Hello, everyone! This is the last time I'll remind you that the Mercury’s Portland Pizza Week starts on Monday, April 16 and runs through Saturday, April 21. It's a great opportunity to try 34 different slices scattered about town—and each slice is just $2 a pop.
What else is new? Well, our food critic, Andrea Damewood, broke some news on her lunch break via Twitter. She tweeted that BC2 Bento & Cookies, which used to operate out of the Portland Building on SW Madison, softly reopened between the McDonald’s and Subway on SW 6th. And the best part? When the owner emerged from the back of the house, the present customers cheered. BC2’s grand opening is slated for Monday.
In other news, we were the first to let you know that Domaine Serene is bringing its pinots to a tasting lounge downtown. It opens today.
And we were especially busy this week trying out new things to recommend. Thomas Ross returned to the burbs to try out BG’s Food Cartel, Beaverton’s new cart pod. After pointing out where it’s strange (astro-turf) and where it’s ordinary (tap lists), he got to the food concluding it’s worth a trip, especially for Abuela Chona’s empanadas and chorizo sandwiches. Ned Lannamann wrote that the fairly newish Second Profession Brewing is an unfussy brewpub where you can score solid pints and brats—which is also why it’s perfect. And Andrea wrote that it's criminal that so few people are taking advantage of Kinn Kao’s happy hour, which is equal parts tasty and affordable and that its khao soi soup is Portland’s best.
Over at Portland Monthly, we all learned that one of the state’s premiere winemakers, Jesus Guillén, is opening his own winery fittingly called Guillén Family Wines. And the monthly also broke some sad news: After 17 years, Cafe Castagna—not Castagna, but the cafe next door—is calling it quits. The upshot? It’ll still be open for another six weeks. The other upshot? Owner Monique Siu has plans to do something entirely different with the space.
Speaking of closures, Eater reported that La Leña, the Peruvian restaurant from a Peruvian expat and a Navarre alum, closed, too. It was open for just one year. It also had the news that Johnny Nunn is bringing in chef Trevor Payne (Tanner Creek Tavern, Little Bird) to run the burners at Verdigris while he focuses on Corzetti, his upcoming Italian restaurant. Finally Eater reported that a vehicle crashed into the Lucky Devil strip club—again. This is the second time this has happened. The Mercury reported the first time!
