Restaurant week dilemma: Where to eat?

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Back in January 2017, Portland fried chicken fans mourned the day their beloved Big’s Chicken restaurant went up in flames due to an equipment fire at the building next door.

Co-owner Ben Bettinger said he already had been planning a second location for the restaurant, due to its popularity.

But when the fire broke out and the owners had to find a new site, the second location turned out to be location No. 1.

That site was 13 miles west, across the great divide of Highway 26, in Beaverton.

“We just saw a gap in the food scene here,” says Bettinger, whose restaurant group owns Laurelhurst Market, Ate-oh-Ate Grinds, Reverend’s BBQ and La Luna Cafe, all in Portland.

“We knew it would be a different clientele. I knew Beaverton as a city was large enough to support a restaurant like ours.”

Known for its proliferation of chain restaurants, Beaverton now is trying to change that image by celebrating and boosting support for locally and independently owned restaurants like Big’s.

The efforts are paying off.

The city will celebrate its second annual Beaverton Restaurant Week, Sept. 27-Oct. 7, with special menus and incentives to eat local.

From Korean, Thai, Japanese and Latin American to Italian, Mediterranean and good old pancakes and pizza, nearly 40 Beaverton restaurants will be participating.

Some are classic locals’ favorites, such as Decarli for wine and pasta, Nak Won Korean Restaurant for spicy kimchi stew and Ickabod’s Tavern for burgers and a beer (Big’s Chicken is located next to all three, downtown).

Many other small eateries have opened in the past year, thanks to the BG Food Cartel and La Scala Food Hall, both downtown spots that are open year-round with a myriad of choices.

The privately owned food “cartel” is Beaverton’s only food cart pod, having opened in February in a former parking lot at The Round.

It gained a loyal following this summer with 33-plus food carts around a large space with grass, picnic tables, a beer garden and indoor seating.

The quick-to-order carts offer everything from Hawaiian and Chinese to German to Argentinian cuisine, as well as kid-friendly favorites and the famous “sushi burrito” at Ideaice Sushi. The BG Food Cartel made a big score with the recent announcement that The Frying Scotsman, a decade-old favorite cart at Portland’s Southwest 10th Avenue and Alder Street pod, will move its fish n’ chips into the cartel soon for more stability, since the downtown pod is slated for closure due to development. Bad news for Portland, good for Beaverton.

La Scala Food Hall, meanwhile, is a downtown indoor space for micro-eateries that currently includes a wine, cocktail and beer bar called The Vault; a waffle shop called Batter Up!; Salvadoran and Mexican cuisine at Sonia’s Mix Grill; Bobablastic, a bubble tea bar with crepes, poke bowls and bananas on a stick; Maiale Rosa Wood Fired Pizzeria; La Jarochita Mexican Restaurant (opens Sept. 29); Mayamei Sushi (coming soon); and Carina’s Bakery, Beaverton’s first vegan bakery, also completely soy-free with gluten-free options. The food hall hosts live music every Wednesday at the Vault, along with happy hour specials.

One of the city’s newest spots is the popular Los Angeles-based self-serve boba bar, Milk + T, which will celebrate its grand opening two blocks away, also in downtown Beaverton, on Sept. 28.

Milk + T and other newer establishments have received grants from the city’s storefront and tenant improvement programs, a partnership with the Beaverton Urban Redevelopment Agency.

Fans of boba drinks with toppings like cucumber slices, fruit and boba jellies are rejoicing.

Bettinger said the city of Beaverton was a huge advocate for Big’s move into their cool new space in the historic downtown district on Watson Avenue, as part of the city’s downtown revival project.

“Support from the city has been amazing,” says Bettinger, a Hawaii-born chef who’s won Food Network’s “Chopped,” among other accolades. Since the chicken joint opened six weeks ago, “literally every customer thanks us for coming out here.”

He does have good news for his Portland customers, who are bummed it’s not located on the east side anymore. “We do hope to open a Portland restaurant soon,” he promises.

If you go

• Beaverton Restaurant Week kicks off at happy hour, 4:30-6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 27, with a DJ and complimentary hors d’oeuvres at LaScala Food Hall, downtown.

• Diners can share a photo of their meal on Instagram between Sept. 27 and Oct. 1 and tag it #BeavertonEats for the chance to win a nightly drawing for a $25 gift card to be used at a participating restaurant.

• The grand opening for Milk + T is set for 10:45 a.m. Sept. 27, 4545 S.W. Angel Ave. The public is invited to try a variety of boba drinks, with giveaways and a free glass jar to use on a return visit for a 10 percent discount.

• To see all Beaverton Restaurant Week spots, see the interactive map here: https://gis.beavertonoregon.gov/beavertonrestaurantweek/

@jenmomanderson