Get In The Pot

Po'Shines says thank you with crawfish and pig intestines.


IMAGE: Matt Wong

"You've never had chitlins?!? Girl, you ain't lived yet." That's John Tolbert, the Wichita, Kan.-born co-founder of Po'Shines Cafe De La Soul, Kenton's soul food shack-cum-community rec room run by the neighborhood's Celebration Tabernacle church. And Tolbert (pictured above) really likes chitlins, otherwise known as pig intestines, a Southern dish rarely—if ever—served in Portland eateries. This Friday and Saturday, Tolbert and his brother (and co-cafe creator and church pastor) E.D. Mondainé celebrate the third anniversary of Po'Shines with a Crawfish & Chitlins Feed and Fundraiser, featuring 200 pounds of tender red mudbugs and 400 pounds of intestines. Tolbert, who runs the catering half of the cafe and oversees its tasty smoked meat specialties as well, says they're planning on boiling up traditional hog maws (stomach) and chitlins, a big vat of "chitlin chili," "cheese and chitlins" and fried chitlins, as well as spicy boiled crawfish and étouffée. The cafe, which is already a local favorite for its giant chicken wings and tender, honey-kissed hush puppies, doubles as an outpost of the church's Teach Me to Fish program, a nonprofit that offers job training to at-risk youth and young adults. Funds raised from the chitlins fest will support the work program, as well as Tabernacle's 88-Keys music education program and other nonprofit endeavors. But really, that's all just a feel-good excuse to brave a real Southern classic with a terrifying rep. "While [chitlins are] cookin', oh my god, yeah, it smells like death. The secret is to put a whole potato in [the pot] to filter it," Tolbert confides. "But chitlins are like escargot...don't knock 'em until you try 'em.".

EAT: Po'Shines' Crawfish & Chitlins Feed and Fundraiser takes place at Po'Shines Cafe De La Soul, 8139 N Denver Ave., 978-9000. 11 am-10 pm Friday-Saturday, Nov. 5-6. Free, but donations are encouraged. For info or to reserve your plate, call or email poshines@gmail.com.

Headout Picks

WEDNESDAY NOV. 3

[MUSIC]

BEAR IN HEAVEN, LOWER DENS, SUN AIRWAY

The big hype over Sun Airway still doesn't really do justice to

Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier,

a gorgeous record of hazy keyboard cloudbursts and bright mountains of pillowy drum machine beats.

Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St., 231-9663. 9 pm. $10 advance, $12 day of show. 21+.

THURSDAY NOV. 4

[MUSIC]

ALOE BLACC WITH THE GRAND, MAYA JUPITER, THE BEAUTY

Aloe Blacc was born with the improbable name of Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III and a tenor croon reminiscent of icons like Bill Withers and Donny Hathaway.

Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 288-3895. 9 pm. $12. 21+.

FRIDAY NOV. 5

[SCREEN]

37TH NORTHWEST FILM & VIDEO FESTIVAL

The definitive annual celebration of hometown talent starts with short films, including one by a kid from Medford who just might be the next David Gordon Green.

NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium, 1219 SW Park Ave., 221-1156. 7 pm. $6-$9.

SATURDAY NOV. 6

[COMEDY]

HILARIOUS: A CELEBRATION OF LAUGHTER

Portland stand-up comedians, including Jimmy Newstetter, Whitney Streed, Veronica Heath, Rissa Riss, Ian Karmel, Richard Bain, Cody Smith and Christian Ricketts, perform at this benefit for local comic Carmen Anderson, who has stage four thyroid cancer. Anderson will perform an excerpt from her solo show

Hello Cancer.
Hawthorne Theatre, 3862 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 233-7100. 8 pm. $5-$10.

[RODENTS] COME FALL FOR RATS!
Yes, it's Portland's very own "fancy rat show," complete with presentations on "rat-related topics" like rat care, rat first aid, rat games and rat genetics. And yes, there will be plenty of live rats on hand for you to cuddle, too. Washington County Fairgrounds, Cloverleaf Building, 873 NE 34th Ave., Hillsboro. 11 am. $5 adults, $3 kids. Info at ratspacnw.org/pdxFallForRats.htm.

[MUSIC] THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART, GLASSER, WEEKEND
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart is still slogging it out on the road in support of last year's brilliant full-length debut, but even if you think you've seen all its dreamy, fuzzy bubblegum-shoegaze already, you won't want to miss tonight's show. Why? Glasser, the ethereal solo project of Cameron Mesirow, might be her generation's answer to Kate Bush. Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St., 239-7639. 8 pm. $13 advance, $15 day of show. 21+.

WWeek 2015

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