Screen Door (restaurant)

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Screen Door
Screen Door logo.png
Screen Door Restaurant.jpg
The original restaurant's front exterior in 2010
Screen Door (restaurant)
Restaurant information
Owner(s)David Mouton (co-owner) [1]
Food type
Street address2337 East Burnside Street
City Portland
County Multnomah
StateOregon
Postal/ZIP Code97214
CountryUnited States
Coordinates 45°31′23″N122°38′30″W / 45.52310°N 122.64171°W / 45.52310; -122.64171
Website screendoorrestaurant.com

Screen Door is a popular Southern and soul food restaurant with three locations in Portland, Oregon, in the United States.

Contents

Description

Screen Door is a popular Southern and soul food restaurant with three locations in Portland, Oregon. The original restaurant is located at 2337 East Burnside Street in the Kerns neighborhood. [2] [3] In 2021, a second location opened in Northwest Portland's Pearl District. The business also operates at Portland International Airport in Northeast Portland. [4] [5]

Screen Door often has a line. According to co-owner David Mouton, the restaurant can host as many as 500 customers per weekend. Wait times are sometimes shared via voicemail. [1] Screen Door warns guests, "Good fried chicken takes time. Please consider this when ordering." [6]

Screen Door's specialty is crispy buttermilk-battered fried chicken, sometimes accompanied with sweet potato waffles. [7] [6] [8] The menu also includes biscuits, fried green tomatoes, grits, macaroni and cheese, po' boy, pulled pork, and brisket; weekend brunch features Bananas Foster French toast and biscuits and gravy (sausage or vegetarian). [3] [9] The restaurant's hushpuppy recipe has been published by The Washington Post , and subsequently other outlets. [1] [10]

History

In 2013, the restaurant's head chef Rick Widmayer left after serving for six years. [2] Screen Door's current culinary director is Dominic Finzo. [11]

Screen Door opened a second location in the Pearl District in 2021, [12] and operates at the airport as of 2024. [4]

Reception

Exterior of the restaurant in the Pearl District, 2022 Portland, Oregon (August 16, 2022) - 046.jpg
Exterior of the restaurant in the Pearl District, 2022

Screen Door has been associated with Portland's reputation as a food destination. [8] [13] In 2012, ABC News named Screen Door as one of the "Top Ten Restaurants in the Nation". [14] The Cooking Channel has recommended the restaurant for the "best Southern breakfast on the West Coast". [15] Glamour recommended the fried chicken and sweet potato waffles on their "must-try list for "serious foodies'" (2013). [7] The Portland Mercury has described the restaurant as "spacious yet cozy", with a varied menu. [9] Tom Sietsema of The Washington Post wrote, "If you have time for only one breakfast, make it this convivial Southern charmer, easy to spot due to the inevitable line out the door". [1]

In 2012, Portland Monthly reviewed and contrasted the restaurant's fried chicken and waffles with Simpatica's recipe in the magazine's search for the city's best chicken and waffles. [16] The magazine also included Screen Door's "Spicy Creole Bloody" recipe in its list of Portland's best Bloody Marys. [17] The New York Times featured the restaurant in the 2015 article, "36 Hours in Portland, Ore." [18] The restaurant's mashed potatoes and tasso gravy recipe was a contender in Portland Monthly's 2016 "Spud Bracket", which recognized the city's best potato "creations". [19] The magazine also included the chicken and sweet potato waffle in a 2022 list of Portland's twelve best breakfasts. [20]

Screen Door was a runner-up in the Best Brunch Spot category of Willamette Week's annual 'Best of Portland' readers' poll in 2022. [21] The restaurant ranked second in the same category in 2024 and 2025. [22] [23] In 2024, Screen Door was featured on Yelp's top brunch list. [24] In 2025, the business ranked ninth in a Yelp list of 50 restaurants serving the best fried chicken in the U.S. and Canada, [25] and was included in Eater Portland 's list of Portland's best brunch restaurants. [26]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Sietsema, Tom (July 22, 2015). "No city does breakfast quite like Portland". The Herald . Everett, Washington. Archived from the original on February 16, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Tepler, Benjamin (March 1, 2013). "Chef Rick Widmayer Out at Screen Door". Portland Monthly . ISSN   1546-2765. Archived from the original on September 12, 2015. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Screen Door". Travel + Leisure . Time Inc. ISSN   0041-2007 . Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  4. 1 2 Baillargeon, Zoe (2023-07-27). "Where to Eat and Drink at Portland International Airport". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2024-06-20. Retrieved 2024-06-20.
  5. ↑ Wong, Janey (2023-07-27). "The Best Restaurants, Bars, and Cafes at Portland International Airport (PDX)". Eater Portland. Retrieved 2025-05-20.
  6. 1 2 "Screen Door". Food Network. Archived from the original on March 12, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  7. 1 2 Raymond, Julia (June 14, 2013). "Portland Food in the News". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on February 14, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  8. 1 2 Sietsema, Tom (December 21, 2015). "The 10 best food cities in America, ranked". The Washington Post . Washington, D.C. ISSN   0190-8286. Archived from the original on January 29, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  9. 1 2 "Screen Door". The Portland Mercury . Index Publishing. Archived from the original on October 10, 2015. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Screen Door Breakfast Hush Puppies". The Washington Post. July 1, 2015. Archived from the original on February 13, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  11. ↑ Jerome, Emma. "Screen Door serving up special Easter brunch". KOIN6. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  12. ↑ "After a Yearlong Delay, Portland Brunch Destination Screen Door's Pearl Location is Opening Next Week". 9 May 2021. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  13. ↑ "The Washington Post Names Portland America's Best Food City". Portland Monthly. December 21, 2015. Archived from the original on February 3, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  14. ↑ "The Nation's 10 Best Restaurants". ABC News . Archived from the original on 2017-09-08. Retrieved 2017-06-22.
  15. ↑ "Screen Door". Cooking Channel. Archived from the original on November 5, 2015. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  16. ↑ Dundas, Zach; Ritchie, Rachel; Patail, Martin; Brooks, Karen; Gay, Dan (February 23, 2012). "Portland's Battle for the Best Fried Chicken and Waffles". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on January 29, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  17. ↑ Ritchie, Rachel; Brooks, Karen; Jones, Allison (February 23, 2012). "Portland's Best Bloody Marys". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on January 31, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  18. ↑ Moon, Freda. "36 Hours in Portland, Ore". The New York Times. New York Times Company. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  19. ↑ Clarke, Kelly (January 15, 2016). "The Spud Bracket". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on January 17, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  20. ↑ "The 12 Best Breakfasts in Portland". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on 2022-06-01. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  21. ↑ "Food Winners". Willamette Week. 2022-07-13. Archived from the original on 2022-07-15. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
  22. ↑ "2024 Best of Portland Readers' Poll: Food". Willamette Week. 2024-07-16. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
  23. ↑ Promotions. "2025 Best of Portland Readers' Poll: Food". Willamette Week. Anna Zusman. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  24. ↑ Gebel, Meira. "Three Portland restaurants on Yelp's top brunch list". Axios. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  25. ↑ Pettigrew, Jashayla (July 22, 2025). "3 Portland spots included in Yelp Elite's roundup of the nation's best fried chicken". KOIN.
  26. ↑ Baillargeon, Zoe (2016-08-09). "Portland's Best Brunch Restaurants". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2021-12-01. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
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