Modern Italian Restaurant Renata Welcomes Former PREAM Chef to the Team

It’s Friday, which means it’s time for the weekly EaterWire round up of all those news items we didn’t quite cover.

CHEF SHUFFLES — Sprawling, wood-filled Italian restaurant Renata welcomes Nick Ford as the new chef de cuisine. Ford worked for some big names in NYC (like Danny Meyer) before opening the much-hyped pizza pop-up PREAM (RIP). Executive chef/co-owner Sandra Arnerich says she is thrilled to have Ford on the team to share his “passion for Italian cuisine.”

POP-UP — Chef Deepak Saxena of food cart DesiPDX is trying something new in February with a pop-up dinner series called Masala Mondays. This is an opportunity for the team to build dishes that highlight the best of the season. The first menu includes braised collards and masala pork belly, salad greens with an apple and curry dressing, savory porridge, and more. The first dinner is February 10.

EXPANSION — Ping pong palace Pips and Bounce will take its unique concept to Minneapolis in the summer of 2020. Co-owners Eugene Jung says, “We’ve taken all that we’ve learned and aiming to bring ping pong to the masses! We love being in Portland and our customers love us and hoping to share the gift of pong to everyone!”