Portland has seen a number of excellent Hawaiian restaurants and food carts open in the last few years. Some of my favorites are Kau Kau (which I have a post about) and GrindwitTryz are serving up some of the best food in town. One constant however has been Ate-Oh-Ate (named after the Hawaiian area code 808). Opened in 2010 on East Burnside, they have expanded now to three locations, two in Portland and one in Beaverton. They are part of the Your Neighborhood Restaurant Group which includes Laurelhurst Market, Big’s Chicken and Reverend’s BBQ. These restaurants are part of the fabric of the Portland food scene and are all excellent. I can’t remember when I first visited Ate-Oh-Ate, but it can’t have been much later than 2010 or 2011. 2010 was the year I stopped being Pescatarian and was when I really became obsessed with the Portland food scene and all the delicious meat. I had never been to Hawaii or had Hawaiian food, Ate-Oh-Ate was the first place to introduce me to the cuisine and plate lunch life. I’ve never looked back! And I got to go to Hawaii a few years ago and I loved everything about it and hope to visit again soon. I love Hawaiian food, I love all the new spots in town (Kau Kau especially) and the diversity of Hawaiian offerings, but I will always visit Ate-Oh-Ate for two of my favorite dishes ever: the Kal-Bi Ribs Plate & the Grilled Korean Chicken Plate. These are legendary dishes and 16 years later, remain some of the best dishes in town.

Kal-Bi Rib Plate. Thin Cut Beef Short Ribs in Korean Marinade, rice, mac salad. Simplicity on a plate. Each thing done to perfection. I am obsessed with kalbi, galbi, any type of Korean or Hawaiian short rib preparation. I always order this dish from any new place I try that has them. I can confidently say that Ate-Oh-Ate has the best ones I’ve ever had. The meat, the seasoning, the marinade, the cook and the sear on them are perfection each time. Really impressed with the consistency too over the years. They’ve never been less than stellar. I don’t get this dish as often as the chicken one, partially because it is more expensive at $25 than the other dishes ($16-17) but it is absolutely worth every penny. If you’ve never been to Ate-Oh-Ate, start with this dish!

Grilled Korean Chicken Plate: Grilled Boneless Thighs with Spicy Sweet Korean Sauce and Won Bok Kimchi. With rice and mac salad of course (you can also get green salad, but I recommend the mac salad for authenticity sake and because it’s better). They added kimchi a few years ago, it didn’t used to come with it. But it is a revelation because it pairs so well with the chicken and flavors, offering a nice counterpoint, and also because it is the best kimchi I’ve ever had. Perfect blend of flavors, tangy and funky in just the right amount. This is my go-to dish and I have been eating it for 15 years. Chicken is perfect, sauce is perfect, kimchi is perfect. It is a large plate of food and a great deal at $18. They know me when I call in this order, that’s how many times I’ve ordered it. In fact, I can say with reasonable certainty that I have ordered this one dish more than any other in my life. For good reason. If somehow you’ve never ordered this from them, please fix that.

Ate-Oh-Ate is funny in that they have two of my favorite dishes in town, but the menu is uneven and some of the other offerings are just so-so. I can’t say I’ve ordered everything on the menu, but I have been very underwhelmed by the Katsu, Shoyu, Kalua and Mochiko. Also the curry bowl and poke bowl are not worth getting. The other restaurants in this group have a far more even menu where all the things are good (like Laurelhurst and Big’s) but Ate-Oh-Ate does these two dishes so well that it’s fine by me. Just know that these two dishes are the one I recommend specifically if you go there. Happy Eating!