Small Bites: Jim & Patty's Return, Kolaches, Bonta Gelato, and More

The Pig Newtons are back! Photos credit: Jim & Patty’s.

The Jim & Patty’s return. It’s true, they posted the news this week on their socials: “BIG NEWS, PORTLAND!!! Jim & Patty’s Coffee is BACK!! (under new ownership).” From what I can tell, Paul Ceserani, owner of Spielman Bagels & Coffee, is the new Jim & Patty’s owner. They opened yesterday, August 14, at their previous location on NE Fremont. 4951 NE Fremont Street, Portland

Bonta Gelato opens today in the Pearl. Originally from Bend, OR, this looks to be the first scoop shop in Portland for this company (pints are available at Albertsons and Market of Choice). Today they’ll be offering free back-to-school kids scoops in honor of their Pearl District opening. 207 NW 10th Avenue, Portland

The most iconic dessert in Oregon? Conde Nast Traveller says it’s marionberry pie, which I think is a pretty good assessment. They also recommend Mehri’s Cafe & Bakery and Lauretta Jean’s as good places to get yourself a slice. 6923 SE 52nd Avenue and 3402 SE Division Street, Portland

99 Ranch Market opens tomorrow. Finally! The grand opening of the 99 Ranch Market at the Plaza 205 shopping center has their grand opening on Saturday. At 9am there will be a lion dance and ribbon cutting ceremony, and a Bluefin tuna cutting show at 1pm. Also there will be an early bird bonus: “First 100 customers in line before 9am get a voucher for a $10 gift card (Redeem same-day with receipt + voucher).” More details are on the Facebook event page. 10544 SE Washington Street, Portland

FIKA is popping up with pandan (and other stuff). On Saturday from 2pm to 7pm, head to Fat Straw for Joe’s desserts made with some traditional-Asian flavors. There will be yuzu bars and pandan coconut custard cake, as well as three flavors of cookies and a guava-cream-cheese empanada. Additionally, you’ll find boba teas and banh mi. 4258 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland

Burger Week continues through Sunday. The Mercury’s Burger Week is still going on, and the $10 deals end by Sunday night. Nice to see a number of places east of 82nd participating, too. Multiple locations

Save the date—Quince Fest! I missed this in years past, so I’m excited to tell you about this year’s event. Quinces have origins in Iran, and is a hard, yellow (when ripe) fruit with an intoxicating aroma. You often cook it down with sugar to make it truly edible, as in its natural form it is quite tart; cooking it also softens it, of course. And when you do cook it down with sugar over time, it yields a gorgeous reddish-rose color—you’ll see that in membrillo, a Spanish fruit cheese/paste.

Anyway, this year’s Quince Fest, produced by Sauvette, is Sunday, November 2 at Bauman’s on Oak. They’ll have a lineup of makers, farmers, chefs, and creatives. This is a great opportunity for quince lovers and the quince-curious to learn more about this incredible fruit. More details to come. 930 SE Oak Street, Portland

A kolache popup on Sunday. Shrug Dogs will pop up at Fairweather on Sunday, 11am to 3pm. Their kolaches—Good Dog and Naughty Dog—are made with sausages from Cully’s Gartner’s Meats. They’ll also have potato salad and a few drinks. 2039 SE Clinton Street, Portland

The Peach Burrata Salad is back at Fresh Love. Great news! Get this salad for a taste of summer. The salad has burrata, peaches, heirloom tomatoes, local greens from The Urban Acre, pickled red onions, toasted pepitas, and a balsamic vinaigrette. Sign me up! 7434 NE Fremont Street, Portland

Euchre Night at The Paladins League starts next week. From our friends at The Paladins League: “Starting next week, we’ll have an ongoing series of classic card game meet-ups—starting with Euchre! On 8/21 you can arrive at 5:30 and learn to play, and then join us for some friendly competition and community-building.” Enjoy some of their tasty food and drink while you’re at it. 4765 NE Fremont Street, Portland

Downtown Beaverton’s Afuri Ramen has closed. They announced it on social media the day they closed: “To our friends across the Portland Metro, it is with a heavy heart that we must announce the closure of our Beaverton location, effective immediately, on August 7th, 2025. This decision was not made lightly, but despite our best efforts and the support of our community, we can no longer continue to operate at our location in Beaverton.” 12555 SW 1st Street, Beaverton

Tinned fish special at Zupan’s. I first heard about this over on Judiaan’s Instagram, and then checked over at Zupan’s for more info. From now until Sunday, you can get 25% off tinned fish, aka conservas. Examples are Sardines with Preserved Lemon, Smoked Salmon with Sichuan Chili Crisp, Anchovies in Vermouth Vinegar or Smoked Spiny Oysters. See what’s available on the Zupan’s website. Multiple locations

Olive oil news from Sebastiano’s. We originally wrote about the olive oil project from Sebastiano’s back in 2022, and they continue to offer their own liquid gold to this day. The latest shipment is making its way from New Jersey to Oregon right now. They also shared news from their trip abroad earlier this year:

“… when Elise and I travelled to Castelvetrano, Sicily in January and met to taste with our partners, we ended up discovering new native Sicilian olive varieties, Biancolilla and Cerasuoloa, in addition to the popular table-eating variety of Nocellara del Belice.” They found a mix of these three olives created “a delicious and versatile combination with more complexity than the monocultivar pressing of Nocellara del Belice that we’ve imported in the past.”

This delicious, first cold-pressed, extra-virgin olive oil will be here before you know it. They’ll communicate its arrival via their newsletter, and likely on their socials. 8235 SE 13th Avenue # 7, Portland

New Pho restaurant coming to old JaCiva’s space? Looks like it. A number of readers have emailed me over the months wondering what’s up with movement in the old JaCiva’s Bakery space, and one tipster passed on some great observations. For at least part of the building, it looks like a Vietnamese restaurant will open in there—ownership looks like the same folks behind Pho Le Nguyen in Parkrose. FYI, the property was sold in May 2025. 4723 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland

Yigebe Coffee has a new patio and food truck. A reader asked about the new Ethiopian cart attached to Yigebe Coffee on Sandy, and it looks like they are offering protein bowls (chicken tibs and beef tibs) and vegetarian combo plates (miser, gomen, ater kik, beet salad). You can have a base of injera or rice, and they offer a couple of drink options (cane sugar sodas and water), plus there is always their coffee drinks. There’s a lot of seating in their new covered patio, too. 5730 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland

There’s a new tavern pie in Portland and its name is Penny’s. I was messaged by Penny’s Pizza and since I previously had been unaware of them, I took a gander at their Instagram. Looks like they make “cracker thin Chicago tavern-style” pizza. I know some of you reading this are looking for tavern pies in Portland. I’d love to know what you think. They are located in the old Rovente Pizza space on North Williams. 4327 N Williams Avenue, Portland

Stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:

Circle V Portland 2025 Returns In September
Coquelico Will Open at Portland Art Museum Later This Year
Devil’s Dill Has Opened a Second Sandwich Shop in Portland
Can Can Culinary Cabaret Will Open in Portland