The Guy Who Survived on Taco Bell Fire Sauce Packets Wins a Year of Free Taco Bell

March is in full swing, and this week has been a whirlwind of news — new pizzerias from Joshua McFadden! Sushi cart openings! Incoming cocktail bars! All the while, a few food stories have slipped under the radar, from a quiet chef switch-up to a five-day survival story starring Taco Bell hot sauce. Below, find the details:

TO BUILD A FIRE — Oregon hit the national news when a Sunriver man trapped in the Deschutes National Forest revealed his survival strategy: hot sauce packets. Jeremy Taylor told investigators that he and his dog, Ally, lived a steady diet of Taco Bell fire sauce for five days, until their rescue. The silver lining: Taco Bell awarded Taylor a year of free Taco Bell — assuming he can still stomach the sauce. [Eater, The Oregonian]

CASA NUEVA — Now that chef Jacob Harth is busy with sustainable tasting counter Erizo, tapas mainstay Bar Casa Vale has hired a new executive chef: Erik Van Kley. Kley, a longtime Portland chef, developed a following during his years at Le Pigeon and Little Bird, eventually opening the sadly short-lived Taylor Railworks and serving a brief tenure at Accanto. A notably creative chef, it’ll be interesting to encounter his take on the wood-fired tapas of BCV. [EaterWire]

LADIES’ LIBATIONS — In honor of Women’s History Month, cocktail bar Abigail Hall has launched a full menu of cocktails inspired by historic women, from Beyonce to Amelia Earhart. The bar, named for famous women’s suffrage activist Abigail Scott Duniway, is serving drinks like the Serena Slam, a tequila drink in honor of Serena Williams, and the Child’s Play, a martini inspired by Julia Child. All the drinks’ proceeds will go to domestic violence shelter Raphael House.

Updated March 8, 2019, 11:59 a.m.
This story has been updated to include the latest menu for Abigail Hall.