Please Don't Go to These Places
The clout enjoyed by food critics is so negligible that it must be wielded prudently. Moreover, because small local businesses tend to be the most vulnerable, it's generally considered poor form to reserve this influence for their castigation. After all, one doesn't go chasing after defenceless little furry creatures with a meat cleaver (unless of course one intends to eat them). However, one thing should be apparent by now: my gastronomic righteousness trumps any moral scruples I may or may not in fact possess. So I'm going to discard decorum for candor. In short, I plead for you please – for the good of your own taste buds – not to eat at the following establishments. To avoid the impression of spitefulness, I shall keep my comments brief.
At some point in your life at Reed, you will almost certainly notice La Carreta, with its unmissable neon signage and insidiously convenient location. Its shiny lights and capacious parking will beckon and you will be tempted to go inside. But even if you're desperately hungry, resist this temptation because you will regret it. With that said, La Carreta is absolutely fine for drinks. Indeed, the very fact that every single account I've ever read or heard of the place makes a point of remarking on their gigantic $4 margaritas tells you all you need to know about the quality of their “Mexican” cuisine.
On the unappetising topic of Gringo-Mexican food, even worse than La Carreta – indeed, a dead cert for the most abominable restaurant within a two-mile radius of Reed – is Iron Horse. Noses invariably wrinkle and faces scrunch up at the mere mention of their name. There's really not much to be said about this place other than that it's just incontestably bad.
If you seek cheap Italian food, pick up some tortellini and a jar of tomato sauce at Trader Joe's rather than heading all the way up to La Buca. It may garner a 9-point-something rating on Citysearch, but don't be fooled. Much like the election results of a certain commander-in-chief, that's merely testament to a deeply flawed voting system, as well as people's sheer lack of sense. Overcooked and insipid, the pasta at La Buca is on a par with Commons – and the ambience isn't all that much better either. N.B. There is a curious disparity between the NE and NW branches of La Buca: the one in NW is tolerable, while the one in NE is most definitely not.
I feel reluctant to be too scathing about little Wong's Garden. It is such an innocuous, albeit appalling, place to eat. However, any Chinese restaurant that simultaneously lays claim to Cantonese and Szechuan cooking is just gagging to be treated with a healthy dose of skepticism. And gagging is precisely what you will do; healthy this food is not.
La Buca: 40 NE 28th Ave $$
La Carreta: 4534 SE McLoughlin Blvd $-$$
Iron Horse: 6034 SE Milwaukie Ave $$
Wong's Garden: 4309 SE Woodstock Blvd #100 $-$$