fermentation Archives - Bridgetown Bites

September 30, 2024October 27, 2024

The 2024 Portland Fermentation Festival Is Almost Here

Kimchi from the 2019 Portland Fermentation Festival in Portland, Oregon. — Kimchi from 2019’s Portland Fermentation Festival.

I was happy to learn that the 2024 Portland Fermentation Fest is back this October, offering all sorts of wonderfully fizzy, funky, and stinky food and drink, all thanks to friendly bacteria and their metabolic partying. Think yogurt, sauerkraut, kombucha, pickles, tempeh, and more, all beautifully featured right here in Portland. It’s pickling and preserving season, too, so this is a great time to learn about this form of food preservation, or grow your appreciation of it further. Note: As of the afternoon of October 10, tickets are sold out.

June 28, 2024June 28, 2024

Small Bites: Wonderlove Is Open, Portland Taco Ride, Top Portland Pizzas, and More

The space that is Wonderlove. — Behold, Wonderlove. Photo credit: Wonderlove

Wonderlove is open (partially). This is good news—the SE Portland food cart/bar/entertainment venue Wonderlove is open! A post on Instagram about a week ago goes like this:

“So excited to partially open! 11am-7pm. The first stage of our amazing journey starts now with opening (a few )of our fantastic food carts! And that’s not all—we’re also serving adult beverages out of the Wondercat Pizza Cart! Stay tuned because the Wonderlove Bar is the second act, and it’s coming soon!” 262 SE Main Street, Portland

April 9, 2024August 14, 2024

Goodbye Fermenter, Hello Il Paffuto

Il Paffuto signage with reflection — Photo credit: Il Paffuto

As readers of this blog know, Fermenter closed its doors in March, with the promise of a new concept in its place. That new concept is Il Paffuto, which in the words of owner Aaron Adams, “basically means fat guy, which is one way to describe me for sure.” And while it sounds like this is going to be an Italian restaurant, Aaron emphasizes that the food is “DEFINITELY NOT TRADITIONAL ITALIAN”—but they will serve pasta (so think, “Italian-inspired”). He will bring with him the work he’s done with craft fermentation in the restaurant space. As he told me, “If you liked Portobello and Fermenter, you’ll like Il Paffuto.”

December 15, 2021December 15, 2021

Fermenter Workshop – Exciting Times for Fermentation in Portland

Beautiful vinegars at Fermenter Workshop: Strawberry-Rhubarb Elderflower, Celeriac Leaf Kombucha Vinegar, and Backyard Perry Cider Vinegar.

For a while I’ve been aware of Fermenter, a place devoted to making vegan “craft ferments” (love this phrase) from local, organic ingredients. Fermenter is run in part by Aaron Adams of Farm Spirit fame; Maya Carlile and August Winningham also lead the efforts at Fermenter. And according to Fermenter staff, their Fermenter Workshop is now open to the public!

December 10, 2021December 11, 2021

Small Bites – Rangoon Bistro, Sebastiano’s Cannoli, Closings, Openings, and Breakfast

The highly-praised cannoli at Sebastiano’s. Photo credit: Sebastiano’s

I came across so many interesting tidbits this week, so here’s a Small Bites in place of Four Things.

Banh Mi Boys update. Back in September (in another Small Bites post) I wrote about the arrival of Metairie-based Banh Mi Boys in the old Doe Donuts space on SE 82nd Ave. Turns out that space has not worked out for them so they are on the hunt for another location. Here’s hoping they stay on the east side (but I’m biased that way). New location TBD