Portland food news and views
I heard about this food cart pod about six months ago but hadn’t tracked down much information readers would find interesting. Now I’m happy to say that I have a number of details to share with you on it. First, the pod will be located on the northeast corner of NE Halsey and 106th Avenue, extending north to NE Weidler.
Continue reading “The Pod on Halsey Is Coming to the Gateway Neighborhood”
We are comfortably into January 2024 and it’s time to take a look back at 2023’s most-read posts on Bridgetown Bites. They mostly involved openings and closings of restaurants and bars, but there was one article on an Asian market opening in SE Portland that made the list.
I’m happy to say that from an analytics POV, traffic almost doubled between 2022 and 2023 here on the blog. Regarding 2022 I said, “Over 55,000 visits were recorded, and almost 35,000 of those visits were new to the site.” In 2023 we had 106,000 unique visits, with 86,000 new to the site; these visitors generated almost 142,000 page views, too. Not too bad for this little independent blog.
I also read somewhere online that this blog skews toward NE Portland. That is a true statement. I also read in the same source that some readers would love to see more coverage of the west side of Portland. This is good feedback. will see what I can do about that, and diversifying geographically in general.
Thanks to all who have read, commented, sent tips (keep ’em coming!), and shared these articles/posts on social media and with friends. Here’s to another great year of delving into the Portland food world!
10. Yuginong Offers Gluten-Free Korean Fare in St. Johns
When I was at dinner the other night, my friends who live in St. Johns said “a Korean restaurant has finally opened in our neighborhood.” Of course, my interest was piqued so I asked more questions. The restaurant is Yuginong (or Yu Gi Nong), located in the space that was previously home to Sol Bowl and a Starbucks. They opened this past weekend.
Update: I hear only good things about Yuginong, with modifiers like “fresh,” “tasty,” and “very good.” I’m happy to know they are still going strong.
Continue reading “Top Posts on Bridgetown Bites in 2023”
Sketch of the new food cart pod coming to NE Fremont and 44th Avenue. Image credit: BWNA and Woodblock architecture.
This morning I read an email from a Bridgetown Bites reader about a new food cart pod coming to NE Fremont Street. It will be in the old Barrett Automotive space there on the northeast corner of 44th Avenue.
Continue reading “New Food Cart Pod Coming to NE Fremont”
The Burger King on NE Broadway during its better days. Photo credit: Google
For the longest time I’ve wondered what is up with the old Burger King building on NE Broadway. It has been fenced off for years and frankly, it’s kind of an eyesore. But I don’t have to wonder any longer—the site is going to become a food cart pod. Plus, for purposes of this post, there’s going to be a bonus food cart pod across the street.
Continue reading “Food Cart Pods Coming to NE Broadway in Grant Park”Shady Pines is closing. News of this vegan food truck pod’s closure was mentioned on a variety of social media channels. They’ll be open until the end of November and then the pod is over. Members of the pod are sad to be disbanding but I hope the various carts can find a home elsewhere. 5240 NE 42nd Avenue, Portland
Iraqi pilsner, what? In the “you learn something new every day” is the comment from Dar Salam that they offer an Iraqi pilsner on their menu: “Have you had our Iraqi beer? It’s the first Iraqi pilsner in U.S. and you can get it at both our Alberta and downtown location. Cheers!” Yet another reason to stop by for some of their excellent food and drink. 2921 NE Alberta Street, Portland and 320 SW Alder Street, Portland
The Gastro Obscura vending machine’s west coast premiere Saturday. As part of the Gastro Obscura book tour, the Atlas Obscura folks have built the “World’s Most Unusual Vending Machine.” It holds many intriguing things—“taste bud-bending miracle berries to color-changing edible flowers.” It sounds kinda Willy Wonka, in a way. The vending machine will make its west coast debut at the Portland Art Museum’s sculpture garden on Saturday, November 14 during an event from 2-5pm with Gastro Obscura‘s author, Cecily Wong. The vending machine will be around all weekend, though. 1219 SW Park Avenue, Portland
Montavilla’s Fillmore Coffee moves online. The Montavilla News has a nice writeup about Fillmore Coffee, which started as a coffee shop on NE Glisan, but has now moved to online sales and delivery. From the article: “As an online-only business, Fillmore is still evolving, according to [co-owner Tim] Willcox. ‘It’s still a work in progress. We’re building out a small Roastery and coffee lab. Things have been slower, yet still steady.’” Online at orderfillmorecoffee.com
