Category: News

News, analysis, and current topics in the world of food.

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Four Things I Learned This Week (June 2)

Update on The Heist. Back in February I told you about The Heist, a new food cart pod opening in the old US Bank location in Woodstock. It looks like they moved in the first set of carts this week and are aiming for a Saturday, June 10 opening. I hope they can make it, though sometimes things happen beyond one’s control. They are doing their best. Looking forward to checking it out! 4727 SE Woodstock Blvd, Portland

Expanded hours and more coming to Nico’s Cantina. This week Nico wrote about a bunch of changes coming to the Cantina, which all sound good but he is understandably feeling a mix of excitement and trepidation. Things to look forward to: open 7 days a week; “Mezcal Monday’s,” where every bottle of Mezcal behind the bar will be 50% off; and “Taco Tuesday,” where every taco will be $1 off. These changes should be in place by Monday, June 12. 4318 NE Cully Blvd, Portland

Zuckercreme’s Strawberry Museum returns. In Montavilla, the adorable Zuckercreme is bringing back their Strawberry Museum again this year, starting tomorrow, June 3. It will last all summer. In fact, they anticipate having so much “strawberry content” (something I can get behind) that they started up the Museum’s own Instagram at @pdxstrawberrymuseum. Along with all the yums, Zuckercreme’s Brittany Sigal is looking to expand into fashion—strawberry fashion, that is, in a show on Sunday, June 25. Stop on by the shop for lots of strawberry fun. 414 SE 81st Avenue, Portland

Chaat Wallah has new hours. Looks like Chaat Wallah has settled on some new hours for their cart in the Upright/Junior’s parking lot in Cully/Roseway: Monday to Friday 3pm to 9pm and Saturday and Sunday noon to 9pm. 7 days a week! Over on Facebook, Deepak Saxena said about the turnout, “we’ve been blown away by the support and it’s been way beyond what we expected.” All good news. 7157 NE Prescott Street, Portland

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Small Bites – Closings, Openings, Dumplings, and More

Çoban Salata at Lokanta

Welcome to a new edition of Small Bites, filled with tidbits and short news items. I’ve felt a little distracted lately, so this post serves, in part, as a place to store recent Portland food news. First, we’ll start with closures.

Closing or Shuttered. It’s hard to say goodbye to quality restaurants in this town, but it happens. Already closed are Grain & Gristle, Rabbits Cafe Killingsworth, and previously reported Rockabilly Cafe. Lokanta is in process of closing.

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Four Things I Learned This Week (May 19)

Updated grand opening date for Javi’s Breakfast Cafe. As is often the case, a grand opening gets delayed for a new spot, despite the original plans, and Javi’s joined the club. It happens. The revised grand opening date for Javi’s Breakfast Cafe is Thursday, May 25 at 7am. 6236 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland

Barn & Brews at Rossi Farms celebrates Gateway Brewing. Head to Rossi Farms on Saturday, May 20 to celebrate Gateway Brewing, which is actually located in the Gateway neighborhood in East Portland. From 3pm to 6pm, Gateway Brewing will serve their eight favorite beers. $15 admission, which includes food and beer tokens. Sean Daly and the Shams will be performing. There’s a way to get a discount at the door, too—codes “Sham Fam” and “Exit 7 IPA” will get you $5 off admission. 3839 NE 122nd Avenue, Portland

Burger Thursdays in Montavilla. Every Thursday, White Pepper (a caterer in Montavilla) opens its tasting room to the general public from 5pm to 9pm for a burger popup. In their words, “Stop by for a delicious burger, house cut fries, and hand crafted cocktails.” There also might be salad. They hope to do this year-round. The only time they might not pop up is if they have a big catering job that following weekend (e.g., they’ll be closed June 8). So stop by one Thursday evening and let chef Abel Ley and his staff fix you a great burger. 7505 NE Glisan Street, Portland

End of the line for Michael’s? A Bridgetown Bites tipster sent me this: “I stopped by Michael’s Italian Beef and she said she has lost her lease after 40-some years on Sandy. Wants to move but not sure where.” 40 years is a long time. Michael’s offers Chicago-style sandwiches—Italian-style beef, sausage, various cold sandwiches, and Chicago-style hot dogs (I’ll leave it up to you to determine if a hot dog is a sandwich).

This location is a one-story triangle-shaped building on a triangle-shaped piece of property just around the corner from Hippo Hardware. My guess is that the property will be sold, maybe for apartments, but we’ll have to see. I hope Michael’s can find a new location. 1111 SE Sandy Blvd, Portland