Monty’s Red Sauce. A new restaurant from the Montelupo folks is going to open in Sellwood-Westmoreland called Monty’s Red Sauce. Presumably it will be an Italian red sauce joint. The location was previously home to Rue Cler Marketplace, and before that it was Laurelwood’s SE pub location. You can see a reel of the space as it is now, on Instagram. 6716 SE Milwaukie Avenue, Portland
East Glisan Pizza Lounge’s eggnog has arrived. Each year the folks at East Glisan Pizza Lounge offer house-made eggnog for the holidays. They will serve it as a flight, in a cocktail, or with cookies; you can also buy some to take home. There are three flavors: traditional, butterscotch, and Morganthaler (tequila and sherry). 8001 NE Glisan Street, Portland
Crush is closing. The closure of this LGBTQ+ bar in SE Portland was big news this week. They’ve been around for 25 years; New Year’s Eve will be their final night in business. Read more about it at Willamette Week. 1400 SE Morrison Street, Portland
Bialy Bird returns to Wellspent Market. Head to this wonderful little independent market tomorrow morning (Saturday, December 7) from 10am to 1pm to enjoy Bialy Bird’s celebrated sweet and savory bialys. Flavors include chanterelle and black garlic; cacio e pepe; apricot-honey-feta; and za’atar + olive oil. There will be breakfast sandwiches and mimosas, too. 3402 SE Division Street, Portland
Stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:
Side Eye, a New Bar, Will Open in NW Portland
Top 5 Posts on Bridgetown Bites, November 2024
A New Restaurant From Chookiat Saenguraiporn Is Coming To the Pearl
Better Days Cafe Is Open
Plus, my latest Benable list is all about the best in Portland products.
It’s a big weekend for holiday season festivals, too! The Mt. Angel–Silverton Hazelnut Festival from Friday to Sunday; the German Christmas Market tomorrow; and the Portland ScanFair on Saturday and Sunday. More details in our Portland Area Cultural + Food Festivals & Events list. And while it’s not a festival per se, if you stop in at Fressen Artisan Bakery (7075 NE Glisan Street) tomorrow morning, you’ll probably run into Krampus.
Meg Cotner
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Confirmed with the people in the Monty’s Red Sauce space, which is currently open, that it’ll be an American-Italian, family-friendly menu. More Geno’s than A Cena, the other Italian restaurants nearby on SE 13th.
– The Montelupo space on SE Bybee will remain open as The Focacceria. The tables were ripped out and the entire space is now bar-style seating.
– The market shelves of house-brand pastas and Italian imports, and the take-and-bake and drinks/desserts refrigerator cases that were in the Focacceria have already moved to the Monty’s space.
– There’s a plastic construction sheet separating the market space from the future restaurant space, which is actively under work. From having been in there when it was Rue Cler and Laurelwood, that would be the bar and the booth/table seating in the rear 2/3s of the space.