Who says Decemberâs a slow news month? This week, the Mercury had lots of news to report. First, the folks behind the Lay Low Tavern are taking over The Vern on SE Belmont. We learned that Teote is opening up a spot in downtownâs Pine Street Market. Hollywoodâs Hit the Spot burger cart will serve breakfast come January. And we reported on a pair of closures, too: Hawthorneâs Chapel Hill bar abruptly shuttered under what still seems like weird circumstances, and Raeâs Lakeview Lounge up in Slabtown also closed its doorsâor had them closed for them. Weâre still trying to find out the reasons behind both closures. Then, we visited Outrage, the new esports bar, and itâs either your jam (yay, youâre young!) or itâs definitely not (yay, youâve grown up!), and our food critic rattled off her best bites of 2018 (big ass soup at Stretch the Noodle, all the squash at Oui Wine Bar + Restaurant, and everything at Canard).
The O brought the good news (Portland is the best city in the US for beer drinkersâwith Bend coming in at fifth place, so get bent, California!), and it poured one out by reminiscing the cityâs top 25 painful restaurant closures of 2018. Ciao, Accanto. So long, Dubâs in St. Johns. Thanks for the decades of memories, Overlook Restaurant.
PoMo got in on the reminiscing action, too, by recapping this yearâs saddest closures (Woodsman Tavern, Alma Chocolate) and its happiest openings (OK Omens, Super Deluxe, Holiday).
The folks at Eater had lots to report this week, too, starting with the fact that this townâs getting whatâs believed to be its first proper Indonesian brick-and-mortar joint that will be called Wajan once it opens on East Burnside. It did a sit-down with Pok Pokâs Andy Ricker about his newest outlet, SW Barburâs Pok Pok Wing, why his businesses are going cashless, and why heâs over full-service restaurants. It wrote that the SF-based Montesacro, acclaimed for its pinsa, is now open on NW Hoyt. And it reported the news that we all somehow missedânamely that the folks running downtownâs Duck House Chinese restaurant opened a new restaurant in Vancouver called Szechuan Brothers...all the way back in October.
Finally, on the âWhatâs your deal?â Jeffrey Morgenthaler Twitter beat, the iconic bartender asks, âTiny clothespins that hold orange peels on the side of a glass: Whatâs your deal?â before turning on his own, asking, âBartenders who hire PR agencies to âpromote their personal brandâ: What on earth is your deal?â Two very, very excellent questions.