Bridgetown Bites

January 10, 2022January 10, 2022

Upright Brewing in Cully: an Update

Upright Brewing’s Coffee Milk Stout, a collaboration with Junior’s Roasted Coffee, both of which will be at Upright Brewing’s Cully taproom later this year. Photo credit: Upright Brewing

This morning I reached out to Alex Ganum at Upright Brewing to get an update on what’s happening over at the Cully site (NE Prescott and 72nd Avenue). I and a number of neighbors have been curious about the progress at this location, and I really appreciate Alex for taking the time to share some details as to where they are in the process.

January 7, 2022January 7, 2022

Four Things I Learned This Week (January 7)

Merry Christmas to my Orthodox friends today! Here are some things I ran across this week in Portland food.

Futura Coffee Roasters coming to Montavilla. The folks over at Montavilla News reported that Futura Coffee Roasters are opening in the old Fillmore Coffee space. Fillmore Coffee closed last fall to become an online merchant only. Sustainability is the name of the game at Futura, and regenerative agriculture is very important to them.

You might ask, “aren’t regenerative agriculture and biodynamic agriculture the same?” They are close but not identical. Read more about regenerative vs. biodynamic, here. Futura’s cafe space has also been created with sustainable materials in mind. Check them out later this month; they’ll be open daily from 7am to 5pm. 7201 NE Glisan Street, Portland.

Vegan all the way at Salt & Straw this month. Check out the five new flavors at Salt & Straw this month—all vegan, presumably for Veganuary. There’s Petunia’s Rainbow Sprinkled Babycakes (coconut, oat); Carrot Cake w/ Cream Cheese Frosting (coconut, oat); Coconut Cream Pie Cupcake w/ Lemon Curd (coconut); Renewal Mill’s Chocolate Salted Caramel Cupcake (oat, soy pulp); Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcake (coconut); Interesting factoid: Oregon produces 99% of the nation’s hazelnuts. Various locations, Portland

Foie gras on next week’s City Council agenda. The agenda for the Wednesday, January 12 Portland City Council meeting (9:30am) has been published online and thus the topic of foie gras has popped up again. Three people will address the Council that morning: Alex Cerussi (Mercy For Animals), Rosalind McCallard (Snackrilege), and Belinda Davis (Animal Outlook). Regardless of your stance on this issue, you are free to view the Council meeting on their Youtube channel (eGov PDX), among other access points. If you want to submit written testimony on this or any other agenda topic, send an email to cctestimony@portlandoregon.gov.

Ken Forkish is leaving Portland. Ken Forkish, the owner of Ken’s Artisan Bakery and Ken’s Artisan Pizza, is retiring. His aforementioned two businesses have been sold to long-time employees. In an interview with Portland Food & Drink he said, “I’m just getting tired. I’m in my 60’s and it is time for me to retire. This change has been three years in the making and I feel really good about the future of the restaurant and bakery. They are both in very good hands.” You can read more of this interview on the Portland Food & Drink website. 338 NW 21st Avenue (Bakery) and 304 SE 28th Avenue (Pizza), Portland

January 6, 2022January 6, 2022

Basics Market on NE Sandy Blvd Is Closing

One of the most popular parts of Basics Market on NE Sandy is the meat department. Photo credit: Basics

Yesterday a neighbor posted on Facebook that the Basics Market on NE Sandy Blvd in the Hollywood District is closing, much to the dismay of folks in the area. I’ve heard a lot of praise for Basics, especially about their meats, so it’s a real bummer to see it close and leave a sizable storefront empty. The last day of business is Saturday, January 22.

January 5, 2022January 5, 2022

Chaat Wallah Cart to Join Upright Brewing in Cully

egg-bhurji-chaat-wallah-cully-portland-oregon

Egg Bhurji, one of the sandwiches planned for the menu at Chaat Wallah’s cart coming to Cully. Photo credit: Chaat Wallah.

I was wandering around the internet this morning and landed on Chaat Wallah’s website. Chaat Wallah is a project from Deepak Saxena and the DesiPDX folks that serves “fun fusion reinterpretations of Indian street food.” In small type toward the bottom of the website is written “coming to Cully in 2022.” Of course my curiosity was piqued.

January 4, 2022January 5, 2022

Galette des Rois in Portland

Photo credit: La Provence/Petite Provence

It’s almost Epiphany (January 6 on the Gregorian calendar), and that means king cake time … but more specifically for the purposes of this post, Galette des Rois time. Yes, “galette des rois” means “king cake” too, but this is different from the yeasted, multicolored cake made popular in New Orleans, as well as the Rosca de Reyes cake popular in Mexican culture—this cake is far simpler, and delicious in its own way. And La Provence/Petite Provence is where you can find it in Portland this year.