Food riot in Sheridan
Over the summer, friends and coworkers Kyleigh Hebert and Stephanie Westby opened
the RiOT Café across from Sheridan High School, at 430 S. Bridge St., and have been earning five-star reviews ever since.
The two skilled chefs previously worked at numerous diners, bakeries and fine-dining restaurants in the area, including Nick’s, Thistle and Bistro Maison, before deciding to share their talents and love of quality, made-from-scratch food to the West Valley. While the meals rival any of their renowned peers in the area, the chefs’ entry into proprietorship has been executed with an edge fitting the more blue-collar culture of the West Valley.
RiOT Café is open Wednesday through Saturday for breakfast and lunch. For more info, visit them on Facebook @riotcafe33.
Recipe to reopen
A late-June fire made Recipe, A Neighborhood Kitchen in Newberg hit the road this summer and fall, serving its French-inspired wine-country fare at pop-up events. In December, chef/owner Paul Bachand will again be working within brick and mortar when the restaurant reopens at 602 E First Street on the main drag.
For updates on the reopening, visit recipenewbergor.com.
Amity loses a staple
The local food scene felt melancholy by the sudden closure of The Blue Goat in Amity after a six-year run.
In a message about its closure Nov. 1, owners Dave and Cassie Vandomelen wrote, “It is with an obvious mix of emotions that we announce the closure of The Blue Goat, effective immediately. We thank you for having helped make it possible during the last six years.”
Grain Station changes hands
Jeff and Kelly Glodt of Salem purchased the Grain Station Brew Works in McMinnville in late September. Glodt's family has been in the restaurant business for decades. Jeff's grandfather John opened his first restaurant in Portland in the 1930s — about the same time the building housing the Grain Station was built. His father, Jim, started J's Cafe in Woodburn, eventually expanding into Newberg and Monmouth, in the 1960s. Jeff and Kelly also own Roberts Crossing on River Road in southwest Salem.
Dining at The Oak
The Oak in downtown McMinnville recently teamed with the newly-launched McMinnville Catering Co., owned by Cody Kopp, to create the bar's first dining menu since it opened as Oak & Ivy 2011. The menu includes homemade soups, garlic knots, smoked pork sliders, bacon/jalapeño poppers and more.
Healthy haven on third
Those in need of a nutritious grab-and-go lunch or after-workout shake in McMinnville can head to Local Flow Health Bar, opened in October in the former home of Honest Chocolates, 573 N.E. Third Street.
Owned by Carlton residents and Linfield graduates Brett and Heather Miller (Brett is also the vineyard manager from Hyland Estates), the shop serves juices, nutritional shots, smoothie drinks and smoothie bowls using as many locally sourced ingredients as possible. It also offers lunch, like the Valley Bowl (Quinoa, broccoli, kale, red onion and pumpkin seeds dressed in a savory roasted Dijon sauce and topped with crushed hazelnuts) and the Harvest Bowl (Red rice, tofu, cabbage, carrots, sprouts, green onion, cucumbers, tomatoes and peanuts topped with a curry peanut sauce and cilantro). For a full menu and more information, visit localflowhealthbar.com.
Dundee's new west end
A new co-op will celebrate its creation and tasting room with a "Hard Hat, Soft Opening" event over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Day Camp, 21080 N Highway 99W, Dundee, is the home of 10 labels — Day Wines, Jackalope Cellars, Script, Fossil & Fawn, Burner Wines, Granville Wine Co, William Marie, Montebruno, R. Maloof, and Yamtunk — housed in a pole barn renovated by Cellar Ridge Construction. Wine made there will spawn from vineyards from Walla Walla, Washington to Jacksonville, Oregon, its Facebook event page says.
"We are curious, we experiment, we are classic, and we are cutting edge; our wine styles are as diverse as can be."