Small Bites: City Permits Edition

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Winner Winner Chicken Dinner at Pollo Bravo. Photo credit: Pollo Bravo

Some of you may know that I enjoy perusing city documents to understand better what is going on in this city, especially when it comes to restaurants and real estate (I used to blog about Queens real estate many years ago). Here are some of the more interesting things I’ve come across lately, thanks to publicly-available city documents.

World Cup Coffee and Tea House. This is the little cafe inside Powell’s Books downtown. They’ll be doing what is considered “minor tenant improvement,” which includes changing the seating area and adding a wood-slat ceiling over the reading are of the cafe. 1035 W Burnside Street, Portland

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Small Bites – Cowbell’s Washed-Rind Cheeses, Second Foxy Coffee Location, Banh Mi Boys Arrival, and More

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Lisa with wild ramps, an excellent cheese. Photo credit: Cowbell Cheese Shop

Washed-rind cheeses at Cowbell. This fantastic little cheese shop in the Central Eastside has professed their love of washed-rind cheeses, described as having, “unctuous, pudgy textures, big aromas, and assertive-yet-nuanced flavors that dance on the line between sweet and savory, nutty and brothy.” Le Niremont (Switzerland), Bethmale Montagne Mixte (France/Pyrenees), and Lisa with wild ramps (Germany/Bavaria) are the highlights. Buy online or in person. 231 SE Alder Street, Portland

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Small Bites – Bui Tofu, Davenport’s Cheeseburger, Paccasassi, and More

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Bui Tofu’s delicious pandan cake.

Fridays are often reserved for my “Four Things I Learned This Week” column, but I have collected so many tidbits this week, I’m opting instead for a Small Bites post this week. Let’s see what’s up.

Love letter to Bui Tofu. This place is wonderful and it was nice to read of Katherine Chew Hamilton’s love of the place. Her PoMo review highlights one of my favorite items there, the pandan cake; love the sesame balls, too. 520 NE 76th Avenue, Portland

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Small Bites – No Saint Pizza, Baon Kainan’s Arrival, Bee’s Cakes at Steeplejack, and More

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Cicoria’s pizza in their fave party cut. Photo Credit: Cicoria

It’s been a while! I’ve been working hard to improve some health issues, which have really been a buzzkill for this blog. But my curiosity about Portland food got the better of me, and I took a review of my regular sources for things that interest me. Here’s what I found.

Filipino (food) popup at the Side Yard Farm Friday. An enticing-sounding popup at the Side Yard Farm in Cully featuring Filipino businesses is happening this Friday, August 6. Among others, vegan bakery Kumare will be participating and offering “our mini ube ensaymada as well as NEW all plant-based Filipino goodies such as Biko (coconut rice cake), Turon (fried banana rolls), and Cantaloupe Juice.” No pre-order necessary. 5-9pm. 4800 NE Simpson Street, Portland

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Small Bites – Norse Hall, Poke Qube, Birrieria PDX, and More

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A bunch of tidbits have crossed my desk and I thought I’d put them all together for you here.

Portland’s Norse Hall at risk. The Norse Hall over on Couch and 11th is running in the red, thanks to—you guessed it—COVID-19. Known for various Scandi cultural events, including the annual Lutefisk Dinner, I’ve spent time there for their tasty Viking Breakfast that happens during certain months of the year. It’s an important cultural space and is worth saving; the fear is out there that developers might be eyeing the property. You can help by donating to their GoFundMe campaign. 111 NE 11th Ave, Portland

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