In our April issue, we called out Rachel’s Ginger Beer, an Emerald City export whose tart, lemony ginger elixir has amassed a cult following in Seattle since it opened in 2011. But the first Portland location, opened late last year and sitting across from the Bagdad Theater at 3646 SE Hawthorne, is still flying deep under Portland’s radar. 

At the end of this month, Boke Dokie—the scaled-down fried chicken concept from Boke Bowl—will join forces with RGB, bringing its devilishly spicy fried chicken nestled in a soft, buttery bun with tangy kimchi-slaw. (The kitchen inside RGB was briefly occupied by another Seattle concept, Sunset Fried Chicken.) Boke Bowl co-owner Patrick Fleming says that in addition to the basic menu, you can expect a rotating cast of green, leafy salads and desserts, miso butterscotch Twinkies to tapioca. Fleming expects Boke Dokie to open its kitchen at the back of RGB by the end of April. 

Boke Dokie is in rapid expansion mode after the explosive success of its downtown food cart experiment in 2016. The cart has moved to the Tidbit pod at 2880 SE Division, and is expected to open with regular hours as soon as the weather gets good—probably the end of May. Yet another location is slated to open in the next week or two, inside the upcoming Portland Food Hall at 827 SW 2nd, alongside Aiko Ramen (formerly Hapa Ramen cart), the Whole Bowl, and Zaatar. 

This feels like the beginning of a beautiful friendship.