BALDWIN WATCH: The Great Daniel Baldwin Experiment—Mr.
Baldwin’s move to Portland and promise to bring a reality-TV studio
with him—has entered its third year. It must be judged a considerable
success, if by “success” you mean “not accomplishing any of the stated
goals but scoring some great Blazers tickets.” However, Baldwin can
finally add a hit TV show to his résumé, as he has a guest role on NBC’s
Grimm. “[S]ay hello to Julian Vance[,] Grimm’s new arson investigator!!!!” Baldwin tweeted last week. Grimm
producers are thrilled. “Daniel Baldwin is our guest star this week,”
tweeted Edward Irastorza. “Not sure which one he is; the crazy one or
the super religious crazy one.”
KIMCHI KARAOKE: Starting Jan. 29, Nob Hill karaoke studio Voicebox is rolling out a new menu designed by Janis Martin, the chef and owner of Voicebox’s former neighbor, Tanuki.
Martin’s decision to move her restaurant to Montavilla was the cause of
much weeping among Northwest Portland residents. Soon they’ll be able
to drown their sorrows in steaming boxes of udon noodles while singing
“Total Eclipse of the Heart.”
PATTY PARTY:
The JoPa restaurant group, which recently closed both its eponymous
restaurant in Raleigh Hills and 50 Plates in the Pearl District, has
fully transitioned to a burger-flipping operation. The company will open
the third branch of its new venture, Joe’s Burgers, on Thursday, Jan. 12, in the ground floor of the downtown Portland building next to Ross Dress for Less, at 625 SW 4th Ave.
STRANDING OF A SALESMAN: Gus Van Sant has replaced Matt Damon as director of a movie starring Matt Damon, says The Hollywood Reporter. The movie’s plot involves a traveling salesman stranded in a small town and was written by Dave Eggers with The Office’s John Krasinski. The actor best known as “Jim” once helmed a movie based on a David Foster Wallace book, so the project has a McSweenish aura.
FESTIVAL GROUNDS: With the Broadway Metroplex
shuttered since September, the Portland International Film Festival
finds itself in need of at least four more screens to make up for its
erstwhile central location. It has added some rather unlikely ones:
Lloyd Mall, World Trade Center, Pioneer Place, and Lake Twin Theater in
Lake Oswego.
QUIN-DO’H-A: In a restaurant review of 2nd Story (Jan. 4, 2012), we described quinoa as a grain-like pasta. It’s a seed.
VAN SANT - IMAGE: Cathy Cheney
