Four Thing I Learned This Week (August 4)

Montelupo expandes to Sellwood. Now we have two great Italian businesses expanding “down south” to Sellwood! First Sebastiano’s, now Montelupo. According to reporting in The O, they “will expand with a new market for Italian pantry goods, focaccia sandwiches and Roman-style pizza, opening as soon as August.” Looks like it will be in the old Baes Chicken location. 1613 SE Bybee Blvd, Portland

Speaking of Sebastiano’s—Apertivo returns! Dan and Elise share that they have decided to bring back Apertivo this year, on Fridays during August. It’s dubbed “Hot Arancini Nights.” On Fridays from 4pm-7pm they are frying up deliciousness in the Seb’s Party Wagon, including sfinci donuts with blood orange curd. “We’ll also have some light salads featuring farm-fresh, peak season tomatoes, hand-pulled mozzarella, fresh focaccia, olives, and of course our fun drink program with Sebastiano Spritz, Sicilian wine by the glass, and non-alcoholic options.” It’s only in August, so stop on by soon. 411 SE 81st Avenue, Portland

Woodsman Tavern will close. The final day of service will be Sunday, August 20 … in their current incarnation. Apparently they will return and are “developing a new concept to share with you soon enough.” I’ll miss their wedge salad and roast chicken. 4537 SE Division Street, Portland

Spanish olive oil cake special at Reeva. This terrific cart in Roseway makes delicious pizza and salads and their Spanish olive oil cake looks absolutely fantastic. 7727 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland

Roundup: Bests and Awards of 2022

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Excited for all the winners!

It’s that time of year again: the time when local media outlets (and nationwide ones, too, but that’s not the focus here) gather their bests and make lists of various things—including food. Personally, I love lists and it’s fun to see what the different food media sources deem “the best” in any given year. It’s unclear in my mind if I’m going to do that kind of roundup before the close of 2022, so I thought I’d round up what’s out there already.

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Top 5 Posts on Bridgetown Bites, May 2022

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Better late than never with this review of May’s top posts on Bridgetown Bites; Salad Week took a lot of time and attention in late May/early June. It was a lot of fun! So here are the top posts for May 2022—as expected, restaurant news and info, including details on various openings, were popular items—Italian food, Latin American food, and pizza got a lot of interest. As always, thanks for reading.

5. Interesting Projects From República’s Team & Associates

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República, a restaurant that offers enjoyment and world-expanding flavors in delicious regional Mexican cooking, has garnered high praise from both food media (PoMo’s Restaurant of the Year 2021PDX Eater’s Best New Restaurant 2021, 2022 James Beard Award Semifinalist as Best New Restaurant) and eaters in Portland. They show us that there is much to experience from a country that is often thought of in the U.S. as simply the home of margaritas, burritos, tacos—and, if you’re getting fancy, tres leches cake (these are all delicious, but are a fraction of what Mexico has to offer as far as food goes). I personally think it’s very important and meaningful to highlight the regional tastes of our neighbor to the south, and I’m glad República is doing just that.

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