Tag: donuts

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Small Bites: Mochi Donuts, Paladin Pie, Paris Baguette, James Beard Finalists, and More

Flour Market’s cafe in the Concordia neighborhood. Photo credit: Flour Market

A variety of tidbits crossed my desk this week, and now I’m passing them on to you (in place of my regular “Four Things” column).

Changes to the Kells Building sale. The Portland Business Journal reported on a meaningful adjustment to the for sale listing of the building that is home to Kells Irish Restaurant and Pub. The owners, Gerard and Lucy McAleese, wanted to sell the building but keep the business going, but that has changed. The property listing indicates: “Though the Glisan Building will be delivered vacant upon sale, it is currently home to renowned Kells Irish Restaurant and Pub, presenting an excellent opportunity for a restaurant/bar, event space, or creative office space.” 112 SW 2nd Avenue, Portland

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Four Things I Learned This Week (January 21)

Four Portland spots make it on the list. Yelp’s top 100 US restaurants 2022 list is out and four PDX restaurants are on the list: Miyamoto Sushi in Montavilla; Yama Sushi & Izakaya in Hosford-Abernathy; Thai Sky Kitchen in South Tabor; and Departure downtown. Personally, I’ve been to Thai Sky Kitchen and loved it, as well as Departure during the Gregory Gourdet days. I hear excellent things from Montavillans on Miyamoto. Chime in if you are a fan of Yama Sushi & Izakaya, or any of the winners! Multiple locations in Portland

One day only: Nico’s Ice Cream and Pip’s Original collab. Pip’s is known for it’s “community not competition” mantra and this upcoming collaboration with Nico’s is no doubt part of that. On Saturday, 1/22/22 ONLY, head to Nico’s for the Tropical Reggie Lee: that’s the Nico’s vanilla base with Pip’s donuts blended in, topped with Nutella, honey, and coconut flakes.

Reggie Lee is, of course, the actor that played Sgt. Drew Wu in one of my favorite TV shows ever, Grimm. And not just because it’s set in Portland! It’s just plain awesome. Anyway, see you on Saturday! 5713 NE Fremont Street, Portland

Ice cream is cold but soup is hot. Head to the Portland Mercado today through Sunday, January 23 for their Winter Soup Festival. Soups offered include:

  • POZOLE OAXAQUEÑO from Tierra Del Sol (Oaxaca)
  • OLLA DE CARNE from La Carreta Pura Vida (Costa Rica)
  • BIRRIA BOWL and POZOLE ROJO DE PUERCO from Principe Maya (Yucatan)
  • CALDOSA DE LA ABUELA from Havana Station (Cuba)
  • CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP from Fernando’s Alegría (Mexico)
  • SOPA DE LENTEJAS CON VEGETALES and SOPA DE MANÍ (PEANUTS) from AleCocina (Argentina)
  • AJIACO BOGOTANO from Qué Bacano (Colombia)
  • SOPA DE HONGOS from Xŏcotl (fresh juice and smoothie bar)
  • PIPIAN DE POLLO from Kaah Market (Oaxaca)

Head to the Mercado website for more info on ordering, etc.  7238 SE Foster Road, Portland

RIP Reo Varnado of Reo’s Ribs. Frankly I was shocked to hear of his passing. Very sorry to hear it and our condolences go out to the family. Cause of death? Unknown at the writing of this post.

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Four Things I Learned This Week (February 12)

Best Donuts in Oregon: Delicious Donuts. According to Food & Wine’s February 2021 roundup of the best donuts in each U.S. state, Delicious Donuts is the winner in Oregon:

“Founded in 2005 just over the Burnside Bridge from the original Voodoo, Delicious Donuts looks like any of the other classic hangs gracing lucky neighborhoods up and down the West Coast, and like so many of them, this one’s family owned, too. But not everybody works as carefully and attentively as Boun Saribout, who owns the shop with wife Penny Nguyen. Their cinnamon roll doughnuts, crunchy fritters, and apple-filled bear claws are famously good, the blueberry cake is like some gorgeous, deep-fried muffin, but don’t get too comfortable, because unless you time it right, you’ll typically take what you can get. Good news, however—you’ll be totally fine with this, because it’s all good.”

The single-location indie donut shop is what I think of whenever someone mentions a donuts shop, and my love for a blueberry cake donut knows no bounds (I miss you, Angel Donuts in Fillmore, CA). Glad to hear of their recognition. 12 SE Grand Avenuea, Portland

Kaleifornia Dreaming. Portland Redditor u/scoobycoup put together a pretty good set of parody lyrics to the song, “California Dreaming,” the title renamed to “Kaleifornia Dreaming.”

“All the Kale is gone.  / And the sky is gray.  / I drove into a tree.  / On a winter’s day.  / I’d be safe and warm. / If I was in L.A.  / Kaleifornia Dreaming.  / On such a winters day.”

Pączki watch. I’ve seen a couple of places where you can find these Polish Fat Tuesday treats—the Gateway Fred Meyer and Popioł (a Polish dinner pop-up in Portland) via Cafe Reina: “Pre-order a box of 4 (pick 4!) and swing by the shop to claim them. We will also have individual pączki for sale at La Reina while supplies last.” 1111 NE 102nd Avenue (Fred Meyer) and 4943 NE MLK Jr Blvd, Suite 101 (Cafe Reina), Portland

Singles For Singles. One of my favorite burger joints in Portland is Bless Your Heart Burgers (love their location on NE 33rd Ave and Killingsworth) and they are offering a Valentine’s Day special that is a little different than a lot of them around town—it focuses on the single (not the couple). “You get a single burger, single fry, and a sparkly beverage of your choosing for $12. We all deserve some ❤️. Singles For Singles will be available 2/12 – 2/15.” Unfortunately (but understandably) they are closed today (Friday) because of the snow. 5410 NE 33rd Avenue, Portland

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Rocky Butte Espresso Bar: an Update

rocky-butte-coffee-roasters-update-portland-oregon

Photo credit: Rocky Butte Coffee Roasters

I stopped by the Rocky Butte Espresso Bar earlier this week and thought I’d share an update on what’s up with them these days. First, my latte with a touch of cardamom syrup (from Portland’s own Holy Kakow) was very good, and it was great to chat with James Helms, one of Rocky Butte’s owners (Parkrose’s Bryan Atkinson is another owner) and barista extraordinaire. We love having them out here in our little corner of Portland (Sumner-Roseway-Madison South), which I continue to enjoy more and more the longer I live here.

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Four Things I Learned This Week (January 3)

Happy New Year, everyone! I took much of the holidays off from the blog, and am glad to be back. I hope everyone had a good time during the holidays. I don’t know about you, but the fact that Christmas and New Years both fell on a Wednesday caused time to feel a little wonky, so there’s a chance I heard some of these things last week, too. So it goes.

Year End Roundups, Roundups, Roundups. The Oregonian put together a several restaurant roundups—one for 2019 and one for the decade, painful restaurant closures, and new dishes for 2019. Karen Brooks at PoMo tells us about “the year’s best dishes you never heard of.” 2019’s Best Bites from the Merc. Best food neighborhoods from Eater. No doubt there will be people who disagree with these compiled articles.

Doe Donuts is Open! Yes, they are finally open in their new space by the Hollywood Theatre. Plus they have softserve and scooped ice cream in addition to their vegan donuts.

New Seasons’ Central Kitchen closed… just temporarily? What a mess. Workers showed up to find out they couldn’t clock in. Then they were told it was only temporary. From my vantage point, there was a lot of back tracking from management. I hope things improve for the folks who need it.

Closings: Bar Avignon and Russell Street BBQ felt abrupt and we will miss them.