Top Posts on Bridgetown Bites in 2023

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We are comfortably into January 2024 and it’s time to take a look back at 2023’s most-read posts on Bridgetown Bites. They mostly involved openings and closings of restaurants and bars, but there was one article on an Asian market opening in SE Portland that made the list.

I’m happy to say that from an analytics POV, traffic almost doubled between 2022 and 2023 here on the blog. Regarding 2022 I said, “Over 55,000 visits were recorded, and almost 35,000 of those visits were new to the site.” In 2023 we had 106,000 unique visits, with 86,000 new to the site; these visitors generated almost 142,000 page views, too. Not too bad for this little independent blog.

I also read somewhere online that this blog skews toward NE Portland. That is a true statement. I also read in the same source that some readers would love to see more coverage of the west side of Portland. This is good feedback. will see what I can do about that, and diversifying geographically in general.

Thanks to all who have read, commented, sent tips (keep ’em coming!), and shared these articles/posts on social media and with friends. Here’s to another great year of delving into the Portland food world!

10. Yuginong Offers Gluten-Free Korean Fare in St. Johns

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When I was at dinner the other night, my friends who live in St. Johns said “a Korean restaurant has finally opened in our neighborhood.” Of course, my interest was piqued so I asked more questions. The restaurant is Yuginong (or Yu Gi Nong), located in the space that was previously home to Sol Bowl and a Starbucks. They opened this past weekend.

Update: I hear only good things about Yuginong, with modifiers like “fresh,” “tasty,” and “very good.” I’m happy to know they are still going strong.

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Top 5 Posts On Bridgetown Bites, November 2023

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I haven’t done one of these in a while, so let’s go! As always, thanks for reading.

5. Fusion Curry Pizza Opening in Portland

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On the edge of the northeast corner of the Hollywood District lived Hot Lips Pizza. It closed back in March 2023 and a number of people expressed sadness about that. But according to city documents, a new pizzeria is opening in there: Fusion Curry Pizza. Update: They are open for business.

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Top 5 Posts on Bridgetown Bites, April 2023

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As I mentioned last week, I was off the blog for an extended time, but I still thought it would be interesting to see what was popular in April. Understandably, numbers were down but still there were about 9,500 page views and 6,500 unique visitors. Could be worse!

Some updates: Denizens Cafe is getting the old OG Ben & Esther’s space ready, and you can invest in them. Alux is up and running. Sandy O’s has applied for a liquor license. Locals have been posting about their love for the food and drink at Three Fifty Cafe and I enjoyed trying their food the other day. And The Heist is getting close to opening.

Thanks, as always for reading.

5. Denizens Cafe to Open on NE Sandy Blvd

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A few days ago, James Helms posted on social media the news that the Rocky Butte Espresso Bar, which closed in late 2022, has a new location … as well as a new concept and new name. Along with coffee there are plans for food, and a projected opening is unknown at this time. The new name is Denizens Cafe.

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Top 5 Posts on Bridgetown Bites, March 2023

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Getting to this a little later than I’d like, as I’ve been buried under a massive pile of client editing work in April. I love it, but it’s a lot right now. Anyway, March 2023 was a good month for the blog. Close to 8,900 unique visitors arrived and a little over 14,000 page views were generated, which might be a record at this point in time.

News of bars, restaurants, and food cart pods were the name of the game in May. Thanks, as always, for reading!

5. The My-O-My Arrives on NE Sandy Blvd This Summer

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Yesterday I published a speculative post about the old Rocky Butte Pub space on NE Sandy near 86th Ave. Fortunately, a reader tipped me off to what is actually going in there: the new place will be called the My-O-My ,”Your Favorite Bar East of 82nd.” The folks from the White Owl Social Club are behind it.

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Top 5 Posts on Bridgetown Bites, January 2023

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It’s fun to see what was popular on the blog last month—and there was some variety this time (most often it’s all about Portland restaurant news). A few posts on specific kinds of food (galette des rois, soup, dumplings), some restaurant news, and events (the dumpling fest and soup fest). Big thanks to Reddit, Facebook, and PDX Eater for their linkage—it really drove traffic to the site in January, with over 10,000 page views.

Thanks, as always, for reading!

5. Get Your Galette des Rois in Portland in 2023

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Last year around this time I wrote about the Galette des Rois, the traditional French king cake to honor Epiphany aka Three Kings Day (January 6), and where it was available in Portland. In 2022, accessing this delicious cake—sweetened almond cream surrounded by buttery puff pastry—was limited. Happily, there are addition options this year, which I want to highlight.

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