Denise Castañon

Bright and colorful new inner eastside cart pod WonderLove packs in tasty food, room to play and spectacular views. Portland loves its food cart pods. And new groupings of carts are springing up all the time. The new WonderLovepod on the corner of  SE Main and 2nd Avenue is setting itself apart with space for events and a very cool, three-level, storage-container building that holds a bar, indoor seating and a rooftop seating area with excellent views of downtown.

Nationally noted Hapa Pizza in Beaverton slings inventive pies — plus plain cheese for finicky kids. My family visited Hapa Pizzain Beaverton three days after The New York Times named the establishment to be one of the best 22 pizza places in the United States. According to Hapa Pizza’s website, “hapa” refers to a person of mixed racial heritage with partial roots in Asian and/or Pacific Islander ancestry. And the pizza very much reflects a mix of cultures.

Dough Zone’s newest Oregon restaurant is a fun, family-friendly spot for discovering new favorites. I felt like a parenting champ after my family’s visit to the new Dough Zonein the Clackamas Town Center. My kids actually tried new-to-them foods without a fuss (and liked them!) and we all had a really good time together. The Portland metro’s newest Dough Zone is housed in the former California Pizza Kitchen space. The Chinese dumpling chain originated in Bellevue, Wash.