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Wednesday, March 25, 2009 from 2:15–4pm
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Writer blogger tweetup, because frozen custard in the afternoon is the only thing worth putting on pants for.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
My Favorite Neighborhood Yogurt Shops
I first heard about Tart on Twitter. It never hurts to have the Twitterati on your side! Tart is a very family-friendly shop that really caters to the neighborhood. It's downright cozy and cute. Love the kids' handprints! Tart serves two flavors of yogurt and two flavors of custard. Don't even think for a second that the frozen custard is low fat—it's dense, creamy and delicious, but certainly not healthy. The YoCream soft serve yogurt is creamy, with a slight tang—much different than Bleuet. The selection of toppings is adequate, but light on the healthier stuff.
Pros: best $$$ value in town, great location (next door to Bar Avignon—more on that later), friendly service, Cons: limited selection of healthy toppings, smaller selection of yogurt, Bonus: Frozen custard, Clover coffee maker, Stumptown Coffee, books and toys for the kiddos, counter seats
Tart
2128 SE Division St
503.233.4333
Sunday–Thursday, 12-9 p.m.
friday & saturday 12–11 p.m.
Division takes another turn in its evolution
by Erin Hoover Barnett, The Oregonian Thursday August 21, 2008, 12:00 AM
Valeen Chochon, 2, and her mom, Marije Chochon, decide which sample of frozen yogurt or custard is their favorite at Tart, a new shop in a redeveloped building at Southeast 22nd and Division. The cob bench and kiosk are gone. So are the local radicals talking politics at worn picnic tables outside the worker-owned Red and Black Cafe.
Now the building at Southeast 22nd and Division showcases new, more upscale creativity — another sign of the neighborhood's evolution as the close-in city sizzles.
Businesses that have opened so far in the building are a French-inspired bar, owned by the former wine director at Wildwood and his wife, and a gourmet yogurt and custard shop owned by longtime neighborhood residents. Five more spaces await.
"Fundamentally, for our company, we just don't lease to national companies. We like to stay local," says Jeffrey Weitz, president of North Rim Development Group, which rehabbed the building.
North Rim bought the 10,000-square-foot property in 2007 from the family of the original owner. The building dates to 1924, when the family ran a bakery there.
North Rim spent about $500,000 on upgrades, ridding the building of mice and rats, replacing windows and systems from heat to water. Among many sustainable features is a solar-powered water heater and high-efficiency lighting.
North Rim had to replace the sidewalks and tried but was unable to save the cob kiosk and bench, built by former tenant City Repair Project. But the company is pursuing artful bike racks and other street sculpture. The company offered spaces to existing tenants, but all declined. The Red and Black reopened in an old house at 400 S.E. 12th Ave.
Ryan and Stuart Spencer, who have lived a few blocks away for 15 years, opened Tart in June, serving frozen yogurt, rich custard and made-to-order coffee.
They outfitted their space with tall teak tables and stools, and a granite counter lit by art-glass pendants. They invite kids, including their three, to add their hand- or footprints to the pale cream walls with colorful paints.
New businesses
Tart: Gourmet frozen yogurt and custard with toppings, $2 to $4, plus made-to-order coffee. 2128 S.E. Division St. Open noon to 9 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, noon to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
503...
. Bar Avignon: Full bar specializing in wine. Small plates, $3 to $10. 2138 S.E. Division St. Open 4 to 11 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, 4 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturdays. Happy hour, 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays. 503....
"We are trying to make it as family as possible," Ryan Spencer says.
Randy Goodman and Nancy Hunt opened Bar Avignon in the former Red and Black. The couple moved to Southeast from San Francisco in 1994 to help chef Cory Schreiber open Wildwood. Goodman stayed on as wine director. Hunt managed the bar and wine list at Cafe Azul in the Pearl.
"This was a dream we always had to open our own place," Goodman says. "We just took a circuitous route."
The bar offers Scotch, bourbon, locally crafted spirits and microbrews, and specializes in wine. Goodman says they kept food offerings simple — small plates, including meat and cheese, soups, salads and panini.
"We wanted to provide something that is very nice, but where you don't have to spend a lot of money," Goodman says.
Lynn Hanrahan, owner of nearby Mirador, a sustainable-housewares shop, says she's pleased with the redevelopment. She was alarmed when her out-of-state landlord wanted to raise her rent by $1,000 a month in response, but the landlord agreed to hold off.
The Starbucks across the street is closing, and Hanrahan hopes to see an independent coffee shop there or in the North Rim building.
Jim and Jody Ellis, walking by the North Rim building, say they've seen a lot of change over 45 years in inner Southeast. Jim Ellis, 73, enjoyed political meetings at the Red and Black — "good old radical stuff," he says with a twinkle.
But both also appreciate seeing buildings fixed up.
"It's still a really vital human-being neighborhood. It's not gated," says Jody Ellis, 65. "It's still a mix of incomes and there are children and older people here."
-- Erin Hoover Barnett: 503-294-5011; ehbarnett@news.oregonian.com
Tart and Tangy
While on my way to have some lunch at Pok Pok, I noticed that the spaces being remodeled around SE Division & 22nd had been finished, and there was a new sign hanging that said “Tart.” The only other part I saw while riding by was “Frozen Custard,” and having only eaten a piece of fruit for breakfast and starving, I vowed to stop in on my way back to work. And thank goodness I did.
You see, I love frozen desserts. Of ANY kind. And their custard is damn good. The owner promptly brought out samples of all of their flavors (chocolate & vanilla custard, plus green tea and “tart” fro-yo), and what a great hostess she was. She told us that she went to NYC a year ago, and had frozen custard every single day she was there, then came back to Portland missing it. A few scribbles on a notepad later, and here she is.
I was undecided on a flavor/topping combo, so she suggested Tart with shredded coconut, blackberries and a squeeze of honey. Yum!
I can see this will be a place I frequent often.
Food • Hottest cool treat? It isn’t ice cream
There’s nothing similarly proclaimed about the health benefits of the frozen yogurt at Tart (2128 S.E. Division St., 503-233-4333, but it certainly tastes healthy. Co-owner Ryan Spencer says it’s her favorite.
“The nonfat frozen yogurt is totally a home run with moms,” she says, “it’s super-refreshing on these hot days.” It doesn’t have the peculiar, tongue-coating viscosity associated with many soft-serve desserts. Plain, it’s simple and tangy. Spencer prefers to sweeten it up with honey and berries from her many tubs of yogurt toppings.
Spencer, who opened Tart on June 15 with her husband, artist Stuart Spencer, also is part owner of the breakfast and lunch diner Juniors (1742 S.E. 12th Ave.). While she’s little involved with the day-to-day operations there, she says, “it made me realize that I wanted a little place of my own. It was really fun being there with all the people.”
She started thinking about what might work. “I have a notorious sweet tooth so I really wanted a treat shop,” she says. A trip to New York introduced her to frozen custard, which she offers at Tart along with the yogurt. “It’s really popular with kids and dads,” she says, of the creamy, sweet and rich soft-serve.
So far the custard has been the biggest challenge to prepare. “It’s like hollandaise sauce. It will separate if you don’t get it right,” she says. It’s been perfect every time I’ve tried it.
The shop, located just off the seven-cornered heart of the Southeast neighborhood, reflects the Spencers’ devotion to the area. They’ve lived nearby for 15 years, now with their children, ages 6, 7 and 8. “I’m just making the place that I wanted to walk to with my kids,” Spencer says.
When the weather cools, Spencer plans to add high-end hot chocolates: Aztec with cinnamon and chile; white chocolate with lemon and lavender; and the Parisian, truly decadent hot chocolate.
Try the yogurt or custard Saturday, July 26, during the Division/Clinton Street Fair and children will have the opportunity to paint their hand prints on the walls.
Noon to 9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, noon to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Openings, closings and dishy gossip
HOLY CUSTARD: Coincidentally, husband-and-wife team Stuart and Ryan Spencer plan on opening Tart , a frozen-custard and yogurt shop in the same Southeast 21st Avenue and Division Street building that will house new wine cafe Avignon (the prior home to ousted Red & Black Cafe). The Spencers are planning to open the kid-friendly space in late April, making white and Mexican hot chocolate for the wee ones as well as ground-to-order Stumptown coffee on their fancy Clover machine. Ryan Stewart—a part-owner of nearby Junior’s Cafe—says the rich, velvety custard will be available in traditional chocolate and vanilla flavors. Nonfat yogurt will also be served, but over here at WW, we’re stoked to find someone’s looking away from the nonfat-yogurt craze, even if only slightly. Diet schmiet. Because everybody knows fat equals fabulous flavor, baby.
REVIEW: Tart and Two Tarts - New PDX Sweets Boutiques on the Ascendant
October 28th, 2008 at 10:08 am by Stephen Marc Beaudoin
Portland Mercury
What was life like before the immaculate fleur de sel chocolate chip cookie, or the fresh 
The sugar-induced haze I’ve been in since Sunday is all thanks to the efforts of two new-ish sweet shops in Portland, straddling both sides of the Willamette: Northwest 23rd’s boutique cookie bakery, Two Tarts, and Southeast Division’s frozen custard and yogurt heaven, Tart.
Start with the soft-serve frozen treats at Tart, in their lovely storefront home at SE Division and 22nd. A highlight among their frozen yogurt choices is the lip-pucker tangy “tart” ($3.00 for 6 ounces), but their seasonal pumpkin flavor (available through November) is the real scene-stealer. Add a dark chocolate dipped honey graham from - wouldn’t you know it? - Two Tarts bakery for a buck more and spoon up some nummy autumn comfort sweetness.
Two Tarts has long been the darling of the Portland indie bakery scene, making big waves from a tiny outpost at the Saturday Market and appearances on stores and menus across the area. Their new digs just off NW 23rd are the company’s first effort at a storefront presence.
The charm of Two Tarts is two-fold: the size of the cookie (about two bites, natch) and the inventive flavor combinations (explosive). Of the six cookie types I tried on repeat visits, my favorites were the incredibly rich not-so-thin mint bar; the near-famous fleur de sel chocolate chip cookie, with a dusting of crunchy fleur de sel salt atop a chip-loaded cookie; and the exquisite cappuccino cream (there they are, in the photo above right), a burst of cinnamon buttercream between two firm but not tough espresso shortbreads, which just knocks it out of the park. Arguably the best part of Two Tarts? - the price. Each flavor-shot cookie only sets you back 75 cents if you buy directly from the store. Sweet.
Tart, 2128 SE Division, is open Mon-Thurs, 3-9 pm; Fri-Sat, 12-10 pm; Sun 12-9 pm; 503-233-4333. Two Tarts, 2309 NW Kearney, is open Tues-Sat, 11 am-7 pm; Sun 12-5 pm;503-312-9522
Thursday, February 12, 2009
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