, so finding — and ordering — updated versions of all your favorites has never been easier. Order lasagna with meat sauce and béchamel, Painted Hills beef tenderloin served over creamy polenta with local truffles and a quintet of bruschetta, alongside salads, seafood-heavy mains and of course, tiramisu drizzled with Strega.

Dining status: Takeout and delivery available via Caviar and Uber Eats.

One of the buzziest restaurant openings of the fall, GrindWitTryz is bringing their kalua pig, ono chicken, surf-and-turf kalbi ribs, and other Hawaiian favorites to a new Northeast Alberta brick-and-mortar. The restaurant — formerly a cart that drew two-hour lines from customers who came from as far as Seattle or Eugene — took over the former Bunk Alberta space at the beginning of November. Now, in addition to three daily menu items (kalua pig, ono chicken and spicy ahi poke), flavor-seekers can find Hawaiian nachos, Filipino lechon kawali, and a handful of other popular cart-era specials. When the liquor license comes through, the restaurant will be in full vacation mode, with mai tais, lava flows and a four-spirit jungle juice. 

Dining status: Takeout and dine-in available.

With an in-house butcher shop and outdoor dining on a covered, heated deck, Laurelhurst Market is a staple for anyone missing that classic steakhouse experience. Start with a plate of housemade charcuterie, deviled eggs or steak tartare (dine-in only), before diving into steak frites, the house ribeye with confit fingerling potatoes, cast iron-roasted king salmon, and more. Takeout offers nearly identical options, plus an additional special for two that combines a salad, two mains, a side, and a pair of cookies for $79. On the butcher shop side, pre-order by phone or head to the restaurant to pick up high-quality steaks, lamb, pork, chicken, fried chicken by the pound or in sandwich form, and housemade sausage and deli meats and on Tuesdays,. 

Dining status: Takeout and outdoor dining available.

Make Saturday night special with dinner from one of Portland’s best restaurants. Starting Sundays at noon, pre-order the restaurant’s three-course, nut-free “Bird Box” for two. Menus change weekly, and include a soup or salad to start, a meat main, and dessert. Past menus have included the restaurant’s iconic beef Bourguignon, chermoula-rubbed lamb collar, foie gras- and sausage-stuffed quail, and braised beef pie. Also available to Saturday pickups are 12-count steam burger kits (made famous at next-door sister spot Canard), duck and chanterelle lasagna for four, and bottles to pair selected by wine director Andy Fortgang. 

Dining status: Takeout available.

Portland’s instantly popular new vegan Vietnamese spot comes from Thuy Pham, a former hair stylist who traded in her shears for a chef’s knife during the pandemic. She opened her first restaurant in November, becoming almost famous overnight for her vegan pork belly — which is based on recipes cooked by traditional Vietnamese Buddhist monks — after posting an Instagram Live of her and her daughter preparing the dish. These days, after taking over Farm Spirit’s vegan deli, Fermenter, Pham is showcasing that pork belly in baos, dumplings and banh mi. Not to be upstaged are her vegan fish sauce wings, house fermented vegetables and kimchi, and sweets like Vietnamese coffee cheesecake and mochi snowball cakes.

Dining status: Takeout available.

Next door to Vietnamese vegan restaurant Mama Dut is yet another freshly opened, Instagram-fueled vegan restaurant. Plant Based Papi, from Michigan sports model Jewan Manuel, first started as a comfort food pop-up in the summer of 2019. Though the popup got a slow start last year, Manuel consistently sells out when he posts a menu on Instagram, sometimes in less than 10 minutes. Menus rotate throughout the week and include jackfruit tacos and nachos, truffle mac and cheese, and king oyster mushroom “scallops.” Sundays will also bring Portland’s favorite meal: brunch, with Manuel offering a vegan fried chicken French toast sandwich. For now, Plant Based Papi is offering takeout on Tuesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

Dining status: Takeout available Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday.

Get your barbecue fix from Southland Whiskey Kitchen: Build your own plate with two classic Southern sides (think bacon mac n’ cheese, cornbread, and collard greens) and a choice of meat, stacked in a sandwich or ordered by the pound. Options include brisket, pulled pork, shredded chicken, ribs, and sausage. Those feeding a crowd can order large format family-sized sides or fried snacks like southern cauliflower and wings to fill out your meal. And if you need an incentive to actually leave the house to pick up your order, cocktails and shots are available for consumption on-site while you wait for your food. 

Dining status: Patio seating, takeout and delivery available.

From Wednesday to Saturday, order large format fried chicken dinners for the family with your choice of sides, deviled eggs, and dessert. Or, order from a select menu of a la carte items like hush puppies, sweet potato biscuits, birds by the whole, half, or quarter, and chicken strips from this Northwest 23rd southern staple. On Mondays and Tuesdays afternoons, The Waiting Room converts to a lunchtime hoagie delivery pop-up, with half a dozen Jersey classics with all the meats, cheese, shredded lettuce, and sliced pepperoncini to make your East Coast relatives proud.  

Dining status: Takeout and delivery available. More info here.

At the end of the summer, former Yakuza chef Chalunthorn “Yui” Schaeffer took over the neighboring DOC space, serving a menu of family recipes and personal favorites at her eponymous restaurant Yui. Dishes like squid-ink pad kee mao flecked with Thai chile, local wagyu beef kra paom, and grilled banana with creamy coconut milk play starring roles alongside curries, soups and vegan-friendly mains. Once a week, Schaeffer’s mom heads to her eponymous restaurant to help prep Thai pantry staples like sauces and pastes, though most of the time Schaeffer does all the cooking solo. For now, Schaeffer is offering takeout only (with beer and wine to come), but plans on opening for dine-in service once her liquor license is approved.

Dining status: Takeout available.