Mei Lin’s Travel Diary: The Best Places to Eat in Portland

When Top Chef Season 12 winner Mei Lin isn’t planning pop-up dinners with fellow chef friends, hanging out with Oprah, or testing recipes for her forthcoming restaurant, she’s globe-trotting in pursuit of her next great meal. When she returns, she reports back on the highlights of her travels to let you know the food you should not miss. This time around, she shares her favorite restaurants in Portland.

The thing I love about Portland is that it’s a small town but has such a big sense of community. Local chefs work together to do extraordinary things, and they’ve turned it into a great food city. I especially love Portland for all of its options. For example, the Thai food in Portland is insane—there are so many different places you can visit that represent the diversity of food from around all parts of Thailand. But it’s not just great Thai food that you’ll find; there are lots of other great restaurants. Here are my favorites to visit.