Modern Forage: Portland, OR
Jojos are the Pacific Northwest hyper-local term for seasoned, breaded, pressure-fried potato wedges. Reel M Inn (SE Division St, Portland) still uses an original Flavor-Crisp pressure fryer. Some Oregon grocery stores sell over 500 pounds of jojos daily.
Portland and Oregon anchor the jojos tradition: pressure-fried, breaded potato wedges that anchor Pacific Northwest dive bars and grocery store deli counters. Salmon Candy (Indigenous Pacific Northwest cured-and-smoked sweet salmon) covers the rest of the regional Pacific NW non-MSA bucket and rolls into this post.
This list is almost certainly incomplete; Portland and the broader Pacific Northwest hold further hyper-local dishes that have not yet surfaced in the survey.
A note on the Where-to-eat blocks. Every entry below carries a list of restaurants and, where available, star ratings as of the date this post was published. These are a snapshot. Verify hours and addresses before driving anywhere.
Jojos — Oregon / Pacific Northwest
Seasoned, battered, pressure-fried potato wedges sold at grocery store deli counters, gas stations, and dive bars throughout Oregon. Not “potato wedges.” Asking for “potato wedges” at an Oregon deli counter earns a confused look. “A true jojo is a potato cut into eight segments, breaded like chicken, and cooked in a pressure fryer,” per Paul Nicewonger, whose family’s company distributed the pressure fryers that brought jojos to Portland starting in 1958. Reel M Inn (SE Division St, Portland) still uses an original Flavor-Crisp pressure fryer and has achieved legendary status: “they waited forever for their jojos, and it was absolutely worth it.” Some Oregon grocery stores sell over 500 pounds of jojos daily. The word represents a broader Pacific Northwest pattern of developing hyper-local food vocabulary for items that exist nationally under different names. “Oregonians don’t think of ‘jojos’ as unusual vocabulary until they leave the state and discover no one else uses the word.”
Sources: Willamette Week (2017, longform history with Nicewonger interview); Seattle Times (2019); Lexistry (2024, citing Oregon Historical Society and ‘Portland Food’ by Heather Arndt Anderson); Hungry Onion forum (2021); Family Destinations Guide (2025). Six+ sources.
Where to eat: Reel M Inn, 2430 SE Division St, Portland (the canonical Flavor-Crisp pressure fryer). Most Portland-area Fred Meyer and Safeway grocery store deli counters carry jojos. Most Oregon dive bars and gas stations.
Salmon Candy — Pacific Northwest (Indigenous origin)
Salmon cured with a molasses or brown sugar brine, then smoked at low heat until it develops a sweet, jerky-like chew. Originated with Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest as a preservation method. Sold at fish markets, farmers’ markets, and specialty shops throughout Washington and British Columbia. The name sounds like it shouldn’t work, but the sweet-salty-smoky combination is deeply addictive.
Sources: American Cruise Lines blog (2024); multiple PNW food sources.
Where to eat: Pike Place Market, Seattle (multiple stalls). Portland Saturday Market. Most PNW fish markets, Native artisan stands, and farmers’ markets.
More from the series
Browse the rest of the Modern Forage survey.
Research & primary sources
Methodology, validation logs, and the entries that didn’t make this post are in the modern_forage/ on GitHub. Every entry here passed a 2+ independent-source check; the citations under each dish list them.