Tag: Sebastiano’s

Posted on

Four Things I Learned This Week (March 10)

Green Zebra Grocery will close at the end of March. Very sorry to hear of this news, which has been plastered all over food media this week. You can read the official press release on their website (or, via this PDF). I’ll admit: I only shopped at Green Zebra occasionally; their prices were higher than a lot of places around town. I didn’t realize they considered themselves to be a “healthy convenience store,” but in hindsight, that makes sense. The reasons for shutting down, from Lisa Sedlar, Green Zebra’s founder and CEO:

“We experienced 9 straight quarters of increases to our cost of goods, packaging, fuel, insurance, taxes, freight charges and well, pretty much everything. Combine that with supply chain and staffing shortages and razor thin grocery margins, we just couldn’t overcome all the obstacles. We definitely gave it our all and fought the good fight. We are thankful for the opportunity to have been in service to our community.”

Get moar zeppole! Last week I mentioned the availability of zeppole from Bella Italian Bakery in Lents; today I am telling you about the availability of zeppole at Sebastiano’s. They are offering these delicious St. Joseph’s Day pastries—“a pate choux pastry with pastry cream and ricotta filling”—via pre-order for pickup Wednesday, March 15 to Saturday, March 18. You can order 4-, 6-, and 12-packs of zeppole at the Sebastiano’s Tock page. Order soon; supplies are limited. 411 SE 81st Avenue, Portland

Food trucks for Argay? Project under review. Currently occupied by the Taqueriea Queretaro food truck and LadyBug Bikini Espresso Drive Thru, this lot has potential new plans in the works. Permits have been submitted to convert it into a full-blown food truck lot/pod for 10 food trucks, seating, and parking. Some of you may know this intersection from it being in your neighborhood; some may know it as just a little bit east of the turn for Costco; and for some as the location of the Sandy Hot Wings Cafe, which made into a roundup from PoMo last year of the best chicken wings in Portland. Taqueria Queretaro also gets a lot of love. NE 141st Avenue and Sandy Blvd, Portland

New salad at Fresh Love. I’m a big fan of the prepared food at Fresh Love—salads, soups, bowls, sandwiches. All have been excellent. They have a new salad on the menu that I am eager to try: “We are moving into spring with this crunchy munchy Little Gem salad with blue cheese dressing, hard boiled egg, crispy sour dough croutons, avocado and pickled mustard seeds.”

Let me tell you about pickled mustard seeds—I first tasted them on an unusual dish back in Astoria at the long-gone Queens Kickshaw. The dish was a cold poached egg with miso butter and pickled mustard seeds. I was a bit dubious at first, but these tangy seeds were a great mix of flavor and texture, and I’ve never forgotten them. Looking forward to trying the ones from Fresh Love in this salad. 7434 NE Fremont Street, Portland

Posted on

Four Things I Learned This Week (January 6)

El Yucateco is still in business, they’ve just moved. Over the past month or so when I’d drive east on Sandy Blvd, I noticed the El Yucateco food truck wasn’t where it has been for quite some time (the gravel lot at NE Sandy and 131st Place). Turns out the’ve moved just a couple of minutes west on Sandy, next to the motorcycle bar on the north side of the street. I love their panuchos and the folks who run the cart are so nice and friendly. Check it out if you haven’t already. 11807 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland

Prince Coffee’s new location is open. Their NW Portland location is now in soft open mode! Stop on over for a high-quality coffee—for now they are open from 7am to 4pm daily until their liquor license for their upcoming wine program is approved. 915 NW 19th Avenue, Portland

NOLA Doughnuts has closed all locations. Sad news, courtesy of the COVID era (and, frankly, IMO not enough support from the City of Portland). From their Instagram:

“It is with heavy hearts that we are announcing that as of today (1/5), NOLA Doughnuts has closed all locations. The slow rebound from the pandemic and the current economic conditions have led us to make this difficult decision. We have enjoyed serving everyone our delicious New Orleans inspired treats over the years and we want to thank our amazing team members and our customers for being a part of this journey. While we are sad it has come to an end, we are grateful that we had the opportunity to share our doughnuts and beignets with so many incredible people. Thank you all for your support, and we wish you all the best in 2023 and beyond.”

New things coming to Sebastiano’s. Their new year’s email arrived this week and it is chock full of cool things coming to this great Sicilian-American shop in Montavilla. As for good eats, look for a newTangerine-Blood Orange Marmellata, a Blood Orange curd, and hoagie rolls for grinders and meatball subs. On the operations side of things, they hope to open for a fifth day of the week, likely Tuesday.

They also bought a 20-year old Dodge Cargo Sprinter Van to turn into a mobile kitchen for catering and pop-ups (“picture Arancini Pop-Ups, or Sicilian Donuts & Cannoli Towers at weddings, parties, and elsewhere around town”). I send good wishes to Dan, Elise, and all at Sebastiano’s—see you soon. 411 SE 81st Avenue, Portland

Posted on

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

Continue reading “Thanksgiving 2022 in Portland”
Posted on

Four Things I Learned This Week (August 5)

Beaverton’s Best. Pamplin Media Group did a “best of Beaverton” competition and you can see the winners for the Eating & Drinking section, here.

Preview of Kann Restaurant. One of my favorite bloggers, Michelle Tam (aka Nom Nom Paleo) got to attend a recent preview of Kann Restaurant, the Hatian restaurant from Gregory Gourdet, and loved it. The food looks really good and I hope I can eat there one day.

Olive oil at Sebastiano’s has arrived. Very exciting—I wrote about their olive oil project back in March, and I’m glad to see it is now available at Sebastiano’s. Stop by and pick up a bottle today!

Cully Upright Brewing update. I reached out to Upright’s owner, Alex Ganum, since I drove by and saw real, honest-to-goodness windows on the exterior. Here’s what he said: “Yep, we’ve finally been able to put some more work into the space as evidenced by the new garage doors. It’s coming together. Really excited for the project! Right now my best guess for opening would be November, but of course that can change based on happenings outside of our control. I can’t wait to finally open—the finished space should be a wonderful addition to the neighborhood.”

Posted on

Four Things I Learned This Week (June 3)

Happy anniversary, Sebastiano’s! I their newsletter, Dan and Elise of Sebastiano’s talked about the early days of the business and all the things that they managed during quite a jarring couple of years. They ended it with an announcement of a party, happening today and tomorrow, June 3 & 4, from 11am to 7pm. It will be the official grand opening of their summer Apertivo pop-up (menu starting at 3pm) in their new Spritz Garden.

Also: “Pro Tip: Our friends Mel & Greg of Suzor Wines are going to be hanging out and pouring their 2020 releases “Tales of the Sun” and “Infinite Emotions” (Pinot & Pinot/Gamay blend) with us on Friday night beginning at 5:00 pm. Their wine is delicious – come grab a glass” 411 SE 81st Avenue, Portland

GRANA pop-up at Montelupo. On Monday, June 6, stop by Montelupo starting at 5pm for the GRANA pop-up. Run by Chris Flanagan, he makes “made-to-order pizza” that is “folded in four, finished with a signature aioli and grana padano, and served in a wrapper.” Check out the different kinds of pizzas he’ll fold for you on the GRANA website.

Along with these pizzas there will be a limited menu of starters, pastas, and desserts available from the Montelupo kitchen. As far as those offerings go, I gotta say this looks amazing: “Burrata—pancetta jam, local spring greens, rhubarb vinaigrette.” I also have to stop in for the Hazelnut Coffee Soda: house-made hazelnut syrup, Push X Pull espresso, orange bitters, and soda water served over ice. Dang! 344 NE 28th Avenue, Portland

Cully Farmers Market opened Thursday. Glad to see them back for the season—they’ll be open for business on Thursdays from 4pm to 8pm until October. You can find them in the Los Pepitos Locos parking lot. NE 42nd and Alberta, Portland

Tokyo Sando wants to access a brick & mortar space. On their Instagram, they posted, “Thank you for keeping us busy, And sorry for selling out almost everyday. We just need a bigger space kitchen. Please message us if you know any kitchen space or restaurant space. So we can make more sandos for everyone who love Our sandos❤️ Arigato!!!” If you know of a space for them, send them a message. I’d love to see them expand.

Bonus: It’s Salad Week next week on Bridgetown Bites! Judith and I look forward to sharing our love of salad in Portland with you. We hope you’ll join us for that!