Vancouver

• Head's up, neighbors to the north! Willem Paul Klitsie—chef and owner at the fifteen-year-old Pearl District culinary landmark Fratelli—will open a new restaurant in downtown Vancouver, Washington on October 28. Dubbed Willem’s on Main, the 49-seat French and Italian-inspired eatery will serve lunch, happy hour, and dinner with a focus on using as many Washington-grown ingredients as possible. Stay tuned for more details and photos of the new space and menu from Klitsie in the heart of Vancouver's central business district. 907 Main Street, Vancouver, WA

Southeast

• A few updates to report from SE Division's Double Dragon: The modern banh mi joint now offers karaoke every Saturday, new cocktails from barman Nick Ramsdell, and expanded hours (including a brand-new happy hour—think $3 sandwiches, $4 rum horchata, and $10 burger-and-a-pint deals available Tue-Sun from 10 pm to midnight and Mon-Fri from 3 to 9 pm). 1235 SE Division St

North

• Beginning October 15 Tasty n Sons will feature a new, extensive line-priced wine list—all bottles will be $29 and glass pours will be $8—including several picks that are perfect pairings for brunch ($29 bubbles, anyone?). “Committing to this price point matches our philosophy of being a neighborhood restaurant" says owner John Gorham. "We want to keep the list super approachable, but also offer people a sense of discovery. We’ve got a good selection of hard-to-find wines that you won’t see on the shelf at the local grocery store and some familiar well-loved labels.” 3808 N Williams, Suite C

• Oregon beer pioneer John Harris (formerly of McMenamin's, Deschutes, and Full Sail) will open the doors of Ecliptic Brewing, his astronomy-inspired North Portland brewery and brewpub, on Monday, October 21. The 15-barrel, 3000-square-foot brewpub will feature a seasonal menu from former Pazzo chef Michael Molitor, aiming to shift every six weeks and meant to pair with the brewery's signature beers: Procyon Pale Ale, Arcturus IPA, and Capella Porter. Guests on opening day will also get to try Ecliptic's recent collaboration with Gigantic Brewing, called TICWITTIC, an American sour wit. 825 N Cook St.

Citywide

• A few local wine lovers are setting out to revamp vino's reputation. Wine is Rad's just-launched Kickstarter campaign will fund an irreverent "wine of the month" calendar, complete with flaming barbecues, rose petal-strewn hot tubs, and the perfect pairing for Halloween candy.

Oregon 

• In news that is surprising to absolutely no one, Oregon still brews some pretty good beer: our state’s breweries took home 25 medals at this year’s Great American Beer Festival, the premier beer festival held every year in Denver. This year’s tally includes 10 gold, 7 silver, and 8 bronze medals, and is 1 better than last years total haul of 24 medals. Oregon breweries collected accolades in categories ranging from Aged Beer to German-Style Sour Ale to something called Indigenous Beer, and gluten-adverse drinkers will be pleased to know that Harvester Brewing and Deschutes took home gold and bronze respectively in the Gluten-Free category. In addition to awards for individual recipes, Pelican Brewing (included in our recent Oregon Coast Culinary Road Trip guide) was named “Large Brewpub of the Year,” and Baker City Brewing won “Very Small Brewing Company of the Year.” Congrats to the home state heroes! 

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