The July Hit List: Los Ponchos, Jem Supper Club, Nico’s, and More

As summertime rounds the bend, head to a sunset table at one of North Portland’s favorite neighborhood brewpubs to sip golden, hazy beers (or if you happen not to be a beer fan, something from their impressively extensive whiskey-heavy liquor menu) and plates of fried pickles, pretzels, and Detroit-style pan pizza. Once, snagging a table felt like winning the lottery. Now, that coveted handful of tables has evolved into a fully covered patio with way more seating. Settle in for the evening and raise a glass to summer’s arrival.

Jem Supper Club is maybe the most exclusive seat in town, from husband-wife duo Joel and Emily Stocks. Housed in their backyard, Jem combines Joel’s fine-dining background from former hot spot Holdfast with their love of backyard dinner parties and cooking elaborate meals with and for family and friends. With Holdfast now closed, the Stocks finally have a chance to get back to their roots with Jem, sheltered inside the detached garage in their yard with seating for eight. Dinners cost $200/person, and include an ever-changing nine-course menu, pairings from longtime collaborator Jeff Vejr, and gratuity, as well as a fire pit digestif. Vaccinations are required and tickets must be purchased in advance.

It might finally be grilling season! Laurelhurst Market, with its side-by-side in-house butcher shop and outdoor dining on a covered deck, makes it easy to stock up for holiday cooking at home, or just enjoy a night out, if cooking sounds like too much work. Those dining in should start with the steak tartare (this is a *steakhouse*), before diving into steak frites, the summer-y hanger steak with piquillo peppers and nuoc cham, or indulge in the eponymous burger. If you’re ordering meat to take home, make sure to swing by early or pre-order by phone, as the choicest cuts and options dwindle as the day runs on. And if you happen to stop by around lunch, don’t miss a sandwich from the butcher counter either.

Now that it’s summer, long, lazy patio evenings with wood-fired local veggies, pizza and cocktails feel right every night of the week. Meals are a simple luxury here, coal-roasted carrots tossed in garlic, chile, and honey over ricotta; radicchio salad with bursts of nectarine and basil; rigatoni carbonara with crushed peas; basil-kissed margherita pizza and whole, roasted trout with charred lemon. Stay cool with chilly wines by the glass and summery cocktails and mocktails (and of course beers on tap) under the criss-crossing string lights as the sun sets in the distance.

The Republica team does not stop. The empire is in the middle of a growth spurt, opening its new daytime platos rotos spot La Fondita just last month and a new tacos spot this month. Together, La Fondita and Los Ponchos form two halves of the same space — within the former home of the Park Blocks’ Park Kitchen. These days, the long bar has been repurposed as a dining counter for folks digging into colorful plates of tacos fresh from the trompo. While there is a vegan option — nopales asada — this is a meat-lover’s haven, with taco fillings rarely seen in this city, like suadero, campechanos, and longaniza. Order a slate of tacos, a quesadilla, a side of frijoles de olla, and mezcal (in cocktail or sipping form) and you’re set for a great night ahead.

It’s not quite summer without ice cream. And Nico’s, the once-buzzy food cart-turned-buzzy brick-and-mortar, is a fine place to start. Unlike most other scoop shops in town, Nico’s specializes in a very specific kind of ice cream: New Zealand-style. Here, vanilla ice cream, fresh fruit, and mix-ins of your choice are smushed together through a mechanical funnel, producing a cone with the consistency of soft serve. Fruit mix-ins are simple, most often berries and occasionally tropical fruits. Extras include sprinkles, coconut flakes, graham cracker dust, and chamoy. What combo are you making?

Gado Gado sister Oma’s Hideaway is where you’ll want to post up this summer. Now that they’ve settled into the ‘70s-pop-art-inspired space, you’ll still find favorites like the corn fritters and the roti canai, with new menu items taking a page out of Chinese barbecue. One plexiglass-shielded corner of the restaurant is dedicated to those meats, like charcoal-roasted game hens and pork belly served over rice and pork spare ribs lacquered in fish sauce caramel. The bar menu, from Eem’s Eric Nelson, may seem familiar, combining classic and vacation cocktails into kooky and fun drinks ready for warm nights.

New Thai restaurant Rukdiew Cafe opened in a cozy wood-lined space on Southeast Belmont with excellent khao soi and vibrant noodle and veggie dishes served on fun, mismatched place settings. Don’t sleep on that khao soi, ranking among the best in the city, with its rich and savory broth balanced with pickled greens and small mountain of fried noodles, the kana moo krob, with its crispy pork belly and gailan, or the beautiful fresh rolls, which wrap a rainbow of veggies in rice paper. Finish the night with a plate of royal blue-hued sticky rice and mango.

Tartuca, a neighborhood pasta and pizza spot with a Pacific Northwest bent, takes over the former Radar space. Helmed by chef Jamie Wilcox (Quaintrelle) and owner Jacon Riley of Kenton’s Fino Bistro & Pizzeria, Tartuca will do what Oregon restaurants do best: source and serve the best our local farms have to offer every season. That will include garden-grown garnishes, preserves from the pantry, housemade vinegars and ferments, and house-cured meats like guanciale. Pastas and pizza dough will be made in-house (of course) and will cater to vegans and gluten-free folks, too, with both heavy on seasonal veg and combinations. All that’s left is to order a round of shareable snacks for the table and a glass of Italian or Oregon wine, or a barrel-aged cocktail to pair.

Yalla, the Mediterranean smokehouse offshoot born out of the Toro Bravo restaurant group implosion, feels like the carefree younger sibling to the rest of the Sesame Collective. Built around ingredients from around the Black Sea, the veggie-heavy menu brings dishes like roasted cauliflower with almond romesco, hummus with burnt beef ends, yellow falafel, Bulgarian kebabs, and braised beef and olive bucatini under one roof. A house-smoked prime rib night (Sundays) with a horseradish labneh standing in for the usual horseradish sauce and hot honey-drizzled fried chicken bridge the divide. Cocktails, too, look to the Mediterranean for inspiration, with aquafaba, urfa biber, sumac, and mastiha holding court alongside the usual suspects.