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Cheese & Crack Snack Shop

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Coordinates: 45°31′21″N 122°38′14″W / 45.5225°N 122.6371°W / 45.5225; -122.6371
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Cheese & Crack Snack Shop
Map
Restaurant information
Established2012 (2012)
Owner(s)
  • Nathan Hall
  • William Steuernagel
Street address22 Southeast 28th Avenue
CityPortland
CountyMultnomah
StateOregon
Postal/ZIP Code97214
CountryUnited States
Coordinates45°31′21″N 122°38′14″W / 45.5225°N 122.6371°W / 45.5225; -122.6371
Seating capacity26
Websitecheeseandcrack.com

Cheese & Crack Snack Shop is a restaurant in Portland, Oregon, United States.[1][2] The business started as a food cart on Hawthorne Boulevard before moving into a brick and mortar shop in the southeast Portland of the Kerns neighborhood in 2014. Cheese & Crack serves charcuterie, macaroni and cheese, sandwiches, soft serve, and sundaes, among other food and drink options. The restaurant has garnered a positive reception, especially for its ice cream. It was included in The Oregonian's 2022 list of Portland's best food carts of the past decade and ranked seventh in Yelp's 2023 list of the city's 50 best restaurants.

Description

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Cheese & Crack Snack Shop operates on 28th Avenue, near East Burnside Street,[3] in the southeast Portland of the Kerns neighborhood.[4] Thom Hilton of Eater Portland has described the queer-owned business as a "social media sensation" with long queues and "high-profile" customers including Paul Thomas Anderson and Maya Rudolph.[5][6] Cheese & Crack has a seating capacity of 26 people.[7] Eater Portland said the indoor and outdoor patio space has a "rustic charm".[8] The interior has pictures of country musician Dolly Parton.[9] For Pride Month, Cheese & Crack has displayed a cardboard standee of country singer Reba McEntire in the window.[5]

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Cheese & Crack serves charcuterie on stainless steel trays; boards include house-made crackers, capocollo and roasted turkey meat,[10] cheeses such as brie, ganache, honey, jam, and oatmeal raisin cookies.[11][12][13] The sampler plate has sliced baguette, butter crackers, dijon mustard, marionberry jam, olives, and pickled cucumbers.[14][15] The sampler's cheeses include blue from Hooks, brie brûlée, cana de oveja made from Spanish sheep milk, and cheddar from Seattle-based Beecher's Handmade Cheese.[3][15] Charcuterie packages have also been available via take-out, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.[8][16]

Cheese & Crack's macaroni and cheese has gruyere and white cheddar (from Tillamook) mornay and an herb sauce with chives, garlic, lemon, and olive oil.[17] The restaurant has also served biscuit sandwiches for breakfast, a ham sandwich with ham from Tails & Trotters and herb butter, and potato-chip "nachos" with mornay and pickled lentils.[18]

The menu also includes soft serve in ice cream cones with chocolate or ganache on the bottom to prevent leaking; toppings include chocolate cowboy hats, colorful sprinkles,[5] and varieties of "dust" such as beet, espresso,[19] matcha,[12] and strawberry.[11] Vanilla soft serve is also the base for sundaes; varieties have included banana pudding (with Nilla Wafers), caramel cornflake, and raspberry birthday cake.[12] Another sundae has cookie, ganache, and marshmallow.[19]

Drink options include beer, wine (including Prosecco on tap),[20] frosés, and frozen lemonades.[11][13][21]

History

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Cheese & Crack was established in 2012.[22][23] Co-owned by business partners Nathan Hall and William Steuernagel,[24] the restaurant started as a food cart on Hawthorne Boulevard, before moving into a brick and mortar shop in 2014.[5][11][25] The restaurant operates in the space that previously housed Black Bike Cafe, an outpost or sibling establishment of Black Cat Cafe.[26][27] In 2020, a man wiedling a bat demanded Hall remove a Black Lives Matter sign displayed in a window.[28]

Cheese & Crack has served specials for select holidays. For the cannabis holiday "420" (April 20) in 2020, the restaurant offered a Munchie Cone.[29] For Halloween in 2022 and 2024, the Eye Scream Sundae had purple ube pudding as "witch goo", chocolate cookie as "dirt", vanilla soft serve, raspberry sauce as "blood", and a gumball resembling an eyeball.[30][31]

Reception

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Willamette Week ranked Cheese & Crack fourth in a 2016 overview of Portland's best soft serve.[19] The newspaper's Andrew Jankowski recommended the restaurant as an option for late night dining in 2024.[32] Michael Russell included Cheese & Crack in The Oregonian's 2022 list of Portland's best food carts of the past decade.[22] In 2023, Yelp ranked the business seventh in a list of the city's fifty best restaurants.[33]

Maya MacEvoy included Cheese & Crack in Eater Portland's 2020 list of the city's "top-notch" macaroni and cheese.[17] In 2023, the business was included in a overview of recommended establishments on East 28th Avenue's "restaurant row" by Thom Hilton and Nick Woo and a list of recommended eateries near Laurelhurst Park by Olivia Lee.[8][11] Hilton has also described Cheese & Crack as a "dairy palace"[34] and the website's Brooke Jackson-Glidden recommended the restaurant for a late night sundae in 2023.[35] Local drag performer and entertainer Carla Rossi recommended Cheese & Crack in a 2023 dining guide of Portland published by Eater Portland.[36] The website's Michelle Lopez and Janey Wong included the restaurant in a 2024 overview of "supremely tasty" ice cream in the Portland metropolitan area.[12]

References

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  1. ^ Waterhouse, Ben (2014-05-06). "Cheese & Crack's SE Portland brick-and-mortar offers obsessively organized platters: Cheap Eats". The Oregonian. Advance Publications. ISSN 8750-1317. OCLC 985410693. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  2. ^ Boulgarides, Samantha Hope (2025-04-18). "Spring and the Return of Frozen Sweet Treats". Portland State Vanguard. Portland State University. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  3. ^ a b "Cheese & Crack Snack Shop's Loaded Cheese Plate". Portland Monthly. ISSN 1546-2765. Archived from the original on 2023-03-20. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  4. ^ Acker, Lizzy (2021-09-22). "It's National Ice Cream Cone Day and you deserve an ice cream cone: Commentary". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 2021-10-26. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  5. ^ a b c d Hilton, Thom (2022-06-07). "Cheese & Crack Co-Owner William Steuernagel's Favorite Portland Spots". Eater Portland. Vox Media. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  6. ^ "Pride Fuel Guide: You'll Be Rewarded by Embracing the Kitchens at Portland's Queer Bars". Willamette Week. 2023-07-05. Archived from the original on 2023-09-24. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  7. ^ DeJesus, Erin (2014-01-22). "Cheese & Crack Shop; Growlers Hawthorne Forthcoming". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2022-06-28. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  8. ^ a b c Lee, Olivia (2023-04-17). "Where to Eat and Drink Near Portland's Laurelhurst Park". Eater Portland. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  9. ^ "Celebrate Spring in Portland with These Top Ice Cream Spots". Metro Observer Daily News. 2025-04-20. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
  10. ^ "Cheese & Crack". Thrillist. Vox Media. 2012-07-18. Archived from the original on 2020-09-20. Retrieved 2025-04-23.
  11. ^ a b c d e Hilton, Thom (2023-02-13). "Where to Eat, Drink, and Relax on East 28th's Restaurant Row". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2024-09-05. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  12. ^ a b c d Lopez, Michelle (2015-06-26). "Where to Find Supremely Tasty Ice Cream in Portland and Beyond". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2021-10-20. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  13. ^ a b Roland, Rebecca (2017-07-21). "Portland Bars and Restaurants Slinging Frosty, Boozy Slushies This Summer". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2020-12-30. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  14. ^ Wong, Janey (2024-08-08). "An Eater's Guide to Oregon's Juicy, Sweet Marionberries". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2024-11-13. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  15. ^ a b Baillargeon, Zoe (2021-09-28). "Where to Find the Cheesiest Dishes in Portland and Beyond". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2021-11-19. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  16. ^ Pinsky, Rachel (2020-12-23). "In a Year Full of Pivots, Charcuterie Shops and Cheesemongers Redefined Themselves". Eater Portland. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  17. ^ a b MacEvoy, Maya (2020-02-05). "Where to Find Top-Notch Mac and Cheese in Portland". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2022-01-13. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  18. ^ DeJesus, Erin (2014-01-22). "Cheese & Crack Shop; Growlers Hawthorne Forthcoming". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2022-06-28. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  19. ^ a b c "Portland Soft-Serve Ice Cream, Ranked". Willamette Week. 2016-06-20. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  20. ^ Greif, Jessica (2018-06-04). "Cheese & Crack Snack Shop stands out with treats like brie brulee and beet dust soft serve". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  21. ^ "Cool off with 'Aussie Lemonade'". KGW. 2018-05-02. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  22. ^ a b Russell, Michael (2022-04-28). "Portland's best new food carts of the past decade — where are they now?". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  23. ^ "Cheese And Crack-Down". Willamette Week. 2012-08-15. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  24. ^ Smith, Suzette. "Mister Goose Simple, Melty Steamed Sandwiches Are a Vibe Check". Portland Mercury. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  25. ^ "Portland News to Chew". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on 2023-05-31. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  26. ^ "Scoop: Gossip Hated Grantland Before It Killed". Willamette Week. 2014-01-22. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  27. ^ "Future Drinking: Fenrir in the 2nd Story Space, Cheese and Crack shop, Maria Pizza". Willamette Week. 2014-01-17. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  28. ^ "Bat-wielding man terrorizes SE Portland businesses over Black Lives Matter signs, cops and shops say". The Oregonian. 2020-08-19. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  29. ^ Centoni, Danielle (2015-04-20). "Fenrir's Snacky Mexican Pop-up; The Original's Poutine for the People". Eater Portland. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  30. ^ Frane, Alex (2020-10-22). "Where to Find Spooky and Fun Halloween Treats in Portland". Eater Portland. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  31. ^ "Our Favorite Tricks and Treats at Portland Bars and Cafés". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on 2025-02-13. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  32. ^ "Our Guide to Portland's Late Night Spots". Willamette Week. 2024-12-04. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  33. ^ Foran, Andrew (October 16, 2023). "Yelp releases its list of 50 best places to eat in the Portland area". KOIN.
  34. ^ Hilton, Thom (2022-08-25). "This New St. Helens Restaurant Wants to Celebrate the Steamed Sandwich". Eater Portland. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  35. ^ Jackson-Glidden, Brooke (2023-11-20). "Ask Eater: Where Can I Find a Late-Night Dessert in Portland?". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2023-12-07. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  36. ^ Jackson-Glidden, Brooke (2023-07-10). "Portland Drag Clown Carla Rossi's Guide to Dining in Portland". Eater Portland. Retrieved 2025-04-23.
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