Category: Restaurants

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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 (September 27)

We’re back with four news tidbits in Portland-area food this week.

Happy in Happy Valley. Loved learning about this place for hand-stretched (and hand-cut) noodles in Happy Valley, Noodle Man.

Puffy pancake alert. The fluffy, puffy Japanese-style pancakes are available in Beaverton at La Rose Patisserie.

RIP Rip City Grill. Rip City Grill closed last Saturday  9/21 on SE Division at 60th. Good news, though: their truck and SW Waterfront cart are still in business.

Also closing: Laurelwood Brewing. The Sellwood-Moreland/Westmoreland location of Laurelwood Brewing is closing as well; their Sandy Blvd brewery will stay open. This weekend is the end of the road. It comes down to a hike in rent, something we will likely continue to see for some time and that could spell the end for restaurants throughout Portland. Competition will only get more intense.

Conventional wisdom says that the reason Portland’s food scene was able to flourish years ago was cheap rents and cheap land (property) prices. It’s not a surprise that those days are over, for the most part. Plus, some food carts will no doubt close because of new requirements re: cleanliness. Change—it’s the only constant.

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Beaverton Restaurant Week is Back!

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I’m so pleased that Beaverton Restaurant Week is back!  Produced by the Beaverton Downtown Association and the City of Beaverton, it starts tomorrow, Thursday, September 26 and lasts through Sunday, October 6, 2019. Close to a week and a half, but who’s counting? 44 restaurants around downtown Beaverton are participating, which means the ability to get to these places via transit is even easier than in past years.

Continue reading “Beaverton Restaurant Week is Back!”
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The Glory of Campana

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Campana’s inaugural menu.

Last week I had the chance to have a meal at Campana, the new east coast Italian restaurant located in the front of Grand Army Tavern. I had eaten there during their Italian Night/Pasta Night pop up over the summer, and was really happy eating that food. The housemade pastas were tender with substance and the sauces were delicious. I was kinda blown away that my meal at Campana was even better! My dining companion, Jen, was also really happy with her meal. Continue reading “The Glory of Campana”

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Red Sauce Pizza Moving to Fremont and NE 47th Avenue

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Red Sauce Pizza pie topped with pepperoni (behold the cupping) and ricotta; it’s fantastic.

Yesterday afternoon I opened up Instagram and saw the news: Red Sauce Pizza is moving! I never thought I’d see the day, since they are such a presence on that strip of 42nd Avenue. They’ll be moving into a space on NE Fremont and 47th Avenue, which can only be the location of the now-shuttered Anchor End (and before that, Thrive). Anchor End closed in early August 2019.

Continue reading “Red Sauce Pizza Moving to Fremont and NE 47th Avenue”
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Yucatecan Taqueria La Mestiza Is Expanding

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Beloved Madison South area Taqueria La Mestiza is growing! According to a post on Nextdoor, they are “expanding into the space next door (previously an insurance office).” La Mestiza, which opened in 2016, was recently included in a great roundup in The Oregonian of local Yucatecan places in Portland, highlighting dishes like pavo en relleno negro (available only on weekends), panuchos, salbutes, poc chuc and cochinita pibil (available all week). Continue reading “Yucatecan Taqueria La Mestiza Is Expanding”