In Restaurant Roundup, Em Chan shares some local restaurants' latest updates. Have a question for a restaurant you would like Chan to look into? You can send her your inquiries atechan@gannett.com.
Bag O Crab quietly opened at the beginning of December in the former Newport Seafood Company space. Waterproof Backpack
The seafood boil in a bag concept franchise began in California. Owner Gary Lin opened the first Oregon location last year in Portland. Salem is his second location and he has plans to open another franchise in Beaverton.
One unique aspect of Bag O Crab locations are the robot waiters. The white machines on wheels bring plates of food, with a pixelated "face" and are humorous against the backdrop of the 90s interior.
The restaurant is the only brick and mortar in the Salem-area to offer Cajun seafood boil, with options including Dungenous crab, lobster tails, crawfish, mussels, clams, shrimp and more. There are two ways to order, either specific seafood for a customized bag or with any of the combinations offered, then selecting a seasoning mix and its spice level.
Besides boiled seafood, there is fried or grilled seafood options, chicken wings, sandwiches, soup and salad. Specials are offered during lunch on the weekdays until 3 p.m.
For more info on the restaurant, check out the website, bagocrabusa.com.
Hours: 11:30 a.m. - 9 p.m., daily
Crumbl Cookie in south Salem is officially open, bringing the trendy, gourmet cookies to another part of town. This is owners Heather and Matt Dallmann's second location of the cookie franchise. Their first opened in 2020 on Lancaster Drive NE.
Heather originally pitched the idea to Matt to open a franchise after a few years of running her own custom cookie business from home. She said the Crumbl Cookie business was exactly what she had wanted to do and from there the two went all in to open the first location.
"We're super excited to be in this area," Matt said. "The landlords approached us (to open a location here) and it was too good to be true. This is a nice area so we couldn't miss out on this opportunity."
The opening of the south Salem location was pushed back a few times due to construction delays, and the Dallmanns said they are relieved to finally be open.
For more info, check out the website, crumblcookies.com, Facebook page or download the app.
Hours: 8 a.m. - 10 p.m., Monday to Thursday; 8 a.m. - 12 a.m., Friday to Sunday
Address: 2520 Kuebler Blvd. SE Suite 150
Et Fille Wines in Newberg partnered with Adelante Mujeres and released the 2022 STEM & root Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, a collaboration to raise money and awareness for the nonprofit, which offers Latine women and families opportunities and tools in the STEM field.
The winery, whose name means "and daughter" in French, was co-founded by father and daughter duo Howard and Jessica Mozeico. Both had STEM backgrounds, Howard as a software engineer for tech companies and Jessica consulting in biotechnology marketing. Howard passed in 2017, while Jessica continues to provide support STEM education with the winery.
"We believe that raising awareness, access and funds around STEM education has the power to create a better community for all children," Jessica said. "We're proud to partner with Adelante Mujeres to support STEM education specifically to marginalized immigrant Latine women and their families.”
The founders of the nonprofit Adelante Mujeres set out to offer programming for Latine mothers' needs. The nonprofit's name translates to "women rise up" in Spanish, and it provides education and empowerment opportunities in STEM and local communities. For more information on the organization, check out the website, adelantemujeres.org.
The wine retails for $29 and is available to order on the Et Fille site, shop.etfillewines.com. Ten percent of all proceeds will be donated to support Adelante Mujeres.
La Cora is one of the newer food carts at Keizer's Copper Creek Mercantile food pod.
The new Mexican food cart is owned by Andrea Self and an endeavor she wanted to establish for her family. The cart opened at the beginning of November, serving classic Mexican food and Nayarit regional specials.
"La Cora represents a friend or an acquaintance," Self said. "Someone will call you that if you have a connection, instead of a defined relation. 'Cora,' the feminization, is my mom … she just radiates positive energy and attracts people."
Self's mother, Rosario Hernandez, has been in the food industry for more than 20 years at various restaurants in Salem-Keizer area. The food cart was Self's way of providing her mom a venture of her own in a safe working environment as she gets closer to retirement. Self is listed as the official owner, but the mother-daughter duo run the business together.
Rosario is still gradually introducing Nayarit specials on the weekends. The style of classic dishes are standard, with the exception to the sopes with marinated pork and tamales containing tomatoes and carrots. She plans to offer ceviche, one of the Nayarit state's specialty, which is shrimp or fish cooked in lime juice with cucumbers, onions, cilantro and tomatoes.
Hernandez and her son, Jose Hernandez, are typically at the food cart, while Self picks up hours after her day job. The family run business' spirit is represented in the logo of two deer. In the Nayarit culture, a deer symbolizes a guardian; the two deer together represent the unity of the family, Self said.
Lady Bag Em Chan covers food and dining at the Statesman Journal. You can reach her atechan@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter @catchuptoemily.