Won't You Be My Neighbor

by CARYN B. BROOKS
cbrooks@wweek.com

GENTLE READERS,

As voracious devotees of Miss Dish may recall, around New Year's she made some modest predictions about potential restaurant hot spots. With tongue in chic she pronounced Swan Island to be the latest, greatest place to plunk gritty dining rooms with heart. Well, she wasn't too far off, judging by last Saturday's opening of Mint, the comely Nuevo Latino spot at 816 N Russell St., right in the heart of, well, nothing. The place was packed with enough stunning Sapphics, tousled artistes (yes, Thomas Lauderdale and Todd Haynes were in the house) and ruffian restaurant workers just off their shifts that it seemed like the Left Bank of Paris sans absinthe (ah, if only!). This fine newspaper will run a review of the food in a future issue, but for now, based on the kickoff, owner Lucy Brennan will have to worry more about crowd control than attracting clientele.

She will probably have some help with the runoff: Miss Dish ran into Huston Davis, co-proprietress of the Brazen Bean (that swank cocktail lounge that overlooks the original restaurant row in Northwest), who said she's in negotiations to lease a spot on Interstate right up the street for a second BB. Also representing in the area will be Michael Hepp, the young whippersnapper behind Ripe Catering, who is hoping to install a working kitchen/dining space and is biding his time until the right piece of real estate opens up. So what's the appeal of giving birth in North Portland? "It feels like you took a wrong turn and just ended up here," he told Miss Dish.

The other part of town that's blooming with restaurant growth is right smack in the middle of downtown. Miss Dish last week described Dragonfish, the new all-things-Asian place in the Paramount Hotel on the South Park Blocks. Now, after 22 years at its single Northwest Portland site, Elephant's Deli, home of delectable gourmet goodies, is opening another outpost in the Fox Tower, right next to the movie theater. According to owner Elaine Rhine Tanzer, the new place will be called Flying Elephants, will open its doors March 3 and will serve day and night seven days a week. Tanzer calls the new place a product of creative flurry and a natural extension of what Elephant's already does. "We've been delivering lunch downtown for years," Tanzer said. Flying Elephants will offer instant sandwiches, soups and salads, all made at the home base in Northwest and sold downtown. "We're even developing a special shortbread cookie in honor of our new store," Tanzer says. You can still order for lunch delivery like you used to, but should you want a little fresh air and a chance to study the buildings that might be demolished if the Goldschmidt plan to expand the Park Blocks goes through, Flying Elephants is the place to grab and go.