The people at Love Food went all over the country and found America’s best eateries. From locally owned hole-in-the-wall noodle shops to Michelin-starred, world-class fine dining restaurants. Six restaurants in the Northwest, located in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington, had places that made the experts want to come back for more!

Love Food based their scoring on:

• Customer reviews

• Local awards & accolades

• Love Food’s staff are flying to visit, eat, and experience the ambience. 

How often does Love Food perform quality control on top restaurants?

They're also regularly checked and updated. -Love Food

 

 

 

Here are the Six Locations in the Northwest that hit it out of the park

The Pioneer Saloon, Ketchum (Ketchum, Idaho)

Love Food named this location the 54th best restaurant in America. The location has seen several lives—as a casino, a meeting hall, and a dry goods store. Now, using a Wild West theme eatery, the owners pull from the past and deliver with their expertly done meat and seafood.

What makes it pop for the locals and the food experts? 

It's prime rib and juicy steaks. 

The Notorious P.I.G. BBQ (Missoula, Montana)

This location is already a must-visit with America's most creatively named eatery. The Notorious P.I.G. is ranked the 52nd best in the US by Love Food. The quality BBQ is smoked fresh every day. Two locations serve this great college town. 

Why is it so successful?

People have been raving about its ribs, potato salad, pulled pork, and sandwiches. Love sauces? The locals argue over the best flavorful sauces (Kansas City style, spicy, mustard-based, and vinegar-based). 

Kann, Portland, Oregon

Thousands of Portland residents get around the city on bikes, rain or shine, and they commute to work, the grocery store, and for great food. Downtown Portland’s Burnside Street houses some PDX icons: Providence Park (home of the Portland Timbers) and Powell's bookstore. Continue heading east on Burnside, cross the Willamette River to Grant, and head down a few blocks. Park your bike and enjoy one of America's best Haitian/Caribbean restaurants. Ranked 47th best in America by the Love Food experts.

What caught the attention of the locals and the food experts?

Their seasonal menu includes Scotch bonnet chili, coconut, plantain, and allspice cooked over a live fire and lightly cured kampachi (yellowtail) with lemongrass, mint, green-apple shaved ice, and whole red snapper with pineapple-tamarind pepper sauce. 

Canlis, Seattle, Washington

We recently told the story of the multi-generational fun restaurant (with a Wenatchee connection).

What earned Canlis the distinction of being in the top 50 restaurants in America?

Their creative contemporary menu always produces a world-class three-course tasting experience. 

I’d bring my wife and friends to their lounge if I lived in Seattle. Excellent service, pub-style food, and that view…you can’t beat the Canlis view. Love Food ranked Canlis the 45th best restaurant in America.

Tá Jóia, Bothell, Washington

The family-run Brazilian/Korean teriyaki restaurant serves chicken, pork, and shrimp to order in colorful rice bowls with fresh and zingy sauces (including cilantro, teriyaki, and tonkatsu—a buttery take on Japanese tonkatsu). 

What about Ta Joia puts it in the top dozen restaurants in America?

The rice bowls and, upon request, their revered creamy, spicy cilantro sauce. Love Food tabbed this up-and-coming restaurant the 11th best eatery in America. 

Izzy’s Comfort Kitchen, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

We’ve reached the top five restaurants in America (Love Food ranked this the fifth best in America). If you visit (or live in) Spokane, make it a point to drive the extra half hour to experience their amazing house-made cornbread topped with whipped butter and honey sauce, and chicken-fried steak served with mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables. 

What do the locals rave about?

Everything they make is tasty, but specifically, their crab benedicts, French toast, and Idaho Benedicts—a sunny-side-up egg served on a bed of crisp garlic aioli fries, braised beef, pulled pork, and bacon, topped with tomatillo salsa, pimento pepper, and Hollandaise.