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 (November 15)

Sortis Holdings in the news again. The Oregonian reports “Four creditors for Sortis Holdings, who claim they’re owed a combined $8.3 million, are petitioning to force the company into bankruptcy and liquidate its collection of Northwest brands.” This includes Bamboo Sushi and Sizzle Pie; Water Avenue (acquired by Harder Day over the summer) and See See Motor (now One Moto) dodged that bullet. Various locations

Morning deals at Fresh Love. This Roseway-based cafe and grocery has three morning deals for you during the start of the week. On Monday, purchase a 16 oz juice or smoothie and get a complimentary chocolate chip-sea salt cookie; on Tuesday, buy a breakfast sandwich and get a free 12 oz drip coffee; and on Wednesday, order an avocado toast and receive an 8oz apple or orange juice. 7434 NE Fremont Street, Portland

Renovated indoor space at The Heist is now open. The Heist, a popular food cart pod in the Woodstock neighborhood, is now “home to the largest indoor seating area of any food cart pod in Portland.” It’s located inside the building on the property that used to be a bank. They are doing a grand opening celebration this weekend, where you can check out the new features: “a new coffee shop, craft cocktail bar, arcade room, and vault.”

Celebrate with them on Saturday, November 16, 6:30pm to 9:30pm. All ages welcome. 4727 SE Woodstock Blvd, Portland

Tierra del Sol consolidates their work in Montavilla. Because the Mercado is still kinda stuck (reconstruction starts in January 2025) Tierra del Sol has chosen to close its location there and focus on their space at Montavilla’s Rocket Empire Machine food court. From Amalia, the owner: “This is a good opportunity for you to get to know our second location, if you haven’t already. Here, we have a more extended menu with breakfast, indoor seating, and you can get a beer from Gigantic Brewing Company, which goes perfect with our food!” They will resume their cart operations at the Mercado on January 2, 2025. 6935 NE Glisan Street, Portland

Stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:

3 Doors Down Cafe Has Closed
Meet the Benson Hotel’s 2024 Gingerbread Masterpiece on December 3
Updates To Off-Site Odor Impacts Regulations in Portland
Domingo’s Will Open in the Old Pollo Norte Space

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Four Things I Learned This Week (November 8)

Trails End bar is open. There’s a new bar that has opened up in the old Cavern space on SE Hawthorne. I actually lost track of them at one point because apparently Instagram and Meta shut down their original Instagram page; I discovered their new one today. It’s brought to you by the folks behind The Standard and the Bottle Rocket Burgers food cart. Their soft opening was last night. 21+ only. 4601 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland

Goodbye Jim & Patty’s. We wrote about their fundraiser in September, and they raised close to $41,000 but ultimately closed it down. “In light of what’s going on in Appalachia, we want to withdraw. Our concerns are nothing compared to what those folks are going through.” On a personal note, I have had family affected by the floods, and Helene’s disastrous effects really are astonishing and heartbreaking.

One piece of good news from Jim & Patty’s is that they are putting together a cookbook. When I was there today enjoying my last Pig Newton, I wondered to myself, “Could I figure out how to make one of these?” Maybe I won’t have to, maybe it will be in the cookbook…

Head to their NE Fremont location on Sunday for a party: “We’ll be in a celebrating mood on Sunday and we’d love to share the day with you. Grant Law is going to provide some live acoustic music, and we’re not sure what else is going to happen…” They will close their doors at the end of business on Monday, November 11. 4951 NE Fremont Street, Portland

Frybread Fest is Saturday. Celebrate Native American Heritage Month at Frybread Fest, which will feature … free frybread from Javelina (while supplies last). There will also be Native American vendors, storytelling and drumming, and cultural tables. Saturday, November 9, 11am to 5pm at Director Park. 815 SW Park Avenue, Portland

Sebastiano’s at Wellspent Market. Stop by Wellspent Market this Saturday from 10am to 1pm to bask in the tastiness fof Sebastiano’s in a pop-up event. Pick up your Big Sweet Woofer pastry box (order here), sample their new Calabrian Chili Marmellata, savory crostatas, and other sweets as available. Caffe Apertivo will feature non-alcoholic drinks from Puff Coffee and Wilderton Spirits. It’s gonna be great! 3402 SE Division Street, Portland

Stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:

Chop Chop Food Pod Is Open
Top 5 Posts on Bridgetown Bites, October 2024
Broadway Pizza Shoppe Will Open on NE 15th Avenue
The East Side Dining Guide Is Here

And our Thanksgiving guide keeps getting updated throughout the month.

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Four Things I Learned This Week (October 18)

The NYT Portland 25. The New York Times published a list called “The 25 Best Restaurants in Portland, Ore., Right Now.” Here’s a gift article in case you haven’t been able to access it. It’s part of the Times’ Where to Eat: 25 Best series, which will take place in various cities around the U.S. It’s a pretty solid list but of course, Portlanders have already remarked on restaurants that didn’t make it on the list but should have. For me, the one I am most curious about is Pasar, so I need to add that to my own eating list. Various locations

Fresh Love: What’s coming? Ben Cutler, one of the owners of Fresh Love (one of my favorite food places in town) shared news about a few new things coming to this sweet little eatery and small grocery store in the Roseway neighborhood. They include bulk items (they are working what exactly they will carry); half pints of Pronto Gelato; some local frozen meat options; and more. If you haven’t been by any time soon, definitely head over for a sandwich, salad, smoothie, and some of the best avocados in town. 7434 NE Fremont Street, Portland

ICYMI, break-ins at Rose City Food Park. I often mention how empty storefronts are no bueno, but break-ins plain piss me off. This past week there were three carts in the Rose City Food Park pod that were broken into: Momo House, Ocean Sushi, and J Vein Caffe. Like most cowards, they did it in the middle of the night, around 3am. What was stolen? Tools, spare parts, and tablets, which means online ordering systems are negatively affected. The sushi cart had just moved to the pod within the last week. As its owner, Nai Tun, says, “It feels so bad.” 5235 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland

Trimet talks coffee. I recently discovered that Trimet publishes a blog. It’s mostly about transit-centric stuff, like safety on Trimet, but this week they published a post called “10 unique Portland-area coffee shops you can visit by TriMet.” I was familiar with most of the Portland-proper cafes, but many of the ones in the suburbs are new to me, and I look forward to checking them out. Also, I would add Case Study to both downtown and NE Portland, as the one downtown is right on the MAX line, and the NE one is right on the 12 line. Various locations.

Stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:

NYC Pizzeria To Open a Second Location in Portland
Second Annual Bread Fest Is October 20
TAPTAP Cuisine Will Open a Restaurant on Sandy Blvd

Also: Bridgetown Bites is on Flipboard! If you use this platform—I do with a personal account, and love the “flipping” UI, so satisfying—feel free to follow us over there.

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Four Things I Learned This Week (October 11)

Memento Mori opens their new cafe tomorrow. On Saturday, October 12, Correna Hernandez, will open Memento Mori in NW Portland. This is a plant-based/vegan cafe that operated originally as a food cart. Some of the things you can look forward to: their “Gothachino,” lemonades, waffles, panini, and pastries. All made with no animal products, of course. They will open their doors at 8am Saturday morning. 1533 NW 24th Avenue, Suite 100, Portland

Bristol Bay Sandwich is back at Grand Central Bakery. This sandwich is close to my heart because Grand Central uses Iliamna Fish Co. salmon. As you may know, I am a long time member of Iliamna’s CSF (Community Supported Fishery). More about the sandwich: “We lightly smoked the salmon, and then pair it with scallion-caper cream cheese and a fresh fennel slaw on our toasted Seeded Baguette.” This sandwich is tasty and supports the work of this fourth-generation family of fisherpersons and the good work they do in sustainable fishing. Check it out! Various locations.

Up to $750K for the Portland Mercado. Earlier this week the Prosper Portland Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to grant as much as $750,000 to Hacienda CDC to reconstruct the parts of the Mercado that was damaged by fire at the start of 2024. The reconstruction will involve the bar space, an addition to the structure, more covered outdoor space, and rooftop seating. Montavilla News has more details. 7238 SE Foster Road, Portland

Brooklyn Cooperative Grocery moved their operation by bike. Formerly known as Know Thy Food, this SE Portland food coop lost their lease at the end of September. They did find a new location but what stood in the middle of that was moving everything from one location to the next. In pure Portland style, they did it all by bike. Watch the video, and attend their soft launch party on October 25. 1420 SE Powell Blvd, Portland

Stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:

Halloween 2024: Food and Drink in Portland
The Fates Bread & Bottle Co Will Open in Sellwood
Visiting the Brooklyn Carreta Construction Site (Photos)
Cereus PDX Is Closing

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Four Things I Learned This Week (October 4)

Burger Stevens has closed. Hailed at one point as one of Portland’s best burgers, Burger Stevens closed this week (Sunday, September 29). There are a variety of rumors floating around about the closure, from the amount of time employees were warned before the closing, to a new tenant for that cart/location, but that’s what they are: rumors. What is real is that the cart is closed. You can find Don Salamone and Kate Laurents (they ran Burger Stevens) in Beaverton these days as they oversee Don’s Favorite Foods, a prix-fixe restaurant offering an Italian- and French-influenced menu. 4237 N Mississippi Avenue, Portland

Rocky Butte Farmers Market fall and winter markets! I was very happy to read about the RBFM’s monthly markets happening this fall and winter. There will be three of them: October 26, November 23, and December 14. The October market will be in the Glenhaven Park parking lot, others TBD. Read more on their Instagram account. 7900 NE Siskiyou Street, Portland

Cassata at Pinolo. When I lived in Astoria, Queens, I used to get cassata cake at one of the old Sicilian bakeries in my neighborhood, and it would usually show up around Easter. But right now in Portland, you can find it in gelato form at Pinolo Gelato! Their version sounds delicious: “We combine ricotta, almond, and candied citrus zest to make a floral and zesty gelato with a delicate nutty flavor and a velvety texture.” Note: I saw that Papa Haydn is offering a cassata cake right now and, with all due respect … that’s not cassata. Now THIS is a gorgeous cassata. 3707 SE Division Street, Portland

A brewery and food hall are coming to the Hollywood District. A reader pointed out this news to me and I am very excited to see something open up in that old Pono Brewing/Columbia River Brewing/Laurelwood Brewing space. The people behind it are the same ones behind Zoiglhaus Brewing, Chad Rennaker and Alan Taylor. The O describes it as an “as-yet unnamed brewery and food hall in the Hollywood District.”

There’s also this: “He said the new food hall will incorporate the main restaurant space and potentially nearby retail places as they become available.” Construction is being delayed by the permit process but they are apparently doing some “exploratory demolition” where they open up walls to see what’s up in there.

A side note: this past spring I spied an Early Assistance permit that made it sound like a big new building was going to be considered at that location: “Request Street Vacation of alley between two parcels. Construct new 5-story mixed-use building on north parcel. Interior alterations at existing building.” The more recent permit (status: under review) from September goes like this: “Interior alteration of existing two-story building with basement by the owner. Includes demo of interior walls on first and second floor to create food pods on first floor and lounge for office employee at second floor. Partial change of occupancy from B and M to a on first floor. No work on basement.” 1728 NE 40th Avenue, Portland

Stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:

The 2024 Portland Fermentation Festival Is Almost Here
Top 5 Posts on Bridgetown Bites, September 2024
Pleasure Mountain To Offer Indian Cocktails and More in NE Portland
Fancy Baby Will Bring “The Craziest Champagne List” to NW Portland

Bonus: This week I started keeping a list of restaurant openings and closings (including bars, food carts, and cafes) that I’ve covered here on Bridgetown Bites. It will be interesting to review the list at the end of the year.

Also, both the Portland Greek Festival and Portland Argentinian Festival are this weekend!