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

dining-room-yuginong-korean-portland-oregon

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.

Continue reading “Top Posts on Bridgetown Bites in 2023”

Top 5 Posts on Bridgetown Bites, February 2023

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It was another strong month for the blog, with over 12,000 page views in February 2023. I’m delighted to see traffic still heading to this article about the My-O-My bar, a warm, cozy place where I took a break from the snow last week. Facebook was a huge referrer for the Three Fifty Cafe post—whose grand opening is this Friday, March 3 (stop in if you can!), delayed one week because of the snow. The story about the Heist food cart pod was at the top of the list, which I didn’t expect, but a broad range of referrers made it so.

Last Friday I broke the news about the Doug Fir Lounge moving later this year, and I’m grateful for the referrers—Eater, Willamette Week, and Reddit; @maccoinnich on Twitter shared the news, too. I saw the KOIN reported on it, too. It will be interesting to see how that all unfolds.

Thanks, as always, for reading!

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

my-o-my-bar-cocktails-sandy-blvd-portland-oregon

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.

Continue reading “Top 5 Posts on Bridgetown Bites, February 2023”

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

galette-des-rois-feves-petite-provence-portland-oregon

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.

Continue reading “Top 5 Posts on Bridgetown Bites, January 2023”

Yuginong Offers Gluten-Free Korean Fare in St. Johns

Photo credit: Yuginong

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.

Continue reading “Yuginong Offers Gluten-Free Korean Fare in St. Johns”