Small Bites: Burger Syndicate, Eclairs, Bar Casa Vale, and More

Burger Syndicate has opened. This is a new spot downtown from the Nacheaux folks. They opened on Thursday, April 9. They wrote on social media, “Burger Syndicate is everything we’ve learned, every sacrifice, every lesson poured into one space. Creative smashburgers, hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, loaded fries, weekly specials, house-made lemonades, merch, and the same fun and flavor Nacheaux is known for.”

They have some late night hours: midnight on Sunday (after opening at 6pm that day); 1am Thursday to Saturday; and 1:30am on Monday nights. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday. 221 SW Ankeny Street, Portland

Tastebud is now open for lunch. This Multnomah Village pizzeria has experienced a bit of a backlash for their politics, but they’re in keep on, keepin’ on mode. And now, they have a lunch menu! It includes things like pita sandwiches, sandwiches on focaccia, soups, salads, and slices. You can see the full menu on their website. 7783 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland

Scenes from the Hearth & Vine grand opening party. We got a chance to check out the dining spaces at Hearth & Vine the other night, and it looks great in there—here are some photos from the evening. And now they have their menus up on the website, so you can see what they’re offering to eat and drink. It felt good in there, and I plan to return soon. Also, they have the best NA sparkling wine I’ve tasted so far. 10 NW 12th Avenue, Portland

Bar Casa Vale will close. Their final day of service will be on Saturday, April 25. They wrote, “After nearly 10 beautiful years in one of Portland’s most charming spaces, it’s time for this chapter to come to a close.”

They continued, “Choosing to let our lease end was not easy, but we know it is the right decision. And while goodbyes are always hard, they have a way of reminding you just how much a place has meant. If there is any comfort in this farewell, it’s that we are leaving on a high note. Thanks to this extraordinary team, the support of our community, and the return of Portland Dining Month, March was one of our busiest months since last spring. A beautiful reminder of how deeply Bar Casa Vale has been loved, and how special it still feels.” 215 SE 9th Avenue, Portland

Portland Craft Chocolate Festival returns this year. Last year was the inaugural craft chocolate fest, and I’m glad to see it return this year. It will take place Friday through Sunday, October 2 to 4, 2026.

They’ve made some changes for this year—more vendors, events, food trucks, and tastings; a chocolate chip cookie contest; and best of all, from a practical standpoint: timed entry. When you buy your tickets you’ll need to choose what time you want. Bonus: Use code: PDXCCFEARLY for half-off tickets, through this Sunday, April 19. 107 SE Washington Street, Portland

Tiny Giants taproom grand opens April 25. They’ve got a taproom in the Woodlawn neighborhood (“New hood. New space. Same interdimensional beer experiments.”), and will host a grand opening AND one year anniversary party on Saturday, April 25 from noon to 10pm. They say, “We’ve got fresh pours flowing, plenty of crispy things and juicy things.” Nearby food includes Ranch Pizza, Tamale Boy, and Lil’ Barbecue. 6719 NE 18th Avenue, Portland

And speaking of Lil’ Barbecue: They’ve got a late night happy hour. Every night from 9pm to close they’ll have late nite noms. They highlight the chopped brisket sandwich with beef tallow fries for $12; Hornitos Plata Margarita for $8, shots for $6, and pairings for $7. 1771 NE Dekum Street, Portland

This Saturday is Record Store Day and there’s a beer for that. Rachel Saslow at Willamette Week reports that the annual Record Store Day has Deep Cuts. This “6% ABV pale ale is a collaboration among Music Millennium, Baerlic Brewing, and John’s Marketplace.” Stop by Music Millennium for a pint of Deep Cuts for $4 all day; there’s also going to be four-packs for sale. 3158 E Burnside Street, Portland

Pizza Week starts Monday. And ends on Sunday, April 26. You’ll find a mix of $4 slices and $25 pies during the Mercury’s Pizza Week, arguably one of their most popular food weeks. Apparently, 70 locations are participating (and the map has indicated nearby weed shops). More details on PW’s Everout page. Multiple locations

Grocery store prices: Check out the data. Over on Stumptown Savings, founder Bryan Vance tracks 20 grocery items on a monthly basis. Now he’s put together the Portland Price Tracker, an interactive database. “Search by store, filter by item, compare months side by side, and see exactly where your grocery dollar goes furthest. It’s free, updated monthly and the most comprehensive Portland grocery price dataset we know of.” You can check it out here. Online

Dumplings at 45th Parallel Wines. They’re putting together a dumpling event for Tuesday, April 21. It starts at 4pm and goes “until we run out of steam.” 8527 N Lombard Street, Portland

Fat Milo’s turned one on April 3. Congrats to Rachel and Miles and the Fat Milo’s team for reaching the one year mark in Portland. Stop on by and have a meal, and offer your best wishes—we hope they have a great second year on NE Fremont! 1315 NE Fremont Street, Portland

Chaos Dinner at The 19th Floor. This dinner sounds pretty incredible—a 25-course, five-chef collaboration led by Chef Cameron Dunlap of Morchella on Saturday, April 25. And coinciding with this meal is the opening of The 19th Floor, a new event space on the 19th floor at 1000 SW Broadway. There, you’ll find floor-to-ceiling windows and “sweeping 360° views of the city.” About the event, from the organizers:

“Guests will begin the evening in a welcome lounge before being guided into the dining room for an immersive meal built around five color-themed sections, interactive tablescapes, and courses hidden within the landscape of the table itself. Expect a moody, high-design atmosphere with black linens, dark florals, natural elements, curated lighting, and a sense of discovery woven throughout the night. This event is designed as a communal, high-energy experience that brings together incredible food, Portland talent, and a visually striking venue.”

Tickets are $175, and you can buy them here. 1000 SW Broadway, Portland

Eclairs this weekend. Babcia Bread will be at Cloudforest this Sunday, 10am to 1pm, with some eclairs: “Choux pastry made with a blend of Camas Country Mill whole grain Sonora wheat and Cairnspring Mills sifted Edison, dipped in Cloudforest chocolate glaze and filled with vanilla diplomat cream.” They’ll also have seasonal pastries and bread available—walk-ups are fine, or you can pre-order to pick up. 935 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland

Ponchiki at Honeycomb Bakery. I’ve had malasadas on the brain lately, but as I was scrolling through my Instagram feed, I ran across an announcement of the sale of “ponchiki” at Honeycomb Bakery in downtown Vancouver tomorrow. They look like malasadas, but are different.

They’ll have three flavors: Everything seasoning ponchiki, filled with chive cream cheese; Pistachio cream ponchiki; and Belgian chocolate ponchiki. 1001 Broadway Street, Vancouver

Living Room Coffee + Flour Market. Glad to see another place to get Lisa’s great baked goods. The folks at Living Room Coffee are pretty excited. “We’ve admired their work for some time and are thrilled to finally bring their pastries into the shop.” There will be vegan and GF options, too. 4818 N Lombard Street, Portland

Sushi is coming to Tomo Ramen in Woodstock. They’re adding a sushi menu to the menu roster at Tomo Ramen and Izakaya in Woodstock. Menu will be revealed next week. 4807 SE Woodstock Blvd, Portland

Sarda Pizza opened last month. They are located in the Hawthorne Street Food & Bar pod and made Neapolitan-style pizza. They wrote, “After many years of living in Italy many years of experience in the restaurant world and learning from Italian pizza traditions, we decided to start our own project and share real Neapolitan-style pizza with our community. Our dough is made fresh, our ingredients are carefully chosen, and every pizza is cooked with passion.”

Their Four Seasons/Vegetarian pizza (topped with mushrooms, olives, zucchini, pepper, caramelized red onion) sounds good, and they also offer a pizza made with Halal-certified pepperoni. Looks like the person behind the pizza is Azat Satybekov. 4225 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland

Tap & Table grand opens this weekend. This is a tap room and food cart pod in Tigard. There will be a ribbon-cutting today at 4pm with the Tigard Chamber of Commerce, then live music with Shaka Braddahs from 6pm to 8pm. There will be plenty of food from food carts, cold drinks boozy and not, and plenty of good vibes. Also look for additional events on Saturday and Sunday. 12950 SW Pacific Hwy, Suite 285, Tigard

Say When opens Monday. This is the restaurant from the Sit Tite folks, where they will offer “blue collar French food and drinks.” This means things like cassoulet, steak frites, a french dip, a couple of burgers, French onion soup, Croque Monsieur or Madame, and a few other things. 305 NW 21st Avenue, Portland

Slow Pour will open on April 23. They had a few “last minute finishing touches” to handle, but this Sellwood coffee shop finally has an opening date of Thursday, April 23. They are looking forward to reopening. 7727 SE 13th Avenue, Portland

Butterscotch pie. BUTTERSCOTCH PIE. I saw that Caffe Destino is making butterscotch pie—here’s a pic. I love butterscotch and its old-fashioned flavor, and can’t wait to try it. That’s it. 1339 NE Fremont Street, Portland

La Oveja Negra is returning to Texas. They posted on their Instagram that they are doing what’s best for their family. Thankfully, we still have time to experience their beautiful small batch salsas—their last farmers market appearance will be on Sunday, June 14. Multiple locations

Steely’s opens today. They open their doors at noon and close at 11pm for “the first ultimate chill zone.” Look for smashburgers, salad, wings, grilled sandwiches, and more. This is in the old Gigantic Brewing space on SE Hawthorne. 4343 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland

Pandan lovers, this one’s for you. At the Killingsworth location of Hat Yai they are making pandan mango sticky rice for their dessert. You’ll be able to get it through spring and summer. Sounds so good! 1605 NE Killingsworth Street, Portland

GoGo Pot has soft opened. They did so last Thursday, April 9—I saw a video from Yvette Chau that tipped me off; we talked about them earlier this year. It’s a “rotary hot pot” set up, kind of like track sushi. Pricing is M-F lunch, $24.95; Standard dinner, $34.95; Premium, $47.95. Yvette says, “You can take all of the toppings / seafood off the conveyer belt or order with your server.” Check out her video of her experience on her Instagram page. 11374 NE Evergreen Pkwy, Hillsboro

Shawarma Spot has left The Heist. Now they are at Modhaus (also a project from The Heist folks). In Best of the Rose City earlier this year, they won Best Mediterranean Restaurant—Gold Winner (2025) and Best Food Truck—Silver Award (2025). 3829 SE Division Street, Portland

The Lloyd Center’s final day is Saturday, August 8. The Oregonian has the story. 2201 Lloyd Center, Portland

Oscar Food and Wine has more stuff on the internet. They say “opening soon” on their Instagram, but their online presence says more. Hours will be Monday through Saturday, 5pm to 10pm. They don’t have a phone and they don’t take reservations, though if you are a group of 5 to 8 people, you can fill out this form that presumably goes to oscarfoodandwine@gmail.com.

They describe themselves as “a small dinner restaurant focused on quality ingredients with a love for natural wines.” You can see their food and wine menus on their website. The dining room looks somewhat minimalist, but it could be the b&w filter. I’m excited to see what they offer to the Portland dining scene. 2425 SE 26th Avenue, Portland

Wellspent Market has a deli now. This is a result of their SMBX investment project that raised $250K. It helped them build out this deli program, and acquire slicers, ovens, a dishwasher, and refrigerators.

So what can you look forward to there? Sandwiches, sliced-to-order meat and cheese, soups, salads, sides, cookies. They a breakfast menu now too. There will be grab-and-go. Stop by and check them out! 3402 SE Division Street, Portland

CSA Demystified is Sunday at the Kennedy School. This is a great event from PNWCSA on Tuesday, April 21 from 6pm to 7pm. A local farmer and CSA members will be there to answer your questions and offer tips on choosing the right CSA for you; how to cook with the ingredients you get, meal planning; food waste; and more. It’s a free event but they encourage you to RSVP so they know how many people to expect. You can do that here. The Community Room at 5736 NE 33rd Avenue, Portland

The Baker’s Mark is back! They expanded their Pearl District location and were able to reopen Tuesday, April 14. They are there from 11am to 3pm daily, and have a new spring menu, too. Note the new address. 301 NW 10th Avenue, Portland

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Stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:

The Second Annual WasabiFest Returns To Portland
Hua Hin Will Bring Thai Fine Dining To Southeast Portland
Churchill Nines: Watch the Kentucky Derby at The Nines Hotel in Portland
Tiny Love Bakery Will Celebrate One Year in Cully