Shipwreck PDX at Taqueria Nueve

Last month in May, Shipwreck PDX popped up at Taqueria Nueve. They will be back next week on July 10 but with an update to now be working with one of my favorite burger joints in town, Burger Steven’s, and burger food cart of chef Don Salamone. In the meantime, here’s a few photos from the last Shipwreck PDX at Taqueria Nueve pop up to show their larger menu of drinks and eats. You can also see photos from their first pop-up here.

If I was to offer a few tips since I’ve been there twice they would be…

1. When you first come in, unless you are there close to when they first open, you will probably be put on a waiting list. So don’t come starving – just like you don’t come starving for Sunday Brunch at Screendoor when there is a typical wait for a table. Hopefully, like last time, you can spend some of your waiting time at Rum Club nearby until they call you.
   
2. If you are coming, know this is a cocktail pop up – that is where Shipwreck PDX excels. So make sure your order drinks that sound interesting from their cocktail list. There is no wine. There is only one beer, a cheap beer (Heineken). Ignore the bottles of anything else displayed in the bar – those belong to Taqueria Nueve, not Shipwreck. You are here for their cocktail menu. Sure, there are a handful of food options, but there are a dozen cocktails. You are here to drink.
   
3. As soon as someone comes by to take your order, be ready to order your drink AND your food. I was planning on having a lot of  beverages, and preemptively ordered several dishes of food ha ha – so I could snack on it all as I went through my half a dozen drinks before I had to tap out. Keep in mind they do have take home boxes.
   
4. Your food may take a while – so don’t be surprised if you may be a second drink in before it arrives. The kitchen is run by a super small staff (last time there were 3 people in the kitchen and 6 behind the bar!), and depending on where you are in the queue there may be a dozen people ahead of you and they are making each dish to order. Accept the fact that you are here more for the drinks and conversation then the food.
   
5. Don’t be afraid to be proactive in waving someone down if you need something. There are so many people and because this is a pop-up so they don’t really get a chance to get into a groove of service, so I did see some people just sit waiting for someone to stop, not noticing the staff was so in the weeds trying to get orders to tables they couldn’t always remember to look and see you need a refresh or are ready to go. Think of it similar to some restaurants overseas where they wait for you to call them down but otherwise leave you to privacy of your conversation.

I’m not sure who the guest bartenders will be this time to go along with the already announced visiting food of Burger Stevens, but if they have a specialty drink they bring to the table, get it. Last time in May included Giuseppe Gonzalez who is famous for the Trinidad Sour with Trinidad Sour with Angostura, Wild Turkey Rye 101, Lemon, Orgeat, Guiseppe. So I had to order it of course. No surprise it was one of the standouts for the night. Since he was the only bartender from out of town, you’ll probably notice I biased a lot of my beverage selections to be his creations, but the other drinks also looked great and you should try them too!

The Duke Of Suffolk cocktail with Hendrick’s Gin, Hot Sweet Tea, Cream by Giuseppe Gonzalez

The Horse Apple, a drink with Choose Your Own Adventure, Granny Smith Apple Juice, Horseradish by Giuseppe Gonzalez

Parachute! cocktail with Novo Fogo Cachaca, Cocchi Americano, Fresh Lie, Honey, Suze Major Grey’s Mango Chutney by Den Stephens (Hamlet, Laurelhurst Market)

You’re Doing It Wrong cocktail, with Campari, Fresh Orange Juice, Flat Champagne, Vegetable Ash from Emily Mistell (Rum Club, The Alibi)

I was super thrilled to see this time there was an option to add cheese to the
Chicken Fried Fish Sandwich with Tartar Sauce, Pickles, Lettuce, Potato Bun, Fast Food Fries and Spicy Dipping Sauce, optional American Cheese. It just sealed the deal for me in making it perfect fish sandwich from the local dive.

They also added another large sandwich to the menu last time, apparently to replace the mussels that they did in during their initial popup. For the pop up at least in May, you now also had the option of a Shrimp Roll with Oregon Bay Shrimp, Scallions, Toasted Nori, Wasabi, Kewpie, Pickled Ginger, and Fast Food Fries. I wouldn’t be surprised if this will be replaced again for July by something of Burger Steven’s imagination though.

I still think the best food item on the menu is that Tom Yum Popcorn Shrimp with fried kaffir lime leaves and Lingham’s Original Hot Sauce – I hope this will be a constant at every Shipwreck.

My only regret is that I did not have room for dessert- or rather, their desserty drink, The CloudSplitter with Green Chartreuse, Tempus Fugit Creme de Cacao, and served with a frozen Snickers Bar. Next time…

Did any of these drink descriptions interest you? What do you think of beachy drinks and dive bar like seafood options like this – I personally have no history of them (the closest is eating at Long John Silver’s as a kid and then as an adult at joints along the Oregon Coast or in Washington), but I find it fun.