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Katherine Chew Hamilton
Posted inFood and Drink

 Pipe Dreams and Pizza Crusts Will Dive into the Wacky World of Organ Grinder Pizza

An upcoming documentary explores the Portland pizzeria that may have once been the largest in the world.
Avatar photo by Katherine Chew Hamilton

Amid the strip malls and used car lots along SE 82nd, one big building, now home to Super King Buffet, looks out of place: glass walls stretching tens of feet tall, ceilings sharply sloping in different directions. Turns out these glass add-ons, designed by none other than Pioneer Square architect Willard K. Martin, were once […]

Posted inFood and Drink

Nice Time Makes Nice Pasta, Indeed

This Hawthorne food cart cranks out handmade pasta with Korean-Italian flair.
Avatar photo by Katherine Chew Hamilton

Making handmade pasta is a feat in itself, but rolling out sheets of dough, cutting noodles, and stuffing ravioli all while inside a little food cart is quite another matter. Not only does Nice Time serve the best pasta you’ll find from a food cart, it’s also some of the best pasta in town—and there’s […]

Posted inFood and Drink

Food News: Smashburgers at Steely’s and Chicago Tavern Pizza at Proof Launch This Week

Plus, famed farm-to-table restaurant Higgins is up for sale, and other food news from the past two weeks.
Avatar photo by Katherine Chew Hamilton

The past couple weeks have been booming with restaurant openings. Steely’s looks like a promising new spot for smashburgers, while Proof Pizza’s thin-crust, square-cut Chicago tavern-style pizza is finally available for dine-in. Plus, Pipsqueak Bagels is open at long last. Here’s what’s new, what’s changed, and what’s closed since our last food news roundup. Upcoming […]

Posted inFood and Drink

Red Hen Bagelry Brings Delightfully Chewy Bagels to Northeast Portland

Look for offerings like sweet-salty sesame and the mythical egg everything bagel.
Avatar photo by Katherine Chew Hamilton

Northeast Portland has an under-the-radar, weekends-only spot for killer bagels. After about a year of doing wholesale baking for local coffee shops and holding occasional pop-ups, Red Hen Bagelry launched its residency at Red Sauce Pizza a couple months ago, selling bagels and bagel sandwiches every weekend for the foreseeable future—including some unusual varieties. Egg […]

Posted inTransportation Issue 2026

Feasting to the MAX

Eating like transit royalty at the end of the light rail system.
Avatar photo by Katherine Chew Hamilton

What follows is one of the many articles in the Mercury‘s 2026 Transportation issue. Find a print copy here, subscribe to get a copy mailed to you here, and if you’re feeling generous and want to keep these types of articles coming, support us here.—eds. Is it just me, or does riding the MAX make […]

Posted inFood and Drink

Join the Cult of the Shrimp Burger

Bbang’s shrimp burger, an ode to a Korean fast food classic, already has a devoted following.
Avatar photo by Katherine Chew Hamilton

Step aside, Filet-o-Fish—there’s a new shrimp burger sheriff in town. Bbang, a Korean-inspired burger and fried chicken spot, opened next to Holy Ghost bar on February 18. Even before opening, shrimp burger devotees were waiting eagerly at the restaurant’s metaphorical door. They’d come to be obsessed with the shrimp burger in previous years when Doyaji, […]

Posted inFood and Drink

What’s New in Portland Restaurants, Bars, and Bakeries, March 18-31

James Beard award updates, a new teahouse in town, and an award-winning chef moves to a little corner restaurant.
Avatar photo by Katherine Chew Hamilton

Spring is a season of transition, as Mercury music contributor Ryan J. Prado reminded us during his latest biweekly Spin Cycle column. And there sure have been a lot of changes over the past couple weeks since our last big food news roundup. Along with James Beard award updates and a quick shoutout to Franz […]

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