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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Marée Will Open in the Former Dame Space in Portland

Dinner is served at Marée.
Photo credit: Marée.

The time is here: Marée opens its doors to the public on Friday, July 31. This is a restaurant from Garrett McAleese—you may know him from Southeast Portland’s Fantino and as the son of the Kells Irish Pub founders Lucy and Gerard McAleese. They are opening Marée in the old Dame space—a place with a lot of history, memories, and meaning.

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Grant’s Philly Cheesesteaks Reopened in Their Old Sandy Blvd Location

Grant's Philly Cheesesteaks reopened in this cute little spot on NE Sandy Blvd in East Portland.

The subject line is straight and to the point: Grant’s Philly Cheesesteaks is back open! This was an unexpected development. They opened their doors last week on Tuesday, July 21, 2026. I chatted with Travis Bloom, one of the owners, and son of the previous owner who passed away. Here is what I learned.

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Sazanami: Sustainable Omakase in Beaverton

Sazanami logo.

I recently became aware of Sazanami, a new restaurant in Beaverton. Helmed by Hajime Sato, formerly chef at Detroit’s Sozai and Seattle’s Mashiko, both of which he founded, he brings an omakase menu focused on sustainability to a space in a mall next to Greenway Park. I had a chance to chat on the phone with him about the restaurant, and here is some of what we talked about.

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Portland Content Creators, Readers, and Lessons From Salad Week

Yum Mama salad at Gin Thai Brassserie, one of the featured restaurant special salads this year for Salad Week.
The Yum Mama salad from Gin Thai Brasserie, which we ate and loved earlier this week.

Well, today marks the final day of 2026 Portland Salad Week. It’s been a great week, and we’ve especially enjoyed being introduced to a number of new-to-us salads. For today, we bring you recommendations from local content creators and you, our readers. Plus a few final thoughts and lessons from Salad Week, including some on the elephant in the room.

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Salad Week Road Trip: Bridgetown Bites Heads to Vancouver

Two gorgeous seasonal salads.
Salad is beautiful.

The Bridgetown Bites crew loves venturing beyond Portland in search of great salads. Last year, we expanded into the Willamette Valley and had a great time, while this year we crossed the river for a Salad Week road trip to visit our neighbors in Vancouver, Washington. Meg and I explored four restaurants, most of them clustered around the Waterfront and the Downtown districts, an easy trip from Portland and well worth the visit.

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