Beetroot Jewish Deli Will Open in Northwest Portland Summer 2019 | Eater Portland

"Opening this summer in Northwest Portland on NW Glisan, Sonya Sanford’s contemporary Jewish deli, Beetroot, will specialize in the Ashkenazi staples she grew up with alongside seasonal, local vegetable dishes with Middle Eastern touches. The 26-seat, white-walled space with Pacific Northwestern wood accents will include a market area and a serious deli case; the shop will open at 8 a.m. with a light breakfast menu (egg sandwiches, bagels with schmears, and coffee) and the full deli at 11 a.m., offering made-to-order cold and hot sandwiches like chicken schnitzel, hot pastrami, and egg salad, hot dishes such as potato kugel and rotating soups including matzo ball, and grab-and-go items like Kosher salami on a baguette. The deli case will hold Sanford’s roasted seasonal vegetable preparations, house pickles, whitefish salad, and other smoked fish, while the market shelves will carry a few pantry staples (Sanford hopes to stock Soom Food tahini and date syrup, Hebel & Cohalva, and local Humble Bee Honey). Sanford left a TV-producing career to return to Portland and realize a longtime dream after running Ashkenazi pop-ups (including Gefilteria) and drawing on family cooking—her grandmother sold piroshki and dumplings and she grew up on Slavic dishes from the Soviet Union—so the menu will also include items like tefteli (Russian meatballs with rice made with turkey or chicken) and Israel-inspired roasted vegetables with sumac and za’atar. Beetroot is still finalizing purveyors for pastrami and bagels, and Sanford says there’s already strong community interest with locals asking about old-school favorites like babka and half-sour pickles." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden