Happy Birthday Bridgetown Bites! You Are Eight Years Old Today

Happy Birthday Bridgetown Bites!

Happy birthday Bridgetown Bites! That’s right: Bridgetown Bites turns eight years old today. On July 3, 2017, I launched this website with the desire to write about the Portland food and drink scene. It’s grown and changed over the years, but the mission remains the same.

In honor of these eight years, I thought I’d put together eight things I’ve enjoyed learning about over those years, in Portland food and drink. In some cases, I’ve changed my attitude about long-held beliefs. NB: This list is by no means comprehensive.

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Small Bites: Pinolo Gelato, Nam Tao Huu, No Sabo, and More

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The superb Pinolo Gelato.

Pinolo Gelato celebrates 10 years. These guys make some of the best gelato in Portland. It was started by Sandro Paolini, who is originally from Pisa in Italy. He moved to the PNW a while back, but his path eventually led him back to Pisa to learn how to make gelato from his friends and mentors there, Ilaria and Omar of @ioegelato.

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Four Things I Learned This Week (October 4)

Burger Stevens has closed. Hailed at one point as one of Portland’s best burgers, Burger Stevens closed this week (Sunday, September 29). There are a variety of rumors floating around about the closure, from the amount of time employees were warned before the closing, to a new tenant for that cart/location, but that’s what they are: rumors. What is real is that the cart is closed. You can find Don Salamone and Kate Laurents (they ran Burger Stevens) in Beaverton these days as they oversee Don’s Favorite Foods, a prix-fixe restaurant offering an Italian- and French-influenced menu. 4237 N Mississippi Avenue, Portland

Rocky Butte Farmers Market fall and winter markets! I was very happy to read about the RBFM’s monthly markets happening this fall and winter. There will be three of them: October 26, November 23, and December 14. The October market will be in the Glenhaven Park parking lot, others TBD. Read more on their Instagram account. 7900 NE Siskiyou Street, Portland

Cassata at Pinolo. When I lived in Astoria, Queens, I used to get cassata cake at one of the old Sicilian bakeries in my neighborhood, and it would usually show up around Easter. But right now in Portland, you can find it in gelato form at Pinolo Gelato! Their version sounds delicious: “We combine ricotta, almond, and candied citrus zest to make a floral and zesty gelato with a delicate nutty flavor and a velvety texture.” Note: I saw that Papa Haydn is offering a cassata cake right now and, with all due respect … that’s not cassata. Now THIS is a gorgeous cassata. 3707 SE Division Street, Portland

A brewery and food hall are coming to the Hollywood District. A reader pointed out this news to me and I am very excited to see something open up in that old Pono Brewing/Columbia River Brewing/Laurelwood Brewing space. The people behind it are the same ones behind Zoiglhaus Brewing, Chad Rennaker and Alan Taylor. The O describes it as an “as-yet unnamed brewery and food hall in the Hollywood District.”

There’s also this: “He said the new food hall will incorporate the main restaurant space and potentially nearby retail places as they become available.” Construction is being delayed by the permit process but they are apparently doing some “exploratory demolition” where they open up walls to see what’s up in there.

A side note: this past spring I spied an Early Assistance permit that made it sound like a big new building was going to be considered at that location: “Request Street Vacation of alley between two parcels. Construct new 5-story mixed-use building on north parcel. Interior alterations at existing building.” The more recent permit (status: under review) from September goes like this: “Interior alteration of existing two-story building with basement by the owner. Includes demo of interior walls on first and second floor to create food pods on first floor and lounge for office employee at second floor. Partial change of occupancy from B and M to a on first floor. No work on basement.” 1728 NE 40th Avenue, Portland


Stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:

The 2024 Portland Fermentation Festival Is Almost Here
Top 5 Posts on Bridgetown Bites, September 2024
Pleasure Mountain To Offer Indian Cocktails and More in NE Portland
Fancy Baby Will Bring “The Craziest Champagne List” to NW Portland

Bonus: This week I started keeping a list of restaurant openings and closings (including bars, food carts, and cafes) that I’ve covered here on Bridgetown Bites. It will be interesting to review the list at the end of the year.

Also, both the Portland Greek Festival and Portland Argentinian Festival are this weekend!

Small Bites – Kolaches, Arrowood, Pix Patisserie, Snackfest, and More

Capitola Coffee’s new location.

Although this has been a light content week, a variety of tidbits crossed my desk this week, so instead of Four Things for Friday, here are some small bites.

Celebrate with Capitola tonight. Capitola Coffee is hosting an open house party tonight: “Hey friends we are hosting an open house along with Waechter Architecture to launch the opening of our new space. We hope you can stop by on Friday, July 8 from 6 pm to midnight.” This is kind of a big deal, as Capitola is located in an all wood CLT building. Their soft opening is planned for mid-July with full opening in August. 4224 N Mississippi Avenue, Portland

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First Tastes: Late Summer Eats in Portland

Welcome to another edition of First Tastes, were we showcase good eats at new-to-us spots in Portland. This city is full of delicious food and lots of places to check out, so no doubt this column will run for some time.

Avocado Toast | Radio Room. I’ll start with this because I have been critical of avocado toast for many years as “too precious” and/or “twee.” However, the time was right for me to give it a try, and I’m here to tell you—glad I did. At that moment in time, I wasn’t super hungry and this dish seemed light yet substantial, and it was hard to resist the siren song of the avocado that morning.

Toasted multigrain bread was spread with soft, ripe avocado topped with caramelized onions and a poached egg; nutritional yeast is sprinkled on top. I liked that the eggs had runny yolks and were not overcooked. The avocado tasted fresh with no off flavors. Overall a really satisfying breakfast. Radio Room, 1101 NE Alberta Street, Portland

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