It’s 2023! And though we are in a new year, I’m looking back at the top 10 posts of 2022. I realize that the last time I did this was … 2017.
It was, as usual, interesting to see what got the most traffic in 2022—meaning, what readers were particularly drawn to. It’s no surprise that restaurant news was the main driver, and summer seems to be a bit of a theme.
Over 55,000 visits were recorded, and almost 35,000 of those visits were new to the site. Not bad for this modest operation.
Last year I remember coming across something called the “Portland Strawberry Museum” and wondering, “what the heck was that?” I mean, what a great name! Is there some kind of museum dedicated to strawberries in Portland? Turns out it was a month of Saturdays in June of celebrating the strawberry, from Brittany Sigal’s Zuckercreme (then a popup). It is back this year for the entire month of June at her space in Montavilla.
In the “I’m Late to the Party” category, I only recently learned this weekend that Nectar Cafe has closed—at least the cafe as it has been. I was over in the Hollywood District yesterday and saw the signs up. They closed their doors on December 18, 2022 (one day before they planned to).
Welcome to a most frigid edition of FTILTW. I hope you are all staying safe and warm.
My-O-My bar to open January 2023. I got a message this week with a little more info on the opening of My-O-My, the new bar opening up in the old Rocky Butte Pub building (indeed it is past summer): “We are shooting for early January opening, but not sure on an exact date yet.” They will post about it when they have a more solid date and I’ll do my best to pass that on here on the blog. 8627 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland
Goodbye, FEAST. It appears that FEAST’s run is over. From an email this week: “In an interview with Karen Brooks at Portland Monthly Magazine today, I shared the news that our festival would not be returning—not in 2023 and not ever again. Such a message would have been unthinkable just a couple of years ago, but a lot has changed since early 2020—both for our organization, and for the communities with which we are aligned.”
The article/interview at PoMo is worth a read, so head over there for more details. I only attended FEAST once, and that was as a volunteer. Real talk: it was too expensive for my budget (the less expensive events were always sold out very, very early on) to attend as a guest. I’m glad so many people enjoyed it over the years, though.
Rose Valley Creamery milk now at Fresh Love. I was happy to hear that Fresh Love is now carrying Rose Valley Creamery milk. I’m not sure how many of you reading know this, but I used to be involved with the raw milk community in NYC and drank a lot of unpasteurized milk for a half dozen years or so. I never got sick, but I understand how some recoil at the idea of drinking raw milk. It’s not for everyone.
A great alternative to raw milk is low-temp pasteurization, aka “low and slow.” Your milk is safe from bugs like listeria through the pasteurization process but a lot of the good stuff remains (nutrients, enzymes). It’s good for drinking, for yogurt making and cheese making; UHT milk is pretty much dead, for all intents and purposes. Rose Valley Creamery’s milk has a lot of pros: cream top/non-homogenized, organic, pastured, grass-fed/foraged. Head to their FAQ page for more info on their milk. 7434 NE Fremont Street, Portland
Ki’ikibáa open in the old La Parilla space. Back in November a kind Bridgetown Bites reader told me about Ki’ikibáa having opened in the old La Parilla Kitchen space, but I was under a deluge of editing around that time and it languished in my inbox. In that email he wrote, “I’ve only been able to taste a few of their Yucatan specialties, and was quite pleased and the owners are delightful.”
I was glad to see The Oregonian writing about this new Yucatecan spot, which you can read here. A key takeaway is that Manuel “Manny” Lopez of Angel Food & Fun fame is running things and people are pretty excited about that. A friend and I will be stopping by soon to check it out. 3244 NE 82nd Avenue, Portland
Sending each and every one of you peace and good will this holiday season! Happy Haunkkah, Happy Solstice, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, and lots of great health to us all!
Last night as I opened my Instagram app, I saw the news from James Helms, owner of Rocky Butte Coffee Roasters: “We are being evicted from our espresso bar on 12/31.” I could hardly believe it. The espresso bar is an important part of the Madison South community, it’s hard to imagine it not being there.
While I was on a walk today on the east side of Cully, I found myself in close proximity to the incoming Upright Brewing taproom—still under construction, but getting close. So I thought I’d take a few photos. It really is looking good.
