Small Bites: Orange Julius, Beer, FIKA, El Mercado, and More

Orange Julius retro.
This is the Orange Julius branding I remember from years past. Photo credit: Retro News Now.

Farewell, Orange Julius. The Oregonian reported that Portland’s last remaining Orange Julius, located in the Lloyd Center, was closing (by now, it’s in the past tense). The franchise’s owner, Bob Slayton, died from cancer on May 19. This Orange Julius had been around for 42 years. I have fond memories of going to the OJ in the mall near me in SoCal during my youth, enjoying one of their drinks along with a pretzel from “Pretzels and Cheese.” Read more about Bob and his business over on The O. 2314 Lloyd Center, Portland

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Four Things I Learned This Week (April 4) in Portland Food

Reeva turned 3 this week. When I saw the post from Reeva, one of Portland’s great food trucks, that started out as “Dear Reeva Family,” I thought, “Nooooooooooo, don’t close!” Thankfully, I had it all wrong—they were there to tell us that yesterday was their three-year anniversary!

At the end of the post they said, “As we celebrate this milestone, we’re filled with gratitude and excitement for what’s ahead. Here’s to more good food, great company, and unforgettable moments. Thank you for being part of our story!” Here, hear! Love having them in the Roseway neighborhood. 7727 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland

There are still tickets for Sabor de Primavera. At the writing of this article, you can get tickets for the 7pm to 8:30pm of this event on Sunday, April 6. From the good folks at Veganizer, this is a fundraiser they call, “Spring Fiesta to Benefit Growing Gardens.” Growing Gardens cultivates “healthy and equitable communities through the experience of growing food in schools, backyards, and correctional facilities.”

There will be six Mexican restaurants participating: Chelo, Chilango, Machetes, Mis Tacones, Ice Queen, and Libre. You can see what they are planning to serve, plus buy tickets, which are $88 + fees. 920 NE Glisan Street, Portland

En Vida has closed. Over on Bluesky, I was told that En Vida has closed their location on NE Fremont Street. “Unfortunately this has been confirmed by the owner,” said the public tipster. On the En Vida Instagram they also state, “we are permanently closed.” The silver lining is that you can get their food at TPK Brewing—En Vida’s plate of arepitas de queso was one of my favorite bites from 2024. 1303 NE Fremont Street, Portland

Food & Wine ranks Portland as the fourth best place in the US for coffee. Food & Wine has an annual award called the “Global Tastemakers Award”—this is its third year, so it’s fairly new. It celebrates “very best in culinary travel around the world” and the number of cities included is at 165. There’s a lot of content on their landing page, so normally you’ll be clicking a lot, but KOIN extracted what Portlanders want to know: how the city fits into these rankings.

It’s only about the coffee in this case; Portland was not included in lists of top U.S. food, drink, and restaurant cities. Nine cafes/roasters were mentioned in the list: Stumptown, Heart, Cathedral, Hypnos, Good Coffee, Capitola, Prince, Never, and Upper Left. Feel free to leave your favorite in the comments. Multiple locations


Stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:

Taste of Szechuan Has Opened in the Old Eastern Cathay Space in Portland
Food Waste Prevention Week in Portland
The 2025 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards Finalists in Portland
Passover 2025 in Portland

We’ve also updated our Easter roundup. Fat Milo’s and Sabor Del Rio Cafe are both now open. And remember: Food Waste Prevention Week starts Monday.

Halloween 2024: Food and Drink in Portland

This is a vintage Jack O'Lantern.

Spooky season is upon us! Halloween 2024 in Portland offers plenty of things to do: decorate your home, trick-or-treat, tour a haunted house, go to a costume party. But for us, we are focused on the spooky food and drink treats for this time of the year. There’s plenty out there to enjoy, too!

I’ll continue to update this post over the month of October as new treats make themselves known.

Caseus Diem

Through the end of October, Caseus Diem presents the Boo-Brie: President-brand Brie with Divina sour cherry spread for $13.

3320 SE Division Street, Portland. Caseus Diem website.

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