Making a lunchtime decision amidst the food courts corralled on Alder Street is no easy task. One of Portland's largest pods, you can try anything from Ethiopian dora watt to Peruvian lomo salt ado. But your nose might lead you to the unmistakably porky scent wafting from The People's Pig, which specializes in sandwiches made from its namesake animal. And your eyes need skim no farther than the top of the menu: porchetta ($8). More

Mextiza is a newish Mexican restaurant in Portland that has a popular older sibling, Autentica. Mextiza offers over 60 brands of tequila, and dishes that are indigenous to the many regions of chef Oswaldo Bibiano's native Mexico including Toluca, Sinaloa, and Hidalgo, among others. The sandwich highlight is the Torta Ahogado, slowly cooked sliced beef that's simmered in a red sauce and served with refried beans, onions and thinly sliced radish. More

Traveling all over this great nation of ours to taquerias, taco trucks, carnicerias, and anywhere else serving up a serious taco, we narrowed down the national list to 64 contenders divided by region: West, South, Midwest, and East. After much discussion, quite a few intense roadtrips, and a little indigestion, we arrived at our favorites. Up first: the West coast division, from the deep-fried fish tacos of the Southern California coast to the taco trucks in the Bay Area, and all the way up to Washington state. More

This international market, with a specialty in Middle Eastern foods, is one of my favorite places to shop in Portland. The variety of foods, beer, and wine is great, plus the prices are reasonable. It's owned by Myrna and John Attar, who are the same people behind the terrific Lebanese restaurant Ya Hala, so you can also expect fresh prepared foods from the deli counter: hummus, baba ghanouj, tabouli, and roasted lamb on basmati rice, and freshly baked pita for this falafel. More

My absolute favorite sandwich at Mother's, and it's a tough call, is the turkey reuben with house roasted turkey on grilled country bread, melted Swiss, sauerkraut, and Thousand Island dressing. I wouldn't pass up their traditional version with tender, perfect corned beef, but the turkey Swiss combo always hits the spot. More

It's general consensus that Podnah's serves the best barbecue in Portland. Elsewhere I've frequently been let down by dry meat covered with a mediocre sauce, but not here. More

Sunshine Tavern's buttermilk fried chicken sandwich—one of the best things I've eaten in months—is my favorite sandwich on their menu, made with crispy, tender chicken breast and topped with blue cheese coleslaw and chili mayo. More

Viking Soul Food is in my favorite Portland pod (that's a cluster of food carts). It's the only Norwegian cart in the city, with a menu that focuses on lefse (pronounced lef-suh). The thin potato flatbread is baked on a griddle then drizzled with local honey or filled with savory options like cured salmon or Norse meatballs with Gjetost sauce. More

Ate-Oh-Ate is named after chef-owner Ben Dyer's Hawaiian area code. The Musubi roll is a simple combination of Spam, nori, rice, and a piece of thin omelet. It makes for an unusual but tasty seaweed enclosed sandwich (alright, we admit sandwich might be a stretch here), and might even convert Spam haters. More

The key to good pollo a la brasa lies in a salt-heavy marinade and proper cooking on a rotisserie to ensure the tenderness of the meat. There's not enough time for that here (this is a sandwich place, after all), but the grilled hunks of juicy white and dark chicken are still plenty soft with a salty crust. More