Harder Day Coffee Is Opening a New Cafe in the Hollywood District

The entrance to what is going to be Harder Day Coffee on NE Sandy and 46th Avenue

Well friends, this time it’s real—a coffee shop is indeed opening up in the building at NE Sandy Blvd and 46th Avenue. This time around it’s Harder Day Coffee—they’ll bring coffee, beer, and dessert in comfy digs, to the Hollywood District. I met up with Brody Day (and bonus: Allie Heckman, Director of Operations), one of the co-owners of Harder Day (and Steeplejack Brewing) to chat with him about what they have planned for the cafe, and see where they are in the process of opening.

Continue reading “Harder Day Coffee Is Opening a New Cafe in the Hollywood District”

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

Continue reading “Small Bites: Wonderlove Is Open, Portland Taco Ride, Top Portland Pizzas, and More”

Screaming Sammies Ice Cream Sandwiches Pops Up in Sellwood

An ice cream sandwich
Not a Screaming Sammie, but a great ice cream sandwich I ate years ago.

On Sunday night, I learned about a handmade ice cream sandwich pop-up in Sellwood identified as “Screaming Sammies.” This is an old school kind of venture, with no apparent online presence, only a physical presence in Sellwood, and a reputation that is spread by word of mouth IRL and in online forums.

Continue reading “Screaming Sammies Ice Cream Sandwiches Pops Up in Sellwood”

Four Things I Learned This Week (April 12)

Pho Gabo’s owner will sue the city of Portland. Back in February, Eddie Dong was forced to close Pho Gabo because of complaints that his restaurant violated city code related to odors. Now he’s planning on suing the city. His claim is that he suffered “reputational harm, fear, humiliation, embarrassment, emotional distress, and loss of his community that he built as a Vietnamese restaurant in the Portland community.” His claim also alleges he suffered “economic and noneconomic damages related to the City’s subjective, selective and disproportionate enforcement of city codes.” 7330 NE Fremont Street, Portland

Helen Bernhard Bakery is 100 years old this year. Big congrats to this bakery staple in Irvington, offering cakes, pastries, breads, donuts, and more for a century. It was started by someone actually named Helen Bernhard, a woman of German descent and a minister’s wife. I first had their peanut butter banana cake for a birthday party year ago, and loved it! You can also get King Cakes there during Mardi Gras season. I especially like their almond rings. 1717 NE Broadway #1775, Portland

The Montavilla Food Co-op can now legally package their own food. The Co-op sent out news this week: “We completed our inspection and got fully licensed to repackage shelf stable foods under the Montavilla Food Co-op label!” They will be renting space at Quiche Me If You for their repackaging work. Their long-term goal is to open a grocery store but have been acting like a buying club in the meantime. Read about them, here, and join if you like. 411 SE 81st Avenue Portland

Pronto Gelato is coming to Cully. Brought to you by Andrea Spella (Spella Coffee) and George Kaden (Campana), they joined together in 2023 and started production in early 2024, after buying a gelato business in Eugene from its owner, who was retiring. They are still working things out at the Cully location but you can try their gelato now at Campana and Spella Cafe. Other locations are in the plans, too. According to Gary the Foodie, “The Alberta location will be both a gelateria and caffe.” That means affogati, too. 4205 NE Alberta Street, Portland

Four Things I Learned This Week (February 23)

Fermenter is closing, then reimagining. Despite the O’s clickable headline, “Award-winning Portland vegan restaurant to close,” that’s only half the story. Sure, they are (get ready for some shouting) “CLOSING THE DING DANG FERMENTER DOWN ON MARCH 31st” but “OPENING UP SOMETHING ELSE IN APRIL BUT IT’S TOP SECRET BUT ONE RAD THING IS WE DON’T HAVE TO BREAK UP THE CREW. YAY JOBS!” So head to Fermenter to enjoy their current work until the end of March, and get excited for whatever comes next. More on their Instagram post. 1403 SE Belmont Street, Portland

Kure Superfoods Cafe moves into old Hopscotch space. No, not that Hopscotch, but the shuttered place on SE Hawthorne that offered, among other things, New Jersey-style bar pies. I actually passed the empty storefront earlier this month when I was checking out the new location of Michael’s Italian Beer and Sausage and wondered if anything would move in soon. A Bridgetown Bites reader told me about Kure taking up the SE Hawthorne space and it turns out that, despite them being a local chain opening up another location, this is the transition that the OG Kure cart is making—leaving it behind and moving into a real deal brick & mortar, right across the street.

An additional element that crossed my desk this morning was the story of the woman who owns the house in whose front yard the Kure cart was born. She wants to sell her home, but only to “the right buyer.” Is it you? 4380 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland

Frozen custard in a flower shop. I only recently became aware of this setup in NE Portland’s Colibri florist on NE Prescott just west of 15th Ave, across from that little cluster of eateries that includes VilleVello Bakery (home of amazing quiche) and CereusPDX. Now about this frozen custard biz:

Cornet Custard is the wild, inspired child of Mika Paredes and Naomi Pomeroy of Beast restaurant fame. After working together on and off since 2004, the pair came back together post-pandemic at the short-lived (but much adored) Ripe Cooperative. There at Ripe, Mika got to work creating the RICHEST, MOST LUXURIOUS Frozen Custard ever known — with 12 egg yolks in every quart— inspired by CLASSIC FLAVORS using old fashioned methods and the VERY BEST INGREDIENTS.”

Along with flowers and plants at Colibri, you’ll find “a secret espresso counter and a freezer full of Cornet Custard.” They scoop in real time, too: Saturdays and Sundays, noon to 4pm. 1454 NE Prescott Street, Portland

Sebastiano’s timeline. Dan and Elise over at Sebastiano’s “tell it like it is” when it comes to transitions, over on their Instagram—a big ball of mixed feelings and memories. They also provided a timeline for their work and locations:

February 21 – 24 – Final Full Week in Montavilla
February 28 – 29 – Last Two Days in Montavilla
March 2 – Come see us @thewildbunchpdx
March 7-9 Opening Weekend in Sellwood
March 11 – Open 6 Days a Week in Sellwood

I’m sad to see them leave Montavilla but at the same time happy for them as they grow and change. Looking forward to hitting them up in Sellwood! 411 SE 81st Avenue (Montavilla) and 8235 SE 13th Avenue (Sellwood), Portland