Summer is a time for catching chefs in their experimental phase at summer pop-ups. Here are the five not to miss, according to the Oregonian’s restaurant critic Michael Russell, who talked to the City Cast Portland podcast this week.
“They're an urban winemaker. They have a new location, and to draw attention to that new location, they invited Cafe Olli to bring their mobile pizza oven down and cook pizzas every few Fridays down there. I wish it was happening every Friday. You'll have to go on their website to check the dates on that, but that's a fun one.”
Güero has “expanded their signature hamburguesas into a full food cart menu. They've got cocktails; they've got big bombas of beer; they've got wines from Mexico. It's really fun — lots of plants, shaded areas, and misters keeping you cool. If I had to pick one, that might be actually the number one, but I'm not picking one because they're all really good.”
“I called [Nodoguro] the best restaurant in Portland in a review earlier this year…. They are kind of obsessed with this writer, Haruki Murakami, and before he became a famous novelist, he ran a jazz bar in Tokyo called Peter Cat. So this summer, Nodoguro is bringing back their Peter Cat popup, which the idea is to have something a bit more approachable, a bit more accessible financially.” (Russell also notes it’s still pretty spendy, and there are limited reservations available.)
“[Chef Adán Fausto]’s mission is to revive flour tortillas’ reputation because up here way in the north, in Portland, we do kind of think of authentic tacos — quote unquote — as being corn tortillas only. But you probably actually do want to order the flour tortillas there because that's what goes better with the steak.”
🇲🇽🇨🇺 Tocayo @ Palomar
“So what they're doing is — I call it Mexican-Cuban fusion. It's Mexican taqueria-style food with Cuban influences…. Look, the reason to go there isn't necessarily the food. I'm sure it'll be delicious. It's the views. The views up there are fantastic.“
