Four Things I Learned This Week (December 23)

Welcome to a most frigid edition of FTILTW. I hope you are all staying safe and warm.

My-O-My bar to open January 2023. I got a message this week with a little more info on the opening of My-O-My, the new bar opening up in the old Rocky Butte Pub building (indeed it is past summer): “We are shooting for early January opening, but not sure on an exact date yet.” They will post about it when they have a more solid date and I’ll do my best to pass that on here on the blog. 8627 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland

Goodbye, FEAST. It appears that FEAST’s run is over. From an email this week: “In an interview with Karen Brooks at Portland Monthly Magazine today, I shared the news that our festival would not be returning—not in 2023 and not ever again. Such a message would have been unthinkable just a couple of years ago, but a lot has changed since early 2020—both for our organization, and for the communities with which we are aligned.”

The article/interview at PoMo is worth a read, so head over there for more details. I only attended FEAST once, and that was as a volunteer. Real talk: it was too expensive for my budget (the less expensive events were always sold out very, very early on) to attend as a guest. I’m glad so many people enjoyed it over the years, though.

Rose Valley Creamery milk now at Fresh Love. I was happy to hear that Fresh Love is now carrying Rose Valley Creamery milk. I’m not sure how many of you reading know this, but I used to be involved with the raw milk community in NYC and drank a lot of unpasteurized milk for a half dozen years or so. I never got sick, but I understand how some recoil at the idea of drinking raw milk. It’s not for everyone.

A great alternative to raw milk is low-temp pasteurization, aka “low and slow.” Your milk is safe from bugs like listeria through the pasteurization process but a lot of the good stuff remains (nutrients, enzymes). It’s good for drinking, for yogurt making and cheese making; UHT milk is pretty much dead, for all intents and purposes. Rose Valley Creamery’s milk has a lot of pros: cream top/non-homogenized, organic, pastured, grass-fed/foraged. Head to their FAQ page for more info on their milk. 7434 NE Fremont Street, Portland

Ki’ikibáa open in the old La Parilla space. Back in November a kind Bridgetown Bites reader told me about Ki’ikibáa having opened in the old La Parilla Kitchen space, but I was under a deluge of editing around that time and it languished in my inbox. In that email he wrote, “I’ve only been able to taste a few of their Yucatan specialties, and was quite pleased and the owners are delightful.”

I was glad to see The Oregonian writing about this new Yucatecan spot, which you can read here. A key takeaway is that Manuel “Manny” Lopez of Angel Food & Fun fame is running things and people are pretty excited about that. A friend and I will be stopping by soon to check it out. 3244 NE 82nd Avenue, Portland

Sending each and every one of you peace and good will this holiday season! Happy Haunkkah, Happy Solstice, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, and lots of great health to us all!

Four Things I Learned This Week (December 9)

Bakeshop’s pie pre-orders are back. Earlier this fall, Kim at Bakeshop announced they were not going to do Thanksgiving pies, the first time in decades this was the case. Good news, though: Bakeshop is returning with pies and cakes for the holiday season that you can pre-order now. Online pre-orders will close December 18, so get your order in for your seasonal celebrations sooner than later. Some of the things you can expect: burnt Basque cheesecakes; apple pies with choice of either buckwheat streusel or double crust; pecan pies; ham & cheese quiches; Gingerbread People cookies. Order here.

On Christmas Eve day they will also be serving their annual eggnog. There will be some specials that day, too. 5351 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland

Citizenwich is coming to Lardo. For 10 years, Lardo has been doing a monthly fundraiser called Chefwich, where they invite local chefs to create a new sandwich and then donate the proceeds from said sandwich to a non-profit of their choosing. In January 2023, Lardo is changing it up and launching their first “variation on a theme”: the Citizenwich. In their words, “What sandwich do YOU want to put on the menu for the month of January?” Yes, that’s right—you get to suggest the sandwich and the nonprofit. Submit your ideas—the sandwich name, a brief description, and the nonprofit you want to donate the proceeds to—on Lardo’s Instagram post about it. Multiple locations, including 1212 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland

Norah opens today. Norah, from the folks that brought us Mestizo, has their grand opening today: 11:30am to 3pm for lunch and 4pm to 9pm for dinner. They offer “plant-based & pan-Asian cuisine,” with proteins like soy curls, tofu, and tempeh; aside from that, I have to say the Ma Hor caught my eye: fresh pineapple bites, sweet radish, peanut, palm sugar.

The name “Norah” has special meaning to the owners, and it “refers to a traditional dance reserved for celebrations and community gatherings in Southern Thailand where Nan [Chaison] and Prae [Nobnorb] grew up.” 3801 SE Belmont Street, Portland

Have you been to Fortune BBQ Noodle House yet? Earlier this year I wrote about Fortune BBQ Noodle House arriving in Montavilla, and to be honest, it kind of fell off the radar. This week I saw that Gary the Foodie posted a photo shoutout and included this great photo of the roast ducks hanging in the window. The plate of roast duck and pork also looks delicious. I’ve read a bunch of good things about this restaurant, from the food to the staff. This is a reminder that I need to stop by soon. 18 SE 82nd Avenue, Portland

Monster Smash to Open Second Cart at My-O-My Bar

Photo credit: Monster Smash

Yesterday as I was driving to my haircut, I saw the sign finally going up at My-O-My, the new bar opening up in the old Rocky Butte Pub space on NE Sandy Blvd near 87th Avenue. As you will see at the link above, the expectation was a summer 2022 opening, but gauging from their Instagram account, a winter 2022/23 opening looks to be in the works. And along with what I expect will be great drinks and good vibes, there will also be food—enter Monster Smash, home to quality smash burgers (and more).

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