Enjoying Sandino Brothers Coffee

Sandino Brothers Coffee Spanish latte

Picked up a latte post-walk at Sandino Brothers Coffee on Saturday.

This past weekend I made my return to two places I hadn’t been to for a while—Mt. Tabor Park, where I met up with several of my fellow breast cancer survivors for a walk, eventually encountering rain, hail, thunder and lightning; and Sandino Brothers Coffee, a sweet little cafe on NE Sandy Blvd in one of the “Flatiron”-style buildings that dot this major thoroughfare. I hadn’t stopped by for a number of months, and that is an error on my part—the coffee is excellent and is worth your time and money.

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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.

Montelupo Introduces Indoor Dining and Monty’s Caffè

Photo credit: Montelupo Italian Market

The news is out but I wanted to chime in with how thrilled I am that Montelupo Italian Market is going to open its indoor dining room this Friday—plus Monty’s Caffè on Saturday! It’s been over a year since they opened and I am sure they are excited to move forward with dining service for their customers inside their space.

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First Tastes: Breakfast at Steeplejack

stained-glass-steeplejack-portland-oregon

The stunner of a stained glass window at Steeplejack.

Over the weekend I stopped in at Steeplejack for breakfast before taking care of some errands in the general area. I got a tip off their Instagram page, where they posted “we are slowly rolling out our breakfast program” and I found that hard to resist. I arrived around 8:30am on a Sunday and had a satisfying and tasty breakfast in a beautiful space.

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Vaccinate and Caffeinate at Fairley’s Pharmacy and Rosebridge Coffee

As we muddle through what feels like a perpetual pandemic, it continues to be important to get vaccinated against COVID-19. This, along with masks and social distancing, are our best weapons (or, tools, for a less aggressive vibe) to fight this virus. If you haven’t gotten your COVID vaccination yet, consider heading to Fairley’s Pharmacy for your jab. They have the Moderna vaccine available for you, and the folks at Rosebridge Coffee, located inside the pharmacy, are offering a free small cup of coffee (beans roasted by Heart Coffee Roasters), cold brew, or milk tea while you wait to get vaccinated.

So get your shot—and a shot of caffeine—all at the same time.  Sounds like a pretty good deal to me. 7206 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland