Four Things I Learned This Week (August 12)

Kachka pelmeni (frozen) at New Seasons. In the ICYMI category, Kachka’s delicious pelmeni are available in your local New Seasons frozen food aisle. Personally, I love the cherry ones in particular, but they are all good. Various locations in the greater Portland area

Burger Week is bigger than ever this year. The Portland Mercury presents its Burger Week event again this summer. It runs from Monday, August 15 to Sunday, August 21; there are 48 different burgers to eat and they will cost you eight dollars each. See what burgers will be available, here—there will be  vegetarian / vegan options, gluten-free options, and takeout options. There’s a lot of really good looking burgers this year. Various locations around Portland

Pacific Crust Pizza Company has closed. For whatever reason, Portland pizza news is big right now (Handsome Pizza and Hogan’s Goat closing have been on our radar). Another one bites the dust, as they say: Pacific Crust Pizza Company, which was located in the Hotel Lucia, called it quits in downtown Portland and are moving on to a new home (where, is still a mystery as of this writing). It just wasn’t a good fit for the more urban downtown, as their vibe is about the outdoors and recreational camping—Willamette Week reported, “We’re looking to reopen soon in a space that allows us to have outdoor fire pits, picnic tables and true outdoor vibes to fit our brand better.” Destination unknown

Company Bar is now open. A new natural wine bar, Company, opened recently and had their opening event last weekend. From the event post: “Tucked away in a parking lot just off Belmont, Company is Portland’s newest garage bar. We’ll be serving a selection of natural wine glass pours and Modelo. They kicked off the party Friday night (8/5) in the afternoon “with Yawning and DJ Mr. Mumu spinning ’70’s soul and funk vinyl.” They are pretty excited to be there. Nearby neighbors include spots we’ve featured on this blog: Old Pal and Sugar Hill, and they are right next door to Lilith Rocket Ceramics studio. Looks like a nice addition to the neighborhood. 916 SE 34th Avenue, Suite B, Portland

Pizza Begets Pizza: New Pizzeria Vincenzo’s Pizza Opening in Old Hogan’s Goat Space

A sausage and peppers pizza from Hogan’s Goat in Rose City Park.

I recently learned that Hogan’s Goat, the pizzeria with one of the most memorable names around, has closed their doors. Final day of service was Friday, July 29. A new pizzeria is opening, though—Vincenzo’s Pizza (and thanks to a Bridgetown Bites reader for the tip).

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Goodbye Giant Gyros, Hello Fortune BBQ Noodle House

Perhaps we’ll see some great noodle soups at Fortune BBQ Noodle House. This is pork noodles from long lost Biang! in Flushing, Queens, where I would enjoy delicious noodles and dumplings. Photo credit: Bradley Hawks

While perusing the list of new businesses on the city’s website, I noticed a new restaurant, Fortune BBQ Noodle House. It had been registered with the OR SOS (Secretary of State), incorporated in June of this year. The address turns out to the be the same as Giant Gyros, which closed earlier this year. So, Montavilla is getting a new Chinese restaurant.

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Four Things I Learned This Week (August 5)

Beaverton’s Best. Pamplin Media Group did a “best of Beaverton” competition and you can see the winners for the Eating & Drinking section, here.

Preview of Kann Restaurant. One of my favorite bloggers, Michelle Tam (aka Nom Nom Paleo) got to attend a recent preview of Kann Restaurant, the Hatian restaurant from Gregory Gourdet, and loved it. The food looks really good and I hope I can eat there one day.

Olive oil at Sebastiano’s has arrived. Very exciting—I wrote about their olive oil project back in March, and I’m glad to see it is now available at Sebastiano’s. Stop by and pick up a bottle today!

Cully Upright Brewing update. I reached out to Upright’s owner, Alex Ganum, since I drove by and saw real, honest-to-goodness windows on the exterior. Here’s what he said: “Yep, we’ve finally been able to put some more work into the space as evidenced by the new garage doors. It’s coming together. Really excited for the project! Right now my best guess for opening would be November, but of course that can change based on happenings outside of our control. I can’t wait to finally open—the finished space should be a wonderful addition to the neighborhood.”

Handsome Pizza and Seastar Bakery Are Closing

Inside Handsome/Seastar in those heady pre-pandemic days.

I saw the news that Handsome Pizza and Seastar Bakery are closing and my first reaction was, “no way, this can’t be true.” But it is, and now it’s time to accept it. I enjoyed my times there, eating their pizza, and attending a very interesting and memorable tomato tasting event back in 2018. They will be missed, and the comments on their Instagram post are proof as to how beloved they are in this city for their outstanding pizza and pastry work.

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