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 (August 26)

hit the spot! opens their first brick & mortar next week. Very happy for hit the spot!, a popular burger cart known for burgers with many patties, as well as their charitable interests, that made it to their first restaurant space. Their grand opening is going to be Wednesday, August 31 at 11am. “Enjoy the cheeseburger you’ve loved along with fried chicken sandwiches, cheese fries, milkshakes and brews.” 676 SE Morrison, Portland

Sayler’s gets some Feast love. Although Feast is known for its spendy festival and obsession with personalities of the Portland restaurant world, I was happy to see them give some love to Sayler’s Old Country Kitchen in east Portland. It’s been around for decades, is a shining example of the best of “old Portland,” and has a diehard fan base. From Feast:

“From the hottest new opening in the city, we turn our attention to what is among the city’s most venerable dining institutions: Sayler’s Old Country Kitchen. Opened in 1946 by brothers Art and Dick Sayler, the restaurant was founded around the maxim of offering a “quality steak dinner at prices that even the common man could afford.” Today, the restaurant is still owned and operated by the Sayler family, overseen in this, its 76th year in business, by third generation proprietors Bryan and David Sayler.”

Read more here. 10519 SE Stark Street, Portland

Lovely’s Fifty Fifty is coming to Netflix. The news has been spreading around Portland food media but I want to take some space and time to congratulate Sarah Minnick, the force behind Lovely’s Fifty Fifty, for being featured on “Chef’s Table: Pizza” on Netflix. I consider Lovely’s Fifty Fifty to be the best representative of a “Portland-style” pizza. I love her use of seasonal ingredients and lots of vegetables. The pizzas are delicious. You can watch “Chef’s Table: Pizza” on September 7, 2022 on Netflix. 4039 N Mississippi Avenue, Portland

Poor Richard’s in the news (so random). Willamette Week ran a story last week about the Poor Richard’s space, which closed in 2011. In 2019 I noticed activity inside, and had great hopes for a reopening of something great, but learned that it was going to be used for a Bank of America expansion (administrative needs, not customer space). A lot of Portland old-timers lament the shuttering of PR’s and remember the twofer fondly—two-for-one dinners featuring the iconic American dinner plate of steak, baked potato, onion rings, and salad.

As for what’s more current, it looks like they wanted to put up a new BofA sign (permit is still listed as Pending). Portland maps indicates it will be, “59.9 square feet with the following dimensions: 18′-11″ wide by 3′-2″ tall.” 3907 NE Broadway

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Pono Brew Labs Opens Friday, August 26

Photo credit: Hollywood Boosters

Back in March I speculated, thanks to a Bridgetown Bites tipster, that Pono Brewing was opening up in the old Spud Monkeys space (formerly Columbia River Brewing). Since then there have been some articles written to confirm that, which is great news—that empty storefront had such a sad feel to it during the pandemic. Here’s even better news: Pono Brew Labs is opening their doors to the public tomorrow (August 26)!

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You Don’t Want to Miss the 43rd Annual Middle Eastern Festival this Sunday

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Excellent ghraybeh at 2019’s Middle Eastern Festival.

Back in 2019 I attended the Middle Eastern Festival at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in east Portland and was blown away by the event. Along with the beautiful church, its sanctuary adorned with icons, live music and dancing, and friendly event staff, the food was top-notch. Because of the pandemic they did not hold the festival for two years, and I’ve kept an eye on it, hoping for its return. And it has! It is happening this Sunday, August 28.

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Four Things I Learned This Week (August 19)

MidCity SmashBurger must leave its Stark Street digs. Looks like MidCity SmashBurger, which has had their cart serving “smashy bois” on Stark Street for a couple of years now, is going to have to move. “We are beginning a move to create space for a new pod which has certain requirements for cart owners and I do not meet the proper ‘owner criteria.'”

I noticed back in January that there was something going on at that location but beyond there being a new food cart pod arriving and improvements to the building, that’s all I knew. In late July, PoMo wrote an article about the newcomers taking over the space—a pod that will be operated by BIPOC and LGBTQ restaurant owners. The building will be home to the incoming Fracture taphouse, and that building will provide indoor seating for the pod adjacent, called Lil’ America.

MidCity will be looking for a new location—lots of fan suggestions in this Instagram post’s comments, but the PoMo article indicates “just a block away.” And it will have to happen by end of summer if the projected opening of Lil’ America happens in September as they would like. MidCity SmashBurger’s Cartside and Bend locations are staying put. 1015 SE Stark Street, Portland

Montelupo Market offers pasta night tote bags. For $65 you get “everything you need for a pasta night at home, ready to grab and go.” That includes a box of their house dried pasta, jarred sauce, wine & olive oil, all pre-loaded into a toma-tote. Nice. 344 NE 28th Avenue, Portland

Bag-O-Crab is open in Portland. Occupying what was the Original Taco House (locals still lament its closing) and more recently El Palenque (sadly, closed during the panedmic), Bag-O-Crab is now open in that space. They are a franchise, established in 2010 and have locations in CA and WA, and bring all sorts of seafood yums to the table—here’s their introduction:

“In Bag O’ Crab, you can enjoy a wide range of selected seafood including Dungeness Crab, Lobster, Shrimp, Crawfish and more in family inherited receipts. These seafoods are handpicked every day to ensure the highest standard is provided to our customers. Don’t like the seafood? Sorry to hear that. Although Seafood is our specialty, we also have something for you! Our Cajun style wings and Grill beef short ribs with French fries are gorgeous! And you can always explore the menu for more!” 3255 NE 82nd Avenue, Portland

Portland Polish Festival—on, then off again. The Portland Polish Festival, arguably one of the most beloved and popular cultural festivals in Portland, was planning on coming back after being on hiatus during the pandemic. However, they have since changed their minds. On their Facebook page they posted, “The Portland Polish Festival will not be held in September 2022 in our North Portland Neighborhood due to unforeseen circumstances (primarily related to safety concerns associated with the homeless encampment located in our neighborhood).”

They are, however, planning a smaller event—perhaps Dozynki, like last year? I’ll keep an eye on it. If you’re interested in knowing about other cultural festivals in the area, keep this list handy.