https://www.samanthabakall.com/home daily 1.0 2025-03-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608009394142-G7ZCOFX9LF0DKIOXUNS3/VoG2.jpeg Home Photo by Zoe Ching https://www.samanthabakall.com/contact daily 0.75 2025-02-15 https://www.samanthabakall.com/about daily 0.75 2026-02-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608010962821-NRCO0HPFHTDKAHOV95X8/VoG3.jpeg About - Hey! My name is Samantha Bakall, I’m a queer, second-gen Chinese American strategic communications leader and journalist living in Portland, Oregon. I have more than a decade of experience helping nonprofits, funders, and movement organizations turn values into clear, compelling stories that move people to act. My work sits at the intersection of narrative strategy, donor engagement, and community-rooted storytelling—always grounded in equity, dignity, and trust. From 2021-2024, I was the Communications Director at Seeding Justice, where I built and executed a strategic narrative communications program from the ground up and led the rebrand and website overhaul that transformed the organization from MRG Foundation into Seeding Justice. From 2013 - 2018, I worked for The Oregonian and was the only staff food writer of color in the state and since 2018 have continued working as a nationally published freelance writer specializing in equity-based food issues, particularly surrounding the AAPI diaspora in the Pacific Northwest. As a passionate writer and mentor, I also taught historically excluded youth interested in journalism for five years, and in 2019 and 2020, designed and ran Amplify, a summer internship for high school journalists from historically excluded communities in partnership with Metro and Pamplin Media. Email me at samanthabakall@gmail.com to get started! https://www.samanthabakall.com/services daily 0.75 2025-03-12 https://www.samanthabakall.com/articles-1 daily 0.75 2025-02-15 https://www.samanthabakall.com/articles-1/the-takeout monthly 0.5 2020-12-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608616210615-BTCBCVMHCUKGXE98X10O/39786adf22b7047f.jpg Published Work - The Takeout - Recreate Pok Pok's cult-status Vietnamese chicken wings One might argue America’s most beloved chickens wings are churned out of a former teriyaki stand in Southeast Portland. https://www.samanthabakall.com/articles-1/the-san-francisco-chronicle monthly 0.5 2020-12-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608613332585-HTPP6CDC56NI4Y7R7NWH/DSC_1384.jpg Published Work - The San Francisco Chronicle - Portland: A taste of Japan — without the long flight Tear your eyes, if you can, from the cloud-stippled skyline and the towering, snow-peaked Mount Hood, and gaze upon the sliding shoji doors of the Pavilion Gallery. You might forget you’re standing in Portland. https://www.samanthabakall.com/articles-1/bitterroot-magazine monthly 0.5 2020-12-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608613987647-VSXWWACX8BRP10BISB29/CoffeeShopEditorial_final-980x700.png Published Work - Bitterroot Magazine - Gentrification on the Corner: Can Coffee Shops Change Their Approach? One letter changed Camila Coddou’s life. In January, Coddou started receiving messages from her former coworkers at the Portland coffee company Ristretto Roasters. They were appalled at posts on co-owner Nancy Rommelmann’s newly launched YouTube channel, #MeNeither, which cast doubt on the wave of #MeToo posts sweeping social media. Among Rommelmann’s videos was one questioning the validity and motives of Asia Argento and Rose McGowan, two of the many actresses who accused Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment and assault. https://www.samanthabakall.com/articles-1/pdxnext monthly 0.5 2020-12-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608536262713-Y8JSMAQE3LV5OOPVJ733/ModelMasterminds_TalisaA.jpg Published Work - PDX Next - Model masterminds: Meet ZGF’s Gene Sandoval and Talisa Shevavesh If you were designing an airport several decades ago, physical models would've been your primary tool for visualizing the structure before building it in real life. These days, more and more architects rely on computer renderings and digital 3D tools. As a consequence, model making is becoming a somewhat rare craft. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608536518980-PFYAMXP305P92EQXO3V0/WIP_Model_Story_Main_01.jpeg Published Work - PDX Next - Work in progress: Models show the future of PDX in miniature Before there can be an airport, there must be an airport model. Architectural models are a key tool for studying designs and communicating project visions. So after our first look at the newly unveiled designs for the Portland International Airport, we’re now getting a glimpse of the model built by the architecture firm ZGF. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608536678711-AFD8PDHE4XKQVN9APJ34/image-asset.jpeg Published Work - PDX Next - First look: New designs for PDX take inspiration from the region Fast forward to 2025: You’ve just landed at PDX and it’s your first time stepping into the new main terminal, as insiders often call the airport’s central hub. As you glimpse the bright space, you spot details that already feel familiar: Soft daylight filters through the wooden roof, almost like light filtering through a forest canopy. People gather in common areas that look more like city parks. And in almost every corner, you see touches of Oregon’s signature greenery. https://www.samanthabakall.com/articles-1/the-oregonian monthly 0.5 2020-12-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608616529206-YIO1LORXZ8JC4PAO8E4H/23920007-standard.jpg Published Work - The Oregonian - Grocers seek to cash in on Portland's Asian population boom Daryl Lau sank a large cleaver through a glistening side of crispy-skinned pork with rhythmic thunks as a diverse crowd of shoppers at Oriental Food Value gathered around a brightly lit case of roasted meats. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608616630697-BKCA85KCHBC0BG5WYPTO/23621999-standard.jpg Published Work - The Oregonian - The complete guide to every Asian grocery store in the Portland area You can find almost anything in the Portland area, if you know where to look. With 45 (and counting) Asian grocery stores across the Portland metro area, finding ingredients for cooking nearly every cuisine on the continent has never been easier. We spent two days exploring — from Vancouver to Southeast Portland and Gresham to Hillsboro — to visit all 45 stores and discover what ingredients were stocked in their aisles. For each store, we've provided a basic outline of available goods, as well as a summary of the cuisine each is best for. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608616781798-UJELGESVYDS6J8TZYKX9/23584722-standard.jpg Published Work - The Oregonian - Perry is the cider lover's drink you've never heard of Perry is cider's underrated, and undiscovered, cousin. An alcoholic beverage made by fermenting pears, perry is often confused with pear cider, a distinctly different drink. While perry is made with 100 percent pears, pear cider is typically an apple cider sweetened with pear juice. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608616880159-3GR7713PNWIVIRDJROCC/23537073-standard.jpg Published Work - The Oregonian - Meet Kiosko, Portland's proudly Latinx coffee shop Angel Medina wants to be known as a "dude who roasts good coffee, not the Mexican dude who roasts coffee." But in Portland, one of the country's leading third-wave coffee cities, home to the pioneering coffee company Stumptown, Medina and his girlfriend Lucy Alvarez's three-month-old coffee shop Kiosko stands out. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608617358365-XGFNLX8TNMO4ETYZLV68/23425481-standard.jpg Published Work - The Oregonian - Will wildfires affect the taste of Oregon's wines? Days after the Eagle Creek fire, a haze of choking smoke settled over Portland. It turned the sun and moon an ominous blood orange and forced many to wear specially rated masks to combat the unhealthy air quality. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608617486768-KWIIK1TE3PLEY6I9AN1O/-822629c2ad80bcde.png Published Work - The Oregonian - Yes reservations: Pok Pok grows into Northwest Portland (review) For years, the only way to get a table at the original Pok Pok on Southeast Division was to get there early, or spend your evening sipping a tamarind whiskey sour at Whiskey Soda Lounge while waiting your turn. In April, Pok Pok opened its fifth Portland location with one big change: this one accepted reservations. The newest iteration, which took over Northwest Portland's former Bent Brick space with a menu of new appetizers and daily specials, feels like it should have always been Pok Pok. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608617762100-YQF0P3QZLQUBU945H5CL/-f6885987de713cdc.png Published Work - The Oregonian - Some of Portland's best and most beautiful pasta comes from a food cart As much as he tried, Jesse Martinez couldn't stay away from pasta. The longtime Bar Mingo cook spent a year couch-surfing while his house was listed on Airbnb, squirreling away enough money to open a food cart where he planned to start by serving Italian food, then tangent off to whatever his heart desired. The only problem? At Gumba, which Martinez opened a year ago with best friend Robin Brassaw, the fresh pastas were such a hit, they couldn't take them off the menu. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608617853696-SRKLV6LCCQJ4ZWMMYYO7/-e6ecaf7e68179f18.png Published Work - The Oregonian - Why Australian coffee gem Proud Mary built its first U.S. cafe in Portland Have you heard about Australia's coffee culture? Among the subcontinent's other culinary movements, the cafe scene is red hot, firing off trends faster than we can keep up with them. Avocado toast? They created it. Starbucks' "new" coffee drink, the flat white? It comes from the land down under. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608617953941-B9U3A3WHXP35BNE67T3H/image-asset.jpeg Published Work - The Oregonian - Sake City USA: How Portland became the Japanese rice wine capital of America Twenty-five years ago, the only places to find sake in the United States were Japanese restaurants and Asian grocery stores. "It was brutal," said Marcus Pakiser, vice president of the sake category at Young's Market. "You didn't really see these imports in America. I would go in to accounts to sell sake and they would say, 'We don't get any Asians here,' or, 'We don't do sushi.' " https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608618078035-GY2Q6XW3RSWDORSLF8UX/-1900a2001ebf7d7a.png Published Work - The Oregonian - What is Alabama-style barbecue and why is it suddenly everywhere? Last year, Laurelhurst Market chef Ben Bettinger started serving a smoked-chicken sandwich topped with what he called an "Alabama white sauce" in the Northeast Portland steakhouse's parking lot. The only problem? Before launching the restaurant's pop-up and its spin-off restaurant, Big's Chicken, Bettinger had never heard of the style. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608618341620-QFVRB4V9DWIUTCGVH3EG/-544ba7640d8481a7.png Published Work - The Oregonian - Big's Chicken smokes up the sandwich of the summer: Scouting Report Big's Chicken, which began as a series of "Five-Napkin Chicken" events in Laurelhurst Market's parking lot, already looks like the spin-off hit of the summer. The restaurant, found inside the former Big Ass Sandwiches storefront and co-owned by Laurelhurst Market co-owners Ben Dyer, Jason Owens, David Kreifels and chef Ben Bettinger, smokes and grills whole chickens basted in Alabama White Gold barbecue sauce, boneless thighs for sandwiches, smokes and deep fries wings and plates up savory sides such as dirty rice, fried cauliflower and JoJos. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608618405998-YIBSSU4YX7VKUDG6FSGU/-86dba8e0f8be9765.png Published Work - The Oregonian - What is Cinco de Mayo? Portland-area Mexican chefs explain what the holiday means to them The history behind Cinco de Mayo, which marks an unlikely Mexican victory over France, is, frankly, a little dry. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608618616875-IYZL69QSA2020MLLZGC7/-592bcf8d5139ec21.png Published Work - The Oregonian - Scratch your soup dumpling itch at North Portland's XLB: Scouting Report Xiaolongbao, the Shanghai-style soup dumplings that have reached cult status in recent years, are tricky to construct. Their thin, manifold skin has to be capable of containing not just a pork filling, but the slowly liquefying broth inside as well. They're a dumpling that's eluded many restaurants in town, and for a time, they eluded Jasper Shen. Now, after practicing his dumpling-folding technique with a pop-up at his former restaurant, Aviary, and making plenty of visits to venerable Seattle dumpling temple Din Tai Fung, he's steaming xiaolongbao to order at his two-month-old North Portland restaurant. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608618681505-YTDQD53N5HGEB4ZGK4M6/-c46cad01e1a8614b.png Published Work - The Oregonian - Why some of Portland's hottest restaurants are counting on counter service The 30-minute line for a table at North Portland's recently opened XLB snaked around the entire waiting area on a chilly, but dry Tuesday night. Some sipped squat glasses of wine or golden-hued pints of beer. Others sat patiently, faces illuminated by the fluorescent menu advertising steamed buns, pan-fried noodles and the restaurant's eponymous dumplings, xiaolongbao, while waiting for their turn to order dinner. Like many of the year's first restaurant openings in Portland -- including torteria Guero and best-of-Beijing spot Danwei Canting -- XLB only offers counter service. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608618769748-IOFZZGZG6ZQX1L5YSC8D/22064476-standard.jpg Published Work - The Oregonian - 99 delicious dishes for $10 and under: Portland Cheap Eats 2017 It’s not easy to eat on a budget in Portland anymore. This year for our annual Cheap Eats guide, we’ve put together a list of the 99 most delicious dishes under $10. Many of the restaurants featured here fall outside Portland city limits. Nearly half of them are small, independent, minority-owned businesses. All of them reflect the growing diversity of the Portland dining scene, if you know where to look. From Oregon City to North Portland, Gresham to Hillsboro, this is your guide to the 99 most delicious cheap eats in the Portland area. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608618896652-F76ACWCXS4ADJT168ENR/-39e9b22df2505a66.png Published Work - The Oregonian - From McDonald's to Lan Su Garden, Chinese tea culture can happen anywhere Every morning when I was growing up, my grandfather would meet a group of friends at the same McDonald's in Chicago. They didn't need smartphones. Instead, there was an agreement that every morning around 8:30 a.m., this group of elderly Chinese men would be there, sitting in those swiveling chairs in those plastic booths, talking about the fish they'd caught (or hadn't caught) and their growing families, all the while sipping on Styrofoam cups of cream-soaked coffee. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608618978858-5O34VTJFDGI0RLWP5MY4/-3d79fdb723b7e014.png Published Work - The Oregonian - The tipping point: Why some Portland restaurants are ditching gratuities On a Wednesday evening at Park Kitchen, chef David Sapp rests a slice of hard-grilled pork terrine in a bowl of sushi rice and leek kimchi. Sapp, wearing a midnight-blue apron with tweezers emerging from the front pocket, looks out at the quiet dining room, then carries the finished plate to a table of guests himself. That simple act of delivering a plate signals a major shift in the way we eat. Earlier this month, Park Kitchen joined the dozens of restaurants across the country that have ditched the traditional end to most diners' evenings: calculating the tip. To help streamline the change, the Northwest Portland restaurant cross-trained employees on a new hybrid service model, removing traditional "back-" and "front-of-house" roles. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608619076582-52U3590XBRTDBNG20SLB/-8d2d818e79c985fe.png Published Work - The Oregonian - Portland's 2016 Best Cheap Eats, from downtown to the burbs It's easy to eat on a budget in the Portland area. You can find everything from fiery Chinese stews, excellent lunchtime Indian buffets, some of the city's best new pizza and more within a short distance of the city center. Everyone has his or her own definition for what's considered cheap eats. Ours range from $1 tacos to $20/person all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue. From Oregon City to North Portland, Gresham to Hillsboro, this is your guide to the Portland area's best cheap eats. https://www.samanthabakall.com/articles-1/the-pulitzer-prizes monthly 0.5 2020-12-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608615984932-NQUOQ6Y5UB2HKU7LBXZZ/desk-credit_university_of_florida-bernard_brezinski.jpeg Published Work - The Pulitzer Prizes - Q&A: 2018 History Winner Jack E. Davis When Jack E. Davis set out to write his now-Pulitzer Prize-winning book, “The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea,” he hoped, in part, to rewrite the history of the Gulf he grew up on. His expansive nonfiction work brings new life to the Gulf of Mexico, one of the planet's most diverse and productive marine ecosystems, through its environmental, political and economic past and present. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608616053782-5MJ2ZT6RUNAYFO95XD7Z/dsc_1656.jpg Published Work - The Pulitzer Prizes - Q&A: 2018 Feature Writing Winner Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah Essayist Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah is the author of the haunting portrait of Dylann Roof, the murderer who calmly walked into Charleston, S.C.’s Mother Emanuel AME Church and killed nine people inside. Ghansah’s powerful narrative weaves together reportage, first-person reflection and analysis of the historical and cultural forces that brought Roof to that church that day. https://www.samanthabakall.com/articles-1/thrillist monthly 0.5 2020-12-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608615799719-CGKDS7OQHFRLU5PLC7W6/tmg-article_main_wide.jpg Published Work - Thrillist - Everything You Need to Know About Every Cut of Pork Pork is the unsung hero of America’s protein canon, with cuts available for every price point and cooking project. But as with beef, pork varies drastically in texture and recommended preparation. Knowing what to do with each cut can be challenging -- even after you figure out the difference between regular ham and picnic ham (hint: they're nothing alike). https://www.samanthabakall.com/articles-1/portland-monthly monthly 0.5 2020-12-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608615257726-3KPN7WOQNRZON4T8ITXU/nobones-7_bjocuv.jpg Published Work - Portland Monthly - A Perfect, Day-Long Pub Crawl in North Portland Years ago, I led a merry band on a mission to ride the happy hour wave as long as we could, not settling for some mere two- or three-hour window. We survived, wallets and bellies pleasantly full. This marathon-not-sprint approach is a great way to explore a neighborhood while ticking restaurants off of your growing “to-visit” list. This year, we headed to North Portland in search of burgers, Corpse Reviver Jell-O shots, and vegan tiki. Follow our itinerary, or patch together your own crawl. Tips: pick a weekday (weekend happy hours are less common), and maybe send an advance scout ahead to get an order in before your next destination’s happy hour ends. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608615331949-WNLFDHO604ROOEENDXY1/MKwontonnoodle.jpg Published Work - Portland Monthly - Homey Surprises Abound at Northern-Meets-Southern Chinese Spot Master Kong There are few spaces left in Portland that sound and feel like home, to me at least. On a recent Saturday, at two month-old Master Kong (8435 SE Division Street), I sat in a sparsely decorated dining room with two dozen families chatting loudly in a swelling symphony of both Mandarin and Cantonese. The food and atmosphere felt more like the busy, family-filled restaurants—often just glorified lunch counters—that I left behind in Chicago’s Chinatown. https://www.samanthabakall.com/articles-1/oregon-humanities monthly 0.5 2020-12-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608614836474-KXLQHFVFH7RQ6HCKDRO8/DSC_3403.jpg Published Work - Oregon Humanities - New Foundations While Sherry and her twelve-year-old niece, Sobeyda, were living in shelters across Portland and Vancouver, Sherry’s car was broken into and hundreds of dollars of clothes and medication were stolen. Both she and her niece contracted influenza B and needed to be hospitalized. They were harassed by a man also staying at one of the shelters https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608614909336-FAQ84ONA9DO4S2TTKWDX/DSC_6571.jpg Published Work - Oregon Humanities - Deep Roots “Have you ever tried kohlrabi before?” the tall, lean man asked over his shoulder, excitement growing on his face. Arthur Shavers looked like a schoolboy as he pushed his half-rim glasses up and focused his attention on the row of leafy greens waving in the breeze. He bent over, his fraying straw hat almost grazing the tips of the shimmering plants, and swam his hands through the crunchy leaves. His partner, Shantae Johnson, was already elbow-deep in greens, on the hunt for the wild cabbage nearby. Moments later, Johnson, who has a constant twinkle in her eye, emerged victorious, yanking a fist-sized, lilac-purple bulb out of the soil, its purple offshoots radiating like the filaments of a plasma globe. https://www.samanthabakall.com/articles-1/suitemagazine monthly 0.5 2020-12-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608611924634-GWX6QAXTUI944G37Z7JZ/3-4-782x1024.jpg Published Work - Suite Magazine - The People You Meet at Powell’s There’s nowhere else like it in the world. Taking up a full city block, the three-story Powell’s Books is one of the greatest landmarks in Portland. It’s home to more than 2 million books, with something for every visitor in the store’s 3,500 sections ranging from botany and maps to LGBTQ erotica and rare books. We asked four employees across the store and its sister locations in Portland what brought them to work at the local hallmark and what books they recommend for reading up on the Pacific Northwest. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608611999800-2I8WMOYHZFOEF205VS1T/6-1-1024x683.jpg Published Work - Suite Magazine - The Company Making Heritage Knitwear in Portland Tucked into the far corner of a Northeast Portland warehouse is a quartet of ceaselessly clicking machines knitting thin strands of wool yarn into thick bolts of fabric. Metallic relics similar in shape and intricacy to the insides of upright pianos, the machines continuously create the miles of heavyweight fabric that have been at the heart of Dehen Knitting Company for nearly 100 years. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608612068007-TWNE3LYE13S0LG5SZ4FK/1-5-1024x716.jpg Published Work - Suite Magazine - The Tranquil Teahouse in a Chinese Garden Overlooking the glassy, lily pad-studded lake at Lan Su Chinese Garden is the Tower of Cosmic Reflections. Home to the garden’s two-story teahouse, it is an oasis of dark lacquered wood rooms where visitors to the garden can reflect, meditate, and enjoy the true purpose of Chinese tea culture: to bring people together, nurture relationships, and show respect. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608612135660-CNEJYVW6KU3UX2OJK407/image-asset.jpeg Published Work - Suite Magazine - The Warp and Weft of Life Stephanie Craig née Wood remembers hearing the story of her grandmother sitting in the middle of a cold river to peel sticks for her aunt and other family members to use for weaving baskets. But she never learned to weave with them. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608612294339-J2BM1FS9D8RSWOSO2YT9/swarm-01.jpg Published Work - Suite Magazine - A Swift Journey At dusk, in September, something spectacular happens in Portland. For the last 30-plus years, anywhere from hundreds to tens of thousands of Vaux’s swifts, the smallest swifts in the Chaetura family, come to roost inside the chimney of Chapman Elementary School as they head to Central America and Venezuela for the winter. The chittering birds fly in expansive, cyclonic patterns as a flock before dramatically hurtling into the chimney crown as if sucked in by a vacuum. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608612402775-MQ7ALT26XC0LABQFD9EC/unicorn-03-659x1024.jpg Published Work - Suite Magazine - One for All Portland is home to hundreds of breweries, brewpubs, and taprooms, but there’s only one place where you can have a pint while you brew a keg of your own beer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608612834896-9PDJ23SM0Q8XNEK9YKTU/life-party-05-1024x679.jpg Published Work - Suite Magazine - Life of the Party You’ll never confuse the sound of DJ Anjali with that of anyone else in Portland, or even likely with that of anyone on the West Coast. Her infectious music melds a host of styles—the beat- and bass-heavy sounds and catchy, tinny sitar melodies of Bhangra, a style of music and dance from India’s Punjab region; Bollywood; Desi bass; hip-hop; Asian underground; and more—to drum up addictive, heart-thumping, non-stop dancing. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608613010858-E01BXWOCQC1A9ACHAKL4/book-05-1024x683.jpg Published Work - Suite Magazine - One for the Books It’s almost eerily quiet on the production floor of Grossenbacher Brothers, Inc., one of Portland’s two remaining bookbinderies. There are no fancy whirring machines collating loose pages into finished books or automated equipment stamping hundreds of books every hour. There’s just Terry Bradshaw and his three employees doing things the only way the company has ever done them: one book at a time, completely by hand. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608613099679-XXU0V7YQVBL4JS7SDZ38/OPH-02web-900x600.jpg Published Work - Suite Magazine - Cheers for Charity Housed inside a century-old building in North Portland, its remodeled shotgun-style interior lined in warm, lacquered wood and exposed brick, the Oregon Public House follows the standard counter-service model of most brewpubs. But placing an order here comes with one small twist: in addition to food and drinks, guests choose a charity from a rotating cast of six to receive the profits of their order. Since its May 2013 opening, the Oregon Public House has donated more than $164,000 to dozens of local charities. https://www.samanthabakall.com/articles-1/travelportland monthly 0.5 2020-12-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608610177682-VZKB4MDWIVGL1HXGCSNH/OtaTofu.jpg Published Work - Travel Portland - Ota Tofu: America’s Oldest Tofu House Calls Portland Home It shouldn’t come as a surprise that America’s oldest tofu house calls Portland home. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608610348569-HPE8RJ7VYNY5E1H3LWG2/FilipinoFood.jpg Published Work - Travel Portland - Chef Carlo Lamagna Brings Filipino Food to the Forefront in Portland Carlo Lamagna wants to bring Filipino food into the spotlight in Portland. The Philippines-born chef spent three years at beloved downtown restaurant Clyde Common, quietly introducing Filipino dishes onto the menu, and he also ran a Filipino pop-up off and on for close to a decade. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608610568511-Q26N3LSCQFOE9PP66HXC/Cover-Portland-Visitors-Guide-2020-1-aspect-ratio-4x5.jpg Published Work - Travel Portland - 2020 Travel Portland Visitor’s Guide Click through the 2020 Travel Portland Visitor's Guide to read stories by me about finding nature in the city, essential Portland dishes, a look at the city's up-and-coming Filipino restaurant Magna, essential food cart pods, a North Williams Avenue dining guide and the best food souvenirs to take home with you from the airport. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608610686733-ISL2FV84QG3O895UONGC/74A4427.jpg Published Work - Travel Portland - Beaumont Neighborhood Guide One of Portland’s older, wealthier neighborhoods, the mostly residential Beaumont offers views of downtown, the Willamette River and the Cascades. In Beaumont Village, a shopping district along Northeast Fremont Street, you can indulge in mini doughnuts, stroopwafels, yoga and more. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608610871324-PZR6WWMI2VISDOALGWY3/74A9780.jpg Published Work - Travel Portland - Portland’s Pickle Scene In a city as food-obsessed as Portland, it should come as no surprise that pickles are a culture unto their own. From jars of locally made pickles to our renowned beer and wine scene, Portlanders loves fermented foods so much we even named one of our baseball teams (the Portland Pickles) after them. Between the city’s many pickle-heavy restaurant menus and its annual Fermentation Festival, there’s certainly no shortage of places to try these top-notch fermented treats across town. https://www.samanthabakall.com/articles-1/traveloregon monthly 0.5 2020-12-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608538800761-VLRIXGHGWL9RH5LHKB6Z/2020AugCul_heroes_GregoryGourdet.jpg Published Work - Travel Oregon - Oregon’s Culinary Heroes Two months into sitting idle while his restaurant was shut down due to Oregon’s mandated shelter-in-place order, Gregory Gourdet grabbed his knives to join a rotating cast of chefs to cook meals for the needy. The top Portland chef, along with more than half a dozen chefs from The Nines Hotel, prepared 600 meals a day at Blanchet House, a Northwest Portland nonprofit that provides meals for those in need. Cooking for Blanchet House, Gourdet says, gave him a way to get outside of himself after quarantine. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608538861310-U0HOLNHNBA6I3186LUDN/2020Spring_Hugo_working+%281%29.jpg Published Work - Travel Oregon - All the Love Between Oregon and Japan As the snowy summit of Mt. Hood rises in the distance, director of ground maintenance Hugo Torii roughly points out a new gingko tree he recently planted near the tea house at the Portland Japanese Garden. “I’m not going to tell you [where it is] until it gets bigger,” Torii laughs, “because what if it dies in two years?” Though the sapling is a new addition to the garden, it’s part of a bigger vision for both Torii and the garden itself, one that has been in motion for decades. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608539023833-947FXZEE6LJ3VTXGSXHR/2019TOYS_WVNov_truffles_final+%281%29.jpg Published Work - Travel Oregon - Food-Lover’s Trip through the Willamette Valley (sponsored) Less than an hour outside Portland, vineyard-covered hilltops begin to rise in the distance, as tree-lined neighborhoods make way for expansive farm vistas. Here in the Willamette Valley, the prize is world-class wine — paired, of course, with outstanding food — and it’s all made with local ingredients just a hilltop away. If you want to get a full sense of the valley in all of its bounty, a day trip just won’t do. Here’s how to experience the best the Willamette Valley culinary scene has to offer on a three-day road trip. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608539224677-BCCANWVJQ1P6AY6PN2IO/2019Winter_snowshoe_billybob.jpg Published Work - Travel Oregon - Top Winter Wonderlands for Snowshoe Adventures A new world opened up above the snow-laden evergreens the first time I crunched toward the summit of Bennett Pass, with Mt. Hood standing sentinel over the sparkling valley. It looked like I was trapped in a snowglobe. As a frequent hiker and paddler, I’m most familiar with the state’s lush forests and cool blue waterways. But in winter, snowshoeing Oregon’s expansive trails and undulating alpine passes has become my next favorite adventure. It makes me eager for each snowfall, when I can trade in my hiking boots for a pair of snowshoes. You can get in on the action too. Snowshoeing is one of the most accessible — and underrated — ways of exploring the state in the cooler months, with white-dusted spots an easy haul from the big city to remote backcountry routes reserved for experienced trekkers. Where should you explore? Start with these top spots, from easy to advanced. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608539396984-KU8IZL7UKTFBP1V1WUFH/2019Fall_StoopidBurger_owners.jpg Published Work - Travel Oregon - How a Cult Burger Joint is Shaking up Portland’s Food Scene In a city with a world-renowned doughnut shop famous for its over-the-top decorations and flavor combos, it’s only fitting that Portland is also home to one of the tallest burgers in the country. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608539520066-YO1M177395GVE59JM7FK/2019Summer_paddle_scappoose.jpg Published Work - Travel Oregon - How to Paddle the Lower Columbia River Water Trail It’s hard to imagine the marine prowess Native American tribes wielded along the mighty Columbia River, undeniably the most epic river in the Pacific Northwest. The wild, unknown waters — then untethered by dams — carved a path through mountains and plains, and connected thousands of miles of people, trade goods and food between British Columbia and the Oregon Coast. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608539665929-ZQQRAVLJCO0VCO3CG61G/2019Tamasts_May_Steens.jpg Published Work - Travel Oregon - Eastern Oregon’s Ancient Landscapes Come to Life (sponsored) For thousands of years before Europeans arrived on the shores of what would become the United States, Native Americans lived and thrived with the land. In what is now Eastern Oregon, rushing waters brimmed with fish and trade centers teemed with tribal travelers. Snow-capped peaks held edible and medicinal roots within their rocky spires. And some of the state’s most iconic vistas were ancestral homes, places of celebration and traditional hunting grounds for tribes across the vast territory. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608539892824-N3XCYAPFZ0G5R1G8DHKO/2019SpringC_hotsprings_Summer.jpg Published Work - Travel Oregon - Soak in Oregon’s Magical Hot Springs One of Oregon’s most distinctive features is its rugged, mountainous landscape. Those peaks, forged in large part due to volcanic activity and converging fault lines, have helped form one of the West’s most alluring — and elusive — attractions: hot springs. Those steaming pools, whether naturally formed or piped into luxurious private tubs, offer visitors and Oregonians alike a chance to relax and recharge in some of the state’s finest mineral-enriched water. Many as far back as the earliest Native populations in the region tout these waters’ healing properties for achy joints, bodies and minds. Whether you’re looking for respite or simply a new adventure, here are eight popular and lesser-known hot springs around the state. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608539995367-RBZGA23FQUP1S9JIOVW4/2019SpringC_dog_lakes.jpg Published Work - Travel Oregon - Cool Places to Stay with Your Pup What’s traveling when you have to leave your best friend at home? Thankfully, options abound for our furry friends across the state, where dozens of hotels, resorts and state parks do much more than simply allow your good girls and boys to share your room. From personal, proportionally sized pet beds to psychic readings (really), here are some favorite places to stay with your best bud on your next Oregon road trip. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608540089916-21ELX1AT5SPISCQGG6IP/2019Spring_Lodging_Biking.jpg Published Work - Travel Oregon - Cool Places to Stay for Outdoor Adventures Sometimes after a long, grueling day on the trail or cruising through pounding rapids, the last thing you want to do is set up a tent. For those outdoor enthusiasts who prefer a cushy bed over a sleeping bag, we’ve rounded up a host of accommodations from luxe properties and cozy bed-and-breakfasts to only-in-Oregon resorts and timeless lodges. These lush spots are perfect for complementing your springtime adventures —no construction required. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608540187284-XJWZ4XOVNVTP35VHJLW3/2019FebOHSys_capitol.jpg Published Work - Travel Oregon - 6 Surprising Facts about Oregon’s History (sponsored) You may have studied or heard bits of lore about the Oregon Trail, but how much of the rest of Oregon’s history do you think you know? A new 7,000-square-foot permanent installation at the Oregon Historical Society in downtown Portland aims to give visitors a much broader look at the Beaver State and its storied past. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608540285401-G8WVJY0FH5JFK7WK0XO5/2018Winter_snopark_teacup.jpg Published Work - Travel Oregon - How to Play at Mt. Hood Sno-Parks Winter is a magical season in Oregon, when much of the state slumbers beneath glistening powder and the majestic mountains gleam like icy beacons. Skiers and snowboarders famously flock to the slopes of Mt. Hood as soon as the white stuff starts to fall, but winter fun doesn’t stop at the bottom of the hill. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608540389503-74MKA600T97I35MH3K7L/2018Fall_Food_MaylinCrab_f+%282%29.jpg Published Work - Travel Oregon - Taste Oregon’s Most Iconic Ingredients Portland is widely regarded as one of America’s greatest food cities, but that’s due in large part to what lies beyond city limits: Oregon’s farm-fresh abundance. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608540533163-196CCK5ZJYBUR1CRP17P/2018Summer_Lakes_Wallowa.jpg Published Work - Travel Oregon - Cool Lakes for Summer Retreats Oregonians wait all year for summer, when there are so few clouds in the sapphire-blue sky that we forget they were ever overcast. But on the dog days when the heat becomes too much to bear, we head for the lakes to cool our worries in still waters. From a painterly alpine lake in the Wallowas to a quiet multifingered lake on the Coast, here are a few lake retreats all across Oregon, where you can kayak, canoe, SUP, boat, hike, cast a line — or do nothing but chill on the shore with a cold drink in hand. https://www.samanthabakall.com/articles-1/resy monthly 0.5 2020-12-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608536968186-GAYSLNXEFQ8CI0M8JQBW/image-asset.jpeg Published Work - Resy - The December Hit List: Langbaan, Kann, Miss Delta, Mirisata, and More As Oregon enters its second shutdown of 2020 and the wintry weather rolls in for good, takeout and delivery are the best way to support local restaurants. And now there’s almost nothing you can’t order to eat in the comfort of home. Try plates of vegan, warm-spiced curry at the city’s first Sri Lankan restaurant, Mirisata; jump on the birria trend at Centennial food cart Birrieria PDX; bring a famed Thai tasting menu from Langbaan home; or cozy up with Cajun classics at Acadia. Where should you order takeout this month? We’ve got it in our latest Hit List. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608537105319-CZD0EC61XN7VEB6W65BD/image-asset.jpeg Published Work - Resy - The November Hit List: Oma’s Takeaway, Dame, Paley’s Place, Drink Mamey, and More Somehow, it’s already November. As days shorten in Portland, temperatures drop and the rain settles in for winter, menus switch over from colorful, zippy salads and all-grilled-everything to more robust, harvest-inspired plates, and homey braises. Find a hearty North African peanut stew at new Senegalese food cart Kabba’s Kitchen, warm-spiced enchiladas and tamales for the week from beloved Division Mexican spot Xico, or an occasion-worthy, four-course menu from stalwart Paley’s Place. Where should you cozy up? We’ve got it in our latest Hit List. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608537332758-LOK2D80MZK8BDJBB3C8W/image-asset.jpeg Published Work - Resy - New on Resy: Teardrop Lounge, Huber’s Cafe, Grain and Gristle, Olympia Provisions, and More It’s been quite the year for Portland restaurants — but there’s still a bounty of spots to eat. And yes, reservations, now more than ever, have become the best way to secure a table or experience during pandemic times. From the most timeless of spots (or at least since 1879) to the city’s pioneering cocktail bars, and neighborhood haunts that can be your backyard away from home, there’s plenty in this latest New On Resy. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608537411673-BPGRZC4ZJ1JNRLPWYEXY/image-asset.jpeg Published Work - Resy - The October Hit List: Canard, Chuckie Pie’s, Verdigris, the Bakery at Bar King, and More With fall on the horizon, the last of summer produce is finding its way to Portland’s restaurants. And with it, the last of outdoor dining. Make the most of the early, warm days of fall with baked goods on the patio at Bar King’s new bakery, a Negroni out front of Sellwood’s Gino’s Restaurant & Bar, in your own backyard with a family pack of burgers from chef Doug Adams’ Holler or a zingy margarita at the Hoxton’s rooftop bar, Tope. Where should you spend the best days of fall? We’ve got it in our latest Hit List. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608537499702-ERCO1O9QERV3ZRW2Y5CI/image-asset.jpeg Published Work - Resy - The September Hit List: Han Oak, Bhuna, Olympia Provisions, Kee’s Loaded Kitchen, and More As Portland continues through the height of produce season, restaurants across the city have been debuting new, late-summer dishes in just-opened dining rooms, pop-up tents, patios, and more. With COVID-19 numbers still spreading across the state, many restaurants are still testing out the best way to serve diners — whether on socially distant patios like Scotch Lodge’s fish & chips pop-up Oui Chippy; Plexiglas-shielded doorways shielding the Vietnamese baked goods at Berlu; or through standard food cart windows at soul-food classic Kee’s Loaded Kitchen. Still, those dishes, treats, slices, and meal kits shine. Where should you be eating this month? We’ve got it in our latest Hit List. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608537637769-J1WZW7A0OSNWAVMN7ZIC/PDX-1-1536x864.png Published Work - Resy - The Resy Guide to Portland’s Chinatowns, By Those Who Love Them Best A first-time visitor to Portland might see the city’s Chinatown gate as a beacon, inviting travelers into a rich cultural enclave similar to those found in Chicago or San Francisco. The gate, which spans NW 4th Avenue along the city’s north-south demarcation street, Burnside Avenue, is a stone’s throw from tourist-centric Voodoo Doughnut and Saturday Market. But the city’s Chinatown today exists mostly in name, with much of the region’s Chinese communities having moved outside of the city center, westward into Beaverton and eastward to the Jade District in Southeast Portland and beyond. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608537721551-ACQSLUKC8F38ZIXPS2WB/aviv3-2000x1125.jpeg Published Work - Resy - The August Hit List: Lazy Susan, Aviv, Taqueria Los Punales, Malka, and More As Portland restaurants discover the best ways to serve their diners, many are experimenting with a combination of outdoor dining, takeout, and delivery — taking over former parking spaces, for instance to create mini-patios. And, improbably, there have been openings, too, including a new spot from the minds behind Langbaan and Le Pigeon. From Lowcountry cooking and oysters to a Northwest twist on deep dish, here’s our latest Hit List, for cautiously going out to dinner again in the height of summer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608537784360-ZTA8P8E9V1HPJWP6U6PL/portland_shalom-1536x864.jpg Published Work - Resy - New on the Resy At Home Hit List: Le Pigeon, Pok Pok, Wajan As Portland settles into the new normalcy of takeout, even more of our favorite restaurants have re-organized and joined the fray. Now alongside Italian classics and Thai-inspired meal kits, find the city’s best paella and sangria by the liter, plus three-course dinners from a two-time James Beard Award-winning chef, with an optional 30-count steam burger kit to boot. All this and more await in this week’s At Home Hit List. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608537884257-T8JBOFXFLSWVRN0KABFQ/Portland-1536x864.jpg Published Work - Resy - Apizza Scholls, Gado Gado, Portland Mercado: Introducing the Resy At Home Hit List While dining out in Oregon remains a mere glimmer in the distance, many of the city’s best restaurants have set up new ways to bring a little comfort and hospitality, albeit now in the comfort of your own home, with takeout and delivery. From longstanding Portland favorites like Apizza Scholls to newer, nationally recognized ones like Gado Gado, and with more slated to return soon, it’s easier than ever to support the places you love. The new Hit List is here — and it’s for at home. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608537985623-XZAFU0T1FFCF55CHY0KY/laurelhurstmkt-2000x1125.jpg Published Work - Resy - Resy’s Guide to Restaurants Selling Groceries in Portland As some of Portland’s favorite restaurants have shifted to takeout and delivery, many have also pivoted to stocking up your pantries. Whether you’re looking for staples, or hoping to pop a few restaurant-made meal kits in the freezer for those nights when you just can’t cook, they have you covered. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608538105813-KFROABW1V2XXQ4BJO8AF/magna_carlo-2000x1125.jpg Published Work - Resy - How One Portland Restaurant Made a Priority of Safety — and Comfort It was only a day before Oregon’s statewide ban on on-site dining was announced that Portland’s newest Filipino restaurant, Magna, ended its brand new brunch service. That same day, March 16, the restaurant pivoted to a takeout-only model, offering a short menu of fridge-stocking meals like pancit bihon, chicken adobo, and vegetable sides, alongside a trio of daily specials to help families and students meal plan. https://www.samanthabakall.com/articles-1/eater monthly 0.5 2025-01-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608336325318-FEWGZ1SGIGLWJ6L0DLAD/20201010_Eater_ReelMInn_MollyJSmith_010.0.0.jpg Published Work - Eater - A Love Letter to Reel M Inn, Portland’s Most Iconic Dive Bar Every city has that one bar that everyone’s got a story about. Like the night Damian Lillard made that clutch buzzer-beater shot while you stood at the L-shaped bar, or the time you had a few too many Jell-O shots and Rainier tallboys and things got wild. Or maybe it isn’t one memory, but a decades’ worth, preserved in the tchotchkes lining the walls and the cadre of regulars who helped name the bar in the first place. Or maybe it’s just the place to get damn good fried chicken. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608336972364-BEXUMUMCKPJWKW9Q94N2/TKBS.jpg Published Work - Eater - The Biggest K-Town in the Pacific Northwest Is the Best Reason to Visit Tacoma The largest Koreatown in the Pacific Northwest is not quite where you’d expect to find it. It’s in Lakewood, Washington, a 23-year-old city of 60,000 people just outside of Tacoma. There are frankly few worthwhile stops off the I-5 corridor between Portland and Tacoma — fast food, gas stations, car dealerships, and maybe a diner or two — so when you turn onto South Tacoma Way, the sea of strip malls blanketed in Korean signage seems to appear out of nowhere, like a mirage materializing in the desert sun. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608338046422-WROD5PI349YRFP81TWVZ/IMG_0024.JPG Published Work - Eater - Dim Sum Is a Family Experience That’s on Hold. How Are Restaurants Learning to Adapt? As a kid, I loved the loud, frenetic energy of my family’s weekly trip to Chicago’s Chinatown for dim sum. My mom, uncle, and grandparents would loudly chatter in Chinese over the din and the rushing clatter of plates and chopsticks being set up for the next table. Often, my grandparents would run into old friends who still lived in the neighborhood they had settled into when they first came to America. I’d sit, wide-eyed, eagerly awaiting the stainless steel carts to make their way to our table and for my grandparents to order glistening, oil-slicked towers of har gow-siu mai and a plate of jin doi just for me. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608337714845-SQKZ6AZCC1QOENMXPR5D/IMG_7459.jpg Published Work - Eater - Portland Food Pantries Struggle With Social Distancing Amidst Growing Crowds With an all-out ban on on-site dining across the state, social service agencies, food pantries, and nonprofits are scrambling to rework their policies in order to continue feeding some of the city’s most vulnerable populations. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1608338303710-PGPUETRT3Q277ZH5ULD4/Screen+Shot+2020-12-18+at+4.38.01+PM.png Published Work - Eater - Jade District Businesses Offered $150k of Relief Grants After Weeks of Declining Business A typical Saturday or Sunday morning in Southeast Portland’s Jade District would normally bring crowds of hungry diners and community members to gather and eat at some of the city’s best Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants. https://www.samanthabakall.com/articles-1/nat-geo monthly 0.5 2025-01-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/5aa37079-d895-4ec4-860f-687f2d7de5da/Nat-geo.jpg Published Work - National Geographic - Six of the best Asian bakeries in Portland Many of the best bakeries in Portland, Oregon, are Asian-owned, including some that have been in business for decades, serving as community hubs where people come to eat, drink and socialise. Others, meanwhile, are more recent success stories, drawing crowds with their Japanese milk bread, Filipino pandesal or eye-catching pastries. Here are six of the best Asian-owned bakeries in the city. https://www.samanthabakall.com/articles-1/seeding-justice monthly 0.5 2025-02-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/0472d6f5-8003-4568-bf1b-1e2dc151bffe/seeding-justice.jpg Published Work - Seeding Justice (2021-2024) - From MRG Foundation to Seeding Justice My first project at Seeding Justice was to manage the name change from MRG Foundation. Quickly, I expanded the scope and my role to include brand strategy, from visual identity to messaging, organizational voice and a full website overhaul to build a powerful, cohesive brand that resonated with past and present partners and donors. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/c08723d8-c232-488c-bc76-f7a105574204/2024+Annual+Report+Cover https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/0aac01f4-1112-40d0-bd15-e03f93385247/2023+annual+report+cover https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/3dd06036-1cf0-40cf-a016-43a3a3deaf09/2022+annual+report+cover https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/df5f70c8-ed98-47f6-8ab4-6bb7b683977c/2021+annual+report+cover https://www.samanthabakall.com/articles-1/usa-today monthly 0.5 2021-02-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1613068166363-ZEA1W6451LMAY6XVNBFF/USAToday2.jpg Published Work - USA Today - Surfing champion, hula masters, educators and advocates on Hawaii Women of the Century list Are these mana wahine? In Hawaiian, mana wahine translates to “powerful women,” and as a panel of experts worked to select Hawaii’s Women of the Century, they kept coming back to this phrase. This year, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, when American women won the right to vote, the USA TODAY Network is naming 10 women from every state, plus the District of Columbia, as “Women of the Century.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fd82b8a88383d4b4e1e52ce/1613068353939-WFHSWN2NKO7XN1E7XZV6/USATodayAlaska.jpg Published Work - USA Today - Civil rights leader Elizabeth Peratrovich, senator Lisa Murkowski among 10 influential women from Alaska In the 1940s, almost 20 years before Alaska became the 49th state of America, signs frequently were hung in store windows and doors that spoke to blatant racism in the area. Phrases like “No Natives Allowed” or “No Dogs or Indians” were common. But Elizabeth Peratrovich was determined to change it. After all, hadn’t her Indigenous ancestors been here long before European settlers moved in? This year, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, when American women won the right to vote, the USA TODAY Network is naming 10 women from every state, plus the District of Columbia, as “Women of the Century.”