El Sombrero Tapatio Archives - Page 2 of 2

December 23, 2024March 30, 2025

Favorite Bites in Portland in 2024

Salmon nigiri with truffles. — Beautifully plated sushi at Janken.

This year I ate at a variety of places—some fancy, some more modest. But they all served me excellent, tasty, wonderful food. Here are my favorite bites in Portland in 2024.

Bison Coffeehouse: Cafe Latte

Located in Cully on Cully Blvd, this is one of two Native-owned cafes in Portland (the other being All Your Heart Coffee in South Portland). I was there for a meeting with a neighbor and ordered a latte. One of the things I was offered by the barista was a choice of espresso roasts, and I chose a medium roast—this meant the Shoshone Blend, a coffee bean from Honduras medium-roasted by Native Coffee Traders. It was lovely, with notes of chocolate and nuts; plus expertly streamed milk. This is one of the best lattes I’ve had all year. 3941 NE Cully Blvd, Portland. Bison Coffeehouse website

October 7, 2024October 27, 2024

Halloween 2024: Food and Drink in Portland

Spooky season is upon us! Halloween 2024 in Portland offers plenty of things to do: decorate your home, trick-or-treat, tour a haunted house, go to a costume party. But for us, we are focused on the spooky food and drink treats for this time of the year. There’s plenty out there to enjoy, too!

I’ll continue to update this post over the month of October as new treats make themselves known.

Caseus Diem

Through the end of October, Caseus Diem presents the Boo-Brie: President-brand Brie with Divina sour cherry spread for $13.

3320 SE Division Street, Portland. Caseus Diem website.

December 29, 2023January 4, 2026

Favorites of 2023: Bakeries, Food Trucks, Restaurants, Bars, Cafes

Truly, one of the most beautiful salads I ate this year. It was a seasonal special of sharp greens, strawberries, daikons, onions, radishes, causa, and a chicha morada lavender vinagreta from Reeva.

Welcome back to another end of year list. Instead of publishing our Four Things column today, I’m giving you a list of my favorite spots of 2023, where I enjoyed happy times eating and drinking. There’s a whole variety of places, some established, some new. This list is in no particular order, aside from alphabetically; in other words, no top pick. Please enjoy!

Cheese and Crack

For my birthday this year we had lunch at Paadee and then headed a couple doors down to Cheese & Crack for their titular sundae. I maintain that they make the best soft serve ice cream in Portland. It is smooth, creamy, and luscious. The toppings on this sundae are classic: chocolate ganache, cinnamon butter cracker crumble, and torched housemade marshmallow fluff. The sundaes really are enough for two, and their seasonal sundaes never cease to impress with their magical toppings combinations. 22 SE 28th Avenue, Portland. cheeseandcrack.com