Portland food news and views
Welcome to our list of favorite bites of 2025 in Portland! While Bridgetown Bites is not primarily a restaurant review site, we do comment here on things we like. And, like most humans, we are happy to tell you what we think tastes good in Portland.
So here’s a list (and a map) of our favorites for the year—plus, some things we’d consider as superlatives in 2025. Enjoy!
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That’s right—Berlu Bakery reopens this weekend! As I mentioned in yesterday’s Small Bites, Berlu Bakery is back after a months-long hiatus since last October. Their soft opening is Sunday, June 29. I reached out to Vince Nguyen, the man and James Beard Award-winning chef behind this treasured Vietnamese bakery, and here is what I learned from him via an email exchange.
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Farewell, Orange Julius. The Oregonian reported that Portland’s last remaining Orange Julius, located in the Lloyd Center, was closing (by now, it’s in the past tense). The franchise’s owner, Bob Slayton, died from cancer on May 19. This Orange Julius had been around for 42 years. I have fond memories of going to the OJ in the mall near me in SoCal during my youth, enjoying one of their drinks along with a pretzel from “Pretzels and Cheese.” Read more about Bob and his business over on The O. 2314 Lloyd Center, Portland
Continue reading “Small Bites: Orange Julius, Beer, FIKA, El Mercado, and More”
Pinolo Gelato celebrates 10 years. These guys make some of the best gelato in Portland. It was started by Sandro Paolini, who is originally from Pisa in Italy. He moved to the PNW a while back, but his path eventually led him back to Pisa to learn how to make gelato from his friends and mentors there, Ilaria and Omar of @ioegelato.
Continue reading “Small Bites: Pinolo Gelato, Nam Tao Huu, No Sabo, and More”
Back in February, my friend Judith raved about the bagels she got from Red Hen Bagelry. She said, “Best bagels I’ve had in a looooong time.” We both lived in NYC for a number of years and ate our share of bagels during that time. So I would say we’ve had solid experiences with NYC-style bagels enough to know what is good and what is not.
I reached out to Deirdre Tipley, owner at Red Hen Bagelry, to learn more about their bagels and their business, and we had a nice chat on a rainy morning at Sebastiano’s in Sellwood.
Continue reading “Get To Know Red Hen Bagelry in Portland”