“Our last meal at Smallwares, which closed last September, was one of the most bittersweet moments we had all year. On a Tuesday night, we went to the old Fremont spot, where we encountered other Portland food writers and foodniks paying their respects to chef Johanna Ware’s excellent “inauthentic Asian” restaurant, our runner-up Restaurant of the Year for 2012.

Well, now it’s not bitter. It’s just sweet. Smallwares is returning.”