Portland food news and views
Some of the dumplings you can expect from 2023 Dumpling Week. Photo credit: the Oregonian
I love dumplings—and I love promoting Dumpling Week here on the blog because it’s one of my favorite themed food fests in Portland. Many thanks to the Oregonian for producing it each year. Basically you get some special dumplings for $14 or less per plate (up from $10/plate in 2019). Simple and delicious, from Sunday, January 29 to Saturday, February 4.
Continue reading “Dumpling Week 2023 (It’s Back)”Kachka pelmeni (frozen) at New Seasons. In the ICYMI category, Kachka’s delicious pelmeni are available in your local New Seasons frozen food aisle. Personally, I love the cherry ones in particular, but they are all good. Various locations in the greater Portland area
Burger Week is bigger than ever this year. The Portland Mercury presents its Burger Week event again this summer. It runs from Monday, August 15 to Sunday, August 21; there are 48 different burgers to eat and they will cost you eight dollars each. See what burgers will be available, here—there will be vegetarian / vegan options, gluten-free options, and takeout options. There’s a lot of really good looking burgers this year. Various locations around Portland
Pacific Crust Pizza Company has closed. For whatever reason, Portland pizza news is big right now (Handsome Pizza and Hogan’s Goat closing have been on our radar). Another one bites the dust, as they say: Pacific Crust Pizza Company, which was located in the Hotel Lucia, called it quits in downtown Portland and are moving on to a new home (where, is still a mystery as of this writing). It just wasn’t a good fit for the more urban downtown, as their vibe is about the outdoors and recreational camping—Willamette Week reported, “We’re looking to reopen soon in a space that allows us to have outdoor fire pits, picnic tables and true outdoor vibes to fit our brand better.” Destination unknown
Company Bar is now open. A new natural wine bar, Company, opened recently and had their opening event last weekend. From the event post: “Tucked away in a parking lot just off Belmont, Company is Portland’s newest garage bar. We’ll be serving a selection of natural wine glass pours and Modelo. They kicked off the party Friday night (8/5) in the afternoon “with Yawning and DJ Mr. Mumu spinning ’70’s soul and funk vinyl.” They are pretty excited to be there. Nearby neighbors include spots we’ve featured on this blog: Old Pal and Sugar Hill, and they are right next door to Lilith Rocket Ceramics studio. Looks like a nice addition to the neighborhood. 916 SE 34th Avenue, Suite B, Portland
Din Tai Fung is coming to Pioneer Place. I first caught wind of this yesterday from the Portland Business Journal and yesterday morning The Oregonian confirmed it. A second Portland Biz Journal article confirmed it, too: “A representative for Brookfield Properties and Pioneer Place confirmed Thursday that a world renowned Taiwanese restaurant is coming to Pioneer Place shopping center.” This is a win for soup dumpling lovers in Portland. Look for a 2023 opening. 700 SW 5th Avenue, Portland
Two 82nd Ave wings recommendations. This week I picked up on two solid recommendations of places to get tasty quality wings in Portland—Utopia Lounge and Mekong Bistro. Utopia Lounge is in the northern section of Montavilla, and according to Yelp they’ve done some recent renovation inside (there’s karaoke, too). Their fish sauce wings (these are the style of wings made famous at Pok Pok) with a cold beer is the perfect pairing; pepper salted squid and shaking beef also come recommended. Then there’s the “Crazy Wings” at Mekong Bistro in Madison South, a Cambodian restaurant. A “thick fish garlic sauce” enrobes the wings, accompanied by crispy onions. 1125 NE 82nd Avenue and 8200 NE Siskiyou Street, Portland
Food Fight! vegan grocery has new owners. Beth and Adam are the new owners of Food Fight! and posted about it over on the FF! Facebook page. They wrote, “We are best friends that have been married 25 years. Some of you may already know Beth from the store, she’s been working here the last few months. Adam is a Master Mechanic who loves to share his knowledge with anyone that needs help. Portland has been our home for a few years now and we love this vegan paradise.” Read more over on the post. 11155 NE Halsey Street, Portland
Flour Market cafe featured on GoodStuffNW. Kathleen Bauer, who writes the excellent blog GoodStuffNW, stopped in at Flour Market, a bakery/cafe that opened up recently on 30th Avenue and Killingsworth and wrote about her time there. I liked this part especially:
“I myself am particularly fond of the pastelitos, squared layers of shatteringly crisp, flaked croissant dough that Matt, the croissant savant at the market’s production bakery, whose family has roots in Puerto Rico, made and filled with cream cheese and a guava paste that an aunt sent in a care package.”
Guava and cheese, one of my favorite combinations. I look forward to stopping in soon. 5507 NE 30th Avenue, Portland
What a week—I almost had Grand Jury Duty, but wasn’t randomly picked, so Bridgetown Bites will continue to publish this month, when it was at risk of taking a month-long hiatus (Grand Jury Duty is a month-long commitment). Have a good weekend!
A reminder about Ukranian perogies. Every Saturday at St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Sellwood sells Ukrainian-style perogies, cabbage rolls, and garlic sausages. This is just one way to support the Ukrainian community in Portland. 8014 SE 16th Avenue, Portland
Kachka is raising funds to help Ukraine. 100% of proceeds of their Chervona Wine cocktail will be donated to Red Cross Ukraine to support the people experiencing the war in Ukraine. 960 SE 11th Avenue, Portland
Pho Kim reopens. They’ve been in the midst of a soft opening this past week, and this 82nd Avenue Vietnamese restaurant will have their grand opening on Sunday, March 6. Back in 2020 a fire shut them down and they’ve been working on repairs since then. Along with enjoying delicious food there will be a White Lotus Lion Dance performance around noon to celebrated the re-opening. Check out the Montavilla News article for more info. 2204 SE 82nd Avenue, Portland
Vtopia Restaurant & Cheese Shop is now Fru Fru Terra. This vegan cheese shop in SW Portland has changed their name and currently operates as a vegan cheese and wine bar. They have set their sights on moving to SE Portland from their current Goose Hollow location, likely in fall 2022. Now, why did they change their name to Fru Fru Terra? Here’s their explanation:
“It is in abbreviation of the Latin words, Frui Fruges Terrae, which means to ‘enjoy fruits of the earth,’ which is precisely the experience we want you to have when entering our new space and elevated concept.” 1628 SW Jefferson Street, Portland
It’s always interesting to see what readers especially like on this little blog—food news dominates, and it’s heartening to see you all like dumplings as much as I do. So here’s what got the most traffic in February 2022. As always, thanks for reading!
5. City Bridge & Tunnel Bar to Open Downtown in the Spring
A new bar opening in downtown Portland? Maybe the pandemic really is slowing down. In any case, it’s a good thing—City Bridge & Tunnel, a cocktail bar in the old Shift Drinks space is looking to open this spring, hopefully in March.
Continue reading “Top 5 Posts on Bridgetown Bites, February 2022”