Small Bites: Phở, Electrica, Ma Cher, Bagel-ish, and More

Phở and spring rolls from Phở Gabo
Vietnamese beef pho with spring rolls. Photo credit: Phở Gabo

Eats History focuses on Phở. As Eats History founder Donnie Dodson writes, phở is “often described as Vietnam’s national dish, but it was not born in peace. It was shaped by colonialism, hunger, war, and a country slowly stitched back together, one bowl at a time.” Phở may very well be a signature dish of Portland, too, thanks to our Vietnamese immigrant community. Read the article on the history of phở on Facebook.

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Rhinestone Brunch Launches This Month in Portland

Rhinestone brunch launches this Sunday, January 18!

This past weekend I was invited to stop in at Rhinestone to check out their upcoming brunch service at their new-ish brick and mortar. It was a chance to taste a variety of dishes and offer feedback before they opened it to the broader public. My friend Annie and I tried a handful of things and we enjoyed them quite a bit.

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A New Location for Estes in Portland’s Concordia Neighborhood

Porchetta at Estes, a very successful dish that they will bring with them to the new location for Estes.
The Estes porchetta. Photo credit: Estes.

Late last year, chef Patrick McKee announced a new location for Estes, his Italian-American restaurant, in the Concordia neighborhood in Northeast Portland. Their new home on NE 30th and Killingsworth is located in the space that over the years had been Nonna, TEOTE Tavern, and Pleasure Mountain, among others. It also represents a return for Patrick, who cooked nearby at the late, great Dame back in the day.

Patrick was kind enough to chat with me over the weekend (almost to the day of our previous conversation in 2025 regarding their Broder residency) about the new location for Estes.

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