Pok Pok, Portland, OR

A recent trip to Portland found us at a wonderful restaurant that was almost literally across the street from this famed spot.  We had a 5:30 dinner reservation (we were eating at a small and popular restaurant and took the reservation we were offered) but arrived early so in wandering the neighborhood we checked out the scene at Pok Pok.  Even at 5:00 it was packed and there were people lined up hoping for a table.  We are not naturally attracted to lines, but thought that this place might be worth it, so we walked back the next day and managed to get there early enough that we got a table just as they opened.  And got to sit out on the porch watching all the food and people go by.

We had the famous chicken wings, and a couple of other dishes that were quite good, but the thing that was most impressive about Pok Pok was that almost everything that the tables around us ordered looked like something that we would enjoy. The menu is not that extensive, the lines are long, but the food is worth the wait.  And the ambiance is very much one step up from a food truck, but not two steps up.