This place is the best way to go for a quick meat on a skewer over rice bento box in NW Portland. Big Dan has been here for years. It's a small establishment with a bbq right up front run by only the owner/operator, Dan. He is very friendly and all his food is quick and simple. I thought I read somewhere that there was a friendly/brotherly rivalry between Dan and Phil's BBQ off Burnside. Now that Phil is closed, this is the place to go for cheap but delicious no frills bento for lunch. The price is on point, and the quality is on point. Come and get your bento box.

Big Dans serves the best bentos. Open on weekdays only. Do yourself a favor and grab a bento. 5 STARS from me and I'm a bento nut.

We have been sporadic but regular customers for years. Small place cranking out consistently good Bento. This is a one-man operation with the owner working pretty hard. Perhaps he comes across as a little cranky sometimes, but actually he's a nice guy doing it all. We've never had a bad meal here and it's affordable. Call ahead for takeout. Limited dine-in seating. Metered, street parking, which can be a bit busy during the lunch rush, so plan accordingly. We'll continue to patronize this spot as long as he's there.

Solid joint! Great and affordable lunch spot, great flavors and overall a cozy nice spot to grab food from. Staff has always been nice and haven't had a bad experience. Wish there was more to the menu but overall happy with what I get here when I do stop by

This place is awesome! I've walked by it a few times a week for years and never stopped in until last week. It's exactly the type of spot I like to support, a dude named Dave slanging bento bowls and greeting the two people who were there by name. The rice is cooked perfectly to eat with chopsticks and the lamb kabob absolutely smacked. Will be frequenting this spot at least once per week.

I consider myself THE bento connoisseur of Portland and this is the best on the west side, and arguably the metro area. Been coming here since the OG location on NW 23rd Place back in the 80's. All the skewers are consistently grilled to perfection and love the steamed hum bao and shu mai too (love the lamb skewers). This place is old school Portland-owned by a fellow native Portlander - get out and support this local business. If you're new to this place, be patient and give Dan the time needed to put your bento together - it is well worth it. By the way- this is a great option if you need to feed an office, team, etc. Give Dan a 24-hour notice and he will have it all ready and boxed up for you to pick up.

Great experience picking up chicken bento here. The food was delicious and I got two chicken skewers (since I was sharing it with my 4 year old). I've only had the food twice and it's been great both times. My wife and kids have had it a lot since it's close to the park and school. Here's the the real testimonial though: I'm a the park with my 4 year old and he mentions he's hungry so I offer to take him to St Honore to get a chocolate croissant (and St Honore is amazing btw). He declines and says he wants to go to the "meat on stick bento place". He then describes how to get there (presumably so I won't get lost). The owner is very friendly as well. I was just struck by the fact that my kid was choosing a healthy meal over a something that's more of a treat. Parents will understand how important this is :)

Friendly owner, fast service, giant portions. I had the yasai kare (veggie curry) and it tastes identical to golden curry blocks I've made at home. Believe it or not, that's actually the traditional way to make japanese curry - was introduced to the Japanese by the British navy in the 19th century. I'm not kidding about the portions - the other half of this was dinner the next day. A really solid lunch option if you're in the area.