Welcome back to I-5 High Five, a look at restaurant news from up-and-down the Pacific Northwest corridor.
PORTLAND: A few quick updates regarding up-and-coming events/openings: Beard-nominated chef Chris Israel (of downtown Portland's Gruner) reveals his hotly anticipated taco spot will focus on "the Mexican mainstays of Southern California." The still as-yet-unnamed restaurant also has a new projected opening date: May. Meanwhile, the fall foodie event Feast Portland announced this week that it's landed a major national BFF: Bon Appetit magazine signed on as a presenting sponsor, with editor-in-chief Adam Rapoport promising to "help promote, orchestrate, and recruit chefs for the event." [-EPDX-]
PORTLAND: Plate & Pitchfork's popular summertime dinner series has brought diners directly to some of Oregon's best farms over the past 10 years — for the uninitiated, the series gets Portland chefs out of city kitchens to cook up collaborative meals served outdoors on the farm. This week, P&P announced the debut of a new monthly winter dinner series dubbed ForkLift, which brings chefs and diners to indoor (and more weather-appropriate) "artisan centers" like local distilleries, bakeries, and other assorted buildings with roofs. Eater PDX has the full rundown. [-EPDX-]
