NEW PAD: Everything was not peachy at the now-closed Pok Pok Wing in Brooklyn.
Last week, New York media reported that owner Andy Ricker was giving up
his plan to open wing joints across the city and would instead sell—no
joke—pad thai. Just six months ago, Ricker told WW he was
planning to use his Red Hook prep kitchen to supply wings to outlets
across New York (“Thai Hard,” Feb. 1, 2012), calling the plan “a science
experiment.” Ricker says Wing was a victim of its own success, as the
production facility was too small to keep Pok Pok Wing supplied. He adds
the initial success was “nearly a miracle” and “a testament to how hard
we have all been working.” However, it’s worth noting that the city’s health department had branded the restaurant with a “C”—the
lowest grade, displayed in the restaurant’s front window. Ricker said
the grade wasn’t a factor, calling the health department “a fucking
nightmare” that “every single restaurant operator in NYC lives in fear”
of because violations “generate a massive amount of revenue.” “We had an inspector who was looking to fill his quota, or maybe put on the wrong underwear that morning,” he says. Worth noting: Ricker’s Portland Pok Pok restaurants have top health grades.
OREGON FAMOUS: Leading the pack of inductees to the Oregon Music Hall of Fame is perhaps the most divisive rock band in the state’s history: Everclear.
The current incarnation of the band will play a special induction
ceremony and concert on Saturday, Oct. 6, at the Aladdin Theater.
Awkwardly, ex-members Craig Montoya and Greg Eklund will also be on hand
for the band’s induction, presumably watching their replacements play
their songs. Also on the inductee list are
still-saxy-after-all-these-years Patrick Lamb and the U-Krew,
the animal-print-clad outfit that paved the way for the Portland
hip-hop scene with its own new-jack-swing-inspired hits. OMHOF’s 2012
artist and album of the year awards went to the Decemberists.
NORM!: ParaNorman, the second feature from Portland-based animation studio Laika, made a modest debut at the box office last weekend, pulling in $14 million and placing third, behind top earner The Expendables 2 and the previous week’s champion, The Bourne Legacy.
The lukewarm returns mirror the critical reception: Although the
supernatural stop-motion caper has received positive reviews—it
currently enjoys an 88 percent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes—the
response has not been as rapturous as that which greeted Laika’s first
film, Coraline, in 2009. That movie, based on a popular book by Neil Gaiman, made about $3 million more in its first weekend.
ELECTION TIME: WW spent the summer collecting craft beer from all 50 states, then gathered Portland beer experts for a blind taste-off. You can read the results in our President of Beers series beginning Friday, Aug. 24, at wweek.com.
“C” YA LATER, POK POK WING - IMAGE: Jeffrey Gray Brandsted
