Fodor's Expert Review Pok Pok

Andy Ricker, the owner of one of Portland's most talked-about restaurants, regularly travels to Southeast Asia to research street food and home-style recipes to include on the menu of this always-hopping spot. Diners have the option of sitting outside under tents, or in the funky, cavelike interior, while they enjoy enticing dishes like green papaya salad, charcoal-roasted game hen, and Ike's Vietnamese chicken wings, which are deep-fried in caramelized fish sauce and garlic. Across the street, sister space Whiskey Soda Lounge is both a Pok Pok waiting area and restaurant in its own right, with a full bar and a limited Pok Pok menu. The Pok Pok mini empire also includes fast-food-style Pok Pok Wing, with three locations around town, and Pok Pok Northwest in Slabtown.