Restaurants in Forest Grove

Originally opened as the Top Hat Drive-In in 1953, Sonic has grown into a burger-franchise mecca that today operates out of 3,500 locations across the country, making it the nation’s largest chain of drive-in restaurants. Sonic specializes in made-to-order American classics—including burgers, hot dogs, milk shakes, and marshmallow Ford Thunderbolts—which customers order and receive without ever having to leave their cars. Unique menu items include toaster sandwiches stacked on thick slices of texas toast, as well as the brand’s signature tots and fresh limeades.

Sonic’s numerous awards include a 2011 Zagat survey ranking it among the top five fast-food restaurants in three categories: Best Value Menu, Best Milk Shake, and Best Drive-Thru. The benevolent eatery has also donated more than $2 million to public schools throughout the country through their program Limeades for Learning, which helps to fund educational projects and retirement plans for classroom guinea pigs.

Today’s Groupon invites you to eat with the dignified paradise style of a floating landmass. Enjoy the fresh flavors of $22 worth of authentic Hawaiian cooking for $10 at Aiea Grill. No longer do you have to maroon yourself on the set of Lost to enjoy the sweet and savory dishes of Hawaiian kings, island enchantresses, and digester men.

Between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, Santa Fe offers brunch, during which you can satisfy your hunger with a breakfast burrito ($7.25), huevos rancheros ($7), or the mighty “breakfast is served,” with eggs, chorizo, beans, and potatoes ($7.75). Sample brunch drinkables, such as the picosa bloody Mary ($5) or the salty dog with vodka and fresh-squeezed grapefruit ($6). The lunch menu offers everything from burritos ($3.95–$8.50) and quesadillas ($1.50–$6.60) to tiger-prawn ceviche ($5) and loaded veggie nachos ($8). Fill up on the grilled fajita dinner with seasoned chicken, guacamole, and pico ($9.50) or the fish burrito with grilled mahi mahi, rice, lettuce, cabbage, guacamole, and pico ($8.25).

Monteaux's Public House's extensive menus of classic American pub fare fused with global touches pull from seasonal and local ingredients whenever possible. The lunch menu preps palates with light salads such as the grilled-prawn salad ($12.50) or the cabernet-poached pear salad ($9.45) topped with sweet walnuts, goat cheese, and a supernova in the sky's worth of creamy champagne vinaigrette. Main lunch courses include house favorites such as the parmesan-crusted tilapia ($13.50) and the chicken schnitzel ($13), which, like several dishes at Monteaux's, can be made gluten-free upon request. For dinner, appease initial appetites with a hummus plate starter ($7.50) before stomach-surfing toward top sirloin steak with tarragon butter ($17.25), Mongolian beef stir fry with yellow and green onions and Hoisin sauce ($12.45), or a Guinness-marinated burger topped with smoked-gouda cheese ($9.50). Monteaux's menu is also peppered with monthly "country specials" featuring creative takes on world cuisine, as if they came straight from the kitchens of Peter Gabriel and Paul Simon. May's country specials showcase traditional Turkish tastes, including classic baba ghanoush with cucumbers, tomatoes, and grilled pita bread ($8.25) and shish kebabs with marinated lamb and vegetables ($14.25).

Pitxi, pronounced "pea-chee," is as green as the food on its tables, having just opened this past April. The sapling hotspot serves up a petite, specialized variety of robust regional flavors, with each dish prepared with locally sourced and organic ingredients. Turn the closing-day ritual of counting sheep on its head by starting your meal off with some lamb pillows ($9), and then freshen your mouth's crimson hues by adding a bowl of cold beet soup ($9) to your belly. Meat-centered main dishes, such as quail ($18) served with asparagus, potatoes, and quail egg and beer-marinated pork ($18) with broccoli and quinoa, satisfy acute carnivorous palates, while the earthy flavors of Pitxi's mushroom patty ($18) with fresh noodles, stinging nettles, and Oregon truffles happify even the hardest-to-please herbivores. For dessert, treat sweet chompers to a slice of fresh strawberry cheesecake ($7) or a more savory serving of saffron ice cream with olive-oil cookies ($7).

Beneath a basil-green awning, Cellar Door Market fills with the universal clatter of a happy kitchen as chef Paul LaLone brings 26 years in the culinary industry to bear on heaps of regional ingredients. Guest chefs lead hands-on classes in specific cuisines and techniques, which may introduce pupils to the art of baking bread, preparing healthy food, rolling sushi, and remembering that sushi is the one food that should not be roasted on a campfire. Each session is rated according to the knife skills required to complete the meal, and pupils bustle past the kitchen, laden with completed dishes for their friends and families.

Beyond the kitchen doors at Cellar Door Market, chefs create meals from scratch, quick-cooling them to preserve integrity. Whenever possible, meals are made with local products including meats and produce from nearby sustainable farms. The rotating menu has included dishes such as red beans and rice with Zenner’s sausage, smoked pork loin with a peach and bourbon sauce, and zucchini manicotti, and each item comes with instructions for easily reheating it or taking it to a dragon’s surprise party.