Tag: Yonder

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Four Things I Learned This Week (July 1)

The Portland Craft Beer Festival starts today. Today through Sunday is the 6th Annual Portland Craft Beer Festival at the Fields Neighborhood Park in NW Portland. Online ticket sales are over as at 11:59am today, otherwise they are $40 at the door. Admission gets you a keepsake tin cup with 10 beer tickets and access to a lot of great beer and food. Non-drinkers: enter for free on Sunday during Family Day. 1099 NW Overton Street, Portland

Yonder becomes Hissyfit next week. There’s a lot of details behind this, but I’ll share this in particular: “The kitchen will carry forward some of Yonder’s personality, with Southern flavors and ingredients nestled alongside globally-inspired goodies with a focus on freedom from constraint. We will be sourcing gorgeous local produce and sustainable meats and fish from local farms and purveyors, continuing our relationships with stewards of Southern cuisine like Allan Benton and Anson Mills, and casting a wide net to capture our favorite flavors and techniques from all over the world.” Hissyfit opens Wednesday, July 6. More info, here. 4636 NE 42nd Avenue, Portland

Changes at Moonstruck. The chocolate company has been bought by Freeport, NY-based Chocolate Works, and “will close the Moonstruck Chocolate retail stores in Beaverton, St. Johns and downtown Portland on July 8.” There is an expectation that there will be “growth and transformation” for Moonstruck under the baton of Chocolate Works. I’m just sorry that any jobs will be lost with the closure of the stores.

Gartner’s Meat Market is back open. A couple of weeks ago they re-opened their indoor retail shop, but it only occurred to me when I drove by and saw folks heading inside. Gartner’s Country Meat Market is a great place to shop for your meat grilling needs on the upcoming holiday. 7450 NE Killingsworth Street, Portland

Bonus: Bridgetown Bites turns 5 on July 3! Yes, that’s right, this little blog will be five years old this Sunday. It has—and I have—been through a lot since 2017, with breast cancer (diagnosis in 2018) being the biggest de-railer to consistent posting over the years. But I’ve been in “keep on, keepin’ on” mode, never giving up on it. (“Never give up! Never surrender!”) So, happy birthday, blog! And thanks to all who have read and continue to read my writing and reporting on Portland food.

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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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Some Thoughts on Roux

Last weekend I attended two events—a panel and a meal—at Roux, a new festival focusing on “food and beverage experience led by the women redefining it.” Overall I had a good time, but the introvert in me was definitely challenged by the networking and socializing that accompanied both events; but it stretched me in a good way. Shoutout to Rachel, Kat, Courtney, and Yuki for being so friendly.

The first event I attended was the Future of Food Practices panel at Bar West on Saturday. First, it’s a really nice space—dining room with table seating up front with a gorgeous wooden bar with comfy leather seat topped stools and a sizeable event space in the back. We were offered a few snacks (egg salad sandos were my favorite) and adorable little cans of branded cold brew coffee.

The panel’s speakers had a lot of good things to say but the discussion with Caitlin Hata about limiting food waste and local agriculture with Portland’s own Side Yard Farm’s Stacey Givens had the most impact for me. Loved hearing about dehydrating juiced celery pulp for celery salt, the joys of lovage, and all the things you can do with easily-bolting cilantro. It has helped me look at food waste differently and in more creative ways. Plus, I loved hearing about the origin of the Side Yard Farm’s name!

Originally I had planned to attend the Basics of World Cuisines workshop on Sunday but they didn’t have enough registrants, so the organizers graciously offered me the opportunity to attend the Brunch Culture meal at Yonder (whose Kickstarter I funded). It felt a little awkward going there alone but my tablemates were kind and friendly and I really enjoyed their company. The meal was produced by Yonder’s Maya Lovelace and Ashleigh Shanti, Chef de Cuisine of Benne on Eagle in Asheville, NC.

Highlights for me from the meal were the chicory salad with coffee-roasted carrots, pickled apples, black walnut brown butter vinaigrette; baked Tuxpeno grits with buttermilk collar britches + hot sauce vinaigrette; and spiced brown sugar pecan sticky buns with buttermilk glaze. Normally I’m not big on chicories (too bitter) but this prep was delicious; that butter vinaigrette was spectacular. Best part of the grits were the greens, and the sticky buns were comforting and warm and almost melted in your mouth. The low points for me were the hominy cakes and the catfish; hominy cakes were too dense and low on flavor and the catfish was a bit tough for my taste, but the coating was quite good. You can see pictures I took of the meal on Instagram.

Also on Sunday I headed over to the Ace Hotel for the popup market, but I definitely had the wrong idea about how the popup market was structured. I thought it would be staffed by the makers but it was a little stand by reception at the hotel. There were a lot of great items there but I was hoping for something a bit more interactive. I ended up spending the time I had set aside shopping over at nearby Powell’s, picking up the final book in the Binti triology by Nnedi Okorafor.

Thanks to the organizers for all their hard work producing a high-quality weekend of events. I look forward to attending next year’s Roux!

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Help Yonder and Mae Build Out Their Restaurant in Portland

mae-at-home-starter-kit-kickstarter-mae-yonder-portland-oregon
This “Mae At-Home Starter Kit” is brilliant, and one of the Kickstarter rewards for the Mae and Yonder project. Photo credit: Mae

Today I got an email from Maya and Zach at Mae about their new restaurant, which is really two restaurants in one: Yonder and Mae. The email was about their Kickstarter they launched to crowdfund the restaurants; their goal is $75,000. They know it can be tough to fund an effort like this and are hoping their fans and current customers can pitch in and help financially support this exciting venture—it will be the first brick and mortar for what is now a popup at Old Salt Marketplace. 

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Maya Lovelace of Mae is Opening a New Restaurant in Portland

Fried Chicken at Mae's in Portland
Mae’s superstar fried chicken—lard is your friend! Photo credit: Mae.

This morning Maya Lovelace of Mae fame sent out an email announcing her next project: she’s opening a restaurant. The plan is to open in spring 2018; she is not revealing the restaurant’s name just yet, but rest assured that the food with be Southern comfort.

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