Category: Four Things

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Four Things I Learned This Week is a regular column published on Fridays, featuring four short entries of brief tidbits on Portland‘s food scene.

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Four Things I Learned This Week (April 4) in Portland Food

Reeva turned 3 this week. When I saw the post from Reeva, one of Portland’s great food trucks, that started out as “Dear Reeva Family,” I thought, “Nooooooooooo, don’t close!” Thankfully, I had it all wrong—they were there to tell us that yesterday was their three-year anniversary!

At the end of the post they said, “As we celebrate this milestone, we’re filled with gratitude and excitement for what’s ahead. Here’s to more good food, great company, and unforgettable moments. Thank you for being part of our story!” Here, hear! Love having them in the Roseway neighborhood. 7727 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland

There are still tickets for Sabor de Primavera. At the writing of this article, you can get tickets for the 7pm to 8:30pm of this event on Sunday, April 6. From the good folks at Veganizer, this is a fundraiser they call, “Spring Fiesta to Benefit Growing Gardens.” Growing Gardens cultivates “healthy and equitable communities through the experience of growing food in schools, backyards, and correctional facilities.”

There will be six Mexican restaurants participating: Chelo, Chilango, Machetes, Mis Tacones, Ice Queen, and Libre. You can see what they are planning to serve, plus buy tickets, which are $88 + fees. 920 NE Glisan Street, Portland

En Vida has closed. Over on Bluesky, I was told that En Vida has closed their location on NE Fremont Street. “Unfortunately this has been confirmed by the owner,” said the public tipster. On the En Vida Instagram they also state, “we are permanently closed.” The silver lining is that you can get their food at TPK Brewing—En Vida’s plate of arepitas de queso was one of my favorite bites from 2024. 1303 NE Fremont Street, Portland

Food & Wine ranks Portland as the fourth best place in the US for coffee. Food & Wine has an annual award called the “Global Tastemakers Award”—this is its third year, so it’s fairly new. It celebrates “very best in culinary travel around the world” and the number of cities included is at 165. There’s a lot of content on their landing page, so normally you’ll be clicking a lot, but KOIN extracted what Portlanders want to know: how the city fits into these rankings.

It’s only about the coffee in this case; Portland was not included in lists of top U.S. food, drink, and restaurant cities. Nine cafes/roasters were mentioned in the list: Stumptown, Heart, Cathedral, Hypnos, Good Coffee, Capitola, Prince, Never, and Upper Left. Feel free to leave your favorite in the comments. Multiple locations

Stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:

Taste of Szechuan Has Opened in the Old Eastern Cathay Space in Portland
Food Waste Prevention Week in Portland
The 2025 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards Finalists in Portland
Passover 2025 in Portland

We’ve also updated our Easter roundup. Fat Milo’s and Sabor Del Rio Cafe are both now open. And remember: Food Waste Prevention Week starts Monday.

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Four Things I Learned This Week (March 28) in Portland Food

Fremont Garage Update. This is the food cart pod that will go in on NE Fremont Street and 44th Avenue. I walked by the other day and saw a sign on a mostly cleared-out lot, so I reached out to Cameron at DBS Group about it. Here’s his update:

“We will be starting on renovation of the property for the food cart pod and bar this month actually! Our new anticipated opening is early 2026. Our list of interested food cart vendors is growing, and many familiar popular carts/restaurants will be on the list. We are excited to share the line up as we get closer to opening.” 4403 NE Fremont Street, Portland

pFriem in Milwaukie opens April 7. ICYMI, pFriem is opening a tasting room in Milwaukie. It will be located in the former fire station in the historic Milwaukie City Hall building, which is a very exciting development. When I drank alcoholic beer, they were one of my favorites brewers. Here is what you can expect at the new Milwaukie spot (bulleted copy written by pFriem):

  • Three bars with 20+ taps pouring pFriem’s celebrated core beers, seasonal releases, and exclusive small-batch offerings.
  • Five handcrafted pFriem specialty craft cocktails and Son of Man cider on draft.
  • Celebratory collaboration IPA’s with Breakside Brewery and Von Ebert Brewing, and a Belgian Strong Dark collab with our new neighbors – Keeper Coffee Co.

On top of that there will be an outdoor patio with the seating area covered in a pergola, upstairs event space, retail space, original art displayed on the walls, a food menu “to complement pFriem’s beer lineup,” and beer and merch for their pFriem club members. 10501 SE Main Street, Milwaukie

The Scout Wine Bar gets some Oregonian love. Glad to see this article by Julie Evensen at The Oregonian about Gresham’s The Scout Wine Bar. It “offers wines by the glass, rotating local beer and cider on tap, and build-your-own charcuterie boards. Food from nearby restaurants is also welcome – the area has options ranging from pho to Italian to Lebanese to gourmet burgers. Diners can bring their entrée of choice to pair with a drink from the bar.”

I have recently spent more time in downtown Gresham and it is a sweet little part of the Portland Metro area. There’s some great food there, a variety of architectural styles (old and new), and I especially love the tiny Japanese garden on Tsuru Island in Main City Park. (Plus Jazzy Bagels is one of the few places you can get egg bagels in the area—if you know others, let us know in the comments.) 25 NE 3rd Street, Gresham

Warsugai will introduce a new concept. Starting out serving “elevated and creative interpretations of classic nostalgic Asian cuisine,” they have now closed (Sunday, March 23 was their last day of service)—but not for good. Instead, on Thursday, April 10 they will introduce “The Chinese Cowboy”:

“We’ll be offering up a reimagined menu of bbq small plates, weekly live music with some of Portland’s best country and honky tonk musicians, pop up events, and your favorite crafted cocktails.” I am definitely intrigued. 727 SE Washington Street, Portland

Stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:

Help Support Portland’s Kitchen Table Magazine: “The Future Issue”
Taste of Sichuan Will Re-Open in Beaverton
Sabor del Rio Cafe Will Bring Puerto Rican Food to Marine Drive in Portland
Easter 2025 in Portland

This weekend is the Portland Tacos, Tequilas & Tamales Festival and the Expo Center. We are also in the final days of the Ticket to Dine campaign, which goes through March 31.

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Four Things I Learned This Week (March 21) in Portland Food

East Glisan Pizza Lounge is taking a break. First there were rumors, then there was a statement from the East Glisan Pizza folks: “Starting Monday, March 17, we’re taking some space to look at the business with new eyes—to take what we’ve learned over the past 11 years & rebuild with structure & culture in place that we & our crew deserve. We look forward to a healthy relationship with a business we’re excited about, even outside of the times we get to see you.” Keep up with them on their social channels for updates. 8001 NE Glisan Street, Portland

Javelina is moving again. Javelina and Inɨ́sha will be moving from the old Lil’ Dame space, their most recent home on NE 30th Avenue, to the old Yonder space on NE 42nd Avenue. This will put them next to door to NAYA’s munk-yeʔlan sax̣ali, (pronounced “moonk-YEH-lǔn SAH-hah-lee”) AKA Munk-yelan Saxali office in Cully. Their last day of service on NE 90th Avenue is Saturday, March 29; they’ll then take a two week break and relaunch on Thursday, April 17.

The positives of moving? “With the extra space we can expand our hours and menus. Also, our indoor seating almost triples and we now have a full bar where we can really allow our beverage program to flourish.” Why they moved? “We had some unforeseen challenges within that space that we couldn’t see getting through. Also, it was too small, we couldn’t accommodate everyone that came in and quickly realized we needed more room to pursue our goals of being a restaurant, gathering place and community hub for our guests.” 4636 NE 42nd Avenue, Portland

Beekie’s PDX has opened in Parkrose. This truck that seems new to the area is currently in the Grocery Outlet parking lot, according to a Bridgetown Bites tipster. One thing indicated on the truck is that they serve “vegan soul food.” They have a Facebook page and Instagram account, and from what I can tell there, vegan offerings include burgers and tacos; they definitely serve meat, too. 10721 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland

Kim Jong Grillin has left the Happy Valley Town Center. Tuesday was his last day there. Hopefully the future is bright for him and will bring good things his way. 15934 SE Happy Valley Town Center, Happy Valley

Bonus: Pronto Gelato is open again! They re-opened on Thursday after some time away. Find them Thursdays through Sundays, 3pm to 8pm.

Stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:

Paqui Modern Mexican Will Open on NE Sandy Blvd in Portland
Hey Cricket Fans! Sticky Wicket Will Open in North Portland
Schilling Cider House Will Re-Open on SE Division in Portland
Food Loop Northwest Will Open in NW Portland’s Cordage Building

I also want to with you all a happy spring! The spring equinox was Thursday, March 20, and it looks like we have some nice mild weather ahead of us, despite the rain today. And remember: Ticket To Dine continues all month!

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Four Things I Learned This Week (March 7) in Portland Food

Tréla brunch launches this weekend. I heard from Napoleon Tzakis, one of the owners of the Greek taverna Tréla, that they are starting up brunch this weekend: “Here at Trela we are planning on opening for Brunch on Saturdays and Sundays, starting March 8th.” I can only imagine how delicious it will be. 6000 NE Glisan Street, Portland

Face Plant is now open. ICYMI, the new plant-based burger joint, Face Plant, has opened. They have taken an old McDonald’s that had a lot of issues in the past and re-opened it with a small but focused menu. There’s burgers, fries, nugget, shakes, and soda; coffee is coming soon. Wishing them only the best on this journey. 3110 N Going Street, Portland

Microgreens dinner at Bergerac. Over at Bergerac they are offering a special seven-course dinner next week focused on locally-grown microgreens, partnering with Zigzag Microgreens. $90/person with a $40 optional wine pairing. Seating will be family style. Dinner is on Wednesday, March 12 at 6:30pm. Here’s the menu:

  • Garlic herb salted butter, toast & radish micro greens VG
  • Mushroom pâté, endive boat, green pea micro greens V, GF
  • Scallop ceviche, coconut milk, lime, shisho micro greens F, GF
  • Seared salmon sashimi, sushi rice, ginger oil, wasabi micro greens F, GF
  • Roast beef filet, Yorkshire pudding, horseradish, nasturtium microgreens
  • White bean dip, roast carrots, leek microgreens VG, GF
  • Poached meringue, honeydew creme anglaise, almonds, honeydew micro greens

Reserve via their Tock page. 5520 SE Woodstock Blvd, Portland

Portland makes the world’s top coffee list. This is the first year for The World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops list, and two Portland roasters made it on this list. They are Push X Pull and Stumptown. Australia’s Proud Mary also made the list, which has a location in Portland. Do you feel differently? Tell us in the comments below. Various locations

Bonus: It’s Sebastiano’s birthday today! They are celebrating one year in their Sellwood location. Head there today for free funfetti birthday cake!

Stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:

Top 5 Posts on Bridgetown Bites, February 2025
Black Cat Frozen Custard Will Open in Downtown Portland
St. Patrick’s Day 2025 in Portland
Navigator Coffee Co. Will Open on Hayden Island in Portland

The Beaverton Area Chamber of Commerce Restaurant Week continues; this weekend is also the tail end of Sandwich Week. SheBrew is on Saturday, and Ticket To Dine continues through the end of the month. More details on our list of Portland Food and Drink Festivals and Portland Cultural + Food Festivals.

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Four Things I Learned This Week (February 28) in Portland Food

Help the the Family of Niños Birrieria. Very sad news—and for some reason, I thought the cops were avoiding high-speed chases these days—for the family of Niños Birrieria. That’s one of the excellent food carts at the Upright Beer Station pod. Here’s what happened:

“On Friday, February 21, 2025, as Silverio (father/owner of Niños Birrieria) and his partner Julia were leaving work at Niños Birrieria in their car, they were hit by a car being chased by Portland Police going at very high speed, down Prescott St. Their car was totaled from the impact.

“They were taken by ambulance from 71st and Prescott to the hospital. Silverio has been discharged from the hospital with injuries that will prevent him from being able to work for at least the next month. His partner, Julia, remains in the hospital with an unknown discharge date and probable long term effects.”

They are running a GoFundMe—I hope you can help.

Thai Time has opened on the old Bang Bang space. Another Thai food restaurant, complete with alliteration, has opened in the old Bang Bang space next to Wonderly. They closed at the end of last year. But as I said last year, “However, all is not lost. The same people who run Bang Bang are behind Wonderly (they sit there next door to each other), and they serve food and drink there, so the quality you’re used to will be found at Wonderly. It’s a bit of a silver lining.”

Still, there’s new Thai food to explore! Thai Time operated as a food cart for a while, after they closed their downtown restaurant during the COVID pandemic. And now they are on NE Fremont. I have not tried Thai Time (though probably will soon), but I am sure happy to see this storefront is being used. 4727 NE Fremont Street, Portland

99 Ranch Market construction has resumed. The Montavilla News has an update on the 99 Ranch Market that will open in the Plaza 205 mall. Permitting hung them up, but they are over that hump and moving closer to opening. From the article:

“The highly anticipated Asian grocery store’s progress slowed after the property owner made exterior modifications to the storefront and installed new demising walls to create smaller storefronts flanking 99 Ranch’s entryway. The Plaza 205 buildout created a larger floor plan for the grocer at the back of the space while making room for complementary businesses along the shopping center’s frontage.” Read more here. 10546 SE Washington Street, Portland

A Mardi Gras roundup. Late last year, we wrote about where to find your king cakes in Portland, including the NOLA-style. EverOut has put together a nice roundup for Mardi Gras, which is this coming Tuesday, March 4; in the U.S., Mardi Gras is mostly associated with NOLA (my friend Cheron there can attest to that—lots of parades and such going on right now). Anyway, check out the Mardi Gras offerings—including king cakes—at places like Avenue St. Charles (a food cart in Beaverton), DB Dessert Company, Doe Donuts (also offering paczki), Screen Door, and more. Also, the Mardi Gras Parade and Ball are happening again this year! Various locations

Stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:

McDonald’s To Open in Old Green Zebra Space on N Lombard in Portland
Ticket To Dine 2025 Is This March in Portland
Joe Brown’s Lounge Is Moving to NE Alberta Street in Portland
Our Farewell to Fallow’s Rest Wild: They Have Closed in Portland

There are a bunch of celebratory festivals coming up: Faching (German Carnival) and Kalevala-Finnish Culture Day on Saturday, Fastelvan (Nordic) on Sunday, and the aforementioned Mardi Gras Parade on Tuesday.

Additionally, Beaverton Restaurant Week starts Saturday for two weeks, the Portland Seafood & Wine Festival is also this weekend, Portland Sandwich Week starts Monday, as well as Ticket To Dine for the month of March, linked above.

Plus! Plus! On Sunday is the Portland CSA Share Fair! So much excellence this weekend.