Samantha Bakall

In a city with a world-renowned doughnut shop famous for its over-the-top decorations and flavor combos, it’s only fitting that Portland is also home to one of the tallest burgers in the country. Stacked more than a foot high and built out of a trio of patties and cheeses, as well as bacon, ham, hot links, two eggs, steak, grilled onions, mushrooms, jalapenos, pineapple-mango-habanero chutney and an onion ring — before a chicken strip or fried-fish topper — the $40 Ignorant Burger […]

Categories: Writing

One letter changed Camila Coddou’s life. In January, Coddou started receiving messages from her former coworkers at the Portland coffee company Ristretto Roasters. They were appalled at posts on co-owner Nancy Rommelmann’s newly launched YouTube channel, #MeNeither, which cast doubt on the wave of #MeToo posts sweeping social media. Among Rommelmann’s videos was one questioning the validity and motives of Asia Argento and Rose McGowan, two of the many actresses who accused Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment and assault. […]

Categories: Writing

Stephanie Craig née Wood remembers hearing the story of her grandmother sitting in the middle of a cold river to peel sticks for her aunt and other family members to use for weaving baskets. But she never learned to weave with them. This traditional weaving knowledge survived the Indian Removal Act in 1830, which consolidated tribes across the country onto reservations to allow for white settlement of their lands. Native Americans young and old were forced to assimilate into mainstream […]

Categories: Writing

It’s hard to imagine the marine prowess Native American tribes wielded along the mighty Columbia River, undeniably the most epic river in the Pacific Northwest. The wild, unknown waters — then untethered by dams — carved a path through mountains and plains, and connected thousands of miles of people, trade goods and food between British Columbia and the Oregon Coast. Today those waters still serve as a main thruway for goods, people and that flighty temptress: adventure. Paddlers of all […]

Categories: Writing

At dusk, in September, something spectacular happens in Portland. For the last 30-plus years, anywhere from hundreds to tens of thousands of Vaux’s swifts, the smallest swifts in the Chaetura family, come to roost inside the chimney of Chapman Elementary School as they head to Central America and Venezuela for the winter. The chittering birds fly in expansive, cyclonic patterns as a flock before dramatically hurtling into the chimney crown as if sucked in by a vacuum. Thousands of spectators […]

Categories: Writing

Portland is home to hundreds of breweries, brewpubs, and taprooms, but there’s only one place where you can have a pint while you brew a keg of your own beer. “Bigger brewers have a small pilot system to test new beers on,” said U Brew owner Zach Vestal. “We only have the pilot system.” Portland U-Brew and Unicorn Brewing were opened eight years ago in southeast Portland by father-son duo Cliff and Jason Webb. Inspired by the Canadian “brew-on-premises” model, […]

Categories: Writing

Carlo Lamagna wants to bring Filipino food into the spotlight in Portland. The Philippines-born chef spent three years at beloved downtown restaurant Clyde Common, quietly introducing Filipino dishes onto the menu. He also ran a Filipino pop-up off and on for close to a decade. Now that he’s set to open his eponymous restaurant, Magna, in Southeast Portland, the pressure of the opportunity isn’t lost on Lamagna. “This is our chance to define us as: one, a cuisine to be reckoned with and, […]

Categories: Writing

One of Oregon’s most distinctive features is its rugged, mountainous landscape. Those peaks, forged in large part due to volcanic activity and converging fault lines, have helped form one of the West’s most alluring — and elusive — attractions: hot springs. Those steaming pools, whether naturally formed or piped into luxurious private tubs, offer visitors and Oregonians alike a chance to relax and recharge in some of the state’s finest mineral-enriched water. Many as far back as the earliest Native […]

Categories: Writing