Small Bites: Balong, Brunch, Ice Cream, and More

Breakfast sandwich from Balong. — Photo credit: Balong.

Balong is officially open. After a short time in soft opening phase, they had their grand opening this week. This Filipino-American breakfast sandwich spot (they also make fresh bread like pan de sal) from Justin Dauz opened their brick & mortar after being a pop-up since 2022. They are now located in the former Meianna Bakery in the Fubonn Shopping Center (considered the largest Asian mall in Oregon). 2850 SE 82nd Avenue #27, Portland

The Gresham Farmers Market is back. They returned last Saturday, May 3 and will operate every Saturday through October from 8:30am to 2pm. They have operated since 1986 and offer “local produce, fruit, flowers, nursery stock, handcrafted food items and baked goods, homemade toiletries, wine, artisan crafts, fresh food and live music in a family friendly atmosphere.” NE 3rd Street and NE Hood Avenue, Gresham

A nice list of brunch spots in the Portland area. KOIN, with Yelp’s help, put together this list of places to get brunch around the metro area. It’s got a goot variety—check it out. Multiple locations

Assembly Brewing is closing. I caught this on the New School Beer + Cider blog—“Oregon’s first and only black-owned brewery is calling it quits after 6 years.” And while their excellent Detroit-style pizza will also be gone in SE Portland with the shuttering of the brewery’s location location, their statellite location on NE Alberta will remain open and all-ages. More about the closing on the New School website. 6112 SE Foster Road, Portland

Trouble at Shoofly Vegan Bakery. Courtney Vaughn reports in the Portland Mercury that Shoofly Vegan Bakery is closed and employees locked out. There’s a lot in this article. Things I learned: the bakery’s original owner, Shannon Levens, sold Shoofly to Tien Vominh who headed the businesses in February; he self-identifies as an “absentee owner”; paychecks were late; employees formed a union; employees want to buy the business and turn it into an employee-owned co-op; “Vominh grew frustrated at questions from the Mercury about the status of the business and its employees”; Shoofly’s wholesale contracts have been cancelled; and more.

The employees have started an Instagram account. Sounds like they may want to start their own bakery, too. If you want to support them and their new efforts, maybe buy some baked goods from them this weekend. 2505 SE 11th Avenue #101, Portland

It’s Celiac Awareness Month. Among other things this month, it’s Celiac Awareness Month. Celiac is a disease where you can’t digest gluten and have an allergic reaction to it. Over on Benable, I put together a list of GF options in Portland. Note: Always ask if a place’s gluten-free precautions meet your own needs. Multiple locations

CSA Demystified. Mark you calendar for an event to help you better understand and satisfy your curiosity of CSAs, AKA Community Supported Agriculture. I managed a CSA in NY for a decade and it was very fulfilling to participate in this kind of economic exchange. Being a part of a CSA (or CSF) allows you to support local farmers and keep your money in the local economy, while eating high-quality sustainably-grown food. On Saturday, May 17 from 11am to noon, head to Kitchen Culture to learn more about CSAs. 6300 SE Foster Road, Portland

Sichuan Bistro is open. I recently became aware of a new restaurant in Beaverton called Sichuan Bistro. You can see the menu here, and it contains some tasty sounding things. 14625 SW Teal Blvd, Beaverton

Rhubarb is back. It’s that time of the year again—time for rhubarb joining the produce scene. I was over at Lauretta Jean’s recently, and they’ve got strawberry rhubarb, rhubarb streusel, and rhubarb raspberry pies. And Cheese & Crack is also coming through with their Rhubarbra Sundae: their luscious soft serve layered with housemade Oregon rhubarb compote and housemade oat streusel. Yum. 3402 SE Division Street and 22 SE 28th Avenue, Portland

And Kate’s will be popping up all summer in SE PDX. Starting Friday, May 16, head to Better Days Cafe where they will be there every Friday through Sunday from noon to 10pm. They’ll have their delicious dairy- and gluten-free ice cream ready for you. 3551 SE Division Street, Portland

Yet more ice cream news: Beaux Berry has opened for the season. This ice cream cart by Tacovore on NE Fremont is open! They soft-opened on Cinco de Mayo. From now until mid-June they are open Thursday to Sunday. After that they will be open 7-days a week, 12:30pm to 8:30pm. Check out their flavors. 3707 NE Fremont Street, Portland

Stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:

Mother’s Day 2025 in Portland
Top 5 Posts on Bridgetown Bites, April 2025
Parkrose Coffee Shop Will Open in Portland
Yiayia’s Greek Sweets Will Open in Portland
Missionary Chocolates Will Open in Portland’s Hollywood District

Food Cart Week starts Sunday and goes through the following Sunday. And Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there!