This Week in Portland Food & Drink: October 28
Robata-grilled steak from new dinner pop-up Yakipura.
Image: Courtesy of Yakipura
Community remembers Matt Choi of Choi’s Kimchi
Matt Choi, who co-founded Choi’s Kimchi with his mother in 2011, was fatally stabbed at his apartment building in Southeast Portland early on Sunday, October 25. A GoFundMe has been established to help the family with funeral expenses; funds beyond the goal, which has already been met, will be donated to a charity in Choi’s honor.
Choi and his mother grew the company from a stand at the PSU Farmers Market into a brand that spanned grocery stores throughout the Pacific Northwest and made its way into home kitchens and restaurant kitchens alike. Choi was also a coach at XXcelerate, a local nonprofit that provides support, mentorship, and funding for Oregon’s womxn entrepreneurs. XXcelerate paid tribute to Choi on its Instagram page.
So did several local food cart and restaurant owners, including Tan Tan Foods and Kim Jong Grillin.
Cacao’s closing
It's an end to an era of chocolate. Cacao, the craft chocolate shop established in 2006, is closing its doors at the end of the month. To say goodbye, the store is having a 50 percent off closing sale on Saturday, October 31 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at 414 SW 13th Ave.
The store, owned by Aubrey Lindley and Jesse Manis, stocked more than one hundred different chocolate bars as well as locally made chocolates, and was also beloved for its drinking chocolates.
“To our amazing staff, the global chocolate community, the Portland food community, and all of our friends and family, we cannot thank you enough,” Cacao’s website reads. “As the market has grown and consumers have become more knowledgeable our role has changed. When we opened we helped introduce the world to a new way of thinking about and talking about chocolate, representing the first wave of American craft chocolate makers. The discovery and exploration continues but we are reevaluating where we fit in to that and what the future holds.”
Fight inequality in the restaurant industry
Dr. Akilah Cadet, an antiracism, diversity, and equity coach and advisor based in Oakland, is hosting a virtual workshop next Monday, November 2, aimed specifically at food and beverage industry professionals in Portland. The workshop costs $50 per person. Planned topics include power dynamics between leadership and employees and inequities between front-of-house and back-of-house staff.
Yakipura, a new robata pop-up, launches from the owner of Hunnymilk
Brandon Weeks, owner of beloved brunch spot Hunnymilk that’s known for its sweet and savory options, has opened a new dinner pop-up. Named Yakipura, the pop-up, which operates on Fridays and Saturdays for dine-in and takeout service at 1981 W Burnside St., specializes in skewered meats and veggies grilled over 2,000-degree white binchotan charcoal. Opening menu items include a foot-long egg roll, a tropical cucumber-melon salad that incorporates dragonfruit and rambutan, yakitori-smoked duck breast, Wagyu beef New York strip steak, king salmon, and kabocha squash steaks. The dessert menu consists entirely of flash-frozen dessert pops made on a very cold "anti-griddle," including passionfruit meringue pie with torched jasmine meringue and chocolate-peanut mousse cake with red wine jelly.
A new sandwich in town at Lottie & Zula’s
A sandwich shop specializing in New England-style grinders opened its doors earlier this month. Lottie & Zula’s, located at 120-A NE Russell St., serves sandwiches on sliced bread like roast beef and pastrami reubens, plus grinders (available in 4”, 6”, 8”, and 12” sizes, fine-tuned to your appetite) including a meatball sandwich, Italian salumi sandwich, and a cheeseburger sandwich. The menu also includes salads, all-day breakfast sandwiches, coffee and tea, and fresh squeezed citrus-ades.
