Category: First Tastes

First Tastes include initial thoughts and reactions on the food at a restaurant, shop, or market in Portland. Not a full-blown review.

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First Tastes: Tea and Dumplings at Cloud Pine Tea + Culture

Cloud Pine Tea + Culture in Milwaukie, Ore.

A couple of weeks ago I had the chance to see an old friend when he traveled to Oregon to visit his daughter, and we had lunch together at Cloud Pine Tea + Culture, a newish (est. 2021) teahouse-restaurant located in downtown Milwaukie. A mix of seriously good tea, delicious dumplings, and great conversation was a nice break from everything. I’m already looking forward to returning.

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First Tastes: Breakfast at Steeplejack

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The stunner of a stained glass window at Steeplejack.

Over the weekend I stopped in at Steeplejack for breakfast before taking care of some errands in the general area. I got a tip off their Instagram page, where they posted “we are slowly rolling out our breakfast program” and I found that hard to resist. I arrived around 8:30am on a Sunday and had a satisfying and tasty breakfast in a beautiful space.

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First Tastes: Dimo’s SPK

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Breakfast sandwich extraordinaire

This morning I headed over to Dimo’s Apizza for their new venture: Dimo’s SPK. “SPK” stands for “salt, pepper, ketchup,” which are add-ons to the classic BEC—the bacon, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich that you can find everywhere—delis, diners, bodegas—in NYC (and the broader Northeast, from what I’ve been told). This weekend it launches and Dimo’s will offer sandwiches and more from 9am to 2pm (or until sold out). There was a line this morning (we got there around 9:15am), but let me tell you—it’s worth the wait.

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First Tastes: Nepali Kitchen in Northeast Portland

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Despite its failings, there are some gems on Nextdoor when it comes to food. I’ve found direct-access to top-notch sources of Indonesian food, epic Lasagna Bolognese, Texas-style tortillas and plenty of local food recommendations, including the subject of this blog post, Nepali Kitchen. They’ve opened in what seems to be a house on the corner of NE Fremont and 49th Ave (across the street from Stanich’s), with a lovely little courtyard established in the front yard. And the food is excellent.

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The Glory of Campana

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Campana’s inaugural menu.

Last week I had the chance to have a meal at Campana, the new east coast Italian restaurant located in the front of Grand Army Tavern. I had eaten there during their Italian Night/Pasta Night pop up over the summer, and was really happy eating that food. The housemade pastas were tender with substance and the sauces were delicious. I was kinda blown away that my meal at Campana was even better! My dining companion, Jen, was also really happy with her meal. Continue reading “The Glory of Campana”