Portland food news and views
Bridgetown is a nickname for Portland because of all the bridges that span the Willamette River – 12 in all (of those, one is dedicated to rail and one prohibits private cars and trucks).
Opened in 1979, Sloan’s Tavern, is set to close this year; that’s over 40 years in business. This week I’ve read a lot of tributes to the place in its owners, matriarch Shirley Sloan and her family (Bob Sloan died in 2013). So what’s going to happen to the place? Shirley sold her lots to a developer, and it sounds like retirement is in the plans. A mixed-use apartment building will be built on those properties.
Continue reading “Sloan’s Tavern Is Closing”
Back in January, I wrote about the first ever Five Guys Burgers & Fries coming to Portland, setting up shop adjacent (not in) to the old Prime Rib + Chocolate Cake space in Lloyd’s Station on NE Broadway. Bottom line: opening of this location is slated for end of May 2022. I’ve been in touch with their community outreach coordinator, who confirms it. Update 6/13/22: I spoke to the on-site manager at the Lloyd District location over the weekend and he confirmed the updated opening date as Friday, June 17, 2022.
Photo credit: Unsplash
As I mentioned last week, here at Bridgetown Bites we are presenting Salad Week from June 6 to 10, 2022. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun and the more I write about the salads in Portland the more interesting they become to me. Salad is something with so much variety—it’s not just a side dish of lettuce, tomato, and cucumber (though that still sounds tasty; my younger self would have enjoyed some Marie Callender’s Thousand Island dressing on it, too). It’s any mix of veg, fruit, meat, fish, dairy, nuts, grains and probably other things I’m unaware of. Seriously, the options are plenty.
Continue reading “Portland Salad Week: the Details”
I’m in the Hollywood District regularly and have been keeping my eye on the rebuilding of the Reo’s Ribs space, which has had the “opening soon” signs up all over it for months. Well, their Facebook page woke up this past weekend and posted “Opening soon…… 
REO’S RIBS WEBSITE NOW LIVE” with a new menu.
CityMaxx indeed filed for bankruptcy. I had heard over the months that one of my favorite stores, CityMaxx, had closed, but I didn’t realize they had filed for bankruptcy. Back in February, the Portland Business Journal reported this: “City Maxx LLC filed for voluntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection Feb. 11, 2022, in the District of Oregon. The debtor listed an address of 3552 SE 122nd Ave., Portland, and is represented in court by attorney Ted A. Troutman. City Maxx LLC listed assets ranging from $100,001 to $500,000 and debts ranging from $1,000,001 to $10,000,000. The filing did not identify a largest creditor.” It’s really too bad—city employees said there were not plans to move to another area to open. There are other places, but CityMax was bright, welcoming, and filled with delicious things. RIP CityMaxx. 3552 SE 122nd Avenue, Portland
Tito’s Taquitos is back! H/T Bill Oakley for this news—one of the highest-regarded food carts in the area is back, and reopened yesterday, May 12. They are in Beaverton these days, offering up their same delicious eats. Look for them in the “76 Station lot.” Check out their menu, here. 3975 SW Beaverton Hillsdale Hwy, Beaverton
Chokladbollar in Portland. When I lived in NYC, I loved stopping by the nearby FIKA (on Park Ave South, now closed along with the other FIKAs in the city) especially during the “3pm slump.” One of the things they offered, among their excellent taste treats, were chokladbollars. So imagine my delight when I saw that Flour Market is making them! They are a wonderful mix of sweet chocolate, oats, and coffee, rolled up and coated in coconut. Absolutely delicious. 5507 NE 30th Avenue, Portland
The Sudra closes their Pearl location. Sad news from The Sudra: “Unfortunately we have made the difficult decision to close our Pearl District location. Staffing issues, lack of business, and sickness has made it overwhelmingly difficult to keep this location open.” Rough, but I hope it relieves some of the stress of the folks behind the restaurant. 100 NW 10th Avenue, Portland
