Bamboo Sushi SE Starts a Month of Brunches This Sunday

— Bamboo Sushi’s Southeast location (on 28th Avenue at SE Pine) is set to serve up Sunday brunch for all of March. The full menu is still TBD, but expect items like fried chicken with kimchi and cheddar on a scallion waffle, seared smoked trout on rice with ikura and green tea dashi, and an oh-so-healthy vegan granola and “yogurt” dish. It will run all four Sundays in March (starting March 4), and reservations are accepted. It’s billed as a “limited series”, so there’s no suggestion that this is some kind of trial for a more permanent brunch service (but you can dream).

— Jenn Louis, chef and owner of modern Israeli spot Ray, has nabbed a prize from the International Association of Culinary Professionals for her work on cookbook Book of Greens — she took out the prize in the Health and Special Diet category. (Unfortunately, some controversy marred certain other prizes given out by the Association, specifically, due to an award given to the Association’s CEO.)

— Want to win a year of free beer from Oregon brewery Rogue? You’ll need to help them try to crack a safe that they discovered in the walls of the women’s bathrooms in their Northwest Portland location. Submit codes to a live feed on the brewery’s Facebook page on Saturday morning (March 3), if you’re feeling lucky.

— Last week, Eater published the details of certain restaurants and bars eliminating plastic straws in the name of avoiding pollution in oceans, waterways, and on beaches — the movement seems to be catching on, with Punch Bowl Social now switching to straws made of recycled paper. The restaurant won’t put straws in drinks unless customers ask, allowing Punch Bowl staff to make mention of the campaign.

— Chef Naoko has launched her umami lunch at her beautiful downtown restaurant Shizuku. There’s a range of udon options, a tonkatsu pork loin hot sandwich, and more. Given the umami name, there’s unsurprisingly plenty of miso to go around, too. See the full menu here.

• The 2018 IACP Award-Winners [Food & Wine]
• Rogue holds contest to open safe found in bathroom [KOIN]
• Some Portland Restaurants and Bars Won’t Serve Drinks With Plastic Straws Any Longer [EPDX]
• Lunch menu [Shizuku]