Meg Cotner

January 6, 2022January 6, 2022

Basics Market on NE Sandy Blvd Is Closing

One of the most popular parts of Basics Market on NE Sandy is the meat department. Photo credit: Basics

Yesterday a neighbor posted on Facebook that the Basics Market on NE Sandy Blvd in the Hollywood District is closing, much to the dismay of folks in the area. I’ve heard a lot of praise for Basics, especially about their meats, so it’s a real bummer to see it close and leave a sizable storefront empty. The last day of business is Saturday, January 22.

January 5, 2022January 5, 2022

Chaat Wallah Cart to Join Upright Brewing in Cully

egg-bhurji-chaat-wallah-cully-portland-oregon

Egg Bhurji, one of the sandwiches planned for the menu at Chaat Wallah’s cart coming to Cully. Photo credit: Chaat Wallah.

I was wandering around the internet this morning and landed on Chaat Wallah’s website. Chaat Wallah is a project from Deepak Saxena and the DesiPDX folks that serves “fun fusion reinterpretations of Indian street food.” In small type toward the bottom of the website is written “coming to Cully in 2022.” Of course my curiosity was piqued.

January 4, 2022January 5, 2022

Galette des Rois in Portland

Photo credit: La Provence/Petite Provence

It’s almost Epiphany (January 6 on the Gregorian calendar), and that means king cake time … but more specifically for the purposes of this post, Galette des Rois time. Yes, “galette des rois” means “king cake” too, but this is different from the yeasted, multicolored cake made popular in New Orleans, as well as the Rosca de Reyes cake popular in Mexican culture—this cake is far simpler, and delicious in its own way. And La Provence/Petite Provence is where you can find it in Portland this year.

January 3, 2022January 5, 2022

First Tastes: Pumpkin Spiced Bread at Tabor Tavern

A truly excellent dessert at Tabor Tavern.

On New Year’s Eve, my household has established a tradition of eating at Tabor Tavern, a gastropub on E Burnside in the North Tabor neighborhood. It’s an extension of our previous tradition of eating at one of our favorite gastropubs in Queens, Sweet Afton. After a meal at Tabor Tavern that featured one of their excellent burgers and fries with an addictive malt vinegar aioli, we got this dessert, Pumpkin Spiced Bread, which is one of the best things I ate in 2021.

December 31, 2021December 31, 2021

Top Posts on Bridgetown Bites in 2021

I took a look at the posts that got the most traffic this year and found an unexpected mix of results. Many of the posts were written this year, but a couple of oldies made it in. Here are the top 10 posts from the year, with accompanying updates and thoughts.

10. Farewell Heim, Hello Bee’s Cakes and Cafe. Bee, AKA, Rebecca Powazek-Anderson, has been making custom cakes and throwing pop-ups in this space at the intersection of NE Sandy Blvd and Fremont Street. She has indicated that the cafe part “is set to open January.” We’ll bring you more details when they become available.