Bar Casa Vale does brunch

One of our favorite bars, the ever-evolving Spanish cantina Bar Casa Vale, jumped headfirst into the brunch fray earlier this month with its own take on fried chicken and waffles—this time with churros, honey, and manchego. Other intrigues include an English muffin with smoked whitefish, cream cheese, and trout roe, and a big ol’ Casa Vale breakfast, with two eggs, papas bravas, greens, toast, and romesco sauce. Stop by for yourself from 10 a.m.–3 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays. 

Shizuku by Chef Naoko reboots yet again

For nearly a decade, Chef Naoko quietly filled beautiful Japanese bento boxes with fresh Oregon produce for a steady stream of regulars. In 2016, the restaurant rebooted as Shizuku by Chef Naoko with help from famed Japanese architect Kengo Kuma. In 2017, it ditched the cult lunch following for dinner-only. Now, says chef Naoko Tamura, her lunch returns with a completely new menu, available Wednesday–Sunday. Meanwhile, her dinner will be omakase only, served Thursday–Sunday. The restaurant will close briefly on February 17 and reopen on Friday, February 23. 

Wild Abandon to close later this month

Another bastion of “old Portland” bites the dust. SE Belmont’s neighborhood favorite, having served wacky "unprentetious" pub grub for over 23 years, will shutter February 28. Per a Facebook post from the restaurant: “The fat lady is warming up her pipes on stage left. Alas, we must bid you ado.”

Holdfast and Deadshot move into Associated

Modernist pop-up-turned-restaurant Holdfast, along with meta-pop-up cocktail bar, Deadshot, are headed to 2131 SE 11th Ave. That’s the former home of Associated, a pizza-centric bar that opened in 2016 (before that, it was P.R.E.A.M., and before that, it was Tennessee Red’s—confusing, right?). According to the Oregonian, Deadshot will take over the 50-seat bar area in front as a full time, seven-day-a-week bar. Meanwhile, Holdfast will head to the back room, where they’ll continue cooking up high-tech, modernist plates with oddball sea plants scavenged from the Oregon coast from Friday–Sunday, with scattered seating from 5:30–8:30 p.m. 

Bamboo Sushi also does brunch

The sustainable seafood mini-chain does brunch for one month only starting March 4 (a pilot program, perhaps?). It’ll be held at Bamboo’s SE 28^th location, Sundays from 9 a.m.–2 p.m. (reservations accepted!). The menu will be a combination of old Bamboo Izakaya (remember that place?) items and new brunch inspirations, from a hot fried chicken and waffle number with kimchee and cheddar, to a Lox Box with smoked trout, yuzu-Cipollini cream cheese, and house-made bagel furikake. Whoa.