If you’re someone who likes food and scrolls Instagram, you’re probably already following Emily Snieska, aka The Portland Foodies and Portland Supperclub. Snieska began posting in 2021 about food in Portland shortly after moving from Texas to east Vancouver. Her enthusiasm for good food and her fun aura attracted a large following.
Snieska more recently started a Portland Supper Club. One of the club’s events is a Vancouver Food Tour that highlights small businesses downtown. I spent a Saturday with Snieska and a small group of strangers on this tour. I learned more about the Vancouver food scene and met some fellow food enthusiasts.
The tour includes five stops and lasts for three hours ($113.50 per person). The core group of people who regularly attend supper club events like this are women, but men and children are welcome.
On Saturday, I arrived at the first stop, Cariño Coffeehouse (1002 Main St.) at 9:45 a.m. Snieska and her tour co-host Ashley Pelaez (a recipe developer who posts on Instagram) were stationed at the small meeting room inside of the coffee shop handing out tote bags with merch and coupons. Our group of nine participants (seven women and two men) streamed into the room and took our seats. A cup of Cariño’s signature drink, the dirty horchata, was placed in front of each of us.
Co-owner Melissa Mancillas joined us and explained how she started this business with her sister Janelle Almanza based on a love of coffee shops and a desire to share their culture. The business is applying for a beer and wine license and is planning on hosting some evening events like a vintage clothes pop-up in June.
Mancillas went back to her busy shop as we sipped our drinks and got to know each other a little better. Most participants were transplants who recently moved to Vancouver and were interested in meeting people and discovering great places to eat here.
Our next stop was Short and Sweet (1011 Main St.), where owners Linda and Sonny Mouy were busy making the mochi doughnuts they offer on weekends. The list of flavors for our visit (they change every week) were Dubai chocolate, matcha Oreo, ube Fruity Pebbles, maple bacon, strawberry shortcake and cinnamon sugar. We first ate our bahn mi sandwiches (choice of chicken, pork or tofu). I ordered the tofu. We also had mango jasmine tea. The bahn mi sandwiches were good and the tea was a nice refresher.
Then a tray of mochi doughnuts appeared and we all came alive. I had to try each flavor. The shape of the doughnut lends it to easy sharing. Each comes as a ring of orbs. I had one or two or more orbs of each flavor. Each one I tried seemed like the best until I tried another. At some point, I came back to reality and realized there were three more stops on this food tour. I was thankful there was a short walk to the next stop because I had a belly full of doughnuts.
On the walk to Little Conejo (114 W. Sixth St.), many of my fellow tourgoers also marveled at the power those exquisite, chewy doughnuts had over us. How could we possibly eat chips, salsa, guac and tacos? And then we squeezed into a booth at the ultrapopular taco and mezcal spot and our appetites returned.
I typically get the oyster mushroom taco at Little Conejo, but I decided to try the al pastor. It was delicious and very generously piled with grilled and marinated pork. Several others opted for the fish taco, which has two large pieces of fried fish.
At this point, I was really hoping for a nap. I was reaching eating capacity, but I knew that we would be able to take home pizza from the next stop, Ranch Pizza (801 Columbia St.).
When we arrived, owner Eric Wood greeted us. He presented us with containers of the pizzeria’s iconic housemade ranch dressing, along with a variety of square-pan pizzas: a plain cheese pizza and a Hawaiian with bacon, fresh pineapple and roasted jalapenos, as well as a new special pie with ricotta, pepperoni, pickle chips and Mike’s Hot Honey.
I had to try the pickle chip pizza (called Honey I Shrunk the Pickle). I’ve never had pickles on a pizza, but I really liked it, especially with the pepperoni and hot honey. I took home a slice of the other two, which were still good when I reheated them for dinner.
The last stop was Softea (808 Main St.). When I met with Snieska earlier in the week, I learned that two young men, Noah and Kenn Pluard, started this locally owned business. I had wrongly assumed that this was part of a chain due to Softea’s excellent branding and high-quality teas, which come with toppings like boba and fruit bits as well as soft-serve ice cream. I chose the Pineapple Express with strawberry jasmine green tea, strawberry bits and strawberry popper topped with Dole Whip. It was a refreshing end to a fun day. I sat at the table with some of my fellow tourgoers because I felt pretty sure that if I slid onto a comfy couch I would never move again.
At this point, those of us on the tour had all become old friends. At my table, we discussed ranch dressing and discovered that we were all reality show fans. We began planning a dirty soda party for the premiere of season two of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” in mid-May.
Emily Snieska, through her sunny disposition and her love of good food, attracts a good circle of friendly people around her. She does a stellar job choosing food stops for her tour. She has two more spring tours coming up Saturday and May 31. For a full list of events, visit www.pdxsupperclub.com.
