Slappy Cakes Gets Alton's Kudos; How Andy Ricker Rolls

Image of Slappy Cakes courtesy Gather and Nest

SOUTHEAST: SE Belmont's make-your-own pancake spot Slappy Cakes has garnered some major national kudos, with Alton Brown giving the breakfast spot a shout-out on Food Network Magazine's list of "America's Best: Top Ten Destinations." Our guess: Slappy's Best DIY Dining nod has something to do with the Food Network cameras spotted at the restaurant earlier this year. (Minor bone to pick, though: In the 40-restaurant "Best" feature, divided into Destinations, Classics, Sweets, and Comfort Food categories, Slappy's was the only PDX to make the grade.)

NORTHEAST: Pok Pok Noi, Andy Ricker's newest branch in his slow and steady Portland takeover, was a long-standing plan executed within just a few weeks. "I knew the space and thought it would be a good fit for the concept I had in mind — have had in mind for a few years now — and in a neighborhood that could absorb a branch of Pok Pok," Ricker says. "This all started about a month or so ago." And like a true badass, he concludes: "It stayed a secret because that's how I roll."