Sunnyside

Fried Egg I’m In Love (awesome name) is a yellow food cart situated on Hawthorne Boulevard with an attached, covered picnic seating area. Egg sandwiches are their thing–made with local eggs from Willamette Egg Farms, served on sourdough bread from Portland French Bakery, with FEIIL’s secret spice blend (Magic Egg Dust—which you can buy at the cart or online). Every sandwich can be made vegetarian- and gluten-free. For the adults, there’s coffee from Stumptown—as well as mimosas, local beers, cider, and FEILL’s take on sangria.

The pizza here rivals the best pies you’ll find in NYC, meaning it’s a good idea to make a reservation in advance if you can—otherwise, prepare to wait a bit for a table. While the menu is stacked with good options, they'll let you build your own with up to three toppings, a limitation imposed to preserve the integrity of their pizza dough, which is sort of similar to ciabatta. Old-school video games in the arcade room help the wait time fly by.

While Voodoo Doughnut, with its long lines and anti-establishment atmosphere, is an important pilgrimage for foodies, locals head straight to Blue Star for delicious donuts and much more manageable lines. The vibe here is decidedly more buttoned up, with tall ceilings and subway tiled walls, and the flavors to match. You won’t find any cereal-themed donuts here—instead, opt for sophisticated flavors like brioche, lemon poppy buttermilk, blueberry bourbon, or the famous apple fritters. There are three other locations in Portland, in Northwest Portland, Downtown, and Boise.

Mom Mary O’Rourke started making her famous waffles (a unique variation on a Liege-style sugar waffle) after her sons came back from a European trip and begged her to recreate what they’d eaten abroad. Today, they serve them out of the previously-abandoned service window of the family's restaurant, Bread & Ink. The menu features the original sugar waffle as well as savory options (ham and cheese; bacon, brie, and basil) or dessert-style (Nutella and banana, blueberry cheesecake). There’s a second location in Alberta, and two more opening this summer.

It’s hard to imagine now that their coffee is in every cute coffee shop from San Francisco to Charleston, but there was a time when you could only get Stumptown in Portland. Their cheeky shops are still the best for local roasts, and Tasting Bar at their HQ makes a fun (and energizing) outing for coffee snobs. There are locations in every major neighborhood: Downtown, Sunnyside, Old Town Chinatown, and Richmond.