Sunday, January 2, 2011

¿Por Que No? - why not Mexican?


Por Que No? Why not visit this mexican taqueria for some awesome food? This place is fantastic and I know the rest of Portland thinks so too because there is always a line to order food. I am addicted to their carnitas (braised pork) because of the sweet flavor and juicy taste. 

There are two locations - one in North Portland and one in SE Portland. We chose to visit the one in SE on Hawthorne Blvd. I have only been to the one on Hawthorne but I never been disappointed. You walk into the restaurant, order and pay, take your number and wait for them to deliver it to your table.

This mexican taqueria is so much more than just the "traditional" mexican menu with rice, beans and enchiladas/tacos/burrito. The ingredients are so fresh which makes the dishes so colorful - with red onions, cilantro, radishes, tomatoes, black beans and homemade golden crispy chips. My meals of choice are listed below:

Bryan's Bowl (sub fish for $2 / $3 for shrimp).................$6.75 Your choice of meat or veggies in a bowl with beans, rice, guacamole,salsas, queso fresco, crema, cilantro & a side of chips or 3 tortillas

Porque Plate (sub fish for $2 / $3 for shrimp)...............$11.00 Your choice of meat or veggies served on a plate with beans, rice, a small salad, salsa fresca, guacamole, crema & 4 tortillas

{via menu}

Bryan's Bowl with carnitas
Bryan's Bowl with chicken

The decor is eccentric and vibrant with colorful walls and a variety of different types of artwork. Chalkboards cover one wall listing all the food and drink specials. The table and chairs are all different shapes and sizes. It is an organized chaos on the walls with vases, mirrors, empty frames, Virgin Mary statues, Christmas lights and paintings - you name it. There is indoor and outdoor seating at the SE Portland location and it is especially fun in the summertime because they open the front garage door so the whole has an outdoor feel to it. 

Affordable, great ambience and delicious food.

open 7 days a week
lunch and dinner

3524 N Mississippi Ave. Portland, OR 97227
(503) 467 - 4149

4635 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Portland, OR 97215
(503) 954 - 3138




Check them out at http://www.porquenotacos.com/

9 comments:

  1. Beautiful description, ahh sounds so good. I've never had crema but I see it on the Food Network every so often. It looks to have the consistency of partially thinned out sour cream. Its it good? it must be. I'd like to have a fresh tortilla chip too.......Your makin' me hungry.

    Reminds me of the shows Dinners, Drive-Inns, and Dives and Man vs. Food :)

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  2. @ihadsomelagears - Thank you for the comment and the way their creama is prepared is wonderful. It is exactly how you described it. Some places have a cilantro crema which is all blended together - that is fantastic as well. And if you are ever going to try a fresh tortilla chip, I would recommend here. They are thick chips and very crispy.

    Stay hungry! :)

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  3. oh how I'm starving after seeing this!

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  4. Mmmm!!! I love por que no! I remember going once and getting this fresh cucumber coconut juice - it was delicious :o) Your blog is so so cute, and I'm getting hungry just looking at your pictures (even though I just had dinner!).

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  5. I love it! Can't wait for the conference too, it's going to be great.

    Kesha Tickets

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  6. anyone know of a recipe (or similar) to make at home... we visited Por Que no on a holiday and loved it...

    having cravings for it...

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