In Seattle, Rachel's is the first name in ginger beer, a sort-of soda-world answer to Salt & Straw, with prime locations in Capitol Hill and Pike Place Market, where they replaced the old Seattle's Best cafe and its photogenic neon coffee mug. Two months ago, when Rachel's opened a streamlined soda fountain in the old Peet's Coffee on Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard, it was a chance to put their lemon-forward ginger beer on the Portland map. And it was the latest example -- following Revelry, and a handful of Sichuan spots -- of a Seattle food business making the jump down Interstate 5.

As with the original locations, Portland's Rachel's shares its space with a micro-restaurant from Yakima, Washington-born chef Monica Dimas, specifically, a second outpost of her "permanent pop-up" Sunset Fried Chicken, which some Seattle colleagues consider a contender for the best fried-chicken sandwich in town.

The dish: If there are superlatives to be thrown around, they might be for the sides, especially the French fries, which are crisp and creamy in all the right places. You can order those, plus some tender hush puppies or tart fried-green tomatoes, or even the soupy kale Caesar with its broad swipes of Parmesan, from Sunset's corner window, which sits past the bar, opposite a trippy mural featuring a pyromaniac Clyde Drexler Stan. (Drinks are ordered from a separate station at the bar.) The fried-chicken sandwiches were another story. On our first visit, we tried two, the classic OG and a General Tso's-inspired GT, and while the griddled Franz buns were on point, the fry on the chicken was as tough and smooth as a well-oiled catcher's mitt. We chalked it up to a bad night. And indeed, on a return visit the next week, the fry was crisp, the buttermilk-marinated thighs juicy and the pickles added an aromatic tang.

Scouting Report

The takeaway: When the fryer is dialed in, Sunset's fried-chicken sandwiches take a spot among Portland's 10 best fried-chicken sandwiches. When it's not, well, there are ginger beer Hot Toddies and surprisingly strong wi-fi from the Starbucks across the road.

Sample menu: French fries ($4.25), fried green tomatoes ($5.50), wedge salad ($8), The OG ($8), The GT ($9).

Drinks: An array of Rachel's lemon-forward ginger beers, ginger beer floats or ginger beer cocktails are available from the bar.

Go: After catching "Rogue One" at the Bagdad Theater.

Details: Counter service, eat-in or take-out; disabled access; lunch and dinner daily; 3646 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd.; sunsetfriedchicken.com

-- Michael Russell