At first glance, a peek into Hemp Bar’s large windows reveals a typical Portland sight: a sleek bar made from reclaimed wood, kombucha on tap, curated shelves of locally made products. But the dedicated craft CBD cafe is unique among the city’s other watering holes—it’s a project of cannabis and hemp company East Fork Cultivars, […]
Janey Wong
Janey Wong is the Mercury's food editor and the managing editor at our sibling site, EverOut. She's usually eating, thinking about what she ate, or planning what to eat next. She dislikes drinking milkshakes through paper straws.
Posted inFood and Drink
Zaap Thai Brings the Isaan Region Flavors of Northeast Thailand to Northeast Portland
A typical Isaan meal consists of grilled meat, sticky rice, som tum (papaya salad, not pictured), and jao (dipping sauce). Janey Wong In Zaap Thai’s early days of operation, it earned a spot on Yelp’s 2020 top 100 list—which brought in customers from as far as Boston (!) to try the Northeast Portland restaurant’s unique […]
Posted inFood and Drink
Ja’Das Soulful Eatz Bumps the Soul Food Power of One of Portland’s Historically Black Neighborhoods
The mac and cheese is so on point I almost ate the entire container before I even had a bite of the equally perfect catfish. Janey Wong Jamie Turner lived near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard throughout her formative years and into adulthood. Now, she’s making her mark on the neighborhood that raised her. Her […]
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Rangoon Bistro’s Burmese Menu Offers a Cross-Section of Southeast Asian Cuisine
Silken chickpea tofu envelops rice noodles in the Burmese dish tohu nway. Janey Wong Rangoon Bistro started spreading the gospel of Burmese street food through pop-up dinners. It later became a fixture of the King Farmers Market, and shifted to a takeout-only concept operating out of the Gotham Building, during the height of the pandemic. […]
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The Multi-Dimensional NORR Kitchen Has Origins in a Production Studio
Christiann Koepke/NORR Agency Photographer and creative director Christiann Koepke has taken inspiration from her background working with clients in the food and beverage industry along with her European travels and distilled them into her new Central Eastside restaurant, NORR Kitchen, which takes its name from the Swedish word for “north.” The multi-dimensional concept is an […]
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Sunbela Brings Sweet Baked Goods and More to East Portland’s Iraqi Community
Firas Kaittan bakes samoon, an Iraqi yeast bread, daily at Sunbela. Lisha Shrestha/Division Midway Alliance Outer Southeast Portland has a new Iraqi bakery. Sunbela 2 (pronounced soon-bula) has moved from its original location in Beaverton to a small strip mall in the Mill Park neighborhood. Through a translator, Sunbela 2’s owner Faten Abojazzara told the […]
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What to Order (and Drink!) at the New Hinterland Bar and Food Cart Pod
Janey Wong It can be difficult enough narrowing down what you want to order from one menu, let alone sort through the blind panic of which option to settle on when you’re at a food cart pod. To help you navigate the new Hinterland Bar and Carts, dear readers, I tried the bestselling/owner-recommended items at […]
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Flying Fish’s Beer Garden Concept Cart, Chef Shack, to Feature a Cast of Rotating Local Talent
Janey Wong Last month, a new concept food cart debuted under Flying Fish’s sustainable seafood market and restaurant umbrella. The brand new Chef Shack promises an exciting upcoming schedule of big name chefs and live music shows. Though the owner Lyf Gildersleeve and executive chef Trever Gilbert originally intended the cart to serve as a […]
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In Defense of the $34 Chicken
Courtesy of Rotigo [This is the second in a two-part series on the rotisserie chicken to-go restaurant Rotigo. For part one, click here.—eds] I have a (chicken) bone to pick. In response to my review of the restaurant/bar/market Rotigo last week, a small number of folks dismissively scoffed at the price difference between a Rotigo […]
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Review: Solve the Weekday Dinner Dilemma with Chicken and More From Rotigo
Janey Wong [For the second part of this review, a brilliant takedown of those who prefer supporting corporate interests over local restaurants, please see Janey Wong’s “In Defense of the $34 Chicken.”—eds] Rotigo, a new counter-service restaurant, wine bar, and market, is a “choose-your-own-adventure” situation built around rotisserie chicken by jack of all culinary trades […]
Posted inEverOut
This Week in Portland Event News: Bastille, The Head and the Heart, and More
Blast off into the future with Bastille this spring. Having steadily released a handful of new singles throughout 2021, British pop-rockers Bastille are poised to hit the road this year (with a Portland stop in the spring) with their fourth album, Give Me the Future. Plus, Portlanders can catch Seattle-based indie folk band The Head […]
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Ninkasi Taps Acclaimed Bartender Jeffrey Morgenthaler for a New Line of Canned Cocktails
Ninkasi co-founder Jamie Floyd (left) and bartender Jeffrey Morgenthaler cheers to their new venture. Courtesy of Ninkasi Brewing Company While folks were nurturing their sourdough starters, baking piles of banana bread, and whipping up dalgona coffee, Jeffrey Morgenthaler was mixing up something else entirely during the past year. True to form, the seven-time James Beard-nominated […]