Four Things I Learned This Week (March 25)

Din Tai Fung is coming to Pioneer Place. I first caught wind of this yesterday from the Portland Business Journal and yesterday morning The Oregonian confirmed it. A second Portland Biz Journal article confirmed it, too: “A representative for Brookfield Properties and Pioneer Place confirmed Thursday that a world renowned Taiwanese restaurant is coming to Pioneer Place shopping center.” This is a win for soup dumpling lovers in Portland. Look for a 2023 opening. 700 SW 5th Avenue, Portland

Two 82nd Ave wings recommendations. This week I picked up on two solid recommendations of places to get tasty quality wings in Portland—Utopia Lounge and Mekong Bistro. Utopia Lounge is in the northern section of Montavilla, and according to Yelp they’ve done some recent renovation inside (there’s karaoke, too). Their fish sauce wings (these are the style of wings made famous at Pok Pok) with a cold beer is the perfect pairing; pepper salted squid and shaking beef also come recommended. Then there’s the “Crazy Wings” at Mekong Bistro in Madison South, a Cambodian restaurant. A “thick fish garlic sauce” enrobes the wings, accompanied by crispy onions. 1125 NE 82nd Avenue and 8200 NE Siskiyou Street, Portland

Food Fight! vegan grocery has new owners. Beth and Adam are the new owners of Food Fight! and posted about it over on the FF! Facebook page. They wrote, “We are best friends that have been married 25 years. Some of you may already know Beth from the store, she’s been working here the last few months. Adam is a Master Mechanic who loves to share his knowledge with anyone that needs help. Portland has been our home for a few years now and we love this vegan paradise.” Read more over on the post. 11155 NE Halsey Street, Portland

Flour Market cafe featured on GoodStuffNW. Kathleen Bauer, who writes the excellent blog GoodStuffNW, stopped in at Flour Market, a bakery/cafe that opened up recently on 30th Avenue and Killingsworth and wrote about her time there. I liked this part especially:

“I myself am particularly fond of the pastelitos, squared layers of shatteringly crisp, flaked croissant dough that Matt, the croissant savant at the market’s production bakery, whose family has roots in Puerto Rico, made and filled with cream cheese and a guava paste that an aunt sent in a care package.”

Guava and cheese, one of my favorite combinations. I look forward to stopping in soon. 5507 NE 30th Avenue, Portland

Four Things I Learned This Week (February 11)

RIP WordPress “Post Format” option—the latest version of the software running this site has done away with one of my favorite editing options. This column will, going forward, have the headline visible from the front page. Now, onto the news.

Bialys are back at Ben & Esther’s. Bialys are less common than bagels, so get them when you find them. And you can find them at Ben & Esther’s Vegan Jewish Deli—both locations in Portland and only on Saturdays. As they say, “Historically, we sell out of these very quickly…like, within minutes. Get ‘em while you can!” 6912 NE Sandy Blvd and
1800 NE Alberta Street, Portland

Top 10 spots for chicken wings in Portland. PDX Monthly published a roundup of top chicken wing places in Portland this week and it’s an interesting group. It gathers places from Beaverton to Happy Valley, and includes a wide range of flavors. The place that especially caught my eye is the Sandy Hot Wings Café, on NE Sandy and 139th. I’ve been meaning to check out Tinker Tavern in Montavilla, too. Lots of great options on this list. 13912 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland

Hindsight Beer Cart is opening a tap room. Via a liquor license application and a post on Instagram, the news that Hindsight Beer Cart is opening a new taproom on SE Powell is real. Their cart has been at the Bite on Belmont pod for a while; the new location looks like the former home of Brewery 26.

At this point they are ready to start things up in the South Tabor neighborhood, but are “Just waiting on the approvals. Stay tuned!” They’ll have 20 indoor seats and 30 outdoor seating (outdoor enclosed in a tent), food, and will be open seven days a week. 5829 SE Powell Blvd, Portland

Boxer Ramen is back, and a new location. They indicated this and other changes back in December 2021: “We will return next month to Our New Location just down the street! Why, you may ask? We are moving into a larger space, expanding the menu (did someone say sushi!?!?), and we will have a full bar with fun cocktails! Happy Hour? You Bet!” See all the things they have to offer on their website. 1668 NW 23rd Avenue, Portland