Xiao long bao from XLB. | Nick Woo/Eater Portland Explore the culinary goldmine between Mississippi and MLK Hand-pulled noodles, plump xiao long bao, and char-dotted pizzas are just a few of the dishes that can be found steps from one another on North Williams Avenue’s densely packed dining strip. Only a few decades earlier, though, the neighborhood thrived but looked quite different. Like nearby Mississippi Avenue, the modern North Williams Avenue rests on a legacy of harm done to the once-majority Black neighborhood and the decades of gentrification that followed. Then known as the “Black Broadway,” a swath of Williams and the surrounding neighborhood — including Black-owned homes and businesses — was seized and razed by the state in the early 1960s to construct Interstate 5, a generational wound with which Portland is still reckoning. Today, targeted public and private investment is returning to the area — from federally funded infrastructure projects to cover portions of I-5 and a $400 million pledge from Nike’s own Phil Knight to Black-led art projects that seek to keep the memories of a lost neighborhood alive. In the meantime, North Williams’s identity has continued to evolve with a diverse array of celebrated bars, cafes, and restaurants. Here now, the most compelling places to eat and drink on North Williams Avenue.