Category: Portland

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Portland! It’s where I live, work, and play. It’s where the food news happens (at least most of it). This category is one of the real constants on Bridgetown Bites and is probably a part of almost every post on this blog.

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Four Things I Learned This Week (June 3)

Happy anniversary, Sebastiano’s! I their newsletter, Dan and Elise of Sebastiano’s talked about the early days of the business and all the things that they managed during quite a jarring couple of years. They ended it with an announcement of a party, happening today and tomorrow, June 3 & 4, from 11am to 7pm. It will be the official grand opening of their summer Apertivo pop-up (menu starting at 3pm) in their new Spritz Garden.

Also: “Pro Tip: Our friends Mel & Greg of Suzor Wines are going to be hanging out and pouring their 2020 releases “Tales of the Sun” and “Infinite Emotions” (Pinot & Pinot/Gamay blend) with us on Friday night beginning at 5:00 pm. Their wine is delicious – come grab a glass” 411 SE 81st Avenue, Portland

GRANA pop-up at Montelupo. On Monday, June 6, stop by Montelupo starting at 5pm for the GRANA pop-up. Run by Chris Flanagan, he makes “made-to-order pizza” that is “folded in four, finished with a signature aioli and grana padano, and served in a wrapper.” Check out the different kinds of pizzas he’ll fold for you on the GRANA website.

Along with these pizzas there will be a limited menu of starters, pastas, and desserts available from the Montelupo kitchen. As far as those offerings go, I gotta say this looks amazing: “Burrata—pancetta jam, local spring greens, rhubarb vinaigrette.” I also have to stop in for the Hazelnut Coffee Soda: house-made hazelnut syrup, Push X Pull espresso, orange bitters, and soda water served over ice. Dang! 344 NE 28th Avenue, Portland

Cully Farmers Market opened Thursday. Glad to see them back for the season—they’ll be open for business on Thursdays from 4pm to 8pm until October. You can find them in the Los Pepitos Locos parking lot. NE 42nd and Alberta, Portland

Tokyo Sando wants to access a brick & mortar space. On their Instagram, they posted, “Thank you for keeping us busy, And sorry for selling out almost everyday. We just need a bigger space kitchen. Please message us if you know any kitchen space or restaurant space. So we can make more sandos for everyone who love Our sandos❤️ Arigato!!!” If you know of a space for them, send them a message. I’d love to see them expand.

Bonus: It’s Salad Week next week on Bridgetown Bites! Judith and I look forward to sharing our love of salad in Portland with you. We hope you’ll join us for that!

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Nico’s Cantina Coming to Cully?

Recently on the Nico’s Ice Cream Instagram, Nico posted a photo of himself in front of the old Dick’s Primal Burgers space at 4318 NE Cully Blvd, looking very happy and satisfied. The handle @nicoscantina was in there, too. So does that mean Nico is expanding his delicious ice cream empire to a delicious non-ice-cream restaurant/cantina?

That’s a good guess. The Nico’s Cantina Instagram says “A place to gather. Opening August 2022.” Sounds good to me—that space on Cully Blvd is great, with a lovely patio out back, and the neighborhood deserves to have something excellent in that space. I am confident Nico could bring that to Cully. We’ll keep an eye on it here and hopefully bring you more good news.

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Four Things I Learned This Week (May 27)

Mocktails at Zinc. This week I had dinner at Zinc Bistro & Bar in Multnomah Village and was happy to see that they have three zero-proof cocktails on the menu. I chose the one that was particularly summery sounding, with flavors of cucumber, basil, and mint. Sparkly and very refreshing. 7800 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland

Get your birthday ice cream at Nico’s. Similar to the way Pip’s Original does it, you can stop by Nico’s and get a free ice cream on your birthday or seven days after. This is particularly great for us summer birthday kids! 5713 NE Fremont Street, Portland

Best butcher shops in Portland. PoMo has a great roundup of quality butcher shops around town where you can get your favorite meats for your Memorial Day cookout, or really any time of the year. I’m particularly glad to see Gartner’s in Cully on there, but all the selections are great. Definitely check it out. Various locations

Somebody Feed Phil in Portland. Thanks to The O, I learned that one of the episodes in Season 5 of Somebody Feed Phil takes place in Portland! Actually, now that I think about it, I may have heard Bill Oakley talk about it a while back. Anyway, The Oregonian article has good details—places Phil visited include Fried Egg I’m In Love, Matt’s BBQ, DesiPDX (these three he visited with Michael Russell, The Oregonian’s restaurant critic), Kachka, Han Oak, Ruthie’s food cart, Tov Coffee, and Doe Donuts. Bill Oakley also took Phil to Portland Caphe. It looks like a great episode.