Oysters smoked and raw at Olympia Oyster Bar's coastal pop-up. (Michael Russell | The Oregonian)

From a snow-bound winter to a smoke-clogged summer, one persistent bright note remained as present this year as it always seems to be: Portland restaurants offered up some amazing things to eat. Scrolling through my year of reviews and roundups -- not to mention my Instagram -- was a rich reminder of how lucky we have it here. Some of the new dishes that crossed my table this year include fantastic Ivory Coast-style grilled fish from Portland's first proper West African restaurant, a traffic-rerouting noodle dish from one of our favorite Vietnamese soup spots and the city's best new burger (from our 2018 Restaurant of the Year, no less). And though I didn't plan it this way, more than half the dishes are either pescatarian or vegetarian and many cost $10 or less.

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Grilled fish at Akadi

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(Michael Russell | The Oregonian)

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Ivory Coast-born chef Fatou Ouattara brought the bright flavors of West Africa -- and some impressive cooking technique -- to Portland via this friendly Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard storefront. Come for the poisson braisé, the signature grilled fish of the Ivory Coast, a whole tilapia rubbed with salt, pepper, garlic and more, charred to a deep and gorgeous brown and served with tender attieke (fermented cassava), chopped tomato and onion and a thin, dijon-scented sauce.

3601 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 503-477-7138,

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Steam burgers at Canard

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(Jamie Hale | The Oregonian)

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You've might have heard of the duck stack, Canard's signature golden pancakes smothered in duck gravy, a duck egg and (if you wish) seared foie gras, a dish that comes with an afternoon nap guarantee. And you might have tried the ouefs en mayonnaise, the bistro standard given a modern update via a spoonful of trout roe and a drizzle of smoky maple syrup. But the raison d'etre at our reigning Restaurant of the Year are these White Castle-inspired steam burgers, with their plus-sized patties of crusty griddled beef blended with French onion soup mix and topped with melted American cheese, a spicy relish including pickles and chopped Mama Lil's peppers and a pronounced smear of yellow mustard on a fluffy Hawaiian roll. Drop by in the early afternoon or late at night, when the burger price drops to $3 each.

Canard: 734 E. Burnside St., 971-279-2356,

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Strawberry-ricotta toast at Coquine

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(Michael Russell | The Oregonian)

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Few Northwest chefs combined the passion for seasonal produce with the skill to cook them well like Katy Millard, the Paris-trained chef at this Mt. Tabor-side restaurant. Over the past year, I’ve fallen in love with their impeccable brunch -- Friday mornings at Coquine are practically my office hours these days -- particularly this simple sourdough toast topped with whatever delightful thing just came to a farmer’s market near you, from strawberries in May to peaches in September to honey and bee pollen in November. Those strawberries stand out, if only because that poor little toast had to hold up not just to fluffy ricotta and fresh mint but to a pint’s worth of glistening Oregon strawberries.

6839 S.E. Belmont St., 503-384-2483,

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Chicken and waffles at Han Oak

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(Michael Russell | The Oregonian)

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For most of the year, diners at the modern Korean restaurant inside chef Peter Cho and Sun Young Park's home could pair crispy waffles with Korean-style fried chicken wings, creating a build-your-own, savory-on-savory answer to chicken and waffles. Cho flavor blasts his wings with dehydrated kimchi and instant ramen spices -- The Oregonian's 2017 Restaurant of the Year still makes Portland's best shatter-crisp KFC -- then spins his waffles into an octopus-filled take on Japanese okonomiyaki, dried bonito flakes fluttering in the air.

511 N.E. 24th Ave., 971-255-0032,

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Dungeness crab toast at Jacqueline

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(Michael Russell | The Oregonian)

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Sure, a hundred Portland brunch spots beat this overachieving Clinton Street seafood spot to the simple idea of topping Dungeness crab with Hollandaise sauce. But once you’ve tried Jacqueline’s, you might be ruined for the rest. Here, a thin, buttery slice of griddled baguette supports an impressive amount of lump crab dripping with some downright impudent saffron-infused Hollandaise. Calabrian chiles, petite fennel fronds and edible flowers keep things interesting. Time it right, and you can gorge yourself on $1 happy hour oysters before attacking this toast.

2039 S.E. Clinton St. 503-327-8637

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Roasted cauliflower at Lovely’s Fifty Fifty

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(Michael Russell | The Oregonian)

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Did I wait five hours for an October collaboration between pizza gods Joe Beddia of Philadelphia’s Beddia and Sarah Minnick of Portland’s own Lovely’s Fifty Fifty? Did I order an outstanding bottle of Maloof wines from incomparable guest servers Ross and Bee Maloof? Was my favorite dish of the night the stunning roasted cauliflower with garlic, anchovy, parsley and Calabrian chile oil of the sort you can probably find at the North Mississippi Avenue pizzeria any day of the week? (And did I secretly sneak off for a burger and fries between putting my name on the list and finally getting the call that our table was ready?) Yes. Yes. Yes. (And you know it.)

4039 N. Mississippi Ave., 503-281-4060,

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Rockfish ceviche at Olympia Oyster Bar’s Nevor Shellfish Farm pop-up

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(Michael Russell | The Oregonian)

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For a few months this year, Maylin Chavez of North Mississippi Avene’s Olympia Oyster Bar ran the most interesting wine bar on the Oregon Coast. At Chavez' summer pop-up, which took place roughly every other weekend at Nevor Shellfish Farm, you could eat oysters raw and smoked and drink natural wine surrounded by trees at the edge of Netarts Bay, a stone's throw from where those same oysters were grown. We ordered two rounds of the ceviche, each with two tidy shells filled with perfect lozenges of citrus-cured rockfish, avocado and cucumber that you scooped up with blue corn tortilla chips.

4214 N. Mississippi Ave., 503-841-6316,

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The Torito salad at OK Omens

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(Michael Russell | The Oregonian)

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Considering he runs the kitchen at Portland’s lone true fine-dining restaurant, Castagna chef Justin Woodward sure does seem to think a lot about Southern California fast food. Maybe that’s why my most ordered item at OK Omens, the new restaurant and natural wine bar that Woodward, sommelier Brent Braun and restaurateur Monique Siu opened next door in the old Cafe Castagna, was the lime-zapped Torito salad, a cheeky Caesar with chopped romaine, crumbled corn nuts and a sprinkling of Cotija cheese in a creamy cilantro dressing that Woodward called a nod to a salad from El Torito, the Los Angeles-based chain. Visit late-night and they’ll pair your salad with slices of their green Sichuan peppercorn-dusted fried chicken.

1758 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd., 503-231-9959,

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Cao lau at Rose VL

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(Michael Russell | The Oregonian)

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More than 10 years after opening their destination soup shop Ha VL, and three years after branching off with Rose VL, Ha (Christina) Luu and WIlliam Vuong created a legitimate Portland food sensation this winter just by adding a single dish, served on Saturdays only. Luu’s take on Cao lau, the signature noodle bowl of Hoi An in Central Vietnam, has thick noodles, plentiful herbs, tender pork slices, roast peanuts and fried shallots, all meant to be tossed in the slick of subtly sweet pork sauce hidden underneath before slurping. There might not be a better thing you can eat in Portland on a Saturday morning.

6424 S.E. Powell Blvd., 503-206-4344,

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100-layer lasagna at Spaetzle & Speck

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The

actual

best thing I had at this farm-to-table catering company’s ongoing residency at Park Avenue Fine Wines was a taste of plump, basement-cured prosciutto that chef Karl Holl sliced and folded next to impossibly juicy slices of summer peach. But that was just a taste -- Holl was still working with the state to make his charcuterie street legal. Instead,

, with thin noodle sheets made from eggs from Holl’s Molino farm, a duxelle of chanterelle mushroom and ricotta and a healthy grating of Parmesan cheese.

626 S.W. Park Ave.,

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Sweet of the year: Soft serve at Sugarpine Drive-in

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(Michael Russell | The Oregonian)

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With apologies to Coquine’s toasted sugar pavlova, the best composed dessert I had in Portland this year, nothing spoke of summer 2018 to me like the wholesome sandwiches, fresh salads and picturesque soft serve at this charming Troutdale drive-through. With its dizzying array of toppings, including sprinkles, crumbs, gummies, flakes and magic shells, I often fell back on the

, with its vanilla soft serve and butterscotch dotted with sprinkles and maple sugar dust, all tucked inside a high-collared waffle cone, the kind of thing you think you'll never be able to finish until the moment you do.

1208 E. Historical Columbia River Highway, Troutdale; 503-665-6558;

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(The Oregonian)

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Don't miss our earlier guides to Portland's 10 best new restaurants, our 2018 Restaurant of the Year and the city's 40 best restaurants, period.

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-- Michael Russell

503-294-5013

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