Pizza Ovens, Wontons and Other Vital P.R.E.A.M. Updates

Chef Nicholas Ford and bartender Brandon Gomez have been working away on opening P.R.E.A.M., their pop-up-turned-brick-and-mortar addition to the PDX pizza boom. In fact, this week at the old Tennessee Reds space, Ford says they were demolishing an entire wall, and the next step is installing the Gianni Acunto oven, which is now stateside.

Although they've been deep in construction mode and exhausted, you can't stop, won't stop this hip-hop loving duo from planning a five-week dinner series at Big Trouble bar in Chinatown, starting Monday night.

They're teaming up again with chef Karl Holl (formerly of Perbacco in San Francisco) who now operates Let UM Eat, a local online community group connecting farmers, chefs, and diners in the area. The proceeds from the series will raise some extra funds for P.R.E.A.M., which they are aiming to have open by the second week in March.

The dinner series, dubbed Wonton Cannoli, will skew a little differently from their usual pizza pop-up, which got its start when they took over Jason French's wood oven on Monday nights while working at Ned Ludd.

Turns out, there won't be a slice of pie to be found. Instead, expect an Italian/Chinese inspired six-course tasting menu for $55 per person, with options like black pepper clams with smoked pancetta, curry fried risotto with lamb and farm egg, and, of course, a cannoli made from wontons with kaffir cream.

Drink-wise, there will be at least one of Gomez's signature bottled cocktails, along with a few others, and cheap Chinese beer.

The first of the series kicks off on Monday, January 19, with the second installment on Sunday, January 25. The February dates are TBA. Dinners are first-come, first-served and available from 6 p.m. until closing.