Chelo at Dame Will Soon Come to an End, but Luna Contreras Has More in Store for Hungry Portlanders

The logo for Luna Contreras’ pop-up Chelo features a fluffy-tailed fox, and that suits one of Portland’s most spritelike chefs perfectly.

Contreras’ cooking has made appearances all over the city— at Nightingale, for a bit behind the scenes at Janken, on Netflix’s Snack vs. Chef, and in bottles of her signature hot sauces available at better markets. She’s received acclaim at every turn.

Sometimes, Contreras flits about so quickly it can be hard to catch her. But from now until mid-August, you can find her playful, vegetable-forward take on traditional Mexican street foods inside Dame restaurant on Northeast Killingsworth Street.

Since the start of the year, Chelo has occupied Dame on Mondays through Wednesdays, turning out fat little gorditas, seasonal veg, complex mole, and a dessert menu worth the trip alone. But, Contreras tells WW, it’s time to move on to the next big thing.

“I’m not as young anymore, and it’s been cool cooking and stuff, but it can be a lot doing it every night, along with doing the other stuff I like to do,” she says.

Up next? A brunch and bakery spot five days a week that will retain the name Chelo in the location Lokanta will soon vacate at Southeast 26th Avenue and Clinton Street. The concept is a Mexican twist on San Francisco’s legendary Tartine—fresh baked breads and quiches, along with conchas, bollos and tres leches cake. Evenings will feature Libre, a new project from the owners of Southeast Division’s Mestizo and Contreras’ current collaborator at Chelo, up-and-coming pastry superstar Gabriella Martinez.

Contreras says she’ll take what’s been a smash for Chelo at Dame and make those dishes more “snackified.” That will include the tlayuda—a giant tortilla baked with scratch-made pork albondigas, squash, cherry tomatoes, kale, black beans and queso covered with fanned-out slices of bright green avocado; a traditional Oaxacan answer to pizza. Things like the tomalitos, little poblano tamales stuffed with crab and Gorgonzola, topped with trout roe and pepitas, would also translate well.

Contreras moved to Portland five years ago from the Bay Area, where she racked up accolades for her cooking at spots such as Mamacita and Padrecito. Since moving here, Contreras has started hormone replacement therapy and been a staunch ally of trans youth and immigrants. The results have been mixed.

“It puts me in an emotional situation,” she says. “If I hadn’t started hormone replacement therapy, I don’t think I’d be cooking as freely and happily. The cooking has improved and opened up a lot of advocacy and community.”

Still, articles and social media posts draw hate from transphobes and bigots. And while anyone who has eaten Contreras’ amazing food wonders why she hasn’t opened a permanent spot of her own, finding funding as a trans woman hasn’t been easy, she says.

“I think I would have had a space by now; it’s honestly a big reason why, I think,” Contreras says.

So, in the meantime, there will be another iteration of Chelo, and more evolution of Contreras’ cooking style.

Before summer is over, don’t miss out on a few items that likely might not make it over to a smaller-plate version of Chelo, including the incredible chuleta de puerco, a bone-in pork chop, served with hot housemade tortillas along with greens, a super-tasty fire-roasted tomato salsa quemada and brothy beans, cooked to perfection.

Also, Chelo’s desserts, made alongside Martinez, are some of the best I’ve eaten in a long while. The pastel de chocolate is a slice of cake heaven, spiced with cinnamon and not too sweet, paired with a cocoa crumble and a sweet little scoop of dulce de leche ice cream. Similarly, a slice of usually meh carrot cake is also moist, spiced to the gods, and elevated by both a cream cheese mousse and a seasonal ginger-rhubarb compote. And the famous paletas are there—it’s always wise to get a frozen mango mascarpone popsicle for the road.

As for the future, Contreras says she’s been in talks to appear on another reality TV cooking show. She won’t be on next season, but if she’s free for the following one, she’ll go. Perhaps by next spring, she’ll have a better handle on a permanent spot.

“I can’t say it’s been easy the last few years; it’s been rough. But it’s been OK too,” Contreras says. “I’ve gotten to try a lot of new things and build a community. Finally, this year, I feel like I’m better financially; I felt like I had to hustle a lot before. This year, I have more work-life balance.”

EAT: Chelo is located inside Dame, 2930 NE Killingsworth St., chelopdx.com. 5-9 pm Monday-Wednesday.