The Most Important Portland Culture News of the Week, From Best to Worst

Pod Squad

Grabbing a bite and a beer before a Blazers game—or any event at Moda Center—is about to get a lot easier. A new food cart pod called Cartside is opening just a few blocks away, at 1825 N Williams Ave. Slated to open in January, it will feature eight vendors serving a diverse range of cuisine, plus a 1,000-square-foot indoor beer and wine bar, with 25 taps and seating areas with TVs. The pod is still taking applications for food carts interested in operating there.

The NXT Episode

Wrestling fans, rejoice: NXT Takeover is coming to Portland. For the uninitiated, NXT is World Wrestling Entertainment's developmental league, which has earned a cult following independent of WWE for its emphasis on character development and in-ring storytelling. Takeovers are NXT's special events—think WrestleMania, but smaller—and often produce what are arguably the greatest examples of the form in North America. It happens at Moda Center on Feb. 16. Ticket information has not yet been announced.

Somewhere a Great Notion

The Portland and Seattle beer scenes largely stay in their own spheres. But Great Notion Brewing is making a bold move by branching out into Washington's largest city. Owners of the brewery have signed a lease for a taproom in Seattle's beer-dense Ballard neighborhood. The 2,200-square-foot space will feature 20 taps, a Northwest-style food menu and canned beer to go. The goal is to open in January 2020 and run a pop-up beer garden on weekends while the buildout is underway.

Will Ferrell as Gordon Sondland (right) with Alec Baldwin as President Trump. IMAGE: Courtesy of NBC.

The Ballad of El Gordo

As we predicted, Saturday Night Live isn't done with Gordon Sondland. On Saturday, he turned up again, this time portrayed by SNL alum Will Ferrell. In the sketch, he and Alec Baldwin, reprising his Donald Trump impersonation, take turns attempting to throw each other under the bus. Don't be surprised if Ferrell-as-Sondland pops up a few more times this season. In the meantime, is there a process to impeach Baldwin for his terrible Trump impression?

Let Them Eat Mush

A Portland vegan ice cream company is rebranding itself after a trademark tussle with baby-food maker Gerber. Little Bean—the dairy-free, chickpea-based ice cream parlor by Portland restaurateur Micah Camden—has changed its name to Little Chickpea after Gerber decided to retain its trademark for Lil' Beanies, a discontinued brand of baby food. "They said they had no intention of using the trademark, but they will keep it until it expires," Camden says. "We don't have three to four years to wait." Camden says the rebrand "really wasn't cheap," but he's optimistic the new name will more clearly signal to customers what the product is—and allow the ice cream to be sold in retail stores like New Seasons and Whole Foods.

Give the Drummer None

After months of silence, Janet Weiss has elaborated on her decision to leave Sleater-Kinney. Appearing on the podcast The Trap Set with Joe Wong, the drummer says she no longer felt like a creative equal in the band: "I said, 'Am I just the drummer now?' And they said yes…so I left." According to Weiss, the trio tried to work through their differences—they tried counseling, but Weiss ultimately decided it would be "challenging to get up there onstage and deliver those songs as if they were mine when they sort of weren't mine," she said, referring to this year's St. Vincent-produced album, The Center Won't Hold.