Portland Gets a Bone Broth Bar

Hey guess what? You're totally on trend and you didn't even know it. That carton of chicken broth in your cupboard? If you drink it out of a cup you can call it "bone broth."

That's right, the uber-popular NYC trend of drinking broth like it's a cup of Joe is right there waiting for you in your own kitchen.

If the term "bone broth" has you scratching your head, let's clarify: Yes, it's just stock with a trendy new moniker. So, is it just the name that's new? Haven't we been drinking soup for millennia? The difference is that "bone broth" is consumed like a beverage, not a meal. And it's supposed to be rich with nutrients and protein from simmering bones, vegetables, and aromatics in water. So if your canned broth is full of caramel color and chemicals, it doesn't count.

We'd like to point out that Salt, Fire, Time has been way ahead of the curve, selling bone broth (aka stock) for years. But now Jola Cafe in John's Landing is getting in on the action. Today the cafe joined the ranks of restaurants in New York, San Francisco, and LA, and launched a "customizable bone broth bar."

The broth ($3.75 for 10 ounces) comes from Tualatin-based Pacific Foods, which recently released line of chicken and turkey sipping broths in five flavors (think chicken with lemongrass or ginger). At the cafe, the five flavors rotate daily and can be gussied up with the following add-ins that the chefs at Pacific Foods created:

• ASIAN - Grated ginger with chopped garlic, scallions and soy sauce
• CITRUS-GINGER ZING - Orange and lemon zest with grated ginger
• COMFORT - Lightly-cooked blend of carrot, celery and onions

Like you would with coffee or tea, you can customize your cup, but instead of milk and sugar you can stir seasonings like smoked paprika, garam masala, nutmeg, tabasco, chili oil, and sriracha from the self-serve bar.

So ... broth with flavorful add-ins. It sure sounds like soup to us. But whatever you call it, there are certainly worse things to hydrate with. Each serving has 45 to 50 calories and provides 11 grams of protein.

JoLa Café: 5915 SW Corbett Ave.