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In this year’s edition of the Mercury‘s Food Issue, we’re celebrating the food community—those who feed us in myriad ways.
Edited by Mercury food editor Janey Wong.
What immediately comes to mind when you think of Portlandโs food scene? Is it the ubiquitous food carts, the nationally lauded restaurants, the abundance of craft beer and doughnuts? Itโs all of those things, certainly, but when I think of our food culture, I think community. Itโs the restaurant owners who have helped each other […]
At first blush, tortas and birding might not seem like a natural pairing, but the Gรผero Bird Club turns that assumption on its head. As you might have guessed, the club is an offshoot of acclaimed Kerns torta shop Gรผero. Attendees of all ages and experience levels regularly flock to local spots like Mount Tabor, […]
Portland has a lot of transplants, but for whatever reason there arenโt a ton of transplant communities. Big cities like New York, Chicago, and LA have dozens of ethnic and cultural enclaves, a Little Italy here, a Little Ethiopia there. Historically Portland did have a few of those kinds of neighborhoods in the early 1900s, […]
Thuy Pham gained local and national fame as one of Portlandโs standout pandemic restaurant success stories. The former hair stylist started making plant-based pork belly on Instagram Live when the COVID lockdown kept salon doors closed. With a hit product on her hands, she launched Mama ฤรบt, a vegan Vietnamese restaurant that earned a James […]
Counterintuitive to Portlandโs food-centric culture, the city hasnโt had a public market since the closure of the Portland Public Market in 1942. Portlanders have access to a robust farmers market scene, but the city has been long devoid of a permanent public market in the vein of the Milwaukee Public Market or Phillyโs Reading Terminal […]
Food cart pods have a rich history here in Portland, popping up organically in the early-to-mid 2010s due to a combo platter of rising commercial rents, creative chefs looking to try something new, and the insatiable appetite of city dwellers. Theyโve become a symbol of the city, and with dozens of pods scattered in every […]
Just like a sourdough starter under a cloth, some of the best baked goods in Portland are bubbling away behind the scenes, out of the spotlight.ย For many bakers, offering subscription or pop-up based carbs is the perfect way to balance work with having a life, and single-handedly reign over quality control.ย Word spreads via […]
For many Portlanders, strawberry season is the official kickoff to summer. Embracing the battle for flats of bright red Hoods at U-pick farms, they emerge with buckets out and gardening gloves on, ready to pluck berries fresh off the plant. But for cutesy Montavilla cafe Zuckercreme, the strawberry frenzy is a year-round state of mind. […]
Sitting on the back patio at the new 82 Acres on a lovely warm evening, I couldnโt help but think of the four delightful restaurants that tried to make it work in this very same spot on Southeast Clinton. In 2011, Blockโs Cafรฉ opened, then closed; followed by the beloved Tuscan ristorante, Burrasca; and most […]
In early June, a new cafe in the Montavilla neighborhood will start serving breakfast pastries and coffee in the mornings and grab-and-go soups, sandwiches, and salads in the afternoon. Its offerings all sound pretty standard, but this isnโt the average Portland cafe.ย Behind the counter, Stone Soup PDX is helping the next wave of food […]
Meech Boakyeโs lush, organic, and often edible artworks find their footing in floral, fungal, and microbial relationships. The Portland-based artist, originally from Winnipeg, views these relationships as โarmatures for learning how to be in a community.โ This leads them to share everything from abundant โdigital gardensโ and recipes for nettle rennet and fig sap cheese […]
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