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 deduce which eateries have been in the spotlight 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 extra cool this autumn.

The Star

This popular bar and Italian spot, which offers pizza and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Bars" on Yelp.

Citywide, bars saw a median 1.8% increase in new reviews over the past month, but The Star saw an 18.6% increase, maintaining a strong four-star rating throughout.

It's not the only trending outlier in the bar category: Bullard has seen a 13.1% increase in reviews.

Located at 1309 N.W. Hoyt St. in Pearl District, The Star offers deep dish pizza, organic salads, cocktails and more.

The Star is open from 11:30 a.m.–10 p.m. on Monday-Thursday and Sunday and 11:30 a.m.–midnight on Friday and Saturday.

Westward Whiskey

Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Buckman's Westward Whiskey, the well-established distillery, cocktail bar and whiskey bar is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.

While businesses categorized as "Cocktail Bars" on Yelp saw a median 2.3% increase in new reviews over the past month, Westward Whiskey bagged a 14.7% increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a superior 4.5-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 3.7 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.

Open at 65 S.E. Washington St. since 2004, Westward Whiskey offers batch-distilled cocktails featuring whiskey, vodka and more.

Westward Whiskey is open from noon–7 p.m. on Monday, Thursday and Sunday and noon–8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. (It's closed on Tuesday and Wednesday.)

HunnyMilk

Northwest's HunnyMilk is also making waves. Open since 2018 at 1981 W. Burnside St., the well-established breakfast and brunch spot, which offers coffee and tea and juices and smoothies, has seen a 10.9% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.6% for all businesses tagged "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp.

HunnyMilk offers brunch options like biscuits, eggs and orange juice. Over the past month, it's maintained a sound four-star rating among Yelpers.

HunnyMilk is open from 8 a.m.–2 p.m. on Wednesday-Sunday. (It's closed on Monday and Tuesday.)

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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.