Portland's Food History

Portland's Food History Covering more than a century, we chronicle the people, places, and plates that helped Portland conquer the food world.

In this issue:

Arts & Culture

ON THE CATWALK

Sequins, Drama, Gold Nipples, and Gravity-Defying Hair: Welcome to Critical Mascara

At Time-Based Art’s annual competitive drag spectacle, the stakes (and surrealism) run high. Plus: a dive into the fashion behind Portland’s vogue balls.

08/15/2016 By Fiona McCann and Eden Dawn

Fall Arts 2016

Fall Arts Guide 2016: What You Can’t Miss in Portland This Season

From Amy Schumer to Brian Wilson, Warhol to Wordstock, here are the season’s top tickets.

08/15/2016 By Rebecca Jacobson

Fall Arts 2016

Five Can’t-Miss TBA Shows

From meditative juggling to masked avant-porn, here’s what to see at the annual extravaganza.

08/15/2016 By Fiona McCann

Fall Arts 2016

The Portland Institute for Contemporary Art Finally Has a Home of Its Own

The city’s premier avant-garde arts organization prepares for the 14th annual Time-Based Art Festival—and a new era in a new space.

08/15/2016 By Fiona McCann

Eat & Drink

FOOD CARTS

How the (Food Cart) Pod People Took Over

In 2009, a half-empty lot called Cartopia became Portland's new living room.

08/17/2016 By Karen Brooks

EAT THIS NOW

Pastrami Zombie’s Wet, Hot, Smoked Reuben

Portland’s cart version of Ashland’s cult-worshipped Sammich serves up a magical Montreal-style sandwich.

08/15/2016 By Benjamin Tepler

'Tude with Our China

Wine Snobs, Moody Bastards, and Game Hens: Inside the Vat and Tonsure

From 1978 to 1997, this idiosyncratic downtown boîte was the epicenter of Portland culture.

08/15/2016 By Karen Brooks

PORTLAND PANTRY

Portland’s Ultimate Locavore Larder

It’s a golden age for delicious, locally made (or internationally procured) foodstuffs. Stock up.

08/15/2016 By Benjamin Tepler

WHAT WE ATE

Portland’s Restaurant History: The People, Places, and Plates That Set Our City’s Epic Table

How did we conquer the food world? We chronicle more than a century of Portland dining.

08/15/2016 Edited by Kelly Clarke

WORD OF MOUTH

Portland Monthly Food Critic Karen Brooks Looks Back on Three Decades of Restaurant Reviews

From ‘80s bagel punks to gazillion-dollar flops.

08/15/2016 By Karen Brooks

RECIPES

Eight Classic Portland Recipes, 1932 to Now

From Henry Thiele’s German pancakes to Lucy Brennan’s avocado daiquiri, here’s how to eat (and drink) your way through Portland history.

08/15/2016 By Benjamin Tepler, Kelly Clarke, and Karen Brooks

SOUL SCENE

Revisiting the Mid-Century Jazz Clubs and Soul Food Kitchens of Portland’s Albina Neighborhood

Before it became a chic bike thoroughfare, N Williams was a compact universe of black-owned businesses.

08/15/2016 By Kelly Clarke

TOP CHEF

The (James) Beard Supremacy: Five Portland Chefs Who Slay

Cory Schreiber, Philippe Boulot, Cathy Whims, Greg Higgins, and Vitaly Paley embody the mission of Oregon’s original locavore.

08/15/2016 By Karen Brooks

THE TABLE SETTER

In the ‘70s and ‘80s, This Prolific Portland Restaurateur Redefined “Fine Dining”

Michael Vidor—the man behind L’Auberge, Genoa, and Tanuki—replaced stodge with bohemian, come-as-you-are excellence.

08/15/2016 By Karen Brooks

HAIL CAESAR

How Zefiro Changed Everything for Portland’s Food Scene

In the ‘90s, the most mythical of Portland restaurants ruled over NW 21st and Glisan.

08/15/2016 By Karen Brooks

CHANGE AGENTS

In 2002, Two Crazy Kids Basically Invented the Modern Portland Restaurant

Michael Hebb and Naomi Pomeroy redefined the city’s old-world restaurant order.

08/15/2016 By Karen Brooks

FOOD HISTORY

Pioneer Salt, Giant Pancakes, and Sexy Salads: The Two-Century-Long Story of How Portland Conquered the Food World

Here are the wild spots, rule breakers, lost treasures, and unforgettable dishes that forged our food culture.

08/15/2016 Edited by Kelly Clarke By Karen Brooks, Tuck Woodstock, and Michael Zusman Photography by Nicolle Clemetson Styled by Ashley Marti/Local Haven

Editor's Note

You Should Be Drinking a Martini at Jake’s Famous Crawfish Right Now

J’adore this old Portland warhorse.

08/15/2016 By Zach Dundas

News & City Life

Gridiron Report

Portland State May Finally Have a Great Football Team

With a brilliant new coach, a wild style of play, and long odds, the Vikings set sail on a new era. But does anyone, like, care?

08/15/2016 By Jason Cohen

The Shakedown

Should Portland Welcome the Southern Menace—a.k.a. Californians?

Welcome to Oregon. Please don’t stay. Or do?

08/15/2016 By Marty Patail

Essay

All Kids Should Go Mushrooming—If They Can Keep Their Little Mouths Shut

Even toddler fungiphiles must be tight-lipped.

08/15/2016 By Lily Raff McCaulou

Long Story Short

For Years, Karlen Yallup Fought Forest Fires Across the West

Now the 24-year-old, raised by a family of elite “hotshots,” wants to take the fight from Warm Springs to Washington, DC.

08/15/2016 By Ramona DeNies

Food Fighter

This Portlander Hustled Her Way to a No-Holds-Barred PBS Food Show

On The Original Fare, host Kelly Cox eats, drinks, and curses her way across the globe.

08/15/2016 By Chad Walsh

5 Things About

Oregonians Killed 67,000 Big Game Animals Last Year

And other facts about hunting in the Beaver State.

08/15/2016 By Marty Patail

Dispatch

Should Portland Save the Memorial Coliseum?

A small group of preservationists want to rescue the 55-year-old gray box from demolition.

08/15/2016 By Lisa Dunn

PDX Index

The Raw Numbers on Carole Smith’s Time as PPS Superintendent

Beyond the lead fiasco.

08/15/2016 By Marty Patail

Style & Shopping

Marijuana

Meet Three of Oregon’s Top Organic Pot Farmers

These are some next-level nugs.

08/15/2016 By Marty Patail

Winning Finds

Pear-Flavored Vodka, ‘90s Video-Game Reboots, and Sustainable Planters

September's best local goods.

08/15/2016 By Eden Dawn

Q&A

Are Crickets the Protein of the Future?

Oregon’s Poda Foods makes cricket powder that is edible, sustainable, and nutritious (and, apparently, mild in flavor).

08/15/2016 By Kailla Coomes

Travel & Outdoors

Getaways

Vashon Island, the Idyllic Puget Sound Getaway You Didn’t Know You Needed

Come for the haute-rustic dining, stay for the Thriftway.

08/15/2016 By Ramona DeNies