Along the banks of the Sandy river in Troutdale is the greatest little old drive-in restaurant you could ever hope for. Started in 2018, this place has quickly become an Oregonian favorite and a must for any trips out to the Gorge. They specialize in seasonal, thoughtful, scratch-made menus utilizing local produce as well as soft serve ice cream and signature sundaes. I tend to stop by after a hike in the gorge for a late lunch. I know the ice cream is a big draw for people and especially families. I’m more interested in the seasonal food offerings which are always packed with ingredients and flavor. The photo above is just to prove that I have ordered ice cream, or in this case a non-dairy coconut treat. Delicious!

This is from a trip in late June 2024. Pictured above is the “Here Comes the Sun” salad. Fresh sliced strawberries with spinach, tokyo turnips and golden beets, in a poppyseed and rhubarb-balsamic dressing, candied sunflower seeds and pink peppercorn. So unique, delicious and refreshing. You can tell just by the photo the quality of the ingredients. My body was definitely craving this after a hike along with a tri-tip sandwich pictured below.

“El Gaucho” Beef tri-tip smoked and grilled to medium, thinly sliced and seasoned with rub, horseradish crema, pickled red onion, smoked bell pepper, arugula and chimichurri on a toasted potato bun. Love all the bold flavors! They all coalesced well together with the beef flavor front and center and no one bold flavor overtook another. These chefs really know their stuff.

From a trip there this March. Brisket Banh Mi & Tzatziki Potato Salad. The banh mi had Rotisserie smoked beef brisket, savory grilled pork sausage rolls (cha la lot) wrapped in betel leaves, pickled carrot and daikon, fresh jalapeño and cilantro, chicken liver pâté and confit onion aioli on a custom Oyatsupan Bakers roll. Clearly not your average banh mi. Really delicious, especially the brisket. For a drive-in restaurant known for their ice cream, they create excellent smoked meats. The Tzatziki Potato Salad had Ruby Red Potatoes, shaved Persian cucumber, garbanzo beans, creamy yogurt dressing, fresh herbs, sumac-feta & Castelvetrano olives. This was so delicious and fresh! I love the Greek flavors and twist to it. I could eat this daily.

This from a trip in early July of this year. It was all about cherries on this seasonal menu as the cherries had just come on line. We do cherries well in the PNW if you didn’t know. Some of the best in the world come from the Hood River Valley just a few miles east of here. I ordered the “Thai-Cherry McRib” and “Cherry Bomb” salad. The McRib was slider sized and had soy-marinated, smoked & braised St. Louis–style pork ribs, glazed in sour cherry–red curry BBQ sauce, topped with green papaya & Bing cherry salad, roasted curry peanuts, and sweet chile–cherry jaew aioli atop a toasted sesame milk bun from Oyatsupan Bakers. This was good though not quite as amazing as the other things I’ve had here. Also wish it would have been bigger. The salad was really incredible and hit the seasonal mark better than the slider. Herb-marinated burrata, savory cherry granola, pickled & fresh cherries, cherry tomatoes, frisée, baby kale, curly endive, Thai basil, pistachio-chili crisp vinaigrette. I think the salads more than anything really highlight their use of local seasonal ingredients and creativity. Each salad I get there is a total revelation. Bonus pic below is the cherries I bought at a road side stand in Cascade Locks after my hike. So beautiful! Love cherry season.

From my last and most recent trip to Sugarpine in mid-September. Sorry for the lackluster pic, this work of culinary art deserved better. The “Thai Guy Curry Dip” had Thai-style grilled + braised chicken, slaw of red cabbage, mung bean sprouts, jalapeno, cilantro in a prik nam pla dressing, pickled mustard greens, red onions, Thai basil aioli, crispy egg noodles on a hoagie roll with a khao soi curry broth for dipping. Wow this was so incredible! Vibrant flavors, totally unique, I’ve never had anything like it. The khao soi curry broth was perfect. The sandwich was good on its own, but the curry broth dip really took it to another level.

Please make a point to go visit Sugarpine if you live in Portland or if you are traveling here. It is truly a gem. I recommend looking past the ice cream menu and digging into whatever seasonal menu items they have. A lot of care is going into crafting these creative dishes and the quality of the ingredients is always top notch.