Small Bites: Kalesa Coffee, Accolades, Hatch Chiles, and More

Kalesa Coffee celebrates 4 years. Stop by Kalesa Coffee tomorrow from 8am to 2pm for pastries, flowers, ice cream and cake—and, of course, coffee. If you’re new to them, they are “a community-oriented coffee shop centering Philippine flavors and pastries.” Congrats! 722 N Page Street, Portland

Portland restaurant accolades. Both the NY Times and Food & Wine had good things to say about two Portland restaurants and one in the wine country. First, OK Chicken & Khao Soi and Hayward (in Carlton) made it onto The Restaurant List 2026 (unlocked article) from the NY Times.

For OK Chicken they called Earl Ninsom a, “restaurant mini-mogul” and highlighted the gai yang chicken and kao soi there, along with their slushies. For Hayward, run by chef and owner Kari Shaughnessy, they highlighted the spot prawn agnolotti and black cod katsu, as well as the seasonality of the restaurant’s menu. “Hayward is the restaurant that Oregon’s celebrated wine country deserves,” critic Brian Gallagher proclaimed.

And The Paper Bridge, which the NY Times has praised in the past (they gave them two stars), got some good words from Food & Wine. They added chef-owners Quynh Nguyen and Gian Carlo Reinardy to their annual list of Best New Chefs in the U.S.

Congratulations to all! Multiple locations

Food Foray at Tomorrow Theater, tomorrow. Food Foray is a film series focusing on food and community in East Multnomah County. I attended a screening back in 2024 and enjoyed it quite a bit. You can watch an episode at the Tomorrow Theater on Saturday, September 19 at 6pm. Tickets are $20 and it’s a fundraiser for the Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice.

After the screening, there will be a Q&A with director Ivan Horvat. Food service will be from featured chef Amalia Sierra of Tierra del Sol. More information is on this ticketing page on the Tomorrow Theater website. 3530 SE Division Street, Portland

It’s canning and preserving season! You can buy canning supplies and pressure canners at Parkrose Hardware,

on sale. Save $2 to $3 on 12-count jars and lids ($13 to $20 for wide-mouth and regular), a six-piece canning tool set for $20 (was $30), and pressure canners for $160 (save $20) and $170 (save $30). Find these prices through Monday, September 28. 10625 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland

Chef Demo: Carter Vaughn, Executive Chef and RingSide Steakhouse. He’ll be at STEELPORT Knife Co offering a demonstration of knife techniques for a steak dinner. It happens on Saturday, September 26 from 11am to noon. RSVP here. 3602 NE Sandy Blvd, #Suite B, Portland

GOL PDX caught fire. It happened around 1am Tuesday morning, with fire on the roof. Apparently it took firefighters about 30 minutes to extinguish the fire. Nearby Devil’s Dill says they were spared. A KPTV article says, “Workers do not consider Gol a total loss, though the interior suffered enough damage that it will likely need to be gutted before repairs can begin.” They are still investigating the cause of the fire.

They have also launched a GoFundMe campaign. 1739 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland

Side B Market at The Callback tomorrow. PIVOT has joined forces with The Callback in Hollywood to present the Side B Market. Join them tomorrow, Saturday, September 19 from 11am to 4pm “for a day of sips, strolls, munchies, and supporting local sweeties. Drink specials, vintage treasures, local makers, and local food trucks galore.” This is an accessible event. 1607 NE 41st Avenue, Portland

Negroni Week starts next week. I think I counted 72 participating restaurant and bars participating in this year’s Negroni Week, which goes from Monday, September 21 to Sunday, September 27. You can see who is participating, on the Negroni Week website; click on “Portland, OR’ and it will reveal the participants. Multiple locations

Negronis, sure—but then there’s Sebastiano’s and their cookie. They are doing a Negroni Tricolor Cookie (Italian Flag Cookie) for the week, with cake layers of gin, Campari, and red vermouth. Plus a Sarti Negroni Slushy that features Campari and staff favorite Sarti Rosa Sicilian Blood Orange liqueur. 8235 SE 13th Avenue, #7, Portland

CullyFest is tomorrow. This is the third annual CullyFest and it goes from 10am to 4pm on Saturday. There will be entertainment, a sidewalk mural painting activity, resource vendors, kids activities, as well as a beer garden and food court.

There will also be an afterparty at The Back Patio. They’ll have live music from 4pm to 8pm, and a DJ from 8pm to 10pm. There will also be food carts, local beer, and wine flights. Cully 5 Corners (where NE Cully Blvd meets NE Prescott Street) and 3944 NE Cully Blvd, Portland

And in Southeast Portland, the Belmont Street Fair returns tomorrow. It’s from 10am to 5pm and there will be plenty to see there. “We’re taking over the street with delicious eats, unique vendors, and nonstop entertainment. A stellar lineup of live music is set for the main stage and the kids zone will be bigger than ever, so bring the whole crew.” SE Belmont Street from SE 39th Avenue to SE 31st Avenue, Portland

NFL Sunday breakfast is back at Peter’s Bar & Grill. Normally they don’t open until 11:30am daily, but on NFL Sundays they start up at 9:45am. Breakfast options include scrambles, biscuits and gravy, french toast, a breakfast sandwich, and an eggs/toast/potatoes/protein combo. 5701 NE Fremont Street, Portland

Vancouver Station’s Grand Opening weekend starts today. This is a good sized food cart pod in east Vancouver. There will be a ribbon cutting today at 4pm with the Mayor, live music, baby goats, face painting, food specials from the carts, and deals at the bar. Should be a good time! They are ADA compliant and accessible. 1817 SE 164th Avenue, Vancouver

They are roasting Hatch chiles at Threshold in Montavilla on Sunday. This is a live roasting event from noon to 4pm with local Westwind Gardens and Peppered Earth PDX. “They’ll be roasting up bags of incredible peppers right here on the spot and we are so stoked to have these good people come out to Montavilla.” 403 SE 79th Avenue, Portland

River Pig Saloon, sued by the feds. This is a really unfortunate story. ICYMI: “The owner of one of Portland’s best-known Pearl District bars is facing a federal fraud lawsuit after prosecutors say he used emergency pandemic relief funds to prop up a completely different bar—one that had already permanently shuttered weeks before COVID-19 hit Oregon.” You can read more about it, here.  529 NW 13th Avenue, Portland

Elvira’s Spicy Pumpkins arrives tomorrow. I grew up watching Elvira and it delights me to no end that she is here in Portland for this. “September is here and we are ready to get spooky! Our 2nd annual release with Elvira is almost here. To celebrate the release of Elvira’s Spicy Pumpkins we are hosting a special release party apothecary market! Aura photography, tarot reading, candle and perfume making, and customer charms!”

You’ll get to enjoy the celebration from noon to 4pm tomorrow at Bauman’s on Oak. Exciting! 930 SE Oak Street, Portland

Mazama Brewing at Orenco Station has closed. Google says “temporarily closed” but their website is nowhere to be found. Reddit confirms their closure with this comment: “The brewery itself has been closed since 2024. The Hillsboro restaurant closed back in early August.” 955 NE Orenco Station Loop, Hillsboro

Cookie McCakeface will expand production and wants to give you a walk-up window. She has a new commercial space and will be moving production from the cart to there, which also means she can increase batch size.

Also: “It also means I’m rolling out a more robust pastry menu for my wholesale business owner baddies who are looking to supplement their cafe pastry cases. Also cakes. And cheesecakes. And pies. And breads. Basically anything you can bake.” She’s looking at starting new wholesale options in October, with shipping following in early 2027 (which is really right around the corner).

More good news: “I’m also working on integrating a walk up window at the new space so you can grab a cake slice on your way to work and a cookie on the way home.” 4727 SE Woodstock Blvd, Portland (cart)

The Deck closes for the season in a little over a week. Final day of service is Sunday, September 27, and then you gotta wait all the way til March 2027 to access them again. “Build Your Own Grilled Cheese & Spicy Tomato Vodka Bisque, Cheesy Potato Munchers, and discounted drinks are here through the end of the season!” Here is a rundown of the end-of-season options. When The Deck closes, it really means summer is over. 2901 NE Marine Drive, Portland

Sabor del Rio’s season is almost up, too. Their final day of service for 2026 is also Sunday, September 27. They serve Puerto Rican and American food there, yet another gem on the Columbia River. 3307 NE Marine Drive, Portland

Sushi Fukami opens today. This highly-anticipated sushi restaurant—just eight seats at the sushi counter in a minimalist setting—opens today in downtown Portland. Reservations are available on OpenTable starting on the 22nd of every month for the following month. They opened reservations with less restrictions earlier this month and there was a deluge, so they are throttling the reservation process (it reminds me of Kann’s).

We were given the chance to stop in and try some of the sushi earlier this week and it really just blew my mind. Look for more on this next week. 1128 SW Alder Street, Portland

Kate’s Chocolacos have returned. They had to find a different name than ChocoTaco, so they have gone with Chocolaco. It became available again yesterday and you can access them through Sunday, September 20 (or until supplies last). They have two flavors for fall:

• Pumpkin Spice: A gluten-free waffle cone taco filled with pumpkin spice ice cream, dipped in chocolate, and topped with whipped cream. This is allergen-free.
• Classic Peanut: A gluten-free waffle cone taco filled with vanilla ice cream, dipped in chocolate, and rolled in peanuts.

Limit five per customer at their NW or N Mississippi locations. 1430 NW 23rd Avenue and 3713 N Mississippi Avenue, Portland

PDX Modhaus opens today. Today at 5pm they will open their doors to the inside space and bar (the Modhaus Podhaus, as I like to call it). They will also be open this weekend from 7am to 10pm. There will be DJs, face painting, cart food, drinks, coffee, and more. 3829 SE Division Street, Portland

Records + Milo’s Cholados tomorrow. They’ll be at the soft opening of Passenger Seat Records on Saturday, September 19. From 4pm to 9pm there will be a new selection of vinyl, sets by Silicon Radio DJs, and Milo’s Cholados serving cholados. Sounds like a fantastic time. 715 NE Lawrence Avenue, Suite 106, Portland

Wing Week starts Monday. From Monday, September 21 to Sunday, September 27 get chicken wings around Portland for $10. BTW, here are the vegan options.

And while most of the options are crowded on the east side west of 60th Ave, downtown, and inner NW, it’s heartening to see a number of options east of there, and—shocker—even past I-205! This is probably the biggest geographic efforts I’ve seen for one of these food weeks. Nice job, Merc. Multiple locations

Gabriella Martinez joins The Heathman Hotel and Bar Sprezzatura as Executive Pastry Chef. Great news! We thought she was heading to Mexico but as she says, “I realized Portland and I weren’t quite finished with each other yet.” Bar Sprezzatura is the new Michal Mina restaurant opening at The Heathman this fall. Lots of good things to look forward to—congratulations, Gabriella! 1001 SW Broadway, Portland

Mama Chow’s Kitchen will leave the Union on Hawthorne pod. They be there until the end of 2026 and then they’ll be moving on—to where, is unknown at this moment in time. “Our 2 year tenure here at this location has been an epic experience, especially after returning from my serious accident in 2024.” 3757 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland

Three food + culture events this weekend. Some heavy hitters in the local food fest world are this weekend: Mt. Angel Oktoberfest, the Middle Eastern Festival, and the Portland Polish Festival. See more events on our Portland Area Cultural + Food Festivals list.

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Stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:

Discover PDX Food Carts Coming to NE Alberta in Portland
September 2026 Story Updates: Aura Dorada, Sushi Dash, and More
Quince Fest 2026 Returns With Its Glorious Perfume in Portland
Solo Dining at Bar Nouveau in North Portland