eat & drink—Hosford-Abernethy, Southeast (SE) Portland...

Why waste your neighborhood-dive order at Portland's craft cocktail bars? Shake up your 'usual' with a snappier alternative. more...

Portland's bookish persona even extends to our drinking. Two new bars, The Jack London Bar and The Lovecraft, take their names from famous writers and incorporate literary themes into their decor, events, and menus. They join a small battery of established lit bars. Buckman The Lovecraft is like the corner bar in the friendliest neighborhood of hell. Named after Old Evil fabulist H.P. Lovecraft, the bar takes its horror theme more...

Better late than never, right? Summer, that is, and all the foods with which we associate the season. Owing to the impact of late storms and fluctuating temperatures, local farmers’ most reliable summer crops are just now starting to fill market stalls and CSA boxes. What does all of this mean for you, your kitchen, and your belly? It’s time to take full advantage of the flavors of late summer by sourcing your goods close more...

It’s no surprise that Storm Large was one of the judges at Kenny and Zuke’s recent citywide pickle competition; pickles are the new rock stars of the local rustic food scene. Forget whole-animal and think whole-garden; pickling is a great way to preserve seasonal fruit and vegetable bounty. And for the inquisitive, the playful, and the adventurous, there’s the appeal of the fact that you can pickle just about anything, more...

There’s no doubt about it. Portland is a drinking town. In a city where wet-brain dives and high-end cocktail bars proliferate in equal abundance, the options are myriad. You can have it all here: Jello shots or locally distilled brandy. A glass of smoked ice or a basket of deep-fried clam strips. A meat-market or a bar with its own butcher case. With so many places to choose from, how do you narrow it down? How do you separate more...

Let’s face it, cooking during the summer can be a chore. Barbecues are one thing, but nobody wants to spend too much time in the kitchen during the nicest months of the year. Fortunately Portland is chock full of options for those who seek a home cooked meal from somebody else’s kitchen. To make things easier for all lazy eaters out there, we sampled an array of dishes that are essentially ready-to-eat and require only a bit more...

Spring is a tricky season in the Pacific Northwest, holding onto winter cloud and cold while allowing some glimpses of warm sun to peek through. The local food menu reflects this contrast, with winter crops coming to market at the height of their flavor and early spring crops making their first appearance. Just as you may be confused about whether to wear short sleeves or a heavy coat, accessing the array of local seasonal foods can be more...

In 1930, Ruth Graves Wakefield, owner of the Toll House Inn in Whitman, MA, ran out of baker’s chocolate and instead used chopped, semi-sweet chocolate in the cookies she baked for her guests. Yes, the chocolate cookie was an accident. Since its inception, the treat has become an integral member of the American food canon. Ms. Wakefield would be pleased to know that May 15 is National Chocolate Chip Day. In honor of this more...

First things first. Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico's Independence Day (the nation declared its independence from Spain on September 16, 1810). Rather, May 5 marks the day on which an outnumbered Mexican Army defeated an army of French colonialists in the central state of Puebla, known by gastronomes for its poblano peppers—the chile in chile rellenos—and for the invention of mole. Cynically, Cinco de Mayo can be observed more...

As you may have heard, April is National Grilled Cheese Month. Okay, you probably haven’t heard, but trust us, it is. An Internet search reveals that many people are aware of this month’s special designation, but nobody knows exactly who gave April such a lofty title. Nevertheless, in the spirit of the month, we set out not to find the best grilled cheese in Portland, but to taste the offerings from a wide range of more...