Portland food news and views
Dolsot Bibimbap at Salem’s Happy Bibim Bap House
A couple days before I got sick, I was walking home from the gym and noticed that a bunch of guys were taking stuff out of the Mio Sushi restaurant next door to the 24 Hour Fitness. It seemed odd, but I thought perhaps they were replacing old service dishes with new ones. Well, I was wrong—Eater has the details. Mio Sushi is gone, BiBim Bap House will open on March 19. Continue reading “Hollywood Says Goodbye Mio Sushi, Hello BiBim Bap House”
We’re back with another roundup of the most popular posts on Bridgetown Bites from the month before (February 2018). The posts about Saima Thai & Sushi were boosted last month by a Facebook post by our friends at the Hollywood Star newspaper, and we are grateful for that. As always, thank you for reading!
5. Welcome to Hollywood, Garden Monsters
While I was sick and not on my A-game, the news of the impending arrival of Garden Monsters was reported by Chad Walsh at the Portland Mercury. Full disclosure: I hadn’t heard of Garden Monsters before this post but I’m sure glad I do now. The menu is primarily salads (“mini” and “monster” sizes), with the option to turn any of them into a wrap, and a couple of “Monster Melts.” They will be renting that little space adjacent to Saima Thai & Sushi that used to be Pono Soul Farm Kitchen’s meat market.
Continue reading “Top 5 Posts On Bridgetown Bites, February 2018”
The Hercules Salad at Garden Monsters looks pretty dang good.
While I was sick and not on my A-game, the news of the impending arrival of Garden Monsters was reported by Chad Walsh at the Portland Mercury. Full disclosure: I hadn’t heard of Garden Monsters before this post but I’m sure glad I do now. The menu is primarily salads (“mini” and “monster” sizes), with the option to turn any of them into a wrap, and a couple of “Monster Melts.” They will be renting that little space adjacent to Saima Thai & Sushi that used to be Pono Soul Farm Kitchen’s meat market. Continue reading “Welcome to Hollywood, Garden Monsters”
It’s been nearing two weeks since I posted last and apart from general work business that is sometimes disruptive, I got sick with a virus. It was probably a cold—definitely not the flu—but unpleasant just the same because of fatigue and congestion. However, this time around there were two things that were undeniably different—A) I was constantly hungry (I wanted to eat all the time), and B) I didn’t consume dairy.
Now, I don’t have philosophical issues with dairy—I was once a raw milk drinker for many years. I love cheese (raw and pasteurized), yogurt, butter, ice cream, and I drink full fat lattes. I only really use non-dairy milk (coconut) when I prepare a chia breakfast bowl in the mornings. My unplanned abstinence from dairy confirmed something to be true that I’d been told over the years—cut out dairy to cut down on mucus. I know it is there for a reason but it’s also a real killjoy.
To go without dairy here in Portland was a breeze, and a lot of credit goes to our vegan friends who have worked hard for years to bring animal-free products into the true commercial mainstream. I was able to enjoy creamy salad dressings (tahini), coffee with milk (coconut milk), soft dark chocolate (also raw with no refined sugar—hats off to you, Honey Mamas), and yogurt (coconut milk). I’d actually like to try my hand at making coconut milk yogurt after this experience.
As an aside, I also plan to work on a ginger bug to make naturally fermented ginger ale, another good thing to drink when you’re sick (it’s also good any time).
As I continue to get over this virus, I plan to keep dairy out of my diet, and will take this opportunity to eat more dairy-free food. I don’t expect to eliminate it completely in the long run, but for now I’m content to explore the world sans dairy.
Dreamy wood oven roasted olives at Fire and Stone are magic.
This morning I read the news on Instagram that Fire and Stone, a wood-fired restaurant in the Alameda/Beaumont-Wilshire area, is closing. The news made me quite sad, as I’ve been a fan of the restaurant since before I moved to Portland. When I was the editor of Northeast Neighbors magazine, we featured them there, and a number of local folks I interviewed over the months also spoke highly of them. I’ve eaten a number of meals there. I am sure everyone is sorry to see them go. Continue reading “Fire and Stone To Close End of February in Portland”
