Pepper Box Cafe

Surprisingly amazing! I’ve always wondered about this place and now I know… food is priced right and the food blew me away.

I had the vegitator smothered and it was delicious. Very filling and a great price. Will defiantly come back if I am in the area again.

We love everything about Pepper Box. Amazing food, great service, convenient location. My boyfriend even sings a little «breakfast taco» song whenever we go because he loves it so much. Can’t say enough good things about this delicious find.

Yummy quick breakfast, a little bit on the messy side for a taco because they are so big! But you can’t complain about that, some people use a fork. The restaurant is a little small though

I spent more than a few years prowling the streets of Albuquerque, looking for that mythical green chili fix and high that can only come from properly grown and roasted chilis. I’ve reviewed a few of those places but one little dive in ABQ (Mick’s Chili Fix) always gets me back when I visit the 505.
Dear readers, Pepper Box is that place for me here. It’s as close as you’re going to get to a full selection of New Mexico-​style food, in a cute little café setting on Morrison. Fortunately, it’s just down the street, so I’ve had the chance to try a few offerings, with no disappointments to speak of.
I’m a huge fan of their sopapilla, $ 0.75 solo. Soaked in honey it’s a treat any time, cooked to order and too hot to stuff in your face right away. The breakfast special is the stuffed sopapilla, and they have a more hearty lunch version as well.
Order green, or go home. Aww shucks no, you can stay if your order red, but don’t bother me with boasts of how much you love spicey food if you do. I’d go swimming in the green sauce if I could, and that’s the reason I can’t go back to some places in Albuquerque. It’s probably good that I don’t have such a strong love affair with beer…
It’s a smaller place with a not-​huge kitchen so expect a wait on weekends. The dining area also isn’t exaclty expansive, so larger groups might find themselves elbows and jowls…

This is one of my favorite breakfast/​lunch places in Portland. The migas with chorizo are so good. Like. So. Freaking. Good. Get them if you can, no really.
I’ve also had the enchiladas with green and red sauce and the chorizo burger and those are pretty bomb as well. But really, the migas are what it’s all about for me. Do your taste buds a favor and head over there when you can and try them out yourself.

OH MY GOODNESS! Really I’m at a loss for words here!
A random search landed me on their Facebook page and since my boyfriend is a New Mexico transplant, we immediately decided to try it. He hadn’t had food from «home» in at least three years!
The restaurant is a cute little hole-​in-​the-​wall, warm and cozy and fun! Even though it’s small, seating wasn’t a problem. The staff are SUPER attentive and friendly and helpful; willing to explain anything we had questions about.
We’re also vegetarian, so the first thing we asked was whether the beans, tortillas, red or green sauces had animal products in them (i.e., lard, bacon, chicken broth, etc).
We were SUPER excited to find out all of these items were vegan!
New Mexican food is quite a bit different than Tex-​Mex or regular Mexican food. If you’ve ever visited, or been lucky enough to live in The Land Of Enchantment, you’ll know what a craving this sort of food creates. If you’ve never been, DEFINITELY try it, you’ve been missing out!
We ordered all the things (OK, not EVERYTHING) but definitely looked like crazy food people by the time our order arrived.
My boyfriend, who lived in New Mexico for over 30+ years, had really high expectations and I’m happy to say The Pepper Box exceeded them. Every single item was completely genuine, legitimate New Mexico from the perfectly hot green sauce, to the very-​fresh calabacitas, to the puffy (larger-​than-​we-​were-​used-​to) sopapillas. PERFECT. All of it.
If you’re vegetarian the menu has a TON of options, if you’re vegan, only a few small adjustments are needed (leave off cheese or egg, etc…) and you will still leave as stuffed as the breakfast tacos are!
Next time we’re in town, we will definitely be back. If I could give this place and the wonderful people more than five stars, I would do so in an instant!

Tacos were amazing and the service was excellent! Will def be coming back when I’m in town again! Thank you Patrick for helping me choose the perfect breakfast!

We tried this place due to the rave reviews but it didn’t work out so well for us. We were able to order and find a seat right away (a bonus for a Sunday morning) and our breakfast taco and huevos rancheros came pretty quickly. We had red sauce on both, which is good, but it would be nice if there wasn’t so much of it that you can’t taste the other ingredients. The rancheros plate was awash in so much red sauce I never tasted the egg or tortilla. And, sadly, there was no tortilla on the side, just the poor little drowning one underneath. The taco was better but still had excessive red sauce. Happily, it being a taco, you could let the sauce run out the end.
The hair in the taco was a huge bummer. I wondered if it could have been our own, but probably not. From where I sat I could see into the kitchen and there were baseball caps and a headband but not a hair net in sight.

Delicious and affordable New Mexican food! Anything made with the carne adovada is tasty. Today I had the special enchiladas with it and was treated to big tender hunks of spicy meat with a good amount of both the red and green sauces (Christmas), plus a side of pinto beans and a small amount of shredded lettuce and tomatoes. I’ve also had the open face tortilla sandwiches — one time the el tocino (bacon!) and the other time the Albuquerque turkey (bacon AND avocado!). Both were loaded with fresh ingredients with just the right amount of crema on top. If you need a little extra heat, the carrot habanero sauce is great.

Food: Solid. It is not like typical Mexican fare or Tex Mex fare. New Mexican is truly its own branch! I order the breakfast taco with chorizo and both red and green chili (or Christmas style), the green chili mac and cheese, and a couple sopapillas. The taco alone is enough to be filling! And yet I order all of this every time, anyways! The handmade tortilla the taco lives in is delicious! The pillowy sopapillas are what I crave constantly!
Service: Friendly in the most genuine way, they make you feel like family and I’m told that’s about as New Mexican as it gets!
Atmosphere: Not a quiet place but it’s full of positive vibes and people are happy because they are eating delicious food – my kind of people. There’s not a ton of space to sit, but somehow by the time you order, space frees up. Like a good omen from the delicious food gods. I’ve never been when it wasn’t packed!
One day, I will try something different on the menu – it all sounds delicious! But I just can’t tear myself away from my usual order…

Breakfast tacos… Yes Please. Pepper Box Café does it right. They use local ingredients, cage free eggs, and make fluffy and perfect tortillas in house. As the other reviewers have said, the breakfast tacos are HUGE.
The Primo breakfast taco comes with eggs, veggies, pickled hot peppers, onions, melty Pepper Jack cheese and Chipotle Crema ($ 4.50). Their Sopapillas are SO YUMMY. I’m from Southern AZ, and this is the equivalent of what I grew up calling «Indian fry bread.» Deep fried bread served with honey ($ 0.75 each). They have wifi, lots of table space and big windows for natural light, so I got to get some work done over breakfast.
I appreciate their convenient hours, too.
Next time I’ll see how their Huevos Rancheros stacks up. Can’t wait!

Best Breakfast I’ve Ever Had in Portland! There I said it! But I’m also not much of a breakfast person and I don’t do lines, not in this town… too much to taste and experience. This was one of those infamous ‘recommended’ breakfast joints on Unilocal and since it had been reviewed favorably by a fellow Unilocaler friend, I had to try it. All I could say while inhaling the MIGAS was Wow! It was the first time for me to try Migas… so my scope is a bit skewed, but that was the best damn migas I’ve ever had :) We briefly visited Albuquerque while driving cross country a few summers ago and we fell in love with the culture and food there… now that the food is available here… and so yummy, oh… you know it means bad things for me… oh so many good bad things!
The beans were perfectly stewed. The chips so delicately sauced yet thin and crunchy (how’d they do that?) And the chorizo… so yummy! The best Chorizo in the city is at Sheridan Fruit Co. just around the corner from here… I’ve never found chorizo at a restaurant that even compares… but here at the Pepper Box, where they too make it themselves… AMAZING! I can’t wait until my next visit so I can try something else… our maybe just get the Migas again!

Wow! Best New Mexico food restaurant I’ve ever been to… and I’ve been to New Mexico! The red Chile is thick and bold and complex. The green is a bit lighter but amazing flavor! Had the stuffed sopapillas with carne adovada (pork shoulder) with both sauces! Green Chile fries rounded out the amazing meal! Bravo!

Ordered the papas with carne adovado, recommended to me by the guy working there. Slow cooked pork that was spicy and succulent, with crispy potatoes, perfectly runny eggs, all drenched in salsa verde. So damn good. Tried a bite of my friend’s order, which had their house made chorizo. I will be back. Oh yes, I will be.

Pepper Box is one of the few places I’ve been a regular at so far in Portland. I’ve most gotten their Primo Breakfast Taco and Farmer Tacos, both of which are excellent. (The Primo breakfast taco is my favorite, though I usually get the vegetarian farmer tacos to cut down on my meat consumption.) The tacos are about $ 4.50 each, which seems like a lot, until you see that the tacos are huge. One is a moderate meal, two will fill you up, and three will make you explode except on your most ambitious days.

I lived in the capitol of breakfast tacos (Austin) for a couple of years and I must say Pepper box is damn legit. These tacos are huge and full of flavor and stringy yellow cheese. The homemade chorizo is really good.

Let me start by saying I was born in Albuquerque, NM. Tried a few places in Portland that have claimed to have ALB roots, and have ended in disappointment.
This place is pretty damn close to what I remember of home. Staff is super friendly and the atmosphere feels very Bernalillo County. The red chili and Sopapillas were spot on.
You guys brought me back to Padilla’s — thank you! Highly recommend!

Love the Green Chili Burger. Super nice counter service — let me sit at a table even thought I said ToGo. Fast kitchen! Crispy fries!

Was a big fan of the cart, back when it p’wned all of MLK, and especially down by NIKE. Delighted to see their success translated into B/​M logevity. Hopefully they’ll be branging that goodness to lucky denizens o’ the P for many a moon to come.
But Lordy! This man has skill! Whether it’s the green or the red chiles, it’s a big olé par-​tay up in your grill, those amazing primo and breakfast chorizo tacos! Those home made, hand-​made tortillas are as good now as back in the glorious early days in the mean streets o’ MLK.
In case the taco wraps are zesty enough as is, there is an orange house made habanero salso that sends the thermostat into the stratosphere, and just when you thought the whole experience couldn’t get any more delightful, here comes the sweat-​drenched endorphins!
I recently tried the Cazuelita torta, which to my decidedly unsophisticated palate seemed very much like a zesty, peppery succotash. A very tasty vegetarian alternative, but grab extra napkins, ‘cos that one can get pretty sloppy in a big olé hurry.
One of these times I will succeed in breaking out of the established mold of Primos baby Pastrami primos, and get the smoked turkey, I heard it is most certainly vale la pena!
Huzzah to Pepper Box and its friendly, loyal staff! Looking forward to forging a long lasting partnership in deliciousness. One love…

It’s hard to find a Portland breakfast place that opens before 10 — which just doesn’t work for we wee-​hours-​of-​the-​morning folk. (Seriously, Portland, you’re going to have to get up earlier if you want to beat this west-​coast-​slacker-​grunge reputation). This place opens at 8, which is just right for a bite on a blustery fall day.
My friend and I were the first through the door on a weekday, and were immediately greeted by the friendliest folks around. I ordered the huevos rancheros, a corn cake (only $ 2!) and coffee. The corn cake was huuuge and DELICIOUS — toothsome and warm and so comforting, with butter and maple syrup. The huevos rancheros were MASSIVE — at only $ 8, I’ll get at least two meals out of them — and came with potatoes, beans, two eggs done any way you want (I had mine over-​medium), and tons of sauce. I got red sauce, which had just the right amount of kick.
Their intimate seating, prayer/​saint candles and beautiful Aztec/​Southwestern décor is so not what you’d expect on this busy street, but really very very nice. A great find, and I will definitely be back!

I still have some of that high mountain air in my blood stream from some years spent in the shadow of Wheeler Peak. Autumn breezes carried the smell of green chiles roasting in roadside drums. If there’s comfort food, that was comfort aromatherapy. So here I am stumbling into Pepper Box Café after some neighborhood rug business, hesitant to playback a cherished taste memory. But it’s a calabicitas sopapilla, and when I say, «let me have it with Christmas,» the guy just nods and says, «yep.» That’s red and green chile sauce, and the combo is nowhere on the menu, but he knows. He knows.
Is this one of the great calabicitas stews? No, (the corn is not fresh for one) but it’s still darn tasty, the sopapilla is soft and puffy, and I’m 1300 miles and as many years (ok not really) away from some trailer genius who used to rock this dish.
So this is roadside diner food down there (or up there if we are talking altitude). It’s a happy lunch floating me across rivers of time up here. Someone is keeping the New Mexico faith alive, and they are doing it here at Pepper Box. You should hurry over.

Top 10 Reasons Pepper Box deserves 5 stars:
(not in order)
10. Favorite /​best tacos in town.
9. Sopapillas to order.
8. Sisters coffee free refills.
7. Rustic mugs.
6. Nice people.
5. All the chile sauces.
4. No brunch lines. Not even on Sunday (sssshhhh).
3. Christmas sauce option.
2. Chile cheese fries.
1. Handmade tortillas.

Growing up in Arizona I was super lucky in regards to Mexican food. Friends and coworkers were always bringing homemade goodies to work and to my house. My dad’s secretary made tamales every few months and he usually snagged some to bring home for dinner. My highschool Spanish teachers would bribe us with churro and sopapilla days. A college boyfriend would come back to the dorm loaded down with a gallon or two of homemade salsa and tortillas from his mama. A cute ancient tiny friendly Latina lady used to bring homemade egg and potato burritos to my Catholic Social Services office in Yuma.
Spoiled. I was. Totes as my kid says.
I can make all that stuff but it never tastes quite right. My ex boyfriend may have dubbed me an honorary Latina but we know better. Irish white girl. Its ok. I have accepted it. So. Im always on the hunt for those authentic flavors.
This hole in the wall is the real deal. The chile verde is spot on. The calabacitas (zucchini, corn, and onions) I had added to my papas bowl (eggs, potatoes, chile verde, cheese) was yummy. Zucchini was perfect. Hot sauce was spicy hot. Yay. My dinining companion’s huevos rancheros (beans, chile verde, eggs, potatoes) was savory. Great beans. Food was quick to come out and hot temperature wise. Perfect over easy eggs.
We realized after we got our food that we needed something to mop up the chile verde so we went back and ordered a side of tortillas (2/​$ 1.50). Piping hot off the grill, thick and perfect. They were awesome. I probably could have eaten two on my own. Or twelve. Ahem.
I like it. The coffee was ok too. Better than I expected given Rambod’s comments (maybe they fixed it?) The only thing that we didn’t like was the flow. Two small rooms with tables and some outside. Guy bopping back and forth between kitchen (through room #2) and register (back of room #1, with hallway behind it to bathroom). He was friendly and efficient but I couldnt help feeling it could somehow be organized better. Order at the counter and pay. Coffee behind the register, help yourself. Water by the door, help yourself. Food was served without flatware or napkins. I asked another customer how to find the silverware… it was in yet another spot, between our table and register, and my dining companion found napkins behind the register. Also we loved the music (rockabilly maybe?) but thought it was a little loud.
I felt like they need a flow person to organize their space. I wanted to help them. Another Unilocaler has told me to stop being such a social worker. that’s really not it but maybe I’ve been watching too much Bar Rescue?
Despite all that… the food was great.
Go eat their food.
Really. Go.

Fantastic Mexican food in an unassuming place! Te papas with chorio was yummy. Perfectly cooked heap of potatoes smothered in red sauce, with eggs and chorizo on top. Hard to go wrong with that combination. Perfect hangover food.

Cute little dive-​ish diner on the east side, I wound up here when I was visiting the city due to its proximity to a few breweries I wanted to go to. Service was friendly, and I loved that they had Mexican Coke and also Dr. Pepper – you know, the kind made with real sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup. The green chile was good, as were the tortillas, which were on the thicker side and I assume were made in-​house (if not, they must get them from a nearby place as they seemed fresh). However, I didn’t really care much for my taco, as I wasn’t expecting the potatoes to be deep-​fried. That kind-​of ruined it for me. But overall it was a good place.

After hearing about this place for so long, I finally made it down to SE at a «reasonable» time to try them out. This is exactly the kind of food I was looking for after a hard night of drinking. I had also heard that the portions are quite large, but I didn’t realize quite how large. My girlfriend and I ordered The Orginal with Carne Adovda, Primo Breakfast Taco, Farmer Breakfast taco and the Green Chile Cheese Burger and two coffees. It was way, way too much food. We didn’t even end up getting to the burger until dinner so I won’t include that in the review.
If you’re looking for something on the slightly lighter side, go with the farmer breakfast taco. So fresh, so clean. The giant slices of avocado really put it over the edge.
For a big, greasy, meat bomb, go with the primo breakfast taco. This thing was massive with big pieces of pastrami running down the sides like bacon. Then it’s smothered in cheese and crema to make it that much more deliciously fatty.
Finally, the original which was huge, rolled, and smothered with two types of chile in what they called «Christmas Style.» When they say hand made tortilla, they aren’t kidding, these were some of the best tortillas I’ve ever had.
All in all my experience there was excellent. They were pretty busy and there was one guy doing the order taking, busing, and food running. I think his name was Patrick and he was busting his ass to keep up. I was surprised how fast the food came out with all the people there. There was only one part of my experience I didn’t enjoy and that was the coffee. The coffee was just down right bad. It tasted like something I’d get at Denny’s. It really takes away from an excellent breakfast experience when the coffee tastes like burnt super market coffee. If they fixed that I would definitely give them 5 stars.

After reading a few reviews about this place and being that I was in a New Mexican food vortex, I decided to try the Pepper Box Café on a Friday afternoon. I got out of work really early so I could actually get to this place during a time when I wouldn’t normally be able to.
You might be asking this question. I was and I didn’t get it from any of the reviews that I read. Do they serve breakfast all day? Yes, they do. I knew I wanted to try the Primo Breakfast Taco ($ 4.50) even though I was coming here during lunch, but I didn’t know until I got there if I could actually still order one. So happy that I could.
The Primo Breakfast Taco. Cage free eggs, pastrami, pickled hot peppers, onions, pepper jack cheese, chipotle crema and so much love. For the price, the portion was really generous. I wouldn’t expect pastrami from a place that labels themselves New Mexican cuisine, but I wasn’t disappointed with it at all. This was so so so so good.
I also had a Sopaipilla (.75 cents) and came with a bottle of honey. Not that I have had many Sopaipilla’s in Portland, but this one was the best. Warm, fresh and airy. A really nice end to my meal.

She eyes me like a Primo when I’m Southeast
I’ve been locked inside your Pepper Box for weeks
I’ve been drawn into your Chorizo Torta trap
I wish I could eat Calabacitas when I come back
Migas-​eating hoards forgive no one just yet
Cut myself on Albuquerque Turkey Pepper Jack
Breakfast Taco of New Mexico I left back
Throw down Housemade Tortillas Corn Meal crack
Cage! Free!
I’ve got no complaints
Forever in debt to your Green Chile Cheese Fries
Nirvana yum as you are

For breakfast tacos and migas, I can’t think of a better place in Portland than Pepper Box Café. This laid back, casual restaurant has been stuffing my gullet with Mexican/​New Mexican breakfasts since I moved to PDX and I don’t see that changing any time soon.
Ranging from $ 3-​$ 4.50, the breakfast tacos are fresh, delicious and frickin huge. I typically go for the original (eggs, potato, cheddar, and chili sauce) and then add chorizo or carne adovada, but they also have a a primo that comes with pastrami. It sounds off to me and I haven’t ordered it, but people say it’s good! There’s also the farmer’s taco, chock full of fresh veggies. One taco is a pretty reasonable breakfast. Two is full on glutton.
The migas, however, is my favorite. Scrambled eggs served up with tortilla strips, cheddar and avocado, plus your choice of either chorizo or mushrooms, onions and peppers. On the side you get a healthy portion of pinto beans. It’s glorious and only $ 8.50
They also serve up some pretty baller huevos rancheros, though I’ve only had them once.
I can’t speak for the lunch menu beyond the green chile mac and cheese. I add chorizo and it’s a rich, decadent meal. Definitely not diet food, but for as bad as it is for your waistline, it’s great for the soul. The mac and cheese alone is $ 5, but they throw a couple extra dollars on for the chorizo. Reasonable enough.
The place is small, but I’ve never struggled to find a table. The staff is crazy friendly and are always sure to use your name. I definitely appreciate that touch.

Hands down, the best breakfast taco in the city! Especially for the money.
Pepper Box is a must! Funky cool vibe! Great fast and friendly service and THE BEST BREAKFAST TACO IN PORTLAND PERIOD!
Pepper Box kicks ass and balls!

When Jim closed his Pepper Box cart in October 2013, we were told bigger plans were on the horizon. Glad they finally opened a café!
With the bigger space comes an expanded menu, including Green Chile Cheeseburgers, Migas, and Huevos Rancheros.
Original Breakfast Tacos ($ 3 each): These are the same amazing tacos that got me hooked on Jim’s food cart in the first place. Costs extra to add bacon, avocado, chorizo, or carne adovada. You can now get the tacos rolled and smothered for $ 1 more. And they are fairly hefty tacos. Two might fill a normal person up for a while.
Green Chile Cheeseburger ($ 8.50): Also awesome. Top-​notch quality beef, and the flavor of the roasted green chile puts me beyond happy. Pretty much an ecstatic and giddy panda. Lots of mustard on my burger, which is fine for this mustard fan.
TIP: For $ 1.25 more, you can upgrade to Green Chile Cheese Fries with your Green Chile Cheeseburger.
You’ll get a taste of New Mexico right here. Highly recommended.