It’s true, as often happens, I get deluged with new tips every time I post a roundup. Here we go:
YamYam’s restaurant in N Portland was being used as a front to launder money from a Crips gang cocaine deals. As someone said on Twitter, no wonder there was a line to get in! Not a line I’d want to get into myself. Nope. Something tells me their business may drop now.
Pine State Biscuits will open a second location at 22nd and Alberta, across from Cia Vito in the old office space. Done deal.
Rumor: Kincaids, downtown on 121 SW 3rd Ave has closed, but will reopen as – wait for it – Portland Steak and Chophouse. Yeah, the same name it had before it closed and became Kincaids. Not correct. So much for rumors!
The Brasserie Montmartre is reopening this week, after having been closed since at least 2007. The restaurant has been having parties and training all week. From my experience, the interior has been completely gutted and redone, though some of the architectural elements of the original and much loved restaurant remain. The overall feel is pretty nice. Their website is up, though without a menu. The food will be French, and they plan to have live music every night.
The old Genoa spot is expected to open in December, with Johnathan Jenkins from the now closed Bodega Wine Shop at the helm. Chef David Anderson who recently left Vindalho will be manning the kitchen. Anyone know the name (of the cafe section)?
Chris Israel’s northern European place, Grüener, is still on track to open in mid-December New Years Eve. It was mostly studs the last time I checked, but once the plumbing is in, these things tend to go pretty fast.
As almost everything else in our news posts, this is strictly rumor. You may know, Bakery Bar has two locations: one on SE Water street, and a second, opened later, on SE NE Glisan. I’ve always written nice things about them, and continue to like their offerings, especially their cakes. I’m getting lots of emails, saying they will be closing the Water St. location, and concentrating on the Hawthorne Glisan branch. Makes sense to me, as it can be difficult to find daytime parking around the original spot. Now, and this is strictly rumor, though I’ve heard it from two sources, Tommy Habetz will be taking over that spot and the one next door to open “Bunk Bar“. I don’t know the details of what he is planning, though I hear he has a particular idea in mind. I think I also discussed this last month, so that makes it three sources.
But wait, there’s more! Strictly rumor – across the street in the building that formerly housed Q Center, a “do-it-yourself” coffee roasting facility will be opening. Interesting, and I’m sure it will have some appeal, but it takes a ton of experience to roast coffee properly.
Could 50 Plates actually have new investors to open a Spanish-themed small plates restaurant in Lake Oswego? That’s the word on the street. Have these investors eaten at 50 Plates? Hmm.
I stopped in at Ristretto to taste their much-vaunted Mexico Santa Cruz,Xoxocotlan coffee the other day, and noticed all the spaces in the building are now open. They include Lincoln, Ristretto, Cha Cha Cha, Eat Oyster bar, which seems to be very popular, Hip Cooks, and a Korean Isakaya, Anju. It’s quite the scene.
Speaking of Cha Cha Cha, I was at the one on NE Broadway yesterday for a birthday lunch. They have switched to all natural meats – Carlton Farms pork, Painted Hills beef, wild fish, and free-range chicken. Kudo’s to them for doing something I really wouldn’t expect. Not sure if all locations are making the change.
Por Que No, the taqueria on N Mississippi, had a fire a few hours after closing on October 20th. The restaurant is closed until mid November.
All Coffee News:
Speaking of coffee, Billy Wilson, the barista who just won the NW Regional Barista Competition, is set to open a second Barista location on NE 18th and Alberta. It will face east towards the retail courtyard. Target date is one year from the the opening date of the very popular Barista in the pearl, or February 2010.
Andrea Spella, who is thought of very highly for his coffee food cart at 9th and Alder, will be opening a real store with four walls on SW 5th, where the short-lived Bikini Coffee Roasters was located. Opening is targeted for mid-December, but it sounds like construction is running behind.
Next, Adam McGovern of Coffeehouse NW, is will be opening a new venture, Sterling, in the old flower shop location at the East side of the Trader Joe’s building on NW Glisan. He has purchased a gorgeous micro-roaster, and plans to roast all his own beans, eventually hoping to source them himself. It’s a tiny space, so how he fits in all that equipment in will be interesting. He’s shooting for an early December opening. More to come.
Finally, as I discussed here a few months ago, Dwayne Belikoff, former owner of the now defunct Roux, will be opening Violetta in the new Directors Park, downtown on the west side of the Fox Tower building. The square is pretty much finished, but the restaurant still has work to be done. The coffee related angle – Seattle’s Cafe Vitta will provide the beans; the first time in Portland that I know of, and a major step for the popular roaster.
One more thing:
Though I switched to a private server a few months ago, it still crawls to a near stop in the morning and at lunch/dinner time. I was told yesterday that I only had 20 concurrent connections, and they doubled it to 40. No, I don’t quite understand what that means. The important thing is, the problem should occur less frequently, though I noticed today, it can still be a bit slow at those times. If you have issue, just try it again at an off time. The price of success.
PS. I was in a hurry when I wrote this, so unless there is a major gaffe, I could care less about grammar/speling issues. Just sayin’
Unless I’m mistaken, Bakery Bar does not have a SE Hawthorne location…it’s Glisan, near Pambiche. Too bad about the Water St space, though – it was a great place to meet up with friends before hitting the Eastbank Esplanade. Put that bug in someone’s ear: a great café off the Esplanade…….
Great! That’s all I need is a Pine State near my house…better re-up the gym membership
Yummy!
Food Dude,
I suppose you would be likely to know whether there are any late night coffee shops in Portland. Anything at all that stays open until midnight or later? I thought coffee shop culture in Portland would be really big, but apparently only for the morning doves, while we night owls are left to roost.
Overlook Family Restaurant is a nice old-fashioned 24 hour coffee shop. And then there’s that Pancake and Steakhouse place on Powell. I think the food service in the bars here puts a damper on 24 hour coffee-shops.
Rimsky-Korsakoffe House and Pied Cow are both open until midnight (weekdays) or 1 AM (weekends).
Pix is open late too; and what goes better with coffee than dessert?
Southeast Grind is open 24/7 in inner SE!
1223 SE Powell Blvd
Stumptown Coffee, Loose leaf Foxfire Tea, Sandwiches, salads, snacks served all hours, Voodoo Doughnuts, Black Sheep bakery, Free WIFI, In-house computers, and super friendly baristas
Cheers
Sadly, Overlook isn’t 24 hours; they close down at 10 pm and re-open pretty early, though.
Check out Southeast Grind on 12th and Powell. Open 24/7!
Isn’t that Brasserie Montmarte? Or am I thinking of another much-missed french bistro/hopping bar/live music establishment?
Brasserie Montmartre, I mean. Sorry! It’s early for me!
News of even more fried chicken, bacon and cheese on biscuits AND more options for amazing coffee in Portland, peppered, as always, with only the tiniest bit of well placed snark. ahh…this is how every day should begin. thank you.
FWIW, I was strolling through downtown Milwaukie earlier this week and the Cha!Cha!Cha! there also had signage announcing the new meat sourcing.
In construction/building news, there’s a liquor-license-application sign on the door at the prospective Whole Foods in the Hollywood District (Sandy @ 42nd). OTOH, there was not much visible activity in/around the rest of the site.
The Cha in Sellwood has had the Painted Hills/Carlton Farms/wild fish for a couple of years now.
Oh, and per the Kincaid’s rumor: that might be more interesting than it sounds, given last week’s article on Stanford’s in the Big O’s business section. Quietly noted at the end of that piece: the floating Newport Seafood Grill at Riverplace is being converted to a seasonal operation (that is, they’ll close it from November through March, and two other RU locations are being “put on the market”.
What I’m wondering is whether Kincaid’s/Portland Steak & Chop House might be one of those — and thus whether the restaurant is merely being rebranded again, or instead might be reopening under different ownership. (Given that one Stanford’s refugee has already gone independent with the Oswego Grill, apparently with some success, the latter seems at least possible.)
Not to be a butt-er-in-er, but I just wanted to correct your points…I guess. The new restaurant in Lake Oswego, Oswego Grill, is in the spot that used to be the Chilis. Standfords in Lake Oswego is still open in the same block on the opposite side of the street.
Sra-
It’s been about 10 years since I wanted coffee after midnight, but back then we went to Coffee Time or Anna Banana’s (both on NW 21st), or the Pied Cow (SE Belmont). I’m sure there are a couple more.
I really didn’t think that Alberta could take another breakfast place. but since it’s Pine State, I guess one more is okay!
And speaking of biscuits and bars, it’s pretty hard to argue with the Bakery Bar’s biscuit breakfast sandwiches (haven’t done a head to head against Pine State, but I’d bet they’d do pretty well). I also see they’re applying for a full liquor license at the Glisan location, so it may soon truly be a “bakery bar”…
Coffeehouse 5 on Killingsworth and Albina was a Caffe Vita account for quite some time until they switched to the local roaster Coava a few months ago. They were doing about as good as one could do with that coffee, I don’t imagine another account is going to make waves here besides the non-Stumptown status. Also, Heart just opened last week next to Meat on east Burnside between 22nd and 23rd. It’s the result of Wille Yli-Luoma’s coffee geekery, who has spent years as a professional snowboarder but decided to help keep the bar high with Portland coffee. Y’all should go say hi and try his stuff. The space is beautiful and the coffee is also lovely. http://heartroasters.com/
Caffe Vita has been providing the coffee at Davis Street Tavern and Cacao.
shows you what I know!
Roux was serving Caffe Vita when it was open.
And even more coffee news. Gretchen Glatte, former Wildwood Pastry Chef and current Firehouse Pastry Chef, and I will be opening Woodlawn Coffee and Pastry at 808 NE Dekum in November. We’ve kept it under wraps while we plow through renovating a beautiful building from the 1890’s, but as we approach the holidays and a firm open date we wanted to get the word out. The building is being renovated by Justin Rideout (Lovely Hula Hands, twice, Firehouse, Cartola) and will be real warm. Scratch pastry, both sweet and savory, baked in house and Stumptown Coffee….Matthew Busetto.
http://www.violettapdx.com/menu.aspx
saw an olcc sign on the building of the former roux. lucky lab is our new neighbor.
What makes Carlton Farms “natural”? The word “Farm” in the company’s name? It is still a corporation. Marketing goes a long way for some, I suppose.
The converse is an equally valid question: how does setting up a corporation make a farmer’s goods any less “natural”? (Heaven forfend that any responsible farmer should want to run his business in a businesslike fashion….)
What choices do we have in Portland for easy-to-get, quality pork that is not pumped full of sodium solution ala Farmland Farms “Deep Basted™”? Seems that you have Carlton (local! no injected saline!) or smaller producers like TnT or (now) Olympic. When I need 8-10 tenderloins for an event, I don’t have a lot of choices….unless I’m missing something.
I’ve had wonderful luck buying grass fed, all natural lamb and pork from this website: http://www.eatwild.com/products/oregon.html
Keep me posted.
Thanks CBF, I’ll check it out!
Let’s face it most of Carlton farms pork is raised in Canada, I really wish all these so called farm to table restaurants and cafe’s would do a little more reseach on where there food is coming from. Maybe Carlton “farms” should send a rep through Portland and actually explain where exactly there pigs are from ?
The name of Genoa’s cafe section is Bar Accanto.
Of course I found that out right after I wrote the darn post! Thanks!