Los Hongos Brings Myriad Mushrooms To Eat and Drink in Portland

Recently I learned of a new cafe coming to Southeast Portland called Los Hongos. The Spanish name translates to “the mushrooms” and that is what this cafe is all about: mushrooms in (most of) their various forms. I reached out to David Poplin, one of the owners of Los Hongos, and we had a nice conversation. Here is what I learned during our conversation.

Mushroom Curiosity

For the sake of transparency, I’ll admit that my familiarity with mushrooms mostly lies in the culinary realm, and I am happy to eat conventional and foraged mushrooms here in the PNW. However, it was not always that way. When I was a child, my parents did not encourage us to eat them. I learned to appreciate them as an adult, thanks to the influence of friends and my years as a vegetarian, and I am grateful for that.

That all said, I have not used mushrooms much in the way of supplements, and have not spent any time using mushrooms for medicinal purposes. That is not to say I object to these uses, just that I am unfamiliar with them.

Being in a “beginner’s mind” state with a dose of curiosity was helpful to me in my conversation with David.

Los Hongos: The Basics

Los Hongos is owned by David Poplin and his partner, Nya Larson. They want to open Los Hongos Cafe as a place to focus on incorporating different mushrooms in different ways into food and drink. David is a biochemist and has been involved in mycological pursuits for many years. Nya has more experience on the food side of things, and will be involved in the cooking aspect of Los Hongos. She has had experience working at cafes, too.

Until recently, Nya worked for about a year in a hospital setting as a nursing assistant. She is happy to join David on this journey, “to see how important it is to have access to these different mushrooms that have medicinal capabilities,” David explained. Eventually, their goal is to get big enough to where they have contracts with hospitals and related places—a chance to provide alternative therapies based on mushrooms.

But Los Hongos Cafe and Plant Bar will serve the broader interest in mushrooms: in a cafe setting, with food and drink options.

Mushrooms: Extracts, Tea, Food

“We have eight different extracts that will be serving into our drinks,” explained David. “They can be added to whatever coffee or whatever elixir that you ordered. My specialty is figuring out a ways to incorporate these medicinal mushrooms into our daily lifestyle.”

He continued, “For example, we have Lion’s Mane, Reishi extract, Shiitake extract, Maitake extract, Chaga extract, Cordyceps extract, and there’s two others. Those are some of the ones that we’ll be carrying just for the drinks.”

They’ll also be able to infuse kava with the different elixirs. “Kava has these compounds in them called Kava lactones, and my goal is to be able to create an environment for people to come hang out in that’s not alcohol-centric.”

Food

As far as the food aspect, they will make and offer blue oyster mushroom tacos and mushroom empanadas. David remarked that they are both “super tasty,” and they will have them on the menu full time. Since our original conversation, I see they have added a savory toast, quiche, and a mushroom rice bowl, all with mushrooms.

“And then we’ll also incorporate some of the wild foraged mushrooms that are in season,” he said. “So we’ll be able to do those kind of tacos and those kind of empanadas—for example, you could do like lobster mushroom. We just made a chanterelle empanada the other day. It was so good.”

At the writing of this article they are still looking for the right pastry bakery for their needs. “We want to make them microfunctional by drizzling, let’s say, a cordyceps molassies on the top of your cookie or muffin or pastry.”

View their full menu here.

Drinks

The drinks side of things is a welcoming space, too. Perhaps you’re maybe a little shy about consuming mushrooms—you can get a straightforward cup of coffee or tea. But your friend, they are into trying mushrooms in various ways? They’ll be able to have a different experience than yours, but you can enjoy them together on your own terms.

“We have a really nice espresso machine and we’re working with Kafiex,” explained David. Kafiex is a great local roaster—they won Roast magazine’s 22nd annual Roaster of the Year award in the Micro Roaster category.

David added, “They’re sweet people and we’re becoming friends with the owners. She’s from Mexico, and my family’s from Mexico, so we share that passion. That’s why I chose that name—I’m giving back to my ancestral roots.”

They also plan to offer kava nectar, which David likens to a cold juice (pressed from the plant’s root). “We can add this to whatever drink you want,” explained David. “And it’s like another alternative to alcohol, where you can get the relaxing feeling without hangovers or the negative side effects that alcohol has.”

They’ll have a variety of cold to-go drinks in a refrigerator—one they are looking at including is a product line by a company called Melting Forest, which creates sparkling canned mushroom elixirs.

They’ll also have mushroom extracts to add to your coffee—some give you energy. “I’m trying to provide options.—like cordycep mushrooms,” he explained. “In nature, they’re entomopathogenic, meaning that they grow off with insects. But they have these compounds in them that are literally the precursors to energy. So this mushroom produces a natural energy.”

He continued, “You can supplement your coffee with this cordycep mushroom and potentially take on a healthier habit versus having to drink coffee all day.” And look for mushroom teas, as well, and a mushroom cacao.

Retail

They plan to sell different tinctures and medicinal mushroom products. “People can take them home for themselves and add it to their coffee,” explained David. “I understand everything’s so expensive and it’s hard to to kind of live right now. So my goal is to be able to just make this medicine accessible for our community.”

He’d like to sell mushroom growing kits, too. “I’ll have what’s called a ‘flow hood,'” he said. “This flow hood is what’s used to inoculate different genetics into like substrates or grains. Basically it’s a tool that mycologists use to create a clean environment for these like inoculation that’s in the process of cultivating your own. This will be part of their education aspect, too.

The Education Aspect

David mentioned that he wants to have an educational component to the work they do at Los Hongos, “So people like yourself who are interested in this but don’t have as much experience can come to the cafe and actually learn about some of the mushrooms and stuff that we’re adding to our products.”

It is probably no surprise that David is also sympathetic to the therapeutic applications of psychedelic mushrooms. And while he acknowledges that they do are not able to legally sell psychedelic products, they can teach about the topic at the cafe.

I likened his approach to that of an info shop, which he agreed with. “That’s what I’m hoping to dive into more,” he said. “There’s so many people who have different specialties and things, and I’m trying to invite them to our cafe to do courses, lectures, educational demos. Yeah. And engage in the community and have a spot for everyone to kind of meet up.”

The Draw of the Mushroom and Forging His Own Path

I wondered what make mushrooms to fascinating to David, so I asked him. “As I said, I got a biochemistry degree at Humboldt State University,” he explained. “And it’s just very nature-centric there. I’ve always been in love with plants, but when I moved there [from Southern California], the fungi aspect just just took over and I dove into that world.”

He continued, “And for the last, maybe six years, I’d say, I’ve been traveling the United States, speaking at different mushroom events about mushroom extracts, or making your own mushroom extracts, or doing cultivation courses. I just feel so passionate about what nature has to offer.”

While he was living in Arcata and Humboldt, he was part owner of a place called Culture Shrooms, a retail space for all things mushrooms. And while Culture Shrooms and Los Hongos share the same ideologies, David wanted to have more control over any mushroom business he would be involved with.

“So I left them about five months ago and sold my shares in that company,” he explained. “I decided that I wanted to start my own thing where I have full control and are able to do exactly what I want, the way that I want.”

The Space

I asked why he chose like this particular space to open in, and if he had his heart set on Southeast Portland. “Not necessarily,” he explained. He wasn’t very familiar with Portland when he was looking for a space, and it was his broker that found the location for him. “Now I’m friends with a broker and he’s super interested in all the coffee stuff and I’m staying at one of his Airbnbs. So everything just started like lining up. I started feeling like, damn, this is maybe meant to be.”

This space used to be home to Futura Coffee, which closed earlier this year; we reported on it in March.

Events

One of the things he’s looking forward to doing is events. When he was working in the small town that is Arcata, he knew he could do more than the town could accommodate. When. he was able to do events, it gave. him a lot of joy, and he wants to bring that joyful feeling to Portland.

“For example, we would have open mic night, which we’ll do here as well, it brought the community,” he explained. “It gave the community a place to meet, and I’ve met people that I never thought I would have met. Just providing that that place and that energy was beautiful. So I really wanted to do it in just a bigger city and I felt like Portland kind of has those same values that we do in like Northern California.”

He added, “And everyone here is foodies. So I figured this cafe would do really well here.”

The Vibe at Los Hongos

I had an idea of what the vibe might be at Los Hongos, but I asked David anyway. “It’s going to be very calming and relaxing,” he explained. “I filled it with plants and cacti.”

He sold all of his mushroom growing equipment, all of his chemistry extract equipment, to put that money into opening up this cafe. They moved up with one U-Haul, and it was pretty much filled by plants and cacti. ‘

“So I’m just trying to make it like a nice, earthy, calming, relaxing space,” he added.

Opening November 15

They plan to have an opening party on November 15—it may be a soft opening, it may be a grand opening, but they’ll sus that out over the next couple of weeks. “We have two bands–music is a huge passion of mine, as well,” said David. “So we’re going to incorporate that into this.”

Speaking of music, “I’m also a musician, so I’m going to have my drum set in there with guitars and ams and acoustic guitars and people want to come in and play their acoustic guitars.”

And as for kids, they are welcome, but because of the presence of certain plants, it’s best to keep an eye on them. “We’re not doing anything illegal, my only concern is I do have a lot of cacti in there,” he explained. “If people do bring their kids, just keep an eye on them because the cacti are pretty poky.

They want to be open from 11am to 9pm, Tuesday through Sunday. Okay. And whil they don’t see themselves as a “coffee destination” they are proud to say they’ll have some of the best coffee in Portland. “But just be able to mushroom have like a midday lunch dinner menu along with like maybe some night vibes with some vivey lights and music.”

I wondered if there were other mushroom cafes in town. “There is there’s this one that just opened in Burnside,” said David. “But their vibe is just nowhere near like what we’re trying to put off. They just seem like a coffee shop that using bunch of powders to their coffee, whereas like we are trying to be an educational hub incorporate a lot of different products into our like our stuff.”

All the best to David, Nya, and their team as they get ready to open Los Hongos Cafe in Southeast Portland

Los Hongos Cafe [opening November 15]
4330 SE Division Street, Portland
Los Hongos Cafe website | Instagram | Facebook