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La Bonita
La Bonita
	Exterior of the restaurant in southeast Portland's Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood, 2022
Restaurant information
Food type	Mexican
Street address	2839 Northeast Alberta Street; 2710 North Killingsworth Street; 2138 Southeast Division Street;
City	Portland
County	Multnomah
State	Oregon
Country	United States
Coordinates	45°33′33″N 122°38′10″W / 45.5592°N 122.6361°W
Website	labonitapdx.com

La Bonita: Food for the People, or simply La Bonita, is a small chain of Mexican restaurants in Portland, Oregon, United States. The family-owned business operates three locations in north (since 2011), northeast, and southeast Portland (since 2020), serving burritos, chilaquiles, tacos, tamales, and other traditional cuisine. The restaurant has a good reputation, and has been included on two Thrillist lists of the country's best burritos.

Description

La Bonita: Food for the People^[1] is a small chain of casual Mexican restaurants based in Portland. The family-owned business has fast counter service, serving burritos,^[2] chilaquiles,^[3] pozole,^[4] tacos, and tamales.^[1] Its menu also includes chicken enchiladas, horchata,^[5] quesadillas,^[6] tortas, tostadas, chimichangas, beef tongue, machaca, chile rellenos, menudo, beans, and rice.^[7]^[8] The breakfast menu includes a breakfast burrito, huevos a la mexicana, and huevos rancheros.^[9] The restaurants' interiors have a "sunny" decor,^[1] and the Alberta Street exterior has a Diego Rivera-inspired mural of a reclining woman.^[10]

History

The original restaurant opened on Alberta Street in northeast Portland's Concordia neighborhood. A second restaurant opened on Killingsworth in north Portland's Overlook neighborhood in 2011.^[11] The third restaurant opened on Division Street in southeast Portland's Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood in 2020, and has a seating capacity of 34.^[1] All three locations operated via takeout during the COVID-19 pandemic; as of May 2020, the original restaurant also offered delivery service.^[12] By April 2021, it had indoor dining, takeout, and delivery.^[13]

Reception

Thrillist's Dan Gentile included La Bonita on a 2014 list of the 16 best burritos in the United States.^[14] Kristin Hunt included the chain on Thrillist's 2015 list of the country's 33 best burritos.^[15] La Bonita was included in The Oregonian's 2008 guide to "meals without borders", which said: "The straightforward Mexican food is a magnet to locals and wayfaring strangers."^[16] The newspaper's Michael C. Zusman included the restaurant's pozole in a 2009 overview of Portland's top pork dishes.^[4] Michael Russell and Samantha Bakall included La Bonita on the newspaper's 2015 and 2016 lists of the city's 10 best nachos and 25 best Mexican restaurants, respectively.^[3]^[17]^[18]

Nick Zukin included La Bonita on Willamette Week's 2016 list of Portland's nine best chile relleno burritos.^[19] In her 2019 Moon guidebook to Portland, Hollyanna McCollom said the food at the Alberta restaurant "is quick, inexpensive, and delicious".^[20] During the pandemic, Brooke Jackson-Glidden included La Bonita on Eater Portland's 2020 overview of Portland eateries with "knockout" tacos for takeout and delivery.^[12] She also included the Alberta restaurant in a 2021 overview of recommended eateries on Alberta.^[13] Nick Woo and Seiji Nanbu included La Bonita on a 2021 list of twelve "unreal" burritos in Portland, and said the restaurant "has become synonymous with quality fast-casual Mexican fare".^[21] Katrina Yentch included the restaurant in Eater Portland's 2022 list of eighteen "knockout spots" for affordable dining in the city.^[22]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Frane, Alex (February 26, 2020). "A Family-Owned Portland Mexican Chainlet Is Coming to SE Division". Eater Portland. Vox Media. Archived from the original on March 14, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
^ Woo, Nick (March 14, 2019). "14 Gargantuan, Stuffed Burritos in Portland". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
^ ^a ^b Russell, Michael; Bakall, Samantha (September 4, 2015). "Portland's 10 best nachos". The Oregonian. Advance Publications. ISSN 8750-1317. Archived from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
^ ^a ^b Zusman, Michael C. (October 22, 2009). "Hog wild: Portland's top pork dishes". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
^ "La Bonita". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
^ Karbo, Karen (March 23, 2007). "Mission: Spring Break". The Oregonian. p. 09.
^ Ekman, Lisa (June 21, 2012). "Keep in mind: ethnic eating/Portland". The Oregonian.
^ Zusman, Michael (December 22, 2006). "cheap eats feeding frenzies with pocket change La Bonita". The Oregonian. p. 19.
^ O'Brien, Kyle (July 25, 2003). "La Bonita". The Oregonian. p. 14.
^ "Hispanic & Latinx Culture". Travel Portland. Archived from the original on September 24, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
^ DeJesus, Erin (January 27, 2011). "Alberta's La Bonita Expands, Second Location on Killingsworth". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
^ ^a ^b Jackson-Glidden, Brooke (May 5, 2020). "Where to Find Knockout Tacos for Takeout and Delivery in Portland". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on May 30, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
^ ^a ^b Jackson-Glidden, Brooke (October 10, 2016). "Where to Eat and Drink on Alberta". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on November 3, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
^ Gentile, Dan (April 10, 2014). "These are the 16 best burritos in America". Thrillist. Group Nine Media. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
^ Hunt, Kristin (August 14, 2015). "The 33 Best Burritos in America". Thrillist. Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
^ Porter, Roger; Melander, Christina; Zusman, Michael C.; Centoni, Danielle; Vitt, Shawn; Butler, Grant (June 13, 2008). "Think globally". The Oregonian. p. 42.
^ Bakall, Samantha (April 29, 2016). "Portland's 25 best Mexican restaurants". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on April 24, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
^ Bamman, Mattie John (September 4, 2015). "Renard? Meh. But Nachos Get Their Day in The Oregonian Sun". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
^ "The Nine Best Chile Relleno Burritos in Portland". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on April 26, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
^ McCollom, Hollyanna (May 14, 2019). Moon Portland. Avalon Publishing. pp. 94–95. ISBN 9781640493681. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
^ Woo, Nick (March 14, 2019). "12 Unreal Burritos in Portland". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
^ Yentch, Katrina (July 17, 2015). "18 Knockout Spots for Affordable Dining in Portland". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on March 5, 2022. Retrieved August 17, 2022.