Category: Restaurants

first-look-dining-room-grand-stark-deli-portland-oregon

News and reviews of restaurants in Portland, Oregon.

Some of the most written about places on this blog include:

Portland Mercado [Latin American]
Ben & Esther’s [Jewish/Vegan]
Sizzle Pie [Pizza]
Bee’s Cakes [Cakes and Baked Goods]
Salt & Straw [Ice Cream]
Nepali Kitchen [Nepalese]
Vivienne[Bakery, Wine Bar, Bookstore]
Kachka [Russian]
Chin’s Kitchen [Dongbei Chinese]
Arrowood [New American]

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Four Things I Learned This Week (February 10)

New menu at Cloud Pine Tea + Culture. This lovely little tea house in Milwaukie put out a new menu last week and it looks delicious. Particularly appealing are the Giant Chicken, Orange Peel, and Shiitake Mushroom Meatballs; Flatbread with Curried Beef; and Steamed BBQ Pork Buns. They also have a seasonal drink menu (I’ll take the Treasure Tea) and some snacks. The full menu is on their website, but you can also find it on Facebook and Instagram. 10835 SE Main Street, Milwaukie

Handmade noodle alert. The Hazelwood Neighborhood Association tells us that an “amazing” new Chinese restaurant has opened up in the neighborhood called Remember Spirits & Restaurant. It occupies the former Cleary’s Sports Bar space. And apparently they serve handmade noodles, and dishes are made from scratch. Certainly intriguing. 12429 NE Glisan Street, Portland

Pho Le Nguyen is opening in Parkrose. A new Vietnamese restaurant is going to open in the old Catalina’s Mexican restaurant space on NE Sandy Blvd (not too far from O’Dear and the Parkrose Marketplace). They’ve been working in there, signage is up, and we eagerly wait to see what they offer (besides the obvious pho). It makes me happy to see that space occupied. 10902 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland

Altropino? State records indicates something called Altropino is connected to the Grand Stark Hotel and Olympia Provisions (they are considered the “licensee” for Altropino). While doing a little research on this, I learned that the Grand Stark Deli has closed (old news, yes; I loved their space and avocado toast) and when it comes to looking up dining options at the hotel, you get this message: “Stay tuned for more information on a new dining concept at Hotel Grand Stark.”

Could that be a new eatery from the masters of sustainably-sourced cured meats and sausages? Does “altropino” mean “the other pine” or “to the Tropino”? Time has been my nemesis this week, but I’ll look into it some more. Of course, shoot me an email if you know any details. 509 SE Grand Avenue, Portland

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Groundhog/Ground Hog Day 2023 in Portland

Smoked brats from Gartner's meats in Portland, Oregon.
Photo credit: Gartner’s Meats

For a couple of years on this blog (2022, 2019) I’ve written about Groundhog Day, aka Ground Hog Day—and you know, that play on words never fails to delight me. After doing a little research, I’ve gotten a better hold on where to find the ground hogs in Portland, better known as sausages. So here is oure roundup of some reputable places for sausages—even early enough so you can consider which ones to access on February 2.

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Yuginong Offers Gluten-Free Korean Fare in St. Johns

Photo credit: Yuginong

When I was at dinner the other night, my friends who live in St. Johns said “a Korean restaurant has finally opened in our neighborhood.” Of course, my interest was piqued so I asked more questions. The restaurant is Yuginong (or Yu Gi Nong), located in the space that was previously home to Sol Bowl and a Starbucks. They opened this past weekend.

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Four Things I Learned This Week (January 13)

Preorders from Shop Halo Halo for Lunar New Year are open. Lunar New Year is right around the corner (January 22) and among all the holiday offerings that are showing up, consider the Filipino treats from Shop Halo Halo for your celebration. Mooncakes and variety boxes are available. Orders will be accepted by 5pm, Sunday, January 15 (or when items are sold out).

The variety box includes two of each: taro buns, ube mochi (GF), back sesame mooncakes or two ube mooncakes (vegan), matcha sugar cookies (vegan), lavender calamansi shortbread (vegan). They’ll be setting up a pick-up station at their shop where you can pick-up your pre-orders on your choice of Saturday, January 21 between 10am and 2pm or Sunday, January 22 between 10am and 2pm. Preorder here. 4981 SE Woodstock Blvd, Portland

Cooking With Whey book launch party. Claudia Lucero of Portland’s Urban Cheesecraft is celebrating the launch of her newest book, “Cooking With Whey.” It will take place on Thursday, January 19, from 6pm-8pm at Vivienne Culinary Bookstore in the Hollywood District. Your $20 ticket includes the panel discussion and a signed book. Claudia will also make the book’s whey cornbread for you. Get your tickets here. 4128 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland

A la carte dining returns to Coquine. After weeks of abiding by a prix fixe menu at Coquine, they are now “offering a more casual option for full service dining titled, ‘A la Carte Coquine’.” It started up this past Wednesday and the hours will be 5pm to 8:30pm
Wednesdays through Saturdays. Here’s what you can expect:

“Featuring a menu of new and classic Coquine dishes, offered with full service dining in the restaurant. Cocktails, beer, zero-proof, options will all be available along with wine by the glass and by the bottle from our list of 450+ selections.”

Reservations are recommended, but if you’re lucky you could get a walk-in space (but really, reservation is best). You can reserve a table via Tock. 6839 SE Belmont Street, Portland

Challenges at Cloudforest. Over on their Instagram it sounds like they are meeting unexpected challenges in 2023: “We ran into a roadblock forcing us to pause our popular hot chocolate, marshmallow, and espresso service. The retail shop will continue to be open Friday-Sunday from 12-5pm offering chocolate bars, pantry items, confections, self-serve Ecuadorian brewed coffee, self-serve silky vegan Ecuadorian drinking chocolate, Ecuadorian vanilla, and packaged cookies. Our apologies for the inconvenience.”

Please consider stopping by and picking something up—their Magic Spread is one of my favorite things I put in my mouth, and their packaged bars are some of the best in Portland. Supporting them with sales helps support them. Their neighbors Mattino’s will also be open and offering tasty sustenance. I wish Cloudforest all the best as they navigate these current choppy seas. 935 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland