Food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending at this very moment?
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to discover which restaurants have been seeing especially high review volumes this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at Portland businesses on Yelp by category and counted how many reviews each received. Rather than compare them based on number of reviews alone, we calculated a percentage increase in reviews over the past month, and tracked businesses that consistently increased their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance.
Read on to see which spots are worth exploring, right now.
Bamboo House
Open since April, this Vietnamese and Thai spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Thai" on Yelp.
Citywide, Thai spots saw a median 3.3 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but Bamboo House saw a 76.5 percent increase, maintaining a sound 4.5-star rating throughout.
Located at 4005 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd. in Sunnyside, Bamboo House offers pho, fried rice, wonton soup and more.
PBJ's Grilled
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Pearl District's PBJ's Grilled, the popular sandwich spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Sandwiches" on Yelp saw a median 2.6 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, PBJ's Grilled bagged a 17.9 percent increase in new reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a healthy 4.5-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 2.0 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
Open at 611 N.W. 13th Ave. since 2010, PBJ's Grilled offers sandwiches and salads.
Canard
Buckman's Canard is also making waves. Open since April 2018 at 734 E. Burnside, the well-established wine bar, cocktail bar and breakfast and brunch spot has seen an 8.5 percent bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.8 percent for all businesses tagged "Cocktail Bars" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Canard's review count increased by more than 180 percent.
Canard offers cocktails, brunch and dinner options. Over the past month, it's maintained a strong 4.5-star rating among Yelpers.
Blackheart
Buckman's Blackheart is the city's buzziest breakfast and brunch spot by the numbers.
The bar and breakfast and brunch and Southern spot, which opened at 2411 S.E. Belmont St. in August 2018, increased its new review count by 11.6 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 2.1 percent for the Yelp category "Breakfast & Brunch." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 2.2 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.
It's not the only trending outlier in the breakfast and brunch category: The French Toast Connection has seen a 10.5 percent increase in reviews.
Blackheart offers biscuits and gravy, lox bagels and cocktails.
This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
