Portland food news and views
Foster Food Carts, formerly known as the Carts on Foster, is reopening as a pod at SE Foster Road and 52nd Ave. Their grand opening is this Saturday, May 17.
Continue reading “Foster Food Carts Return To Southeast Portland”Belle Époque Pies is leaving the 23rd and Alberta Pod. Home to excellent square pies (Sicilian-Detroit), Belle Époque Pies is moving on from their location on NE Alberta and 23rd Avenue, to a currently undisclosed location in the new year. Their final day of service at the pod is Wednesday, December 25. As they said on Instagram, “Stay tuned for updates as we prepare to bring Belle Époque Pies to a brand-new home. Thank you, Alberta, for all the love and support—you’ve been incredible. 💛” Looking forward to seeing where they land in 2025. 2231 NE Alberta Street, Portland
And in other pizza news … this time in Milwaukie. Pietro’s Pizza is moving from their current location (10300 SE Main Street), setting up shop at 11050 SE Oak Street, which was home to McGrath’s Fish House. So why is this happening? A “developer of a 178-unit multifamily project in downtown Milwaukie is the new owner” of this property, according to the Portland Business Journal.
Pietro’s Pizza (opened in 1957) is part of an informal crowd of regional, old-school pizzerias that would include Stark Street Pizza (opened in 1965) and Pizza Baron (opened in 1983). I’ve heard from a number of old-time Portlanders who have happy memories of these places from their youth—maybe it was a birthday party or a little league season celebration at these pizzerias. Over on Reddit, a user calls this “Oregon-Style pizza.” 10300 SE Main Street/11050 SE Oak Street, Milwaukie
Jim & Patty’s is writing a cookbook, but you can see it digitally now. Over on Facebook the Jim & Patty’s folks wrote that although putting together the published cookbook (“Jim and Patty’s Family Recipes”) will take some time, you can access a “proto PDF version” of it now. It’s available for download for $10. It is “filled with our Roberts family recipes, pictures & back stories.” Instructions to access this PDF are in the Facebook post.
HeyDay has closed their shop. Over on Instagram, I learned that Lisa has closed down their brick & mortar space in the CORE food hall. The last day open was this past Sunday, and she said this about the decision to close without advanced notice: “I’m sorry that we didn’t announce it but I wanted to make sure that the team had the most normal last Sunday. I wanted to protect them from answering any questions about our decision to close.” I respect this decision.
She also tells us that this is not the end of HeyDay! “We have some really cool and exciting things for you to look forward to,” she says. Their donuts have been available at Better Days Cafe this year and I imagine they will be in 2025, too. Best of luck to Lisa and HeyDay, and I look forward to what they have planned for next year. 3612 SE 82nd Avenue, Portland
BONUS: Portland vs. Seattle. Redfin reached out to me for input on their article about Portland vs. Seattle, including when it comes to real estate, cost of living, and culture. I am Portland all the way (no surprise). Redfin observes this about our fair city: “Portland is known for its creative energy, green spaces, and more affordable cost of living.” You can read the article at the link, including a variety of quotes from Portland locals on food and other topics: Portland vs Seattle: Which City is Right for You? Comparing Real Estate, Cost of Living, Culture, and More.
Stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:
Tréla Greek Kitchen and Taverna in Portland: First Look
A Dairy Queen Grows in Portland: An Opening Update
Hanukkah 2024 in Portland
Sincerely Bagel Is Setting Up Shop in Portland
Portland’s 3 Doors Down: A Chat With Matthew Stiles
Apologies for the lack of posting this week—I had emergency eye stuff to attend to and it really threw me for a loop. Take care of your eyes, friends; your vision health is not something to neglect.
Chef Naomi Pomeroy has died. On this past Monday I was scrolling Instagram and saw this post from Portland Monthly. I was stunned—surely it was not true. But it was, it is, and it is a huge loss for her friends and family, loved ones, fans, and Portland’s restaurant and food world. Countless tributes have been posted, and much sadness and shock has been expressed.
The Benton County Sheriff’s Office reports that she “drowned shortly before 8:30pm on July 13 near river mile 132 in Corvallis about 100 yards upstream from the Mary’s River.” KATU reports that she was “pulled under the water and held by the paddle board leash. She was not wearing a life jacket and, unable to resurface, drowned.” Her body has been recovered.
I hope anyone who is reading this takes this awful tragedy to heart and chooses to wear a life jacket next time they’re floating on the river.
Read more about Naomi Pomeroy’s remarkable work, career, and influence in the world of food in this NY Times article (unlocked). I never met her, so I can’t speak personally about her, but I know she essentially changed the world—and many lives—with her work.
Indian food is coming to Argay. A Bridgetown Bites tipster alerted me to a new Indian restaurant opening up in that shopping center on NE Sandy Blvd and 139th Avenue (same center where the P-Town Pizza is opening). It’s called Best of India, and from what I can tell from when I peeked in the other day (I did not ask questions, as they were moving heavy things around), they are currently revamping the interior. Research as of today has not yielded much; I’ll look into it more next week. 13882 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland
Look at this cool map of Roseway. Illustrator Sunny Eckerle put together this sweet map of the Roseway neighborhood (she lives nearby), featuring some of the great eats you can find along NE Sandy Blvd and 82nd Ave, including Junior’s Roasted Coffee/Upright Beer Station, Denizens Cafe, the Sandy Jug, Fresh Love (who has a new vegetarian Muffuletta sandwich on the menu), Reeva and Pizzeria Otto, and the Mom & Pop Wine Shop. She also included Madison South’s The People’s Courts and Sumner’s My-O-My (she and I have a lighthearted agreement for joint custody of My-O-My and Roseway’s Cameo Cafe). Various
Belle Époque Pies opens in August. Pizza pop-up Belle Époque Pies will open their doors on Saturday, August 3 at 5pm at the 23rd and Alberta Food Cart Pod. “Join us for an afternoon of pizza and music with a wonderful acoustic performance by @caicedo_decia and a DJ set by mi hermano @_muertitos_.” They offer Sicilian/Detroit-style pies. 2231 NE Alberta Street, Portland
Stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:
A Few Updates: Bobacat Teahouse, Pizza, and Greek Food
I thought I’d also tell you what festivals are coming up soon, listed on our Portland Area Cultural + Food Festivals page:
Fuji to Hood, Saturday, July 20, 2024 (Portland)
Portland Highland Games, Saturday, July 20, 2024 (Portland)
Four Days of Aloha Hawaiian Festival: Welcome Pāʻina, Thursday July 25, 2024 (Vancouver)
