Openings, closings and dishy gossip

[June 11th, 2008]

BELLY FULL: Not one but two restaurants named for your stomach are hanging out their PDX shingle soon. Equinox owners Tara George and Michele Stultz are turning the stately old home that last housed Chef Tucker’s Pâtisserie on Southeast Hawthorne into Belly Timber —that’s 19th-century slang for “food.” Belly Timber, helmed by East Side Dining Club honcho Chef David Siegel, will debut its eclectic, seasonal, French- and Italian-rooted menu Wednesday, June 11. Over in Northeast PDX, husband-and-wife team Linda and Cameron Addy plan a mid-July opening for their own Belly , to be housed in the notorious Terroir space on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Longtime restaurant industry peeps, the Addys are hoping for an unpretentious feel (thus the whimsical name) with good ol’ neighborhood eats. And they’ll be keeping that fabulous wood-fired oven for pizzas and more.

LUNCH BREAK: After WW has spent years raving about dinner at Southeast Mediterranean gem Lauro Kitchen (3377 SE Division St., 239-7000), chef-owner David Machado is finally doing lunch 11:30 am-2:30 pm Tuesday-Saturday. Yes, there’ll be delish offerings like a daily risotto special; yes, the adored Lauro burger will be available; and yes, take-out is an option for all those Southeast workers on their lunch breaks, you lucky ducks.