Portland food news and views
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.
Last year Portland was home to a terrific new festival, Roux, a multi-day event focused on women in food. The organizers behind Roux are teaming up with Slow Food Portland to bring us CHOP TALK, “a FREE panel discussion digging into women-owned farms and CSAs.” And it will happen on Sunday, March 8—International Women’s Day—at Real Good Food, 935 NE Couch Street. The discussion will take place from 4-5:30pm. Continue reading “Hang Out at CHOP TALK on International Women’s Day”
Swings as seating at Spud Monkey’s in Fairview. Perhaps they’ll install them in Hollywood, too.
I noticed the news today that the old Columbia River Brewing space is getting a new tenant—Spud Monkey’s. This is a bar that opened in 2011 in Gresham; the Hollywood District will be their third location. The boast that they are “primarily female owned and operated” and that they “specialize in potato-themed plates, including the Spuddy; a burger with a baked potato bun.” That’s a baked potato that serves as a bun, in case there was any confusion there. Continue reading “Spud Monkey’s Is Coming to Hollywood”
Welcome to the end of what has seemed like a very long January. Here are the four things I learned this week in world of Portland food.
Beewing reopens tomorrow (Feb 1). After many months, Beeswing will reopen in their new space in Sellwood. I won’t deny it—I was really hoping they’d stay in Cully, but I’m sure there’s a “rest of the story” as to what went into them relocating so far away. I’m a Kickstarter backer, so I look forward to cashing in on my pledge for brunch. Observations TK. Here’s their latest update:
To all of our lovely backers,
Thank you so much for your generosity in supporting the reopening of Beeswing! We have finished our build-out and are excited to be ready to serve you again. We are so humbled by the support we have received, we cannot begin to express the gratitude and excitement we feel right now! We will be reopening on FEBRUARY 1st in Sellwood when you come in to eat make sure to say hello, you are all a part of the Beeswing family now!
Pearl Bakery will reopen, too. Good news about this beloved Portland bakery. In a comment on their Instagram they said this, “Pearl Bakery is undergoing reorganization…” You can sign up on their website to get updated on their impending reopening.
Ezell’s Famous Chicken is coming to Tigard. Apparently it’s Oprah’s favorite. It will open on Tuesday, February 4 near the Washington Square Mall, 10218 SW Washington Square Road in Tigard.
Sicilian food is coming to Montavilla. New Sicilian deli Sebastiano’s is opening in the old Heartbreaker Neighborhood Kitchen space (411 SE 81st Avenue). The Sicilian pizza they will offer will no doubt be worth checking out, but I’m excited about the possibility of cassata, a traditional Sicilian cake that involves sponge cake, sweetened ricotta, marzipan, and candied fruit. I may be eschewing added sugars these days but I’ll take a break from that to try this wonderful traditional sweet that I miss so much.
Last year’s Dumpling Week dumplings at Kachka.
Portland has a lot of “food week” festivals, but I think Dumpling Week might be my favorite. It’s back again, now in its sixth year—this time around you have 35 places to choose from (down from 36 last year) and the price has remained a cool ten bucks or less per dish.
Continue reading “Dumpling Week 2020”Well, it was a busy, intense week filled with interesting work and home improvements, leaving the blog a little dry this week. But I’ve got you my Friday list of four things I learned this week in Portland food. Good stuff, no lie.
BYOM(ilk) at Movie Madness. Light on the food news but heavy on the awesomeness, I’ve learned that Movie Madness is showing Saturday morning cartoons: “You’re never too old for cartoons! Indulge your inner child with beloved classics from the 60s through the 90s. Any 5th Saturday of the month will be a special movie edition. Cereal selection available at concessions. B.Y.O.M.”
Ben & Esther’s expands. For a “side gig” it’s pretty successful (Twitter was a side gig once, too)—Roseway’s favorite bagel spot is expanding up to St John’s. Boy are they in for a treat. P.S. They have some pretty good looking gefilte fish, too.
“Follow the white rabbit.” More than simply a Matrix quote, Montavilla’s Hungry Heart bakery is launching a new project called White Rabbit. It will open up in the old Townsend’s space (RIP). More from their Instagram account:
“White Rabbit will be a café and bakery featuring a daily breakfast/brunch/lunch menu alongside the coffee & pastries you know and love, as well as expanded bread offerings. We’re hard at work on the menu; the new, much larger kitchen gives us a lot more room to play, so while you can expect to see some familiar items from both Heartbreaker and Hungry Heart, we’re also excited to be dreaming up your new favorite brunch dish. Our projected opening date is mid-spring, and we promise to keep you posted!”
Burmese noodles coming soon in NW. Very exciting news about more Burmese food coming to town. It’s a cuisine that we could all use more of; when I lived in Queens it was challenging to find. Kyay Oh is the name of the new restaurant, named after the Burmese noodle dish. You’ll find them at 833 NW 16th Ave, the location of Top Burmese’s original space. Read more in PoMo’s interview with the owners. Check them out on Thursday, January 23.
