Small Bites: Mudd Works Cafe, Futura, Next Level Burger, and More

Seasonal salad at Fresh Love.
Seasonal salad at Fresh Love. Photo credit: Fresh Love.

Mudd Works Cafe has moved. Earlier this week, the Mudd Works folks moved their cafe into Replicant, a bar and bottle shop, just a half block away from where they were. I believe the roastery will stay put. This new location gives them more space and seating, too. 7033 NE Glisan Street, Portland

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Small Bites: Kachka, Bar Nouveau, Mayor Millie, and More

Mayor Millie's Mexican Lager label at Montavilla Brew Works.
Mayor Millie will be there at this Saturday’s event!

A new cocktail bar from Kachka is coming this summer. The Portland Business Journal reports that Kachka will open a “full bar concept” in what was the Aimsir Distilling space. Aimsir closed in early January; you may be aware of the tension between them and Jade Rabbit, who are now operating on SE Belmont and 23rd.

Anyway, the article indicates that “[Owner Bonnie] Morales had already leased 2,100 square feet in the same building for a production facility. Half of that space was earmarked for distilling Kachka’s horseradish vodka. The vodka production started in the new space in February, Morales said. By taking over the Aimsir lease, Kachka is adding another 1,500 square feet, but more importantly, the space comes with a fully built out kitchen and distilling equipment.” No name for the bar yet, but I’ll keep an eye on it. 2117 NE Oregon Street, Portland

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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

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Four Things I Learned This Week (November 15)

Sortis Holdings in the news again. The Oregonian reports “Four creditors for Sortis Holdings, who claim they’re owed a combined $8.3 million, are petitioning to force the company into bankruptcy and liquidate its collection of Northwest brands.” This includes Bamboo Sushi and Sizzle Pie; Water Avenue (acquired by Harder Day over the summer) and See See Motor (now One Moto) dodged that bullet. Various locations

Morning deals at Fresh Love. This Roseway-based cafe and grocery has three morning deals for you during the start of the week. On Monday, purchase a 16 oz juice or smoothie and get a complimentary chocolate chip-sea salt cookie; on Tuesday, buy a breakfast sandwich and get a free 12 oz drip coffee; and on Wednesday, order an avocado toast and receive an 8oz apple or orange juice. 7434 NE Fremont Street, Portland

Renovated indoor space at The Heist is now open. The Heist, a popular food cart pod in the Woodstock neighborhood, is now “home to the largest indoor seating area of any food cart pod in Portland.” It’s located inside the building on the property that used to be a bank. They are doing a grand opening celebration this weekend, where you can check out the new features: “a new coffee shop, craft cocktail bar, arcade room, and vault.”

Celebrate with them on Saturday, November 16, 6:30pm to 9:30pm. All ages welcome. 4727 SE Woodstock Blvd, Portland

Tierra del Sol consolidates their work in Montavilla. Because the Mercado is still kinda stuck (reconstruction starts in January 2025) Tierra del Sol has chosen to close its location there and focus on their space at Montavilla’s Rocket Empire Machine food court. From Amalia, the owner: “This is a good opportunity for you to get to know our second location, if you haven’t already. Here, we have a more extended menu with breakfast, indoor seating, and you can get a beer from Gigantic Brewing Company, which goes perfect with our food!” They will resume their cart operations at the Mercado on January 2, 2025. 6935 NE Glisan Street, Portland


Stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:

3 Doors Down Cafe Has Closed
Meet the Benson Hotel’s 2024 Gingerbread Masterpiece on December 3
Updates To Off-Site Odor Impacts Regulations in Portland
Domingo’s Will Open in the Old Pollo Norte Space

Four Things I Learned This Week (October 18)

The NYT Portland 25. The New York Times published a list called “The 25 Best Restaurants in Portland, Ore., Right Now.” Here’s a gift article in case you haven’t been able to access it. It’s part of the Times’ Where to Eat: 25 Best series, which will take place in various cities around the U.S. It’s a pretty solid list but of course, Portlanders have already remarked on restaurants that didn’t make it on the list but should have. For me, the one I am most curious about is Pasar, so I need to add that to my own eating list. Various locations

Fresh Love: What’s coming? Ben Cutler, one of the owners of Fresh Love (one of my favorite food places in town) shared news about a few new things coming to this sweet little eatery and small grocery store in the Roseway neighborhood. They include bulk items (they are working what exactly they will carry); half pints of Pronto Gelato; some local frozen meat options; and more. If you haven’t been by any time soon, definitely head over for a sandwich, salad, smoothie, and some of the best avocados in town. 7434 NE Fremont Street, Portland

ICYMI, break-ins at Rose City Food Park. I often mention how empty storefronts are no bueno, but break-ins plain piss me off. This past week there were three carts in the Rose City Food Park pod that were broken into: Momo House, Ocean Sushi, and J Vein Caffe. Like most cowards, they did it in the middle of the night, around 3am. What was stolen? Tools, spare parts, and tablets, which means online ordering systems are negatively affected. The sushi cart had just moved to the pod within the last week. As its owner, Nai Tun, says, “It feels so bad.” 5235 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland

Trimet talks coffee. I recently discovered that Trimet publishes a blog. It’s mostly about transit-centric stuff, like safety on Trimet, but this week they published a post called “10 unique Portland-area coffee shops you can visit by TriMet.” I was familiar with most of the Portland-proper cafes, but many of the ones in the suburbs are new to me, and I look forward to checking them out. Also, I would add Case Study to both downtown and NE Portland, as the one downtown is right on the MAX line, and the NE one is right on the 12 line. Various locations.


Stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:

NYC Pizzeria To Open a Second Location in Portland
Second Annual Bread Fest Is October 20
TAPTAP Cuisine Will Open a Restaurant on Sandy Blvd

Also: Bridgetown Bites is on Flipboard! If you use this platform—I do with a personal account, and love the “flipping” UI, so satisfying—feel free to follow us over there.