Portland Farmers Market Closing Thursday Ecotrust Market (for good)

From the press release: Portland, Ore., November 23, 2009 – Portland Farmers Market today announced its decision to permanently close the Thursday Ecotrust Market at 721 NW 9th Avenue located in the parking lot of the Jean Vollum Natural Capital Center. While Portland Farmers Markets’ four other locations experienced increased traffic and sales over the years, the Thursday... [Read more]

John Gorham to Take Over Wonder Ballroom Cafe

I got confirmation this afternoon of the rumor that the new location for John Gorham’s new brunch restaurant, Tasty & Sons, will be the Wonder Ballroom Cafe. John is planning to specialize in food not normally found in Portland breakfast places. As you may remember, he had quite a bit of experience with brunches, while cooking at Simpatica.  Read More →

Couple Faces Jail For Refusing to Pay Mandatory Gratuity

If you’re frustrated by poor service at a restaurant, think twice before you decide to not tip. You may be in for a bit more than just a dirty look from the waiter. “Nobody, nobody wants to be forced to pay a tip or be arrested for terrible service,” Leslie Pope said when her happy hour ended in handcuffs. Pope and John Wagner were hauled away by police and... [Read more]

Thanksgiving Dinner Roundup 2009

Don’t know where to go for Thanksgiving dinner this year? Here is our complete list from every press release I’ve gotten this year. I’ve also included some businesses selling turkeys, pies, etc. Andina: This Thanksgiving, for the first time, Rodriguez de Platt and her family will honor the holiday with a prix fixe menu featuring celebrated favorites, as well... [Read more]

Final Call for Thanksgiving

This is the final call for Thanksgiving restaurant dinner announcements. I’ll be putting together a roundup in a day or two, and if you miss it, you won’t get in. Send them to pdxfoodpress@gmail.com as usual.  Read More →

You’re Old If…

While I was having dinner with a friend a few nights ago, we were talking about things we remembered from restaurants when we were growing up. I thought it might be a fun topic of conversation. I’ll start: You’re old if.. You remember when you had to wear a jacket (and sometimes a tie) to many upscale restaurants. Most of them kept a few really “loud”... [Read more]

Rumor: Ten 01 Benjamin Parks Has Left the Building

Word on the street is that chef Banjamin Parks, the much-heralded replacement for Jack Yoss, has been shown the door at Ten 01. Note that this is an unconfirmed rumor, but I’m pretty darn sure. Here are the things pointed out to me that make it seem plausible: 1. His Twitter feed switched from ten01chef to Benjaminparks. Hmm… 2. His Linkedin profile shows him as... [Read more]

Troy McLarty Jumps To Ned Ludd

Troy left Hula Hands in April of this year, and spent some time as part of the Laurelhurst Market team. Now comes word that he has left Laurelhurst Market for Ned Ludd. From a previous review when he was chef at Lovely Hula Hands, Troy MacLarty worked at at Alice Water’s famed Chez Panisse in Berkeley, before being lured to Portland by the much maligned Michael Hebberoy.... [Read more]

Higgins

On the way home from dinner at Nel Centro one evening, I was bemoaning the fact that I hadn’t had a good meal since I reviewed Tabla. At that moment, we drove past Higgins, which looked completely full. It had been at least five years since my last dinner there, but it used to be one of my favorite restaurants, so I decided to use it for my next review. The first thing I... [Read more]

MSNBC Videos Highlight Portland Food Cart Scene

Brett over at FoodCartsPortland.com was featured in an interview about Portland food carts on MSNBC.com. An accompanying video features Karen Brooks, Oregonian food editor. Nice job! Here is the first And the second, where The Oregonian’s Karen Brooks exposes herself  Read More →

Genoa/Accanto Making Progress

Genoa will begin doing test dinners the weekend after Thanksgiving, and then will be open for business on December 1st. If you didn’t read it in our comments, The bar side of Genoa is going to be called Accanto. It will be open seven days a week, starting at 11am. Genoa Restaurant will be open from Tuesday – Saturday for dinner only. It will be a five-course... [Read more]

Not Sure How I Missed This!

The New York Times recently posted a list of “100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do“. At one time or another, I’ve complained about almost every one, especially those in the first 50. Some of my favorites: 6. Do not lead the witness with, “Bottled water or just tap?” Both are fine. Remain neutral. 9. Do not recite the specials too fast or robotically... [Read more]

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