Tag: Salt & Straw

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Four Things I Learned This Week (February 9)

New mural at Denizens Cafe. Artist Alex Chiu painted a mural on the eastern wall at Denizens Cafe and it looks great! You may remember him from our article on Mill Park Stories, the Instagram he started to highlight community in that little corner of SE PDX. He has moved on to another Instagram account, Art by Alex Chiu, where he featured his work at Denizens.

His concept here, “was to highlight some landmarks of the neighborhood’s past and also create a warm and welcoming atmosphere inside of the space,” He continues, “I’ve included some photo reference that I used to create some of the images in the mural including old pictures from George’s Grocery Store and the Roseway Theater. I painted a house inspired by the cute homes in the neighborhood. I painted food from Denizens Cafe’s menu and a mug of coffee from Rocky Butte Roasters, run by the same owners. Mt. Hood is in there as well!” Check it out, for sure, and pick up something tasty while you’re at it. 6912 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland

Chocotaco returns today. Head to Salt & Straw today, Friday 2/9 at 1pm, for the return of the chocotaco. And if you miss that, don’t miss this month’s special flavors, five of them in “The Chocolatiers Series.” I stopped by earlier this week and had a chance to try three of them: Fran’s Chocolate Almond Gold Bar, Cloudforest’s Cocoa Hazelnut Magic Sauce, and Compartés Cake Batter Chocolate Fudge. They were all very good, but I think the Almond Gold Bar was my favorite, thanks to the caramely bits. But I’d eat them all again. Various locations

Don’t miss Citrus Fest this weekend. Rubinette Produce and the rest of the folks at Providore are celebrating 8 years together in a market-wide party and citrus festival. The centerpiece of the event will be the Celebration Trifle: Panettone and layers of whipped cream and Seville + blood orange, served at noon. You’ll also be able to sample specialty citrus varieties, fresh squeezed juice, a lemon and olive oil tart from Pastaworks, kumquat tea cake from Little T Bakery, and other citrus-centric items throughout the market. 2340 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland

Lan Su Chinese Garden’s tea house has reopened. They reopened the teahouse on February 7—this is good news, as the teahouse at Lan Su is one of the highlights of spending time there (access comes with garden admission). Lunar New Year starts tomorrow, and the Chinese Garden is the place to be. At the teahouse you can choose from over 20 Chinese and Taiwanese-style teas; along with that, they are offering a tea service (three kinds); traditional dishes, snacks, and pastries; and beer and wine. Note that during Dragon + Lantern Viewing evenings, they “will offer an abbreviated menu of teas and tea service to accommodate as many visitors as possible during this busy time.” Also, they are going to give the teahouse a new name—stay tuned for that. 239 NW Everett Street, Portland

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Thanksgiving 2022 in Portland

It’s almost Thanksgiving! Can you believe it? Here are some options for for eat-in, take-out, meats, baked goods and treats for the holiday in Portland.

Dinner: Eat In

Andina. They are offering a four-course dinner of “local autumn bounty and delicious Peruvian flavors” on Thanksgiving Day from 2pm to 8pm. Vegetarian and traditional options available. Wine will be available by the bottle or via pairing, with Andean fare in mind. Signature and house cocktails will be available to celebrate on this special day of thanks.

  • First course: choice of delicata squash, quinoa, pickled onion, huacatay, parsley, radicchio; or butternut squash soup with salsa verde, pickled aji amarillo, and hazelnuts
  • Second course: choice of oxtail humita or red kuri squash
  • Third course: choice of grilled hen, Bordeaux sweet potato, ahi limo gravy; or gnocchi, hen of the woods, kale, kabocha squash
  • Fourth course: apple pie a la mode
  • All tables will receive root vegetable medley with apples, apple cider vinaigrette and pan d yema

$95 per person. Reserve your seats or get on the waitlist via Tock. andinarestaurant.com, 1314 NW Glisan Street, Portland

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Four Things I Learned This Week (July 29)

Progress at Trela. Earlier this year I wrote about a new Greek taverna and bar, Trela, that’s opening up in the old O’Neill Public House space on the corner of NE Glisan and 60th. They’re getting closer to opening their doors, with a submitted liquor license application. Really looking forward to eating at this place. 6000 NE Glisan Street, Portland

Nathan Hart, aka The Watermelon Man, is back in Cully. He’s been there at least a few weeks now, selling Hermiston watermelons, cantaloupes, and more out of the back of his truck. You can find him Tuesdays through Saturdays (in general) at 72nd & Prescott, right near the Upright Brewing project. Northwest corner of 72nd and Prescott, Portland

RIP Choco Taco, Long Live Choco Taco! Yes, we’ve all heard the news: the Choco Taco has been discontinued. I loved the shape and concept but I have to admit: it tasted mediocre at best. I know, blasphemy. However, a couple local spots are taking up the Choco Taco mantle—at Kate’s Ice Cream it will “live on” this Saturday, July 30. They’ll make 50 available at 10 bucks a pop starting at noon. Later on this year, Salt & Straw will enter the ring and offer their version of the Choco Taco on National Taco Day, October 4. 3713 N Mississippi Avenue, Portland (Kate’s)

Accolades for Creo Chocolate. One of my favorite chocolate spots in Portland is Creo Chocolate. Believe it or not, their unsweetened chocolate bar is delicious. However, the most recent news is about their white chocolate bars. Whether or not you consider white chocolate to be legit chocolate, the world loves it. Three of their bars—Coffee & Cream, Meyer Lemon Pie, and Strawberry & Hibiscus—won Gold and Silver (x2) at the 2022’s Academy of Chocolate Awards in London. Their chocolate has now won a total of 100 awards over the years. 122 NE Broadway, Portland

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Four Things I Learned This Week (January 7)

Merry Christmas to my Orthodox friends today! Here are some things I ran across this week in Portland food.

Futura Coffee Roasters coming to Montavilla. The folks over at Montavilla News reported that Futura Coffee Roasters are opening in the old Fillmore Coffee space. Fillmore Coffee closed last fall to become an online merchant only. Sustainability is the name of the game at Futura, and regenerative agriculture is very important to them.

You might ask, “aren’t regenerative agriculture and biodynamic agriculture the same?” They are close but not identical. Read more about regenerative vs. biodynamic, here. Futura’s cafe space has also been created with sustainable materials in mind. Check them out later this month; they’ll be open daily from 7am to 5pm. 7201 NE Glisan Street, Portland.

Vegan all the way at Salt & Straw this month. Check out the five new flavors at Salt & Straw this month—all vegan, presumably for Veganuary. There’s Petunia’s Rainbow Sprinkled Babycakes (coconut, oat); Carrot Cake w/ Cream Cheese Frosting (coconut, oat); Coconut Cream Pie Cupcake w/ Lemon Curd (coconut); Renewal Mill’s Chocolate Salted Caramel Cupcake (oat, soy pulp); Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcake (coconut); Interesting factoid: Oregon produces 99% of the nation’s hazelnuts. Various locations, Portland

Foie gras on next week’s City Council agenda. The agenda for the Wednesday, January 12 Portland City Council meeting (9:30am) has been published online and thus the topic of foie gras has popped up again. Three people will address the Council that morning: Alex Cerussi (Mercy For Animals), Rosalind McCallard (Snackrilege), and Belinda Davis (Animal Outlook). Regardless of your stance on this issue, you are free to view the Council meeting on their Youtube channel (eGov PDX), among other access points. If you want to submit written testimony on this or any other agenda topic, send an email to cctestimony@portlandoregon.gov.

Ken Forkish is leaving Portland. Ken Forkish, the owner of Ken’s Artisan Bakery and Ken’s Artisan Pizza, is retiring. His aforementioned two businesses have been sold to long-time employees. In an interview with Portland Food & Drink he said, “I’m just getting tired. I’m in my 60’s and it is time for me to retire. This change has been three years in the making and I feel really good about the future of the restaurant and bakery. They are both in very good hands.” You can read more of this interview on the Portland Food & Drink website. 338 NW 21st Avenue (Bakery) and 304 SE 28th Avenue (Pizza), Portland

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Thanksgiving 2021 in Portland

thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is basically just around the corner and in the world of food media, that means it’s time to publish Thanksgiving food and meal roundups. The big kids in town have done a lot of the digital legwork, for which I’m grateful, and you can find their full lists here:

Where to Get Thanksgiving Dine-In and Takeout in Portland [Portland Monthly]
Where to Order Thanksgiving Dinner in Portland for 2021 [Eater]
Your Guide to Thanksgiving 2021 Food in Portland [EverOut/Portland Mercury]

There’s a lot to choose from. I’d summarize the lists as this: Portland Monthly’s list is a small, well-curated list; Eater’s is diverse; EverOut’s is extensive, including meals and baked goods. There is some overlap but they aren’t identical, which is a good thing.

Looking through these lists, there’s plenty of deliciousness, but here are the things that really stand out for me, plus some of my own additions.

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