Four Things I Learned This Week (April 15)

Gartner’s interior is closing for a bit. Gartner’s Country Meat Market in Cully is going to close their shop space for 3 to 4 weeks starting this coming Monday, April 18. They’ll be working on some upgrades and maintenance on the interior, but curbside pickup and local delivery will still go on. Good luck to them with all the new changes. 7450 NE Killingsworth Street, Portland

News to me: Decarli is moving. It’s probably old news but I just learned this week that Beaverton restaurant Decarli will be moving to the old Hometown Buffet space on Southwest Hall Blvd. The new space is larger than they need now but it allows them room to grow. The move is slated for “spring 2022,” according to their website, so they should be there any time now. 4545 SW Watson Avenue, Beaverton (currently), 3790 SW Hall Blvd, Beaverton (future)

Dick’s Primal Burger is now open on N Williams. I was sorry to see Dick’s Primal Burger leave Cully, but that’s how things go sometimes. They are now open in their new N. Williams home and will be open from 11am to 9pm “every damn day.” Get yourself a bag of Dick’s, North Portland! Now… to find out what’s going to happen to their old space in Cully. 4120 N Williams Avenue, Portland

Update on Grant Park food carts. From the GPNA newsletter: “The 6-cart food cart pod at 3505 NE Broadway is currently on hold. However, the permit for the 12-cart food cart pod at 3550 NE Broadway (formerly Burger King) is expected to be approved in the next month
or two. The architect says that construction on that pod will begin as soon as the permit is in hand, with an opening expected in late spring or early summer.”

Bonus: Remember that Rabbit Hole in Montavilla is having their soft opening tomorrow, Saturday April 16. And in Sellwood, Maeve’s grand opening party is also on Saturday, April 16 from 4-8pm.

I also want to acknowledge three important faith holidays around this time: Ramadan, Passover, and Easter (4/17 for the Western church and 4/24 for the Orthodox church). So I send my greetings out to those of you who celebrate: Ramadan Mubarak, Happy Passover/Chag Sameach, and Happy Easter!

Four Things I Learned This Week (September 6)

We’re back with four new-to-me things I learned this week in the world of Portland food (week ending Friday, September 6, 2019).

Third time’s a sad charm. This week we got the bad news that Smallwares will close; her Zipper Building spot, Wares, was put on the market this past summer. And, of course, the original Smallwares—which I first became aware of all the way in NYC back in 2016 when I was the editor of Northeast Neighbors magazine—on NE Fremont has been gone for a few years. Johanna Wares has made some seriously tasty “inauthentic Asian” food, and her work will be missed. You have until Saturday, September 28 to eat at Smallwares, and then it will be gone, gone, gone.

More than a michelada. Portland gets a new bar that sells craft beer and hot sauce, Alefire.

Beaverton’s best for food. Thrillist claims Beaverton as one of “the country’s best suburbs for people who love food.” Highlighted eateries are Duh Kuh Bee for noodles, dumplings and kbbq; Yuzu for izakaya; Oyatsupan Bakers for Japanese baked goods; Decarli for Italian food; Best Baguette for banh mi; and Beaverton Sub Station for… well… subs.

Portland Mercado suffers jagoff behavior. We got the bad news this week that someone broke the front door at the Portland Mercado—and so close to their biggest event of the year, Taste of Latinoamérica – Sabor de Latinoamérica, this Saturday, September 7, from noon to 7pm. Property damage sucks.