After an early summer spent focused on the best restaurants in Eugene — and the major international track championship held there for the first time on United States soil — then the last few weeks devouring Portland’s new food cart options (and camping!), the local restaurant news has begun to pile up. Here’s a super-sized roundup of Portland food news you might have missed.
Bark City BBQ to close, joining Handsome Pizza, Tails & Trotters, more
Bark City BBQ, the celebrated Portland barbecue cart, will close after service on Sunday, Sept. 4, as owner Michael Keskin and his family plan to move to Arizona. The cart and its location in the pod next to the John’s Marketplace on Southeast Powell Boulevard are for sale. The cart joins other recent closures including Handsome Pizza and Seastar Bakery, the recently opened Yonder replacement Hissyfit, destination dessert shop Pix Patisserie and hazelnut finished pork and sandwich emporium Tails & Trotters.
Berlu’s latest pivot: pandan-pistachio ice cream
During a summer break at the Vietnamese-influenced tasting menu restaurant Berlu, chef Vince Nguyen expanded his bakery hours, revived his night market and began serving pandan-pistachio ice cream with a side of warm sticky rice on Saturday afternoons. Keep an eye on the restaurant’s Instagram for Berlu’s final (dairy-free) ice cream pop-up of the summer, set for Saturday, Aug. 27, at 605 SE Belmont St.
Fools & Horses brings culinary minded cocktails to Pearl
Portland bar industry veteran Collin Nicholas is opening a more “sophisticated” drinking establishment in the former Vault Cocktail Bar next door to his Pink Rabbit at 226 NW 12th Ave., Eater PDX reports. Expect cocktails made with culinary elements, including one drink includes coconut, lychee and a Japanese curry tincture, alongside food from chef Alex Wong inspired by Paniolo (aka Hawaiian cowboy) culture.
Whitney Burnside and husband Doug Adams discuss their first venture together, Grand Fir Brewing, during an interview Monday at Belmont Station’s Biercafé.Michael Russell/Staff
Grand Fir Brewing unites food, beer world stars
Wife and husband team Whitney Burnside (10 Barrel) and Doug Adams (Bullard) will team up on a new brewery and supper club coming soon to Southeast Portland’s Buckman neighborhood. Grand Fir Brewing, which takes over the former West Coast Grocery space, will highlight Burnside’s beer, approachable brewpub fare from Adams, plus a secluded supper club for elaborate beer-pairing dinners, themed steakhouse nights and other ticketed affairs at 1403 SE Stark St.
High Noon returns in new Goose Hollow digs
High Noon, downtown Portland’s former Southwestern restaurant, is making a comeback after a five-year hiatus, according to a press release from the Sawbuck, a mixed-use development coming to the Goose Hollow neighborhood. The revived restaurant comes from Jessica and Aaron Grimmer (Picnic House, Barlow) and will take up nearly 5,000 square feet of the new building, 1725 SW Salmon St., offering High Noon’s signature chili, grilled corn and tortilla soups to guests starting this winter .
Can opens doors (good luck with reservations)
Kann, the long-awaited restaurant from “Top Chef” star Gregory Gourdet, officially opened its doors in early August. But unless you set an alarm, don’t expect to get in anytime soon. September reservations for the restaurant, 548 SE Ash St., disappeared in less than an hour earlier this month, and October slots — which go online at noon on Sept. 15 — should vanish just as quickly.
Glaze flavors at Portland’s new Kinnamons bakery include raspberry-pistachio, tiramisu, strawberry-lemon-poppy and cookies and cream.Courtesy of Kinnamons
Kinnamon seeks to elevate the cinnamon roll
Micah Camden, the prolific Portland restaurateur behind Super Deluxe and Baes Chicken (and, previously, Little Big Burger and Blue Star Donuts) has opened a new Pearl District bakery that “elevates the traditional cinnamon roll to showcase seasonal ingredients and innovative glazes,” according to a press release. Kinnamons, 1241 NW Johnson St., is the latest collaboration between Camden’s MMMCo and Portland-born NFL player Ndamukong Suh, with seasonal glazes from pastry chef Jacquie Aguilar Uluan.
The Knock Back, Grilled Cheese Grill make joint return
Alberta Arts District cocktail bar The Knock Back has reopened after a two-year closure, and it brought along a friend. Now owned by the team at Donnie Vegas just down the road, The Knock Back reopened in July at 2315 NE Alberta St. with food from another business closed during the pandemic — former food truck The Grilled Cheese Grill — plus interior and exterior murals by local artists Eatcho and Mike Bennett, respectively.
Lil’ America to bring BIPOC-owned carts to new Southeast pod
Win Win, a new restaurant group from XLB owners Jasper Shen and Linh Tran and partner Catie Hannigan, is working on a new food cart pod, Lil’ America, featuring “exclusively BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ food carts,” according to an OPB report. The new pod, a collaboration with ChefStable, is expected to open in September at Southeast Stark Street and 11th Avenue, alongside a Fracture Brewing taproom and an expanded home for Dos Hermanos Bakery.
Nico’s Ice Cream to expand with upcoming cantina
Just a few blocks north from Nico’s Ice Cream, owner Nico Vergara is working on his second project in the former Northeast Cully Boulevard home of Beeswing. Nico’s Cantina, 4318 NE Cully Blvd., will open in late summer or early fall with plenty of seating indoors and out,, a bar and a simple menu of tacos and desserts (including Nico’s Ice Cream), plus free botanas, or snacks, to munch on while you wait.
Old Pal adds wine, tinned seafood to Sunnyside
A new Sunnyside neighborhood restaurant recently opened in the former Hobnob Grille with a “seasonally driven menu, thoughtful wine list (and) uniquely-considered cocktails,” according to a press release. Old Pal, 3350 SE Morrison St., comes from Emily Bixler and Jeremy Larter (Field Day Feasts & Gatherings), and features a 4 to 6 pm happy hour with discounted drinks and $2 oysters.
Bah! brings deaf-owned restaurant to Lents
Pah!, “a proudly deaf, queer, and Latinx-owned restaurant,” opened recently in The Zed, the new food court at Zoiglhaus Brewing, 5718 SE 92nd Ave., Portland Monthly reports. The Lents neighborhood restaurant, which serves pub-style burgers, fish and chips and blooming onions, comes from Lillouie Barrios, who is deaf, and his husband Victor Covarrubias, who is hearing. Ordering takes place either through sign language directly with a Pah! cashier or through a microphone hooked up to a tablet equipped with transcription software.
Mexican-seafood pop-up Paradise Mariscos impresses
From now until October, chef Adán Fausto and the team at Paradise Mariscos are preparing exacting takes on tuna tostadas, black cod flautas and octopus-chorizo pambazo sandwiches on a former parking lot behind Northeast Portland torta shop Güero, 200 NE 28th Ave. Our August review laid out Fausto’s impressive culinary resume, and explained how the seasonal restaurant first came to be.
LCLC
Salt & Straw, Bamboo Sushi expand to Beaverton
The latest additions to Beaverton’s suddenly booming restaurant scene are two of Portland’s best known food brands: Salt & Straw, the ice cream company that started life on Northeast Alberta Street, and Bamboo Sushi, the sustainable sushi restaurant originally found on Southeast 28th Avenue. Both businesses can be found a short walk from Beaverton’s Shake Shack, at the northeastern end of the Cedar Hills shopping center.
Shop Halo Halo pop-up to open Filipino cafe, bakery
With the rise of destination Filipino restaurants and carts such as Magna Kusina and Baon Kainan, a new Filipino bakery wants to explore a different facet of Pinoy dining, according to an Eater PDX report. Shop Halo Halo, which started life as a pop-up, will open a new cafe and bakery with an attached plant shop from Daphne’s Botanicals in new construction at Southeast Woodstock Boulevard and 50th Avenue with treats such as ube cheese pandesal, leche flan and blueberry Calamansi cheesecake.
Pacific Standard adds new rooftop bar The Sunset Room
When Jeffrey Morgenthaler and Benjamin “Banjo” Amberg opened Pacific Standard, their new bar at the KEX hostel, they promised to follow it quickly with a rooftop bar complete with plants, sun sails and a separate cocktail menu. That day arrived at the end of July, according to a press release, when The Sunset Room debuted with boozy slushies, chilled wines and bottled beer at 100 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Todo sells Mexican meats by the pound on Hawthorne
Veteran Portland restaurateur Marco Frattaroli (Cibo) and Mexico City-born chef Fernando Aquilera have opened Todo, a new restaurant where taco fillings including chicken tinga, carne asada, fried rockfish and more are sold by the pound alongside sides of rice, beans, guacamole , salads and small plates such as aguachile and quesabirria. Each order at Todo, 1935 SE Hawthorne Blvd., comes with a stack of tortillas, pico de gallo, crumbled cotija cheese and onion, cilantro and lime. Desserts include an arroz con leche rice pudding and a chocolate gelato flavored with cinnamon and chili from Pinolo.
—Michael Russell; mrussell@oregonian.com; @tdmrussell
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