#portland-food-scene

#portland-food-scene

In the early twentieth century, a community of Italian immigrants started selling fruits, vegetables, and other fare in Portland's Central Eastside, earning it the moniker Produce Row. These Italian American fruit markets and groceries planted the seeds of what would eventually become the city's farm-to-table ethos. Despite the outsize impact of the Italian community on our food scene, however, Portland isn't exactly a Little Italy town, lacking a dense concentration of ristorantes and trattorias.

Portland's rich, varied, and vibrant Mexican food scene deserves more attention than it gets. Quality taquerias and mercados have long simmered guisados and pressed tortillas across the city, but in recent years, the scene has blossomed even more. Quesabirria carts, mariscos pop-ups, and artful tasting menus have landed around town, expanding the range and regional representation in Mexican dining. Yet as the food scene has grown, so has the federal government's aggression toward the people behind it.

Seattle's Sea Wolf Bakers has opened a new micro-bakery called Woodblock Bakery inside the Woodblock Chocolate facility in Portland. The bakery is co-founded by Jess Schumann and is his first solo venture.

The James Beard Award winners for 2025 highlighted Portland's culinary talents, with notable wins for JinJu Patisserie and chef Timothy Wastell.

The partnership between Kann and Deadstock is rooted in personal connections and a shared mission to highlight Haitian culture through coffee.