Small Bites: Yin Yang Burger Opens, Golden Hour, and More

Yin Yang Burger officially opens today. This is a new burger truck at CORE that’s been in a little bit of a soft mode so far. “At Yin Yang Burger, we bring together Asian-inspired ingredients while still having a take on some of the classics. It’s all about balance in every bite!” Nice.

There are three burgers on their standard menu:

• The Yin: Classic beef patty, cheddar, onions, house pickles, lettuce, tomatoes, and yin sauce.
• The Yang: Single/double smashed beef patty, cheddar, onions, house pickles, and yang sauce.
• The Spiritual Burger: Classic plant-based patty, plant-based cheddar, onions, house pickles, lettuce, tomatoes, and spiritual sauce.
• The Grand Opening Special, The Bao(Bow) Down Burger: Beef/Chinese sausage patty, Szechuan peppercorn mayo, Asian-style sesame cucumbers, Pepperjack cheese, onions, and citrus slaw.

The owner of CORE, Hanry Ho, is one of the people behind this truck. Burgers sure look good on their Instagram. Looking forward to checking them out. 3612 SE 82nd Avenue, Portland

Oregon’s Rogue Valley is the top U.S. wine region. That is, according to USA Today’s 2026 Readers’ Choice Awards. From the article:

“Rogue Valley, Oregon, with its diverse microclimates and varying elevation, allows for the cultivation of a wide range of grape varieties. This diversity results in the production of distinct wines, marking the region as a versatile player in the North American wine scene. Fans love to visit this part of the Pacific Northwest, where outdoor activities add to the appeal of the wine region.”

Bonus: The Willamette Valley came in at number 8: “Oregon’s Willamette Valley, home to 11 sub-appellations, is best known for producing some of the world’s most exceptional pinot noir. There are well over 700 wineries waiting to be explored in the state’s oldest wine region.” Awesome for Oregon! Online

Champagne Poetry west side will close temporarily. This is as of Tuesday, August 4. This is their second location, located on NW 23rd Avenue. The Hawthorne location will remain open daily. Chef Dan wrote, “I sincerely hope this is not a forever goodbye.” 1620 NW 23rd Avenue, Portland

Learn about Montavilla’s first farmers’ market. This year is the 20th anniversary of the Montavilla Farmers market, but there were markets in the neighborhood before that. What was called a “public market” opened in Montavilla on July 7, 1914. Head over to Montavilla News to learn more about this fascinating piece of history. Online

Portland Burger Week starts Monday. From Monday, August 10 to Sunday, August 16, you can try burgers at one of 113 businesses at 124 locations. Yes, we are in the triple digits as far as locations go. There are also vegan and vegetarian options throughout. All burgers are $10. They’ve even got a Burger Week Pass for you this year. More details on EverOut. Multiple locations

New Brewer’s Showcase at Steeplejack. Today from 4pm to 8pm, head to Steeplejack Broadway to meet brewers Joe and Lara and what they are brewing these days. “Joe and Lara each curated a special flight of their new recipes, and you can enjoy both flights plus a special appetizer for $20. A few of the flight highlights: Platinum Gargoyle IPA, Oktoberfest, Plasmic Echo Double IPA, and Stocks & Bonds ESB.”

They will also be offering 25% off all to-go beer this evening. 2400 NE Broadway Street, Portland

First Friday on Division + D’s Knots. Today is the first Friday in August, so that means it’s time for First Friday on Division. A little section of SE 31st Ave at Division Street shuts down for a block party with vendors, live, music, and food pop-ups. D’s Knots, run by our very own Judith and her husband Dan (the D of D’s Knots) will be there by Imperial Bottle Shop, along with Crow City Cookies, Bull Run Cider, Portland Fruit Tree Project, Juicy JV’s Wings, Carly’s Diner, and more. 4pm to 9pm today. SE Division and SE 31st Avenue, Portland

Screen Door marks 20 years. They celebrated two decades in business last month, which is quite an accomplishment. Owners Nicole and David Mouton, originally from southern Louisiana but who have been in Portland for many years, opened Screen Door Eastside in 2006, “with the help of friends, family, and early employees,” according to the restaurant’s website. More:

“Their vision was to blend the rich traditions of Southern food with the fresh, local, and sustainable values of the Pacific Northwest. This blend—a meeting place of ‘fried and fresh’—celebrates both Southern comfort food and the region’s agricultural bounty, reflecting their deep passion for quality ingredients and thoughtful cooking.” Big congrats to them and I hope they are around for another 20 years. If the perpetual lines mean anything, they will. 2337 E Burnside Street, 1131 NW Couch Street, and PDX Airport, Portland

Mom & Pop Wine Shop celebrated 10 years last month. On July 10, they marked a decade in business. They remarked, “On our opening day, we were so tired and hungry, and Greg & Gabby from Ox came through with surprise empanadas.” They are grateful for your business—stop by if you can. 6908 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland

Daydream marks 2 years. For their second anniversary, they are hosting their friends Ana and Kit for some pop-ups. On Friday, August 7 from 7pm to 11pm on the patio, you’ll find three dishes from Malaysia in a hand-held packet: Rendang, Nasi Lemak, and Gado Gado.

On Saturday August 8 from 6pm to 10pm, there will be Kit’s Dips on the patio: “There will be an earthy bean & Jimmy Nardello pepper dip, as well as the return of the fermented Caesar dip, both served with all-star summertime produce from local farms. PLUS, there will also be homemade lemon ricotta w/fresh fruits.”

DJs include VNPRT + PLMS, Omari Jazz, JFree, Jay Versace (Friday) & The Twilite Tone (Saturday). Plus some magnum wine pours. It’s gonna be great! 2615 SE Clinton Street, Portland

And Sanguiche in Gresham celebrated six months. August 1 marked their half year anniversary of making excellent Italian deli sandwiches. Plus they have Italian ices. And you can get an affogato! Check them out. 134 NW 3rd Street, Gresham

Peach dinner at Bergerac mid-August. On Wednesday and Thursday, August 12 and 13, you can head to Bergerac for a summer dinner featuring Oregon peaches with optional wine pairings and peach focused cocktails. This is the best time of year for peaches and I imagine this dinner is going to be excellent. Here’s what they are preparing:

• Peach and brie crostini.
• Peach and tomato salad, garlic olive oil croutons, balsamic reduction, microgreens.
• Lamb and beef merguez sausages, grilled peach, corn, hassleback potato, cilantro drizzle.
• Whole lemon verbena poached peach, madeleine.

The dinner is $95 per guest with a $45 optional wine pairing. More details on their OpenTable page. 5520 SE Woodstock Blvd, Portland

Taste of Portland tickets are available. This tasting event is produced by the Urban Restaurant Group. It’s on Monday, October 5, from 5pm to 9pm. There will be “20+ of the region’s top chefs, breweries, distilleries, and vineyards for a one-night-only experience.” It takes places at Castaway in Northwest Portland. Proceeds will benefit the Oregon Food Bank.

There are two ticket levels: General Admission at $50 plus a $5.20 fee; and VIP for $75 plus a  $6.88 fee (Eventbrite fees). You can buy them here. 1900 NW 18th Avenue, Portland

The Fiery Crab is getting closer to open. We mentioned them late last year, but a liquor license application showed up, which means they are getting close to opening their doors. No indication of this location on their website …. yet. This is another old Shari’s. Fiery Crab “delivers explosive Cajun flavors in every bag” and “a messy, hands-on dining experience.” 1832 NE 122nd Avenue, Portland

New Japanese curry spot is open in Beaverton. I first heard about this from @micbanh on instagram. C4 Curry, located in central Beaverton, not far from the high school, offers katsu, croquettes, and Japanese curry. It looks so good. They are in soft opening mode at this point, but open for lunch (11:30 to 2:30pm) and dinner (4:30pm to 8:30pm). 4925 SW Angel Ave Ste 105, Beaverton

They’re still here. In this current economic climate, it’s easy to talk about who’s closing. Here are some of the established places in Portland renewing their liquor licenses, meaning they are still with us:

• Aalto Lounge (Sunnyside), 3356 SE Belmont Street
• Bennett’s Best Bites (Kerns), 1926 NE Sandy Blvd
• Bentoz Teriyaki (Multnomah Village), 9107 SW Barbur Blvd
• Bible Club (Sellwood-Moreland), 6716 SE 16th Avenue
• Blue Diamond Bar & Grill (Kerns), 2016 NE Sandy Blvd
• Corbett Taphouse (South Portland), 5331 S Macadam Avenue, Suite 270
• Jakarta Bistro (NW Portland), 1902 NW 24th Avenue
• Onijiri Gaijin (Buckman), 621 SE Morrison Street
• PoShines (Kenton), 8139 N Denver Avenue
• Red’s Bar & Grill (Foster/Powell), 7025 SE Foster Road

Biscuits are returning to Parallel. This weekend! These are insanely popular, and they know it. They’ve put together some updated processes to better get you the biscuits you know and love. 9am to 1pm on Saturday and Sunday—they’ll also have cocktails. 3101 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland

Golden Hour has arrived at Bar Carlo. Monday through Friday from 3pm to 6pm you can enjoy Golden Hour at Bar Carlo. They’ve got Margaritas, Sangria, a Paloma 3 ways, beer, cider, seltzer, and a good sounding CBD soda (lilikoi-guava, made locally). Plus there’s food: chips & salsa, nachos, carne asada fries, a quesadilla frita, tacos, burritos, and flan.

They’ve heard folks say they hoped Bar Carlo would stay open later; this is their answer to that. 6433 SE Foster Road, Portland

Original Dream Pizza will close. Really sorry to read this news from the folks who resurrected American Dream Pizza to Original Dream Pizza, which was open a little over a year ago. They wrote:

“Thanks to everyone who enthusiastically supported us over the last year. We took a big risk, reopening our favorite pizzeria after it had been closed a year. We really tried to bring “The Dream” back to life. Unfortunately, all of our efforts were not enough to justify staying in business.”

Their final day of service will be Sunday, August 30. Stop in if you can. 4620 NE Glisan Street, Portland

808 Grinds grand opens in Beaverton on Saturday. It’s almost here! They are celebrating their grand opening of a space they’ve been working hard on for some time. There will be “two days of island eats, drink specials, and live music from some of da best 808 musicians in the 503.” 10970 SW Barnes Road, Beaverton

Surveillance-based pricing in Portland? Screw that. Yes, this is a strong editorial statement—this kind of pricing is BS and is based on greed. It certainly does not belong in Portland. Here’s the scenario: “Imagine two Portlanders shopping side by side, purchasing the exact same groceries at the same store, at the same time, but paying different prices because an algorithm determined one customer could pay more.” That’s a big NOPE from me.

According to a press release on the City of Portland website, “Councilor Eric Zimmerman is developing legislation to protect Portland consumers from surveillance-based, algorithmic pricing practices on retail goods. This proposal is currently in the discovery phase and is seeking public input. Registration opens August 7 for public testimony before the Portland City Council’s City Life Committee on August 11 at 2pm. Online

Basil Pho & Grill has opened in Hillsboro. Thanks to a tip from Yvette Chau, I’ve learned that Basil Pho & Grill is now open, and the food menu has a lot of variety. There’s a whole variety of drinks, too: matcha, milk tea, coffee, boba, smoothies, lemonade, soda, and fruit tea. Check out her review video on Instagram for more info. 5309 E Main Street, Hillsboro

Cafe Youngi has opened. More from Yvette: This is a pop-up cafe she is running, operating it out of her aunt’s spot, The Riverwalk Cafe in South Waterfront. She’s open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 11am to 2pm. And her drinks look great—coffee and matcha, some with a butter tteok, which is “a crispy rice cake with a chewy center.” They are smol and adorable. Here’s the menu—check it out! 2100 S River Pkwy, Portland

The August sundae at Red Sauce looks really good. It was created by Cheryl at Sugar Witch—I first encountered her at this year’s Score, A Baker Fair. She makes a candy called “Fudderbingers” and they are delicious. Red Sauce has incorporated them into their August sundae, as well as her dark caramel sauce, with Red Sauce’s vanilla soft serve. 4641 NE Fremont Street, Portland

And Bella’s Italian Bakery also has a great sundae. It is available this Saturday—tomorrow—only, while supplies last. Maybe on Sunday, too, but Saturday for sure. It starts with two scoops of vanilla bean gelato from Pronto Gelato. To that they add dark chocolate sauce, cannoli crunch (broken or misshapen cannoli shells mixed with melted dark chocolate and butter), and candied orange, topped with whipped cream and an Amarena cherry. All for nine bucks. 9119 SE Woodstock Blvd, Portland

Kulfi in Beaverton has an opening date. And it’s this weekend! Looks like Saturday is the first day—hours are unclear, but they’ll have that info on their Instagram. Big congrats to them, they’ve been waiting on this for a while. 12695 SW Crescent Street #120, Beaverton

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Stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:

Mikiko Mochi Donuts Bridgeport Village Will Open This Summer
Society Pie Pizza Will Open in Downtown Hillsboro
Moloko Celebrates 20 Years of Cocktails Among the Coral in Portland
Proof Cocktails & Lounge Will Open in Downtown Vancouver