A New Spot for East-Coast Grinders Has Opened on NE Russell

Those seeking rotisserie-roasted-beef-and-cheddar sandwiches, pastrami Reubens, bacon-egg-and-cheese sandwiches, and classic Italian grinders can find them at Lottie & Zula’s, a sub shop newly open in the former Toro Bravo space. The shop pulls lots of inspiration from sibling owners Emily Peterson and John-Fletcher “Fletch” Halyburton’s Rhode Island roots, naming sandwiches for the state’s sandwich shops. The restaurant even serves breakfast sandwiches on bolos, a Portuguese-style English muffin, made by another former Rhode Islander, Jenna Legge of Jen & Bee’s. The shop is open for breakfast and lunch for takeout and delivery. [Oregonian]

The Golden Age of Food Cart Brunch

For a long time, food carts weren’t exactly seen as brunch destinations. However, a number of new and new-ish carts have started to set aside weekend days for specific brunch menus. Nacheaux, the hypebeast cart known for its fried chicken burritos and hardcore mac and cheese, started serving a brunch menu earlier this year, with things like breakfast sandwiches on jelly doughnuts and blue crab chilaquiles; now, however, Nacheaux is joined by places like L’Unico, the new food cart making some of the city’s best pasta. On Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., that cart is serving things like breakfast carbonara, prosciutto eggs Benedict, and sausage-topped polenta with a gooey poached egg. Across the city, Trap Kitchen has also gotten into the brunch scene: From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays, the food cart serves things like crab legs and chicken and waffles with Froot Loops for its brunch menu. Even Hawaiian breakout hit Grind Wit Tryz, in the midst of trying to open a restaurant, threw a surprise brunch last weekend with longanisa, arroz caldo, and loco moco. If those folks end up bringing brunch to the new restaurant, that could be a huge deal.

Today Is Election Day (Duh)

It’d be hard to miss this one: Today, November 3, is Election Day, which means many restaurants will be playing election results on bar tvs, serving election-themed specials, or straight-up throwing (socially distanced) parties. Eater Portland has a guide to where to watch, where to find takeout near ballot drops, and who is throwing something party-adjacent. If something comes to mind that isn’t on this list, feel free to send tips to pdx@eater.com.

In Other News...

• Grains of Wrath PDX is now open on Williams [NSB]
• Speaking of beer, there’s a new head brewer at Trap Door [NSB]
• Dutch Bros president Joth Ricci says the company will have opened 63 new locations by the time 2020 ends. [PBJ]