Departure: New Chef, New Menu, and Great Eats in Portland [Photos]

Looking out the window onto Portland's east side.
The views from Departure are absolutely gorgeous.

While I was at the Churchill Nines media preview, you may remember that I mentioned meeting Brian Woolley, the Director of Food and Beverage at The Nines hotel. He mentioned that they had a new chef and a recent menu change at Departure, and asked if I wanted to learn more. Heck yeah, I did! Their PR firm helped arrange a tasting for myself and Judith—which means that this meal was comped, but our opinions are our own.

Here’s what we tried and a few tidbits of info about what’s up these days at Departure.

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Small Bites: Parallel Biscuits, The Deck Reopens, D’s Knots, and More

Parallel biscuits, this time in a biscuit sandwich.
Biscuit sandwiches tomorrow at Parallel. Photo credit: Parallell.

Parallel biscuit pop-up at . Head over to Parallel on NE Sandy and 31st Avenue tomorrow morning starting at 9am for their biscuit sandwich (and coffee) pop-up. They’ve been working on this biscuit for a while and are pretty excited about it. They’ll offer it as a pop-up first to see how folks like it, and possibly add it to the regular menu later. I was told, “House made everything even down to the American cheese.”

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Strange-bird Will Open a Brick and Mortar in Southeast Portland

Pepperoni pizza from Strange-bird.
Pepperoni pizza. Photo credit: Strange-bird.

Strange-bird, which has operated as a food cart in Southeast Portland since last year, is transitioning to a brick and mortar, also in Southeast Portland. They’ll be next door to Rhinestone, which started as a pop-up. I ran into Tyler Robb, one of the co-owners, last week and he was kind enough to share some of his time to talk about Strange-bird and their upcoming restaurant. Here is what I learned.

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Mother’s Day 2026 in Portland: Brunch, High Tea, and More

Mother's Day 2026: celebrate with your kiddos!

While Mother’s Day, which falls on Sunday, May 10, may technically be a Hallmark holiday, it’s still one of my favorite ways to spend time with my family in Portland. The city’s restaurants and local businesses make it easy to mark the occasion, whether you’re going all out or keeping things low-key. No matter how the mom or caregiver in your life likes to be celebrated, Portland always keeps it real, and there’s something for everyone. Here’s a list of specific recommendations of where to celebrate Mother’s Day 2026 in Portland.

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