East Burnside’s Big-Deal Danish Brewpub Pop-Up Hires Chef From Momofuku

The highly anticipated Mikkeller brewpub pop-up on East Burnside will have a head-turning chef running the kitchen, The Oregonian reports. Shaun King, the former executive chef of Momofuku Las Vegas who also worked under celebrity restaurateur Michael Mina, will run the food side of things for the maybe-temporary brewpub, opening his own restaurant afterward.

For those who missed it, the internationally renowned brewery Mikkeller will begin pouring beers in the abandoned Burnside Brewing space, testing the waters before possibly opening its first Portland brewpub. The team, which includes the absurdly prolific restaurant group Chefstable, originally teased some sort of Japanese food menu to serve alongside the Danish brewery’s beers. Turns out, King will serve a menu of Japanese snacks, noodles, and rice dishes — everything from oysters in kimchi vinaigrette to steamed salmon rice with ramp butter — as an introduction to Portland.

King isn’t coming to Portland alone, however; master bartender and Michael Symon vet Jamie Neering, King’s wife, will handle the cocktails at the pop-up, serving drinks like koji-bacon-ponzu-fat-washed rum cocktails and Mikkeller boilermakers. The two of them hope to do their own thing eventually, running their own restaurant. Until then, Neering and King will serve Japanese brunch and bar snacks starting June 8.

• Mikkeller [Official]
• Chefstable [Official]
• Momofuku Las Vegas chef Shaun King is moving to Portland, opening Japanese restaurant [The O]
• Big-Deal Danish Brewery Mikkeller Is Moving Into the Former Burnside Brewing Space [EPDX]
• Momofuku, Cañonita Nab New Chefs [Eater Vegas]