Neon-Splashed Bar the Houston Blacklight Launches Weekend Brunch

Since it opened a couple of months agp, Portlanders have flocked to Thomas and Mariah Pisha-Duffly’s psychedelic new bar the Houston Blacklight for playful cocktails, slushies, and shots, plus Quebec French-inflected dishes like French onion ramen. Tomorrow, the team behind Gado Gado and Oma’s Hideaway will introduce brunch service to their newest project, hoping to carry on the legacy of weekend brunch that the building’s predecessor, Night Light Lounge, was known for.

A few of the bar’s popular dishes, like the pull-apart sausage milk bread and mapo tofu gravy fries, will crossover onto the brunch menu. They’ll be joined by new offerings like five-spice apple fritters served with Jorinji miso caramel, shrimp benedict smothered in terasi hollandaise, and kimchi hash with an optional add-on of char siu burnt ends. “These are things we love that wouldn’t make sense at Gado or Oma’s,” Mariah Pisha-Duffly says. “It’s really fun that Blacklight can be a place for things like this.” Beverage director Em Warden has created brunch-exclusive cocktails such as the “Disco Nap” (rum, Jägermeister cold brew, cinnamon, whipped cream, served hot or iced), “Kimchi Mary” served with or without shrimp, and the “Cloud Chaser,” an absinthe and pistachio cocktail topped with fluffy egg white. The Houston Blacklight’s brunch menu will be available on Saturdays and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and unlike the bar’s evening hours, minors will be allowed.

Blockbuster Haitian restaurant Kann has opened a private dining room

As proven by the hours-long line for the chance to make a booking in-person to Kann in late August, Gregory Gourdet’s Haitian restaurant remains the most in-demand reservation in the city. Luckily, the chance to dine at Kann with a large party just became a little bit more accessible: This week, the restaurant announced the debut of its private dining space, the Yanick Room, named after chef Gourdet’s mother. The room’s menu is a set 10-course dinner served family-style with add-on options. It accommodates groups of 12-36 guests. Reservations are available through Resy.

Papa Haydn celebrates 45 years of business with parties and throwback pricing

Longstanding Portland bistro and dessert destination Papa Haydn turns 45 this year, and it’s celebrating with a “Boccone Bash” — at the original Sellwood restaurant on October 7 and at the NW 23rd Avenue location on October 21. Tickets are $45 and inclusive of appetizers, a dessert spread, and a champagne toast. Diners can also mark Papa Haydn’s milestone with retired menu items like chicken Genovese, torta rustica, and Sachertorte, priced at $12 per entree and $7 per dessert, through the rest of October.