Coconut cold brew with ube whip. Photo credit: Kalesa Coffee.
Kalesa Coffee celebrates 4 years. Stop by Kalesa Coffee tomorrow from 8am to 2pm for pastries, flowers, ice cream and cake—and, of course, coffee. If you’re new to them, they are “a community-oriented coffee shop centering Philippine flavors and pastries.” Congrats! 722 N Page Street, Portland
Pamana is open. This Filipino restaurant from the folks at Baon Kainan is now open and in residence at The Hoxton hotel lobby. For their grand opening week, which started on Wednesday, September 3 and goes until Sunday, September 7, you can get:
Brunch from 9am to 2pm
NA drinks from Pamana and cocktails from Lovely Rita on Saturday and Sunday
One red envelope comes with every order during the grand opening week (while supplies last).
There will also be a local DJ spinning on the weekend.
Big congrats on the opening, guys! 15 NW 4th Avenue, Portland
One of the most beautiful salads I’ve ever encountered, from Reeva.
Welcome to Portland Salad Week 2025! We’re glad you’re here.
The last time we did Salad Week was back in 2022, and we are really happy to bring it back again this year. I’m also thrilled that Judith Rich is back and helping immensely in preparing this week of salad. We have another person joining us, too: Bryan Vance from Stumptown Savings. This is a fantastic newsletter that helps you save money at the grocery store. He inspired us to do a tasting of supermarket and grocery store deli salads, which you’ll see later in the week.
But as we start this week that’s all about salad, we thought we’d ask the question, What’s a salad, anyway?
Change in Peter’s Bar & Grill ownership. This past week, the Facebook page for Peter’s Bar & Grill posted a goodbye message: “After a little over 11 years, today was our last day as the owners of Peter’s Bar & Grill. We feel so fortunate to have had this experience. We are so grateful to everyone who welcomed us into this community …. Because of all of you, we’re excited for what Peter’s will be in the future.” It was signed by Tim, Tara, Alex, Piper, & Casey.
I’ve reached out to learn more. My hope is that they do not end up closing. 5701 NE Fremont Street, Portland
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