Fresh Love Archives - Page 5 of 6

March 10, 2023March 10, 2023

Four Things I Learned This Week (March 10)

Green Zebra Grocery will close at the end of March. Very sorry to hear of this news, which has been plastered all over food media this week. You can read the official press release on their website (or, via this PDF). I’ll admit: I only shopped at Green Zebra occasionally; their prices were higher than a lot of places around town. I didn’t realize they considered themselves to be a “healthy convenience store,” but in hindsight, that makes sense. The reasons for shutting down, from Lisa Sedlar, Green Zebra’s founder and CEO:

“We experienced 9 straight quarters of increases to our cost of goods, packaging, fuel, insurance, taxes, freight charges and well, pretty much everything. Combine that with supply chain and staffing shortages and razor thin grocery margins, we just couldn’t overcome all the obstacles. We definitely gave it our all and fought the good fight. We are thankful for the opportunity to have been in service to our community.”

Get moar zeppole! Last week I mentioned the availability of zeppole from Bella Italian Bakery in Lents; today I am telling you about the availability of zeppole at Sebastiano’s. They are offering these delicious St. Joseph’s Day pastries—“a pate choux pastry with pastry cream and ricotta filling”—via pre-order for pickup Wednesday, March 15 to Saturday, March 18. You can order 4-, 6-, and 12-packs of zeppole at the Sebastiano’s Tock page. Order soon; supplies are limited. 411 SE 81st Avenue, Portland

Food trucks for Argay? Project under review. Currently occupied by the Taqueriea Queretaro food truck and LadyBug Bikini Espresso Drive Thru, this lot has potential new plans in the works. Permits have been submitted to convert it into a full-blown food truck lot/pod for 10 food trucks, seating, and parking. Some of you may know this intersection from it being in your neighborhood; some may know it as just a little bit east of the turn for Costco; and for some as the location of the Sandy Hot Wings Cafe, which made into a roundup from PoMo last year of the best chicken wings in Portland. Taqueria Queretaro also gets a lot of love. NE 141st Avenue and Sandy Blvd, Portland

New salad at Fresh Love. I’m a big fan of the prepared food at Fresh Love—salads, soups, bowls, sandwiches. All have been excellent. They have a new salad on the menu that I am eager to try: “We are moving into spring with this crunchy munchy Little Gem salad with blue cheese dressing, hard boiled egg, crispy sour dough croutons, avocado and pickled mustard seeds.”

Let me tell you about pickled mustard seeds—I first tasted them on an unusual dish back in Astoria at the long-gone Queens Kickshaw. The dish was a cold poached egg with miso butter and pickled mustard seeds. I was a bit dubious at first, but these tangy seeds were a great mix of flavor and texture, and I’ve never forgotten them. Looking forward to trying the ones from Fresh Love in this salad. 7434 NE Fremont Street, Portland

January 20, 2023January 20, 2023

Small Bites – NA Drinking, Brunch, Awards, Vegan Milkshakes, and More

Cast Iron Butter Baked Eggs for the returning brunch service at The Observatory. Photo credit: The Observatory

After a sort of sleepy December on my part, I’ve been jotting down various Portland food-related tidbits I’ve encountered this week and am pleased to present this Small Bites post, replacing my usual Four Things I Learned This Week column. Enjoy the variety.

Besaws is opening back up. The Portland Business Journal reports on Eater’s news that Besaw’s and Solo Club will reopen later this month. Sounds like a variety of things have been going on to delay this good news. I’m happy to hear of this reopening—years ago, my family had brunch at Besaw’s (original location) and it was a really good time, so the place has a warm spot in my heart. 1545 NW 21st Avenue, Portland

December 23, 2022December 23, 2022

Four Things I Learned This Week (December 23)

Welcome to a most frigid edition of FTILTW. I hope you are all staying safe and warm.

My-O-My bar to open January 2023. I got a message this week with a little more info on the opening of My-O-My, the new bar opening up in the old Rocky Butte Pub building (indeed it is past summer): “We are shooting for early January opening, but not sure on an exact date yet.” They will post about it when they have a more solid date and I’ll do my best to pass that on here on the blog. 8627 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland

Goodbye, FEAST. It appears that FEAST’s run is over. From an email this week: “In an interview with Karen Brooks at Portland Monthly Magazine today, I shared the news that our festival would not be returning—not in 2023 and not ever again. Such a message would have been unthinkable just a couple of years ago, but a lot has changed since early 2020—both for our organization, and for the communities with which we are aligned.”

The article/interview at PoMo is worth a read, so head over there for more details. I only attended FEAST once, and that was as a volunteer. Real talk: it was too expensive for my budget (the less expensive events were always sold out very, very early on) to attend as a guest. I’m glad so many people enjoyed it over the years, though.

Rose Valley Creamery milk now at Fresh Love. I was happy to hear that Fresh Love is now carrying Rose Valley Creamery milk. I’m not sure how many of you reading know this, but I used to be involved with the raw milk community in NYC and drank a lot of unpasteurized milk for a half dozen years or so. I never got sick, but I understand how some recoil at the idea of drinking raw milk. It’s not for everyone.

A great alternative to raw milk is low-temp pasteurization, aka “low and slow.” Your milk is safe from bugs like listeria through the pasteurization process but a lot of the good stuff remains (nutrients, enzymes). It’s good for drinking, for yogurt making and cheese making; UHT milk is pretty much dead, for all intents and purposes. Rose Valley Creamery’s milk has a lot of pros: cream top/non-homogenized, organic, pastured, grass-fed/foraged. Head to their FAQ page for more info on their milk. 7434 NE Fremont Street, Portland

Ki’ikibáa open in the old La Parilla space. Back in November a kind Bridgetown Bites reader told me about Ki’ikibáa having opened in the old La Parilla Kitchen space, but I was under a deluge of editing around that time and it languished in my inbox. In that email he wrote, “I’ve only been able to taste a few of their Yucatan specialties, and was quite pleased and the owners are delightful.”

I was glad to see The Oregonian writing about this new Yucatecan spot, which you can read here. A key takeaway is that Manuel “Manny” Lopez of Angel Food & Fun fame is running things and people are pretty excited about that. A friend and I will be stopping by soon to check it out. 3244 NE 82nd Avenue, Portland

Sending each and every one of you peace and good will this holiday season! Happy Haunkkah, Happy Solstice, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, and lots of great health to us all!

December 8, 2022December 8, 2022

5 Recent Bites – Avocado Toast, Pig Newton, and More

I thought it might be fun to talk about five of the most delicious things I’ve had recently here in Portland. We continue to be fortunate to have so many good things to eat in this town.

Avocado Toast: Saint Simon

Back in May, Saint Simon opened a new location on Brazee and 15th in the Irvington neighborhood, and it has been a total hit. There are often long lines of people waiting to get a cup of their excellent espresso, baked goods from Nuvrei, and a chance to hang out in a comfortable space for a little while. Their outdoor seating is really nice in the warmer months, too. But year-round they have this avocado toast that is just wonderful.

November 14, 2022November 15, 2022

Fresh Love on Hello, Rose City! Today

Screencap from Serina Leedy representing Fresh Love on KGW’s “Hello, Rose City!” segment today.

Back in June of this year, Fresh Love opened to the public in Roseway, in the old Red Gate space on NE Fremont. Ben Cutler and Serina Leedy, Fresh Love’s owners, have totally transformed the space, with a vegetable mural circling the insides; new bench seating; a bright, light-filled dining room; and lots of delicious things, prepared and otherwise.