Four Things I Learned This Week (December 17)

Get to know Bun Bo Hue. House District 46 Representative Khanh Pham interviewed Đức Nguyễn, owner of Bun Bo Hue, a Vietnamese restaurant in Lents specializing in Bún Bò Huế, a spicy Vietnamese soup. Comfort food to the max. 7002 SE 82nd Avenue, Portland

Smart Donkey, a Burrito Beer Garden, is coming to SE Portland. Willamette Week reports that Oswaldo Bibiano of Autentica fame, is opening a burrito beer garden. I love the idea of a beer garden focusing on burritos! It should be open by end of the year. 3420 SE 50th Avenue, Portland

Sayler’s celebrates 75 years. East Portland stalwart Sayler’s Old Country Kitchen is going strong and celebrating 75 years in the steakhouse biz this year (they opened in 1946). From their website: “We’ve been through a lot these past 75 years, a couple of fires, a changing Portland landscape. But we’re still a Portland grown, family owned business. And proud of it.” They are seeking your Sayler’s memories, especially those of your celebrations there over the years—and you can submit them on the Sayler’s website. 10519 SE Stark Street, Portland

Portland Cà Phê is a Sprudgie finalist. Congrats to Portland Cà Phê for being a finalist in the Best New Cafe category for the 13th Annual Sprudgie Awards (Sprudge is a coffee news and culture website). The finalist will be determined by a public vote, so if you’d like to support them, head to the Sprudge voting page. 2815 SE Holgate Blvd, Portland

For the Love of Pȃte Sȏ in Portland

A box of beautiful pȃte sȏ.
A box of beautiful pȃte sȏ.

If there is a positive to this COVID pandemic, it’s the little cottage industries that have been born. “Necessity is the mother of invention” and all that. The latest one I’ve encountered is the box of bánh pȃte sȏ featured on the @heychaudy Instagram account. You order these delicious things through that account, which is related to the @_2anh account, run by Anh Tran of Yen Ha fame, which, as you know from this blog, shuttered in 2019.

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Love for WokShop Kitchen’s Salad Rolls

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Photo credit: WokShop Kitchen

Soon after I moved to the Sumner neighborhood I was driving along 82nd Avenue and came across WokShop Kitchen near NE Tillamook. It doesn’t look like much from the outside, to be honest, and the Plaid Pantry next door is undeniably sketch, but this place is worth your time if you are a fan of American-style Asian food.

I’ve had Chinese American food here that totally nails the classic flavors of this cuisine. Recently I had a plate of Kung Pow Chicken that tasted exactly how I think American-style Chinese food should taste, complete with those little baby corns. I also love their General Tso’s Chicken, which is generously covered in a healthy amount of tangy, slightly sweet brown sauce with a little heat. But what I love most there are the salad rolls. Continue reading “Love for WokShop Kitchen’s Salad Rolls”

The Closing of a Neighborhood Portland Restaurant: Goodbye, My Canh

lemongrass-chicken-bun-my-canh-portland-oregon
Lemongrass chicken bun from My Canh restaurant.

Over on Nextdoor there’s a thread from the weekend entitled, “Bye to best potstickers.” Of course, it immediately caught my eye since I love potstickers and dumplings of all kinds. The news wasn’t good: local Hollywood District Vietnamese/Thai/Chinese restaurant My Canh is closing. This is the kind of family-run place that serves tasty food and offers a menu of dependable and familiar dishes that grow to be beloved by regulars.

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