Four Things I Learned This Week (November 12)

Shady Pines is closing. News of this vegan food truck pod’s closure was mentioned on a variety of social media channels. They’ll be open until the end of November and then the pod is over. Members of the pod are sad to be disbanding but I hope the various carts can find a home elsewhere. 5240 NE 42nd Avenue, Portland

Iraqi pilsner, what? In the “you learn something new every day” is the comment from Dar Salam that they offer an Iraqi pilsner on their menu: “Have you had our Iraqi beer? It’s the first Iraqi pilsner in U.S. and you can get it at both our Alberta and downtown location. Cheers!” Yet another reason to stop by for some of their excellent food and drink. 2921 NE Alberta Street, Portland and 320 SW Alder Street, Portland

The Gastro Obscura vending machine’s west coast premiere Saturday. As part of the Gastro Obscura book tour, the Atlas Obscura folks have built the “World’s Most Unusual Vending Machine.” It holds many intriguing things—“taste bud-bending miracle berries to color-changing edible flowers.” It sounds kinda Willy Wonka, in a way. The vending machine will make its west coast debut at the Portland Art Museum’s sculpture garden on Saturday, November 14 during an event from 2-5pm with Gastro Obscura‘s author, Cecily Wong. The vending machine will be around all weekend, though. 1219 SW Park Avenue, Portland

Montavilla’s Fillmore Coffee moves online. The Montavilla News has a nice writeup about Fillmore Coffee, which started as a coffee shop on NE Glisan, but has now moved to online sales and delivery. From the article: “As an online-only business, Fillmore is still evolving, according to [co-owner Tim] Willcox. ‘It’s still a work in progress. We’re building out a small Roastery and coffee lab. Things have been slower, yet still steady.’” Online at orderfillmorecoffee.com

Four Things I Learned This Week (November 5)

Free coffee with beans at Jim & Patty’s. One of my favorite spots in NE Portland, Jim & Patty’s, has a holiday special through December. If you buy a 12oz bag of coffee beans you get a free 16oz house coffee. And if you buy two 12oz bags of beans you get a free 16oz latte or mocha. Sound good to me. Get yourself a Pig Newton (I like the SuperJack version) while you’re at it. 4951 NE Fremont Street, Portland

100 Days of Babkas. Carly Tonini at Queen Croissants launched a project earlier this year called “100 Days of Babkas.” Yes, she’s making different kinds of Babkas for 100 days total. Here’s what she said at the start: “I knew I wanted to make something decadent for Day 1 of 100 Days of Babkas. What could be more fitting than an Oreo Cheesecake Babka! Babka is layered with Oreo cookie crumbs and Oreo cheesecake batter. It’s decadent. It’s a classic. Oreos just make me feel like a kid again.” She’s almost done (at Day 84 as of this writing, the Lasagna Bolognese Babka) but you can see her trail of creative babkas at the hashtag #100daysofbabkas on Instagram.

Moon Room opens to the public. Ecliptic Brewing is opening their second location to the public tomorrow, Saturday, November 6, in SE Portland (today is the media/industry event). They will have an “extensive tap list” eventually (up to 30 handles), a gin-focused cocktail program, and sandwich options via the Moon Room food trailer just outside the building, featuring fresh, local, and seasonal ingredients. The Moon Room opens at noon tomorrow. 930 SE Oak Street, Portland

Ben & Esther’s Vegan Jewish Deli opening date. Announced on social media, Ben & Esther’s will open at their new location on Alberta Street on Saturday, November 20, 7am. It will be totally vegan in there, plus some GF options. Look for kosher-certification (both location) soon, too. 1800 NE Alberta Street, Portland

Bonus: Mystery Restaurant coming to Roseway? While reviewing city documents I came across this tidbit: a restaurant to open at 6520 NE Sandy Blvd, which right now looks like a house hidden by trees. Their paperwork is recent (set up 10/29/21; under review 11/01/21) and includes a Change of Occupancy request (from residential to business), plenty of reconfiguring of the interior (e.g., dining, lounge, game room), and structural work. My first wave of research didn’t pull up much more than that. If you know anything, please shoot me an email.

El Palenque Mexican Restaurant and Cantina Opening on 82nd Ave

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Tasty food and drink. Photo credit: El Palenque Mexican Restaurant and Cantina

Corvallis-based El Palenque Mexican Restaurant and Cantina is opening in the location of the shuttered The Original Taco House on 82nd Avenue. A liquor license application was the first clue (thanks to a tip on Facebook) of their impending arrival, and a little research confirmed the relationship of this El Palenque with the Corvallis location. Continue reading “El Palenque Mexican Restaurant and Cantina Opening on 82nd Ave”

Good Times at SheBrew 2018 in Portland

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Love this poster for the SheBrew Brew Festival.

This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending the fourth annual SheBrew, a beer, cider, and mead festival that features female-identifying brewers. One aspect of the event was to support the work of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) through the $20 admission cost. Full disclosure: I attended as media, so my access to the event was comped; however, I admire the work of the Human Rights Campaign, and after seeing them at the event I decided to set up a recurring monthly donation to them. 

Continue reading “Good Times at SheBrew 2018 in Portland”

Portland Area Food Events, February 8-15

Love Valentine's Day Holiday Valentine Cookies

Valentine’s Day is almost upon us! We’ve got a bunch of places for you to look into for your special day.

Each week we will bring you a roundup of public food events in the Portland metro area. It’s not every single event that’s going on, but the ones in particular that catch our eye. Be sure to confirm the availability of the event before you head out to attend, due to last minute changes that sometimes happen. Want to submit an event? Fill out this form. Listings curated by Meg Cotner.

5th Annual Chocolate for Congo Benefit
Until Wednesday, February 28, 2018; various times
Various locations

“All month long, thirteen Portland restaurants and bakeries will be serving up chocolate desserts made with Theo Chocolate. One dollar from the sale of each dessert will go to Eastern Congo Initiative, a non-profit working on grant-making and advocacy with and for the people of eastern Congo. Theo Chocolate, which now sources more than 70% of its chocolate from the Congo, has generously donated the chocolate for the benefit.”

Participating restaurants and bakeries include: Baker & Spice, Bar Avignon, Bistro Agnes, Coquine, Le Pigeon, Little Bird Bistro, Måurice, Oui! Wine Bar + Restaurant, Ox, Pacific Pie, Pie Spot, Tusk, and Quaintrelle. More information.

Continue reading “Portland Area Food Events, February 8-15”