Cheese & Crack Snack Shop

Cheese & Crack Snack Shop
Black-and-white graphic with the text 'Cheese & Crack Snack Shop'
Photograph of the exterior of a building
The restaurant's exterior, 2025
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. The business started as a food cart on Hawthorne Boulevard before moving into a brick and mortar shop in the southeast Portland part 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, particularly for its ice cream. Cheese & Crack 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,[1] in the southeast Portland part of the Kerns neighborhood.[2] It is a queer-owned business described by Thom Hilton of Eater Portland as a "social media sensation" with long queues and "high-profile" customers, including Paul Thomas Anderson and Maya Rudolph.[3][4] Cheese & Crack has a seating capacity of 26 people.[5] Its interior contains concrete walls, an open kitchen,[6] and pictures of the country musician Dolly Parton.[7][8] For Pride Month, Cheese & Crack has displayed a cardboard standee of the country singer Reba McEntire in the window.[3] Eater Portland said the indoor and outdoor patio space has a "rustic charm".[9]

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Cheese & Crack serves charcuterie on stainless steel trays. Boards include house-made crackers, capocollo and roasted turkey meat,[10] and cheeses such as brie ganache, as well as honey, jam, and oatmeal raisin cookies.[11][12][13] The sampler plate has a sliced baguette, butter crackers, Dijon mustard, marionberry jam, olives, and pickled cucumbers.[14][15] The sampler's cheeses include blue cheese from Hooks, brie brûlée, cana de oveja made from Spanish sheep milk, and cheddar from Seattle-based Beecher's Handmade Cheese.[1][15] Charcuterie packages have also been available via take-out, most frequently during the COVID-19 pandemic.[9][16]

Cheese & Crack's macaroni and cheese is composed of Gruyère 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, as well as potato chip "nachos" with mornay and pickled lentils.[5]

Among dessert options is soft serve in ice cream cones with chocolate ganache on the bottom to prevent leaking; toppings include chocolate cowboy hats, colorful sprinkles,[3] and varieties of "dust" such as beet, espresso,[18] 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.[18] Drink options include beer, wine (including Prosecco on tap),[19] frosés, and frozen lemonades.[11][13][20]

History

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Photograph of the counter inside a restaurant
The restaurant's interior in 2025

Cheese & Crack was established in 2012 by business partners Nathan Hall and William Steuernagel.[21][22][23] The restaurant started as a food cart on Hawthorne Boulevard before moving into a brick and mortar shop in 2014.[3][11][24] The restaurant operates in the space that previously housed Black Bike Cafe, an outpost or sibling establishment of Black Cat Cafe.[25][26] In 2020, a man wielding a bat demanded Hall to remove a Black Lives Matter sign displayed in a window.[27]

Cheese & Crack has served special dishes for select holidays. On April 20, 2020, for the cannabis holiday "420", the restaurant offered a Munchie Cone.[28] 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.[29][30]

Reception

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Willamette Week ranked Cheese & Crack fourth in a 2016 overview of Portland's best soft serve.[18] The newspaper's Andrew Jankowski recommended the restaurant in 2024 as an option for late-night dining.[31] Michael Russell included Cheese & Crack in The Oregonian's 2022 list of Portland's best food carts of the past decade.[21] In 2023, Yelp ranked the business seventh in a list of the city's fifty best restaurants.[32]

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