This week, our cocktail critic lamented the fact that Portland has so few riverfront restaurants and bars along the banks of the Willamette. But don’t worry, our other river, the Columbia has plenty, including Salty’s, Beaches, and Sextant. So put a beverage in your hand and watch the colors change from summer to fall before the winter rain does them all in for good.

The O swung by Sugarpine Drive-In out in Troutdale and cleared up a few misconceptions. First, it’s not a drive-in, but a drive-thru. And second, Sugarpine doesn’t serve burgers; rather, it serves hearty sandwiches, as well as soft serve ice cream, frozé, and a solid roster of hearty salads worthy of the drive from Portland.

The Portland Tribune had the news that a new micro-brewery called Inner Fire Brewing on Powell out in Gresham is in the works. No big deal, right? The thing is, the new brewery is directly next door to the Native American Rehabilitation Center of the Northwest, which has a primary mission of helping Native American youths struggling with alcoholism.

Willamette Week reported that B-Side, the punk dive on East Burnside that closed after it caught fire in 2017, is reopening, probably sometime next month.

And Eater had the rest of the open-and-shutter duties this week, reporting that Outrage, the city’s first esports pub, will open to video game enthusiasts on September 20. However, it also broke the news that three restaurants have or are closing. It reported that Pho Dalat, the Vietnamese restaurant on Sandy, appears to have closed, citing an “RIP” photo snapped by Oregonian food critic Michael Russell. It had the news that Wei Wei, the Taiwanese restaurant out in Sellwood is closing after service this Sunday. And the original Nong’s Kao Man Gai food cart on the SW Alder street cart pod, is closing today. It’s a bummer and we knew it was coming, but we’ll always have those brick-and-mortars on either sides of the river.