I’m Jake Newman. The Portland Logbook is my love letter to this city: the food worth hunting down, the history that refuses to die, the corners you only find if you’re paying attention.

A Very Serious Soft Serve Investigation

Writing the best chocolate chip cookie in Portland review sent me down a very specific rabbit hole: finding the best version of things in increasingly niche categories.

I asked locals on Reddit what I should review next, and there were a lot of very good ideas. But with summer fully here, one felt especially important.

Vanilla soft serve in a cone.

Not ice cream generally. There are too many flavors, toppings, and variables. I wanted the simplest version. The kind that makes me think of being a kid and getting a dollar cone from McDonald’s, my mom’s favorite treat.

I have also brought in a second opinion this time. Sean Oshima from the Oshima Brothers is joining me, and we have created an unnecessarily serious scoring system for every cone we eat.

We have already done one bang bang, which is when you hit one spot immediately after another. My lactose-intolerant body is not happy about it, but my heart is very full.

We are working our way through the classics, the homemade spots, the walk-up windows, and the places worth driving 20 minutes for, all to figure out who makes the best vanilla soft serve around Portland.

The investigation is still underway. There are more cones to eat before we can confidently name a winner.

While Sean and I continue doing this extremely important work, I went back and updated my guide to the best breakfast sandwiches in Portland.

A few new spots earned their way onto the list, the order changed, and I ate through everything again to make sure I still stood behind it.

If you read the original, it is worth another look. If you missed it, save it for a slow Saturday morning.

One last thing: if you know of an unexpected place serving vanilla soft serve, please tell me. I am especially interested in the spots you would never think to check: roadside stands, diners, gas stations, garden centers, or some little window hidden behind another business.

The stranger the location, the better. Send it my way so Sean and I can investigate.

See the updated breakfast sandwich guide.

She sings at the Met. She's premiering it here.

I saw Wholly Unwinding before it opens, and I have been trying to figure out how to describe it ever since.

One friend is playing violin in the show, and another designed the costumes, which is how I got to see it early. I knew it was going to be good. I did not expect to walk out wondering how something this amazing was premiering here in Portland.

At the center of all of it is Hailey McAvoy. She performs with the Metropolitan Opera and is singing at the Royal Opera in London this summer. Tonight, she brings this very personal show to a small room at Thompson’s Point. A voice that usually fills some of the biggest rooms in the world, close enough that you can feel it in your chest.

Hailey grew up with cerebral palsy, and the show came out of a change in her own body. After years of it saying no, it slowly started saying yes.

That is about as much as I am going to give away.

It is funny, beautiful, a little shocking, and not nearly as heavy as you might expect. It is also much bigger than a story about disability.

And it does not feel cold or formal in the way the word opera sometimes can. Hailey talks about Joni Mitchell and The Jackson 5 as part of the world of the show. A small group of singers step in as the people in her life, and for 90 minutes, the whole thing unfolds through song.

You do not need to know anything about opera. I sure don’t. You just sit down and soak it in.

Wholly Unwinding premieres here before heading to National Sawdust in New York this fall. We get it first, which is pretty special. And none of it happens without Hogfish, the Portland company that helped bring the whole thing to life.

It is at Halo at Thompson’s Point on July 22, 24, and 25.

I’ll be at the premiere tonight. Come say hi.

Get tickets

Portside Real Estate Group

Thinking of Moving?

🏡 Hi its me Jake! I write The Portland Logbook, but I also help people buy and sell homes in and around Portland.

If a move is on your mind, I’m always happy to help you think it through.

Lets get a coffee!

THIS WEEKS CONDITIONS
☀️ SUNRISE: 5:26 AM
🌅 SUNSET: 8:16 PM
✨ Local Favorites: Low Key
✨ Local Coming Soon: Bad Neighbors
✨ Local Artist of the Week: Portland in Pen
❤️ Local Job Listings: Cheese Louise

🐾 Adoptable Buddies of the Week! 🐾

🐶 Stormy – 7 yrs
Small dog, big personality. Stormy loves long walks, squeaky toys, and curling up in a cozy bed after a good day. He's looking for a patient home where he can settle in and be your little sidekick.

🐱 Lutz – 3 yrs
A handsome orange and white guy who just needs a little time to come out of his shell. Give him some patience, and you'll earn a sweet, loyal companion.

🐱 Strudel – 5 yrs
Sweet with a little spice. Strudel likes to do things on her own terms, but with a patient, cat-savvy home, she'll settle in and show you just how wonderful she can be.

If the link doesn’t open anymore, it means they’ve already been adopted!

🐕 Interested? Check them out here