Potato Champion — Restaurant in Portland

This place used to be an excellent little local spot, but the quality has declined over years, as it has become more popular.

In part this is due to the larger crowd, and the food cart space it occupies (Cartopia) becoming a more entrenched establishment. I can't really blame them for this, but it certainly takes away from what used to be a cozy retreat, as it's now a bustling hot spot.

The bigger issue, however, is the increasing prices and decreasing quality of service. It was always pretty spendy, but it was worth it for the atmosphere, the great food, and the nice staff who genuinely seemed enthusiastic about working there. Having gotten much more popular seems to have really affected that.

I stopped going there consistently after an experience in which I bought a some poutine with extra curds for over 10 bucks (several dollars more than it used to be) and opened it up to find out that I barely had the normal amount of curds, not to mention "extra". I went back up to the counter and told the staff that I had ordered extra and hadn't seem to have gotten it, only to get a blank stare, followed by a snide, "Well you could have just asked for more." It really put a bad taste in my mouth, because they tried to make me out to be a bad guy when I was the one who'd gotten short-changed on my already over-priced meal. After that I stopped going there regularly.

The food is still good, and it's probably the best place to get poutine around town, so I still recommend it in that regard. At least once, it's a good experience. It's definitely not a place I go out of my way to visit...

Actually after our night run we headed over to this very famous fried chicken in a dive bar spot that was considered like the pro level of KFC but unfortunately though their closing time was scheduled at an hr after we reached the bar tender was not too keen in flexing her muscles to make us some food, so felling dejected n disappointed I opened Yelp to help me calm my hungry stomach down and VOILA we found potato champion a food truck with a very unassuming name at an equally unassuming location. This place was like a mini country fair, 5 food trucks all in one location with some warm outside seating area. Two young dudes Jonathan & Derek were running the show in PC, instead of we going for what's on menu I asked Jonathan to help me out according to my taste buds and man what an epitome of pure bliss he created , a mix of boudin, cheese curls with pulled pork over fries. Believe me those are the best ever fries that my tongue has ever come in contact with, it was ecstatic like tasting a single malt whiskey for the 1st time. We ordered the palak paneer version for to go & this was another master piece in itself, the palak paneer is an Indian dish pretty famous but one of the toughest to nail down. I usual reserve 5 stars for the Monarch of the trade and when I give one I do mean it, if you are in Portland no matter what u miss make sure you do check out this...

I'm born and raised in Portland, but lived a quarter of my life in Canada. I've had poutine, and chips and gravy. And a ton of french fries of all descriptions. So let's get the poutine and chips and gravy comparison out of the way. I hate Potato Champion's gravy. It's gross. I've been there enough times to feel ok saying this. Every time I forget and think "well, maybe..." I order up some poutine and have been sadly disappointed every time. As for chips and gravy, well, the pirate themed joint next door actually has some excellent chips and gravy and serves alcohol. The thing is, Potato Champion serves Belgian fries, and that means mayonnaise-based dipping sauces. So to be fair, if you judge them based on what they say they are they're brilliant. You get what you pay for, a cone of fresh to order fries and a variety of dipping sauces to choose from. This cart pod is open late and busy late, so it's a good bet for filling your stomach with something to soak up all the "revelry" you've partaked in. Would I go out of my way to eat here? Never. But if you're crawling down Hawthorne, or out with friends, it's in a fun pod, in a fun spot, and there's nothing...