Portland food news and views
There are a whole bunch of salads recommended by Portlanders online—thanks especially to those who submitted their pics through the online form and for those who answered via Facebook. Here are some of their recommendations for salads + a mention of salads we haven’t tried, but want to.
Another great salad from New Seasons: Lemongrass Chicken
Continue reading “Reader/Online Salad Picks + Salads We Want to Try”Happy New Year, everyone! I took much of the holidays off from the blog, and am glad to be back. I hope everyone had a good time during the holidays. I don’t know about you, but the fact that Christmas and New Years both fell on a Wednesday caused time to feel a little wonky, so there’s a chance I heard some of these things last week, too. So it goes.
Year End Roundups, Roundups, Roundups. The Oregonian put together a several restaurant roundups—one for 2019 and one for the decade, painful restaurant closures, and new dishes for 2019. Karen Brooks at PoMo tells us about “the year’s best dishes you never heard of.” 2019’s Best Bites from the Merc. Best food neighborhoods from Eater. No doubt there will be people who disagree with these compiled articles.
Doe Donuts is Open! Yes, they are finally open in their new space by the Hollywood Theatre. Plus they have softserve and scooped ice cream in addition to their vegan donuts.
New Seasons’ Central Kitchen closed… just temporarily? What a mess. Workers showed up to find out they couldn’t clock in. Then they were told it was only temporary. From my vantage point, there was a lot of back tracking from management. I hope things improve for the folks who need it.
Closings: Bar Avignon and Russell Street BBQ felt abrupt and we will miss them.
Welcome to Four Things I Learned This Week! We have a nice variety this week—enjoy!
Twisted Croissant expands. Good news for Twisted Croissant fans: you’ll be able to find their products at Zupan’s Markets! Via their Instagram page: “Starting Monday @zupansmarkets will be carrying our croissants! NW Burnside, Lake Grove in Lake Oswego, SW Macadam in John’s Landing. We are excited and thrilled to be at their markets!
New Seasons sold to South Korean’s company. Big news in the local grocery store scene: New Seasons was sold to South Korean company Emart. Sale should be finalized in the new year. New Seasons has been owned by an out of state company for a while, so now it’s owned out of the country. There was hope that it could have become worker-owned, but that did not come to pass.
Coffee molecule love. Fascinating little tidbit on Facebook: “I was told that this light fixture is a caffeine molecule! How cool is that?!! This is at Case Study Coffee on NE Alberta.”
Tinker Tavern coming to Montavilla. Not much out there right now but a new drinking and eating establishment named Tinker Tavern is opening in the old Eco Baby Gear location in Montavilla (7890 SE Stark). The liquor license indicates Eric Mahan of Stammtisch and Prost! is involved.
It’s been a crazy week with some unusual and new experiences, so let’s turn to more enjoyable things—here’s what I learned about the Portland food scene this week .
There’s a Portland pizza podcast. Yes, that’s right, and it’s a no-brainer kind of thing for this pizza-loving town. It’s hosted by Pizza Jerk Chef/Owner Tommy Habetz: “Portland Pizza Podcast features in depth interviews with some of the biggest names in Pizza today.” There are only two episodes up right now so it’s easy to catch up.
Goodbye Baja Fresh. A tipster mentioned to me that the Baja Fresh in the Hollywood District closed and a post on the Hollywood Boosters Facebook page confirmed it. Maybe it’s not really a big deal in the Portland restaurant ecosystem, but they offered a perhaps slightly healthier, slightly fresher option for those seeking fast food in Hollywood.
Make baklava in Hollywood. While perusing the Hollywood Star during my most recent and outrageously delicious meal at Laughing Planet, I noticed this gem:
MAKE BAKLAVA
Nov 19, 3-4pm. Learn to make baklava just in time for the holidays with Armenian chef Angele Mahshigian. The sweet dessert is made with layers of filo dough filled with chopped nuts and drizzled with honey or syrup. Free. Registration required: 503-288-8303. Hollywood Senior Center, 1820 NE 40th Ave.
Arkansas Black apples in Portland. A tipster on Facebook noted that New Seasons in Hollywood currently has these unusual apples. This fruit is considered very special to some apple connoisseurs, and involves a little bit more time than your average apple. According to Atlas Obscura, “Arkansas Black apples aren’t meant to be eaten straight off the tree. In fact, the best thing you can do to one is put it in the refrigerator and forget about it until next season. Patient pickers are rewarded with a sweet, firm fruit that offers notes of cherry, cinnamon, vanilla, and coriander, but only after having aged it in cold storage for a few months.” I’m definitely intrigued.
Bonus: Shiny Alberta Co-op Grocery news. Glad to hear about the refresh at the Alberta Co-op Grocery, one of my favorite independent food markets in town. More about the project, designed by Portland’s Propel Studio:
“The demographics of this neighborhood have been changing a lot, and a lot of new people are moving here,” [Propel co-founder Lucas] Gray said. “A lot of people just didn’t know the co-op existed or didn’t go in for whatever reason. So part of it was just kind of giving it a fresh look and feel and then creating some transparency so people know that it’s there.”
That involved relocating shelving, merchandise, coolers and other items that had obstructed visibility in the past. The co-op also got all new shelving, new lighting and other accents to make the space more inviting.
“It’s much more visual now,” Gray said.
Here are another four things I learned this week in Portland food.
Columbia River Brewing Co. is making their barbecue more of a hook. Several months ago (truthfully, it might be more) Columbia River Brewing Co. in the Hollywood District (1728 NE 40th Avenue) started putting out a sandwich board in front of their entrance listing a wide variety of barbecued meat options. I asked them about it early on and they said they got a smoker and were taking advantage of it. This past weekend I noticed they had a new sign up on the northeast corner of Sandy and 40th Avenue with the words “Craft Beer & BBQ.”
You can get a great latte at Blend Coffee Lounge. On Sunday I was wandering around the Overlook neighborhood (with the aim of seeing the western end of N Kilingsworth Street; spoiler: it overlooks—get it?—the railroad tracks and what looks like the ports) and stopped in to Blend Coffee Lounge (2710 N Killingsworth Street) They made a gorgeous latte that tasted smooth and rich, with plenty of depth. The lounge part is super cute and stylish. What a gem in NoPo!
Gawd, she’s talking about those vegan cheeses again. This time it’s about what I wasn’t able to find—I was in New Seasons on 33rd Street in Concordia and looked for the two brands of vegan cheeses I’ve enjoyed—Miyoko’s and Treeline—and neither were to be found! For me, they are at the highest level of taste. There was plenty of Daiya and Chao but these spreadable cheeses I mention above are many levels of deliciousness above them. For now, I’ll do my supermarket vegan cheese shopping at WholeFoods until New Seasons ups their game. Also, where the heck do you buy a nut milk bag in this town?
Toum is magic sauce. This week, on the advice of a friend, I had dinner at Nicholas Restaurant (3223 NE Broadway) and ordered some kebabs, which were served with toum. Toum is a garlic sauce from the Middle East made with garlic, salt, olive oil and lemon juice. I’d had it once before in Queens but it was quite spicy and harsh in a way I don’t like, but the toum I had this week was smooth, garlicky, savory and fairly addictive. I was sad to when I got to the end of it. Looking forward to eating it again (and trying it at other spots around town).
