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.
A beautiful salad. Photo credit: Fallow’s Restaurant
The folks behind Bastion, a restaurant in Westmoreland that shows you that food can be both healthy and delicious, are opening up Fallow’s Restaurant, just up the street in the old Relish Gastropub space. They will offer dinner service (Bastion closes at 4pm the days they are open). As a fan of Bastion, I’m pretty excited about this.
Continue reading “Get Ready for Fallow’s Restaurant, From the People Behind Bastion”Portland Pickles Pub is now open. This new sports bar, deemed, “massive,” opened yesterday, Thursday March 21. Indeed, it’s pretty big. Their press release states, “The space will not only serve as a gathering place for fans to cheer on their favorite teams but also as the campaign headquarters for Dillon T Pickle, who is running for president this year.” I’m pretty chuffed at their plans to offer various stadium dogs, including Dodger Dogs, which really are my favorite hot dogs in baseball history (will use actual Farmer John franks?). And while I bristled a bit when I read this: “This venue will be more than just a place to watch games; it will be a vibrant space where fans can come together to celebrate their love for sports, regardless of where their allegiances lie, except for Yankees fans.” I kind of get it. I still hope this Yankees fan will be welcome there, this season and beyond. 3932 N Mississippi Avenue, Portland
Women-owned restaurants near the MODA Center list. Prosper Portland put together an Instagram post of slides featuring lists of women-owned restaurants and bars near this major entertainment venue. Two of my favorites, The Sports Bra (IMO their Greek Chi-Chi Bean Salad is one of the best salads in Portland) and The Pocket Pub (pizza, salad, and tiramisu are all excellent there) are on there, as well as Wilf’s, Bao Bao, The Hostel Cafe, and more. Check it out! Various locations
Heck Beer released their Silver Linings NA IPA this week. And they sold out—no surprise. This was a limited run and accessing it was through their online portal. But don’t despair! They will be releasing their Gentle Persuasion Golden next month. And, you may be able to get a can of the IPA at Lardo, Grassa, or Bluto’s. Also, if you want to carry this NA beer at your bar, email Heck at wholesale@heck.beer. Finally, there’s going to be a launch party at some point, too, to celebrate this NA beer brewed in Portland. Congrats to Heck on their good work! Online intermittently and various locations
Los Burros Supremos is heading to the west side. For months Los Burros Supremos been serving delicious burritos and more in the old Woodsman Market space on SE Division, but that will end soon. Speaking of “end,” their new location will be in downtown’s West End section, where Kenny & Zuke’s used to be. Here is the core detail you need to. know: the last day of service on SE Division is Sunday, March 24. That following week they’ll be moving their setup west; timing indicates an April 1 opening. I’m sorry to see them leave the east side but that just makes room for something new. 4529 SE Division Street, Portland now, 1038 SW Harvey Milk Street, Portland later
Earlier this month I got an email from a reader:
“Looking to boost this to help out a local small business, a pillar of the community, and a damn fine coffee shop: buried on an Oblique Coffee Roasters’ March 7 Instagram post was a nonfunctioning link to a GoFundMe page. Looks Like they are going to need some assistance to quickly retire debt and save the business … I like Oblique Coffee, it’s a fun, funky space with a whale of a backstory and great music, and I hope this neighborhood gem will be spared from an uncertain fate.”
I reached out to John Chandler (aka Jack), the man behind Oblique, shortly after that and we met for a chat and a great cup of coffee on the topic of the needs behind this fundraiser.
Continue reading “Help Save the Landauer Mercantile Building, Home to Oblique Coffee Roasters”
Posting this in a “better late than never” approach, I’m happy to say that February 2024 was another good month on the blog with about 19,000 page views generated by over 14,500 unique visitors—and for a shorter month than January! As for what was popular, it was heavy on the bars, with a couple of eatery news stories. The opening of new places is always something fun to read about.
As always, thanks for reading, sharing, and sending tips!
5. Mokdong Gimbap to Open in Old Frog & Snail Space
As you know from reading this blog, Frog & Snail closed earlier this year, ending easy access to crepes and the magnificent French onion meatball sub they were known for. But a new place is opening up there, Mokdong Gimbap, offering sushi and—you’d expect—especially gimbap.
Continue reading “Top 5 Posts on Bridgetown Bites, February 2024”Work for Ota Tofu. Over on Craigslist there’s a posting about a job in the early morning, making tofu. That means “operating our soy milk machines and cleaning machines after use” and “scooping and pressing tofu.” Starts at $17/hour. Ota Tofu is the oldest tofu companies in the U.S. and it is excellent. 812 SE Stark Street, Portland
Viking Soul Food is selling their cart at The Bite on Belmont. They’ll be keeping their restaurant in Woodstock, but the cart is for sale. Asking price: $20K. Their goal is to “focus on other opportunities” now that they have a brick and mortar, plus they are looking to do farmers markets, perhaps. As for when they are leaving Belmont, they said on Instagram, “Not entirely sure yet when the last day will be as that will be dependent on when the buyer wants to take over.” 4255 SE Belmont Street, Portland
Cow Bell Cheese Shop is helping the kids. Starting today and going until Sunday, March 17, head to Cow Bell Cheese Shop to participate in a fundraiser for Sunnyside Environmental School’s 8th grade Marine Biology trip to Catalina Island. I have to say, I love the Channel Islands and have great memories of visiting there in my youth—in fact, I played my first ever game of mini golf there on Catalina Island. I remember the water being incredibly clear just off-shore. Anyway, here’s more on the fundraiser:
“We will be donating 20% off our sales from those dates to the program—but more importantly, we are using this as an opportunity to “cheesify” the next generation of potential cheesemongers … We’ll be putting them to work every day of the fundraiser: cutting and wrapping cheese, handing out samples, making and serving fondue. If you enjoy discovering new cheeses at Cow Bell, but you’ve always been slightly disappointed by how tall the cheesemongers are, this is finally our chance to rectify that issue for you.” 231 SE Alder Street, Portland
Brains. BRAINS! Le Clown, which is “celebrating the modern bistronomy of France” there in the Dame Collective, is now offering cervelle: that’s poached brain, beurre citron, fried caper, and fine herbs. “Due to popular demand we’ve done it! We will be offering cervelle in limited quantities on Tuesdays only. Off menu, by request only. Come and get it!” If you like brains, this is a not-miss for you. 5425 NE 30th Avenue, Portland
