Courtesy of Ruby Jewel
Courtesy of Ruby Jewel

Hey everybody, your major news organizations did some amazing work this week! Both the Mercury and Willamette Week brought you stories about the too-close-for-comfort relationship between a Portland police officer and the leader of Vancouver’s alt-right Patriot Prayer movement. WW also penned stories on why Portland has not pressed charges against an alleged Patriot Prayer physical assaulter and it presented the city with a photo essay valentine of itself by reporting on the unsung stories of the people who make our city tick. Likewise, the Mercury wrote about the recent uptick in assaults aimed at members of the LGBTQ community and why that community’s victims are choosing to remain anonymous. And finally, we covered the literal blow-by-blow shitshow of last night’s listening session courtesy of the police chief, the mayor, and the community regarding police accountability.

TL;DR: Support local journalism by subscribing to publications! If you read it for free at a cafe or online, support those news org’s advertisers by visiting their restaurants, retail shops, and clubs. They pay us to give you all the news you can use and sometimes some dumb stuff for lulz! As always, thanks to everyone who support and reads any news outlet’s work, even those who hate-read it, because your clicks count, too!

Okay, on to the food news!

This week, the Merc brought you the news that the folks behind Ruby Jewel will open a new storefront in the old Abbey Belgian beer shop space on NW 23rd sometime this spring. Prepare yourself for some stellar ice cream-cookie sandwiches.

Also this week, the Oregonian assigned a foodie field army and dispatched them throughout the region with the hopes of finding the area’s best buffets. In all, the team compiled their 25 favorite spots spanning from Tigard’s Mizumi Buffet (number 22) and Forest Grove’s Buffet Dynasty (number 21) to Izzy’s (15), Namaste (13), and DarSalam Lazurdi (10). The best of the best? They are Abhiruchi (3), Swagat (2), and, for the win, Hillsboro’s Chennai Masala.

When they weren’t writing some serious news, a Willamette Week writer visited BJ Smith’s Delores, which launched late last year in his old Smokehouse Tavern haunts, and heaped praise on the new restaurant’s angle (Polish food via the Midwest) in general, and Smith’s “interdimensional(ly) tang(y)” mustard, in particular.

Finally, in the unending drama that is the Nancy Rommelmann-MeNeither-Ristretto Roaster imbroglio, Eater this week wrote that they’d had it with the freelance writer’s claim that the “outrage culture” so inflamed by her inflammatory comments should not be directed at her husband’s coffee roastery (even though she commandeered its Twitter account a couple of weeks ago to settle some scores), especially in light of Rommelmann’s latest Quillette column (which most news outlets are refusing to link to because F Quillette). Eater summed it up, thusly and wisely: “Rommelmann had the right to start her YouTube series, but her lack of foresight, her inability to foresee that other people—her husband, her husband’s employees—may suffer because of her words, is on her, not those who choose to boycott her business. Rommelmann’s open (and tacky) critique of former employee Coddou fails to recognize that her outrage—Portland’s outrage—is based on public YouTube videos anyone can see. Coddou didn’t have to concoct a negative portrait of Rommelmann; she did that all on her own.” In other words, they ain’t buyin’ it.

In other news, Eater took a first look at the new Tasty n Daughter (formerly Tasty n Sons), which is poised to open in the old Woodsman Tavern space a week from today. It reported that a Woodsman Tavern alum is bringing squid ink wings to the Doug Fir; and that Brunch Box, the breakfast burger cart, is bringing eggs Benedict burgers (and cocktails) to a second eastside location at SE Morrison. And the site also scored a WTF story which can best be summed up by its everything-you-need-to-know-is-in-the-headline headline: “Someone Keeps Smashing the Fireside’s Windows—The NW 23rd restaurant has been vandalized twice in the last two weeks.”

Oh, and one last thing! Portland Dining Month is back as of March 1, so you’ll have 31 days to try $33 three-course tasting meals at some of the city’s restaurants that you’ve always wanted to try but never had the cash or time. Visit Travel Portland, where you can examine all of the menus put out by 134 of Portland’s favorite kitchens.