Openings, Closings And Dishy Gossip

[April 16th, 2008]

GONE NUTS: The former Filbert’s restaurant space, 1937 NW 23rd Place, will soon be home to Mangia Pizza , owned and run by the same duo behind the Industrial Cafe and Saloon , just a few blocks west at 2572 NW Vaughn St. Mary Starr says she and her partner, Russ Hubbard, are planning for a late-May opening after the space gets fresh paint and a new outdoor seating area in the back. The pizza, Starr says, will be thin-crust New York style, embellished with homemade sausage, house-smoked chicken and roasted local vegetables. Bonus: They’ll deliver to businesses at lunch.

POP LIFE: They won’t be quitting their day jobs…yet! Lawyer Aaron Harmon and his wife, model Danielle Koppel, have joined with insurance salesman and friend Noah Cable to launch bicycle-powered Sol Pops, a south-of-the-border frozen fruit popsicle business which will debut at the Portland Farmers Market on Saturday, May 3. Harmon and Cable studied the art of the paleta (Mexican frozen fruit bar) with pros from Hubbard’s Paleteria el Paisanito, and have been fine-tuning recipes for their colorful, icy rectangles—including inspired flavors like lemon-rosemary and cucumber-lime-jalapeño, and basics like marionberry and raspberry. The two have purchased five three-wheeled vending bikes, fitted with freezers up front to sell the $2.50-$3 treats. Slurp.