Today’s Forecast

49º | Showers | 84% chance of rain | Sunrise 7:50 a.m. | Sunset 4:40 p.m.

A restaurant dining room with round white top tables, pine wood chairs, a matching bar, and people working.

Kann opened in August of 2022 and reservations have been booked solid ever since. | Photo by @garythefoodie

Clink clink clink. It’s time to raise a glass to those who made the shortlist for the 2023 James Beard Awards — aka the “Oscars of the culinary world.” Two local chefs and one extremely popular new restaurant were named finalists for the prestigious accolades yesterday, so we’re seizing the opportunity to brag on our hometown foodie heroes.

🧑‍🍳 Beard’s culinary contributions

The awards are presented by the James Beard Foundation nonprofit whose namesake was born here in Portland. After spending his early adulthood trying to break into the theater and film industry, Beard found his place in the culinary world. He wrote the first of 20+ cookbooks in 1940 and carved a name for himself at the top of the game. The James Beard Foundation Awards were established in 1990, some 15 years after Beard’s death; the first awards were handed out the following year.

🏆 2023 semifinalists

Kann | Nominated for Best New Restaurant
Celebrity chef Gregory Gourdet’s Haitian-inspired restaurant opened in the summer of 2022 and immediately shot to the top of local and national charts. It was named America’s best new restaurant by Esquire magazine and Portland’s 2022 Restaurant of the Year by The Oregonian/Oregon Live.

A side-by-side collage in which one photo shows four people wearing white aprons standing in front of a building, and another photo shows a man with tattoed arms wearing a camo jacket and cap sitting in front of a window. — (Left) Vince Nguyen surrounded by Berlu teammates; (right) Thomas Pisha-Duffly.
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Photos courtesy of @berlupdx and @gadogadopdx

Vince Nguyen, Berlu | Nominated for Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific (AK, HI, OR, WA)
The eccentric tasting menus at the Central Eastside take-out bakery/street food restaurant are tributes to this 2022 Chef of the Year’s Vietnamese roots. Nguyen has cooked at some of world’s most prestigious eateries, opening Berlu in 2019.

Thomas Pisha-Duffly, Gado Gado | Nominated for Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific (AK, HI, OR, WA)
Inspired by his and his wife’s travels in Southeast Asia, as well as his own Chinese-Indonesian heritage, Pisha-Duffly’s popular restaurant in the Hollywood District serves a creative blend of pan-Asian and Dutch flavors and is often hailed as a “go-to” for locals and visitors alike.

The winners will be announced on Monday, June 5.

Events

Thursday, March 30

Spring Break Family Free Day | Thursday, Mar. 30 | 10 a.m.-5 p.m. | Oregon Historical Society, 1200 SW Park Ave., Portland | Free | Join Native storytellers for presentations on Native traditions and history, explore the museum’s flagship “Experience Oregon” exhibit, complete a craft about your own family’s story, and more.

Friday, March 31

Portland Auto Swap Meet | Friday, Mar. 31-Sunday, Apr. 2 | Times vary | Portland Expo Center, 2060 Marine Dr. W., Portland | $5-$10 | Shop ~1,500 vendors for thousands of unique, original stock, antique, vintage, and custom vehicles and parts at the event that’s celebrating 59 years.
Studio Ghibli Film Festival | Friday, March 31 | 6 p.m. | OMSI, 1945 SE Water Ave., Portland | $6-$7.50 | “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind” is up next in this parade of films by iconic Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki.

Saturday, April 1

Something Bardic (this way comes) | Saturday, Apr. 1 | 9 a.m.-11 p.m. | Parkrose Masonic Lodge, 4812 NE 102nd Ave., Portland | $15-$20 | Learn (or hone) your medieval bard skills and get to know the Barony of Three Mountains — a group dedicated to “the better qualities and education of historical living” of pre-17th century Europe.
Opening Weekend: Home & Garden Show 2023 | Saturday, April 1 | 8 a.m. | Monticello Antique Marketplace, 8600 SE Stark St., Portland | Price of purchase | Find spring-inspired home and garden decor — like planters, tools, fountains, trellises, furniture, and more — at this huge vintage shop full of treasures.

Sunday, April 2

Bill Maher | Sunday, Apr. 2 | 7 p.m. | Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, Portland | $39.50-$129.50 | The stand-up comedian brings his signature style of unflinching honesty, political satire, and big laughs to the Rose City.

Plan ahead with our community events calendar below.

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News Notes

Weather

56º | Mostly cloudy | 17% chance of rain

Sunrise + Sunset

Rise: 6:54 a.m.
Set: 7:36 p.m.

Civic

Thirteen community-based organizations have been awarded a total of $5 million in grants through Multnomah County’s Community Capital Fund. Officials said the money will help the organizations, which have struggled post-pandemic, provide housing and other services like food, childcare, career training, and more to historically marginalized groups.

Outdoors

Two of Mt. Tabor Park’s three reservoirs won’t be empty much longer. The Portland Water Bureau started refilling Reservoir 5’s 49-million-gallon artificial lake last week — a process that will simultaneously replenish the smaller Reservoir 1. Once part of the public water system, the reservoirs now serve as scenic and historic landmarks. (KOIN)

Open

Jubilee Hall PDX is a new nonprofit coffee shop in the Hazelwood neighborhood offering artisan coffee, pastries, and support for immigrants and refugees with little work experience in the US. It plans to launch a barista training program and currently offers weekly English and citizenship classes. (The Oregonian/Oregon Live)

Arts

Southeast Portland’s Midway neighborhood is home to a bright new mural just in time to celebrate Women’s History Month. “Leaders of East Portland” at Southeast 122nd Avenue and Powell Boulevard features four prominent female leaders — Lisha Shrestha, Halimo Alinur, Olena Borova, and Diana Nuno-Perez — painted by local artist Alex Chiu.

Try This

If you’ve ever dreamed of being a superhero, here’s your chance. Portland Sunday Parkways is looking for volunteer “Intersectional Superheroes” and “Mobile Superheroes” to be neighborhood ambassadors and manage intersections along event routes, among other duties, in 3.5-hour shifts.

Festival

Hopworks Brewery will host the second Salmon-Safe IPA Festival, Saturday, April 22, at its Urban Brewery. The fest — which benefits Oregon Wild — highlights the importance of a healthy watershed to brewers and challenges them to brew sustainably. It’ll feature 20 beers made with grain and hops that are Salmon-Safe certified.

Eat

In honor of its upcoming 12th anniversary, Salt & Straw Ice Cream will bring back some iconic flavors starting tomorrow, March 31. Which scoops are you sweet on — honey marshmallow rocky road, black olive brittle and goat cheese, sweet corn and waffle cones, strawberry cilantro lime cheesecake, or mango habanero IPA sorbet?

Shop

If your vacuum isn’t picking up dirt and debris like it used to, it may be time for a new one. This handheld Shark vacuum is lightweight, cordless, and highly rated on Amazon. Or splurge on the Dyson V11 Cordless Vacuum that sucks up particles as small as allergens and bacteria.
Are your kids ready for springtime family photos? Our online store (Six & Main) features Ducks and Drakes, a children’s clothing company with tall kids at the heart of its style and designs. Shop the perfect fit now.

Civic

💡 That’s a bright idea

Park rangers are tasked with ensuring park rules are being met at night at parks where lights have already been removed. | Photo by Cambrie Juarez, PDXtoday

Many of our readers have expressed concerns over the city’s plan to remove 243 light poles across 12 different parks. Officials said the fixtures had “structural anchoring issues that could pose life and safety hazards to the public.”

This week, Commissioner Dan Ryan announced changes aimed at speeding up the project’s timeline.

On Wednesday, April 5, Ryan will present an emergency ordinance to City Council that will allow the parks department to buy all of the replacement lights at once. The project is expected to cost $15 million.

Since work started in February, Portland Parks and Recreation has removed the faulty fixtures at Colonel Summers, Irving, Sellwood, and Sellwood Riverfront parks — their replacements will be installed when they’re delivered in approx. six months. Temporary lights may be set up until that happens.

The remaining parks on the list will not have their light poles removed until they can be quickly replaced with new ones.

The Wrap

Today’s Edition By:
Cambrie

From the Editor

Want to add some color to your kitchen? Check out these two local businesses featured by Portland Monthly: Astro the Studio offers ceramic canisters of various sizes (read: cookie jars, but not like your mom’s); Hanuk Design makes reusable, machine-washable food covers available at New Seasons.

Missed yesterday’s newsletter? We rounded up dozens of local schools into one comprehensive list.

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