Oregon City Restaurants

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There have been a few attempts over the years to try to have upscale food in Oregon City. It appears that at least one of those attempts has been successful.

Mi Famiglia has a trendy interior, though located inside one of Oregon City's older downtown buildings. The walls have been decorated to simulate an older Italian building, while the lunch counter area is quite modern looking.

Artwork on the walls is from area artists (in most cases) and is for sale (in many cases). The artwork tends to be a mixture of both Oregon landscapes and Italian streetscapes.

You will find an assortment of wines and beers here, many of them a far cry from the standard cheap stuff that used to be the only thing you could find in downtown Oregon City.

This is a popular and crowded place on Friday nights.

Favorite Dish: "Ravioli of the Week" is a rotating special for $10.95 and I especially like the cheese ravioli with red pepper sauce.

The vegetarian lasagna ($8.75) is reasonably good.

However, the calizone and pizza offerings (cooked on wood) are the specialties, and provide a bit more food for the price.

I woud also tell you that this is one of the more expensive places to eat in Oregon City, when comparing the price of the food for the quantity - but then the type of establishment is quite a bit different than what is typically found in OC!

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Tacho's was really the first of the current generation of non-chian non-fast food restaurants that was able to figure out how to do business successfully in Oregon City. You must understand that for some 30 years, Oreogn City was a workers city, based on the paper mill and a few other industries. Workers had money, but high-price food and high-end atmosphere just didn't appeal to them. For special occasions where one would want something like that, people would go into Portland.

Tacho's proved that given the right kind of food at the right kind of price, Oregon City residents would flock to a higher class eating establishment. Make no mistake: Tacho's is no high-end snooty place, but it is definitely a cut above anything else available in Oregon City before it (with the exception of a few short lived places). You get an after-dinner mint and metal silverware rather than plastic, but you can still come in shorts and T-shirt and not feel out of place.

People were willing to spend 20 minutes in line for Tachos rather than go to the unfortunate Taco Time next door. Soon, Taco Time sold its building to Tacho's who now operates it as their coffee and drive through annex ("Tachito's").

The decor inside is highly influenced by Aztec culture, with some Roman Catholicism mixed in (tile decorations include moon god, sun god, and Virgin Mary, and many wall paintings). In other words, as Mexican as you would expect a good Mexican restaurant to be.

Chips and salsa are delivered to the table free of charge when you sit down. One of my relatives, who hates spicy food, commented on the salsa: "It's spicy, but it is also quite good. It's not too much." I agree with her: many places like to serve spicy hot food so the hot spice covers up the otherwise bland nature. Here, the spice is enough to compliment the food and not be the primary taste.

Check the calendar of events on the web site for a few other reasons why they have proven popular.

Favorite Dish: There is a lot of variety here, and there are a few vegetarian offerings on the menu. It's all reasonably good (as the popularity of the restaurant among Oregon City residents attests), and a good value for the price. Vegetarian selections are marked with a red heart.

The alcoholic drink selection is quite extensive.

The average price people are likely to spend here is close to the $10 range, but it depends a lot on the cost of the drink that you would order. Some menu items are higher than $10, and some are lower, and are you ordering from the lunch or dinner menu?

They have a copy of their menu on the web site in PDF format, so you can decide for yourself what you want before you even get to the restaurant.

Note the kids menu as well: this might be a good place to consider if you are traveling as a family.