Author: Meg Cotner

Bridgetown Bites is edited and published by Meg Cotner in Portland, Oregon. She loves avocados, fresh produce, NA drinks, and cats.
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The Second Annual WasabiFest Returns To Portland

Wasabi rhizomes at the WasabiFest.
The wasabi rhizome.

Last year I attended the inaugural WasabiFest, which celebrated all things wasabi. There was a chance to try freshly-grated samples of the rhizome itself, get to know products made with wasabi, and there was even a wasabi-eating contest. And this year, it’s back! The second annual WasabiFest is Saturday, June 13. Here are more details about this awesome event.

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Small Bites: Greg Higgins Will Retire, the Elk, Forbidden Fruit, and More

Greg Higgins will retire from creating dishes like these at Higgins.
A few dishes from HIggins: risotto, chicory salad, and Vegan Kabocha croquettes. Photo credit: Higgins.

Greg Higgins will retire. He sent an email out with the announcement: “So, it is with a full and grateful heart that I share my own important milestone with you: I’m planning to retire.” He is looking to sell the restaurant, for “the right steward for Higgins, someone who understands what this place means to our guests and employees, and will carry it forward into its next chapter here in Portland.” He wants the restaurant to continue to thrive.

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Spring Sips and the Pink! Rosé Festival Start This May in the Tualatin Valley

The Pink! Rosé Festival, the start of Spring Sips in the Tualatin Valley.
Photo credit: Explore Tualatin Valley.

For six weeks during May and June, you’ll have a chance to get to know 40+ wineries and the wines they make in the Tualatin Valley, during the annual Spring Sips celebration. And it all coincides with Oregon Wine Month (May) and the Pink! Rosé Festival on May 17.

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Shorebird Bakery Has a New Home in the Oakshire Building on NE 42nd Avenue

Cookies at Shorebird Bakery.
Some of the cookies from Shorebird Bakery. Photo credit: Shorebird Bakery.

Earlier this year, Northeast Portland’s Shorebird Bakery, FKA Woodblock Bakery, announced their name change and plans to move. The new location was unknown then, as it was still in the planning stages, but now we know: They’ll be setting up the bakery at the Oakshire Beer Hall building on NE 42nd and Alberta—a boon to both the Cully and Concordia neighborhoods.

Jesse Schumann, Shorebird’s owner, reached out to us over email last week to share the news. Here is some of what he told us.

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Division Street Dairy Queen Appeal: In Favor of the Applicant

This is the kind of DQ we will very well see now that the Dairy Queen appeal is complete.
A mockup of the new Dairy Queen that has moved closer to being built on SE Division Street. Image credit: Dairy Queen.

Just last week I was wondering about the results of the February 25, 2026 appeal regarding the Division Street Dairy Queen and its drive-thru. On Friday afternoon, a reader sent me the decision made by the Hearings Officer—and it was in favor of the Applicant, Mohan Grewal. In the words of Hearings Officer Marisha Childs, “The Appellant did not prevail in this appeal.”

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