A year ago, one of Portland’s best restaurants, Holdfast Dining, closed in the midst of the pandemic. Its two chefs, Joel Stocks and Will Preisch, went their separate ways: Preisch went off to wine country to cook for Abbey Road Farm, and Stocks decided to start a pop-up with his wife, Emily Stocks, out of their garage. The Stocks’s pop-ups ran as lively summer dinners, but as Portland gets rainier, they needed a new spot to shack up.
That’s where Magna owner Carlo Lamagna came in. Lamagna, who used to run Pinoy prix fixe dinners under the monicker Twisted Filipino, has turned his SE Clinton Filipino restaurant into a pop-up hub, letting chefs like Luna Contreras and Alexandria Guevarra use the space for their own events. So when the Stocks family needed a space, Lamagna offered up his own. For the next three months, Emily and Joel Stocks will pop up at Magna, with specific ticketed dinners in November, December, and January. Each dinner in the JEM series consists of approximately nine courses, with beverage pairings from Les Caves owner Jeff Vejr. The dinners are $200 per person, and proof of vaccination is required. Reserve a spot here. [PoMo]
Three Bend Restaurants Appear on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives
The mayor of Flavortown himself took a trip to Oregon this summer to check out a few restaurants in Bend. Guy Fieri, the host of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, is releasing three episodes related to Oregon businesses, including one that has already hit the Food Network: Fieri visits Zydeco Kitchen & Cocktails in the episode “Regional Flavors,” which aired October 1. At 6 p.m. on October 29, on the episode “Sandwiches and Spice,” Fieri visits Rockin’ Dave’s Bistro & Backstage Lounge for jalapeño bagels and pastrami. On Nov. 5, the show will feature Dump City Dumplings, which serves dumplings in flavors like pad Thai and four cheese pizza. [O]
Oregonians Sickened in Multi-State Salmonella Outbreak Tied to Onions
A massive number of onions have been recalled due to potential salmonella contamination traced back to a farm in Chihuahua, Mexico, processed at Keeler Family Farms; they were distributed by Big Bull, Peak Fresh Produce, Sierra Madre, Markon First Crop, Markon Essentials, Rio Blue, ProSource, Rio Valley, and Sysco Imperial. The Food and Drug Administration is urging anyone who cannot identify the origin of their onions to throw them out. People in more than 35 states have reported cases of salmonella, including least two Oregonians. [O]
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