Portland food news and views
Photo credit: Sandy Jug Tavern
In a bit of an unintentional “sike” move, the folks behind the Sandy Jug Tavern announced yesterday that their opening day is planned for Monday, January 29, 2024.
Continue reading “The Sandy Jug Tavern Opens January 29”Sandy Jug to open this month. Over on Instagram, the Sandy Jug Tavern posted, “pushed back a week. hopefully this next weekend.” Sounds like they’ll be open not this weekend but the next, so that would be the weekend of January 26 (if you count Friday evening as part of the weekend). It’s exciting to think they’ll be open soon; I can’t wait to check it out. 7417 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland
Rescheduled collab between Nico’s and Pip’s. This crazy icy weather has thrown multiple monkey wrenches into multiple businesses this week, so the originally planned collab between Nico’s Ice Cream and Pip’s Original had to be postponed. They are attempting to do it this weekend: “We’ll be blending in Pip’s donuts into our vanilla base, then topping it with nutella, honey, and coconut flakes. We call it the Tropical Reggie Lee!” If you can, head to Nico’s Fremont location on Saturday, January 20 all day (noon to 9pm). 5713 NE Fremont Street, Portland
That “10 Places” bit on social. I’ve seen it mostly on Instagram, but people are sharing the 10 restaurants/small businesses they want to support after the ice recedes enough to get back out into the world. For me, I want to support the following:
If you have suggestions or favorite place you want to support, drop a comment.
Upcoming relevér popup. I recently came across the Instagram for relevér and have learned that the key element of the work of this popup is “spicy.” Last November their food was influenced by “Korean, Chinese, Italian, Mexican, French and Spanish cuisines.” This time, it’s …. TACO BELL? Yes, it sure looks like it. Whatever the inspiration, there will be food by Chef Han Ly Hwang of Kim Jong Grillin and natural wines by Chef Kyle Christy of Street Disco. Coming soon. 4144A SE 60th Avenue, Portland
Photo credit: Hummus Vitality
A Bridgetown Bites tipster emailed me the following: “Neighborhood rumour has it that the people who run Nicholas Restaurant … are in the process of opening a new restaurant – Hummus Vitality.” I love the food at Nicholas—and flavor profiles from the Middle East—so this was welcome news to me. I did some poking around and this is what I found. Note: This article includes some updates as of February 22.
Continue reading “Hummus Vitality Opening in Argay Terrace”Posted in multiple social media outlets over the past couple of days, a video of some epic flooding of Pho Oregon is pretty intense. There’s what looks like a couple feet of water pouring out from the front doors onto the sidewalk from the ground floor. Community observation indicated it might be flooding from fire sprinkler pipes; and because we’ve had all this frigid weather, frozen pipes could be part of the story (fun fact: freezing rain is coming down as I write this).
Thankfully, the dining area is higher up inside, so it may not be affected as badly, but overall it looks like a mess. Unfortunately, all that water running out will no doubt doubly ice up the sidewalk, so if you walk by, be careful. I wish the Pho Oregon folks good fortune in cleaning things up, and look forward to eating their delicious food when things get back to normal.
You can watch the short video here. Thanks to a Bridgetown Bites tipster for telling me about the Reddit post. 2518 NE 82nd Avenue, Portland
GrindWitTryz opening in old Nico’s Cantina space. Last year I wrote about Nico’s Cantina closing and that space on NE Cully Blvd being empty … again. Well, good news—GrindWitTryz is taking over the space. This restaurant is classified in various places online as a Hawaiian restaurant, but they offer dishes associated with other cultures as well, like chicken katsu (Japanese), pork bulgogi (Korean), and lechon kawali (Filipino), among others.
On January 2 they announced their closing to many sad fans … but less than a week later, they shared the news about their relocating: “If y’all thought we were closing, you thought wrong! Absolutely no one can stop us from spreading aloha in PDX! We are taking over Nico’s Catina! This space is giving us so much opportunity to grow and expand! Our grand opening will be in February.” Welcome to Cully, guys! 4318 NE Cully Blvd, Portland
New menu at Three Fifty Cafe. As they say, “New year, new menu.” The lovely little Vietnamese cafe has changed things up and you can see the new menu here. Stop in for one of the best banh mi sandwiches in town, have some fish sauce wings, and get yourself one of their excellent egg coffees to go with it all. 6205 NE Prescott Street, Portland
Get your Valentine’s treats at Bee’s. Although the cafe is closing, you can still order some of Bee’s fabulous treats for the upcoming Valentine’s Day holiday. Head to the website to order—you can order things “Bento Box” style (one of each item offered in a premade box) or build your own box with just the items you want. Orders will be open until Monday, February 6 and you can choose to pick up on Tuesday or Wednesday, February 13 or 14. 7137 NE Fremont Street, Portland
Angel’s Donuts & Ice Cream seems to have closed. A neighbor online asked, “Anyone know what happened to Angels Donuts on Alberta? I walked by Friday and it was dark during business hours, then I drove by today and still dark.” Another neighbor confirmed it. I called, no answer. Yelp also says they have closed. Bummer. If anyone has more insight, drop a comment or an email. 2805 NE Alberta Street, Portland
