Portland food news and views
Today, June 6 is National Donut Day. It is celebrated on the first Friday of June each year, and as Portland is a big donut town, you can expect to find donut specials throughout the city. Here are some to watch for.
Continue reading “Small Bites: National Donut Day, CC Slaughters, Sports Bra, and More”Some openings of note. Tonight, head to Bar Mame for their opening; The Heist will open tomorrow, June 10; and Arrosto re-opened this week with a new ordering system—the outdoor walk-up window is a thing of the past. As a bi fan of Arrosto (especially their salad), here’s some tips from them I found useful: order inside Providore at the self-service Arrosto kiosk; food is served from 4pm to 7pm; they’ll start out with a simple menu of favorites (though more options are coming); and the Arrosto chicken salad and sandwich can be had at the deli case if you want it for lunch. 3279 SE Hawthorne Blvd (Bar Mame), 4727 SE Woodstock Blvd (The Heist), and 2340 NE Sandy Blvd (Arrosto), Portland
Yelp’s top donuts in Portland. Four donut shops in the Portland area made it on to the Yelp Top 100 list of donut shops around the U.S.:
2023 James Beard Awards winners. It was great to see Kann (which I recently ate at—the hype is real) and Berlu do well at the 2023 James Beard Awards. Kann won Best New Restaurant, and Vince Nguyen was named Best Chef: Northwest & Pacific (AK, HI, OR, WA). Congrats to both! 548 SE Ash Street (Kann) and 605 SE Belmont Street (Berlu), Portland
Happy one year anniversary, Fresh Love! Yesterday, Fresh Love celebrated one year in business. This little Roseway spot has become a dependable, lovely place to get delicious food (salad, sandwiches, bowls, smoothies, fresh juices, a few baked goods); pick up some produce and locally made artisan products (edible and not); and see local art. I was in there yesterday and got their seasonal chopped salad, which gets a thumbs up from me. They also stock my favorite Honey Mama’s bar, Tangerine Tahini. I wish them many more years in business! 7434 NE Fremont Street, Portland
Bar Mame is coming to SE Hawthorne. Matthew Dooney, who has worked as a manager for McMenamins, and Nicole Nelson, an immigration attorney, are opening Bar Mame in SE Portland. It will be located on SE Hawthorne and 33rd Ave underneath The Hazel Room (looks like the Red Velvet Parlour was there for a while, but closed there late last year). Matt says, “I’m super excited (and of course terrified) to announce that we’ll be opening our own bar (Mame) on 33rd and Hawthorne. This has been a dream of mine for years and can’t wait to see how this comes into fruition.” 3279 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland
Barista (some of them) rebranding. A tipster told me that the Barista family cafes is changing up their name, but only for a couple of their locations. It’s the KOIN and Alberta locations that will be changing their name—initial research indicates “Enjoy Coffee LLC” is the corp behind them. These will be wholly owned by Billy Wilson; the Nob Hill and Pearl locations, which will remain Barista, will be under a partnership between Billy and Sortis (who owns the Barista brand).
Doug Fir Lounge will move a little to the southwest. Another tip that found its way to the Bridgetown Bites inbox is about Doug Fir Lounge—it will close at its current location, then move elsewhere this fall. And it seems that it will be reopening at the old Le Bistro Montage space—the new address on the documents filed with the state this year regarding Doug Fir is 301 SE Morrison Street. Look for a more official kind of announcement from the powers that be in March. And I’m seriously curious about what Jupiter NEXT will do with that space.
Free ice cream for a year. Nico’s is running a contest to win free ice cream for a year: “Beginning March 1st, make sure to buy all the half pints you can, because at some point in March, we will be putting a golden ticket inside one of our half pints (only sold at either of our two locations) and you will have the chance to win FREE ice cream for a year!” If you like to eat ice cream on the regular, this one is for you. Nico’s half pints can be found at various grocery stores in the Portland area, as well as his shops at 5713 NE Fremont Street and 1615 NE Killingsworth Street.
