Tarte aux Poires

First Market Dinner 2009

2009-03-22T10:00:00.000-07:00

This is the second year we've had a first market dinner. The plan, as you can probably imagine, is to go to the first farmers market of the year (this year seemed very early, March 21), grab what looks good, and build a meal from those ingredients. Last year, there were four of us, myself, Cam, Bonnie, and David. This year, we had the pleasure of including Joe and Sarah. As you can see from the picture above, Bonnie really set a beautiful table.

The evening began with rangpur gimlets. We made these at last year's first market dinner, and luckily Raynblest Farm had plenty of limes for both drinks and dessert... For snacks, baby carrots and radishes.

Cam made ravioli with stinging nettles and ricotta, and lightly covered it in a butter/garlic/hazelnut sauce. While waiting for the water to boil, we drank a bottle of the 07 Reverdy Sancerre Blanc.

David brought the sides, wonderful wilted spinach and a mixture of sauteed carrots and leeks.

We then had a little salad made from a mixture of greens from Veridian.

Finally, the evening ended where it had begun, with rangpur limes. I made a panna cotta with rangpur lime zest. It didn't seem limey enough, so I made a little rangpur syrup to go on top. That with some 08 Elio Perrone Moscato d'Asti and Cam's homemade Vin d'Orange was just perfect.

Other wines included:
98 Lindemans Hunter Valley Semillon
98 Marsh Estate Hunter Valley Semillon
04 J Christopher Croft Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc
05 Le Rocher des Violettes Montlouis "Touche Mitaine" Sec
98 Guyon Corton Clos du Roy Grand Cru
00 Thomas Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

This is turning into a nice annual tradition.

2 New Ryes This Week

2009-01-23T18:35:00.000-08:00

Picked up two new Rye Whiskeys this week, (ri)1 and Russell's Reserve 6 year. Both are pretty tasty and worthy additions to my rye collection...

Repeal Day

2008-12-06T11:54:00.001-08:00

I had a little party at my place for repeal day. I put together a little cocktail menu and made the following cocktails; the aviation, the bijou, the blood and sand, the daiquiri, the fourth degree, the old fashioned, and the sidecar. Fire in the fireplace, snacks, and friends. Thanks to all those who made it by for a cocktail.

Pink Lemons

2008-11-16T10:23:00.000-08:00

Just got back from New Seasons, where I ran across pink lemons. I haven't cut into them yet, but I'm thinking up ways to use them tonight (read cocktails). I couldn't find much info on these little beauties online, but Four Winds Growers sells trees. Here's their page on this citrus.

Coffees of the present and recent past

2008-11-13T20:13:00.000-08:00

Roasted and ground by Stumptown (My grinder bit the dust. Any suggestions for a new one?).

Made with my trusty french press.

Consumed with Noris or Strauss half and half.

Panama Duncan Estate Organic x 3
El Salvador Kilimanjaro Organic
Honduras Cielito Lindo

Makes the morning that much better.

My bar...

2008-11-13T07:46:00.001-08:00

It's getting there...

Yum

2008-11-11T19:33:00.000-08:00

This is a generic photo of a sidecar taken from Esquire's drink page. Tonight, we made meyer lemon sidecars.

1 1/2 oz Germain-Robin Brandy
3/4 oz Cointreau
3/4 oz meyer lemon juice

Shake with ice and serve up. We decided against the sugared rim.

New drink, worthy of re-making...

2008-10-19T18:26:00.000-07:00

1 oz Hangar One Kaffir Lime Vodka
.5 oz G.E. Massenez Creme de Gingembre
1 oz lime juice
.5 oz simple syrup

Shake and serve up.

Tarte

2008-10-19T16:41:00.000-07:00

Today's baking project...

Lists

2008-09-28T12:23:00.000-07:00

OK, it's been a while. Seems like lists are a good way to catch everybody up...

Coffees I've bought lately from Stumptown:

Bolivia San Ignacio (x2)
Costa Rica El Quemado
Guatemala Finca el Injerto Reserva
Kenya AA Nduma
Nicaragua Los Delirios El Eden Lot
Panama Carmen Estate
Panama Duncan Estate (x4)
Panama Esmeralda Especial

Liquors I've purchased recently:

Loft Lavender Cello (OR)
Loft Lemongrass Cello (OR)
Farigoule Thyme Liqueur (FR)
Rhum Clement VSOP (Martinique)
Hangar One Kaffir Lime Vodka (CA)

Liquors I've infused recently, and a rating (1 lowest to 5 highest) of quality

Mt Adams Hucklberry Vodka - 3
Lemon Verbena Vodka - 2
Thyme Vodka - 4
Rose Petal Vodka - 2

Liquors I'm on the hunt for

Apia Honey Vodka (OR)
Anchor Genevieve Gin (CA)

Music downloaded (yes legally) since August:

Brightblack Morning Light - Motion t0 Rejoin
Dept. of Eagles - In Ear Park
Calexico - Travelall
Calexico - Toolbox
Calexico - '98-'99 Roadmap
Damon and Naomi - More Sad Hits
Yo La Tengo - They Shoot, We Score
Various Artists - Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-sounds & Nigerian Blues 1970-1976
Holly Golightly - Up the Empire
Holly Golightly - Painted on
Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out of This Country
Okkervil River - The Stand Ins
Calexico - Carried to Dust
Jens Lekmand - When I Said I Wanted to Be Your Dog
Jarvis Cocker - Jarvis
Walkmen - Daytrotter Session

Magazines whose subscriptions have or are about to lapse (that I want to resubscribe to)

Art of Eating
Meatpaper
Gastronomica
Imbibe

Great bottles of wine I've had recently

1978 Dm Romanee-Conti Romanee-Conti (getting a little tired)
1977 Dujac Clos St Denis (simply stunning)
2007 Rafeal Palacios As Sortes
2004 Domaine Cheze St Joseph Cuvee Caroline

I suppose that is enough for now. Consider yourself caught up.

TB1 and TB2

2008-07-13T10:22:00.000-07:00

BC is out of town, and I've been given the task of perfecting a Thai Basil cocktail while she is gone. A quick Google search brought up a few ideas, the most prominent being Thai Basil syrup, lemon juice, and a base liquor. I used the syrup recipe from found here, but I used 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup loosely packed thai basil leaves.

Additionally, I liked the idea of thai basil with saffron, so I used the two saffron infused/flavored base spirits I had...

TB1
2 oz SubRosa saffron vodka
1 oz lemon juice
1 oz thai basil syrup
Shake with ice and strain, serve up

TB2
2 oz Cadenhead's Old Raj gin
1 oz lemon juice
1 oz thai basil syrup
Shake with ice and strain, serve up

The TB1 was the winner of the two, but both were a bit too sweet. I like my drinks with a little more acid. When making drinks at home, I prefer a ratio of 3 pts spirit, 2 pts sour, and 1 pt sweet. My concern in using that ratio here is that with only 1 pt in 6, the thai basil flavor will be lost.

I think that muddling the thai basil will be the focus of the next round of drinks.

To be continued...

Image from Wikipedia

Flor de Mayo

2008-04-29T18:17:00.000-07:00

I was in Cali two weekends ago, and picked up a few bottles of liquor to bring home with me. One of those was a bottle of Qi White Tea Liqueur from (I believe) St. George Spirits (I also grabbed a bottle of the Black Tea Liqueur, but that's for another post).

So, Tuesday evening rolls around. Another day of work is over. What better way to celebrate than a cocktail?

I'm between getting the mail at the post office and heading to Lovely Hula Hands with BC and DJ. Looking over the liquor shelf, it occurs to me that I haven't made a drink with the Qi liqueurs yet. A quick check of the Qi web site provides a number of ideas. Having recently tackled the old school Daiquiri, their Flor de Mayo looks like it might be up my alley. Here's the breakdown:

2 oz dark rum (they suggest Pampero Anniversario, which I happen to have on the shelf)
1 oz Qi White Liqueur
1 oz lime juice
.5 tbsp simple syrup (they suggest 1 tsp)
Combine, shake, strain, drink

The drink itself is pretty good. Unfortunately, the orange flavor in the Qi really outshines white tea.

Rangpur Gimlet

2008-04-09T07:27:00.000-07:00

[Ed. note - I wrote this weeks ago, just never posted...] This past Saturday was the first PSU farmer's market of the season. C, D, B, and I made plans weeks ago to attend the market together, and then make a "First Market" dinner. Weather was dim and rainy, but that wasn't going to hold us back.

My contribution was a plate of baby carrots and French breakfast radishes with coarse French grey salt and hand churned butter (unfortunately, Noris dairy wasn't at the market so I settled on Strauss cream). Pleasant and simply, ultimately fresh and tasty.

I also offered to handle the cocktails for dinner. I bought a number of ingredients at the markets, but the most interested were Rangpur limes (also called lemanderins). I bought 6 of them, which wasn't quite enough for 4 small cocktails.

I spent part of the afternoon making syrups. For this drink, I made a simple syrup with Temple de l'Aube tea (a green tea with bergamot and lemon) and unrefined organic cane sugar.

1 c water
1 c unrefined organic cane sugar
2 teaspoons Temple de l'Aube green tea
Bring water to a near boil, steep tea for a few minutes, strain, add sugar, dissolve sugar, pass through cheesecloth, cool.

I also made rhubarb syrup and ginger/black pepper syrup, but those are for another story.

Anyway, I dragged all kinds of bar tools to CC's place, and prepped this cocktail, which I'm calling the Rangpur gimlet (and yes, I know there is no Rose's in this recipe, but I don't care, I prefer fresh juice and a little sugar).

1.5 oz Junipero gin
1 oz rangpur lime juice (although I was a little short)
.5 oz Temple de l'Aube simple syrup
Shake with ice and serve up on a cocktail glass
I didn't add a garnish

And that's it. The flavors were actually more subtle than I had expected. The citrus really shined in the finish, and the tea syrup added a lovely note to the nose.

I'd certainly make these again (and if fact, I probably will next weekend). Oh, and if you want to buy these limes at the market, see the honey and egg folks at the far South end of the market. They'll cost 2 for $1 for the medium size (3 for $1 for the small ones).

Photo courtesy of CC.

The Lady Panther

2008-03-30T16:53:00.000-07:00

Hello peeps.

It's been a while. No good reason. Most likely, no one even checks for updates here anymore. That's OK. It's understandable.

I've gotten into cocktails since my last post. In a big (read unhealthy [?]) way.

One ingredient I've really been digging is St. Germain. Not heard of it? Again, understandable. It's fairly new to our Portland, OR market. It's a liqueur made from the elderflower, a blossom of the Elder tree. If you buy into their story (and I'm not sure I entirely do), the blossoms are hand harvested (during a several day window in spring) in the French Alps and delivered, by bicycle no less, to the distillery.

My belle like St. Germain too. I've mixed it into a drink that she likes. Originally it was an impromptu vodka collins...

sort of via Ben Reed's The Art of the Cocktail
1.75 oz vodka [I've been using Lovejoy from Integrity Spirits]
.75 oz lemon juice [because I can't conform to the rules, I use meyer lemons]
.5 oz simple syrup
club soda
a splash of grapefruit juice (texas red)
more than a splash of St. Germain.

I've been trying to refine that into an actual recipe, but I can't seem to recreate the magic (although I've enjoyed the experimentation).

Unfortunately, meyer lemon season is nearly over, and the quest for the perfect "Lady Panther" (the name I am giving the as-of-yet unperfected drink) will have to wait until next year.

Congratulations, Lady Panther, you have won this round. But I will be back.

Best Beers of 08 - 2004 Cantillon Iris

2008-01-12T12:16:00.000-08:00

I meant to make some notes on this beer when drinking it with my friend DS. Didn't happen. Just let it be know that this beer was pretty damn amazing. Sour, tart, complex. This bottling was finished with a cork, then a cap, in a 375 ml bottle. Totally worth tracking down. I got my bottle at John's Market. Clearly the image above (from the Brewery's site) has a different vintage than the bottle I consumed.

Feliz Navidad - Mole pt. 3

2007-12-31T19:12:00.000-08:00

The day of reckoning. I've got a lot to do, and not a lot of time to do it. Honestly, it wouldn't have gotten done without a lot of help from LP and DS. Many thanks...

First, blend up the chocolate, nut, seed, and bread mixture with a little turkey stock into one sauce. Then, blend the dried and fried chiles and a bit of stock into a second sauce.

Second, brown the turkey in lard.

Third, in reserved lard, warm, darken, and thicken chile sauce before adding chocolate mixture. Finally, add 5 cups stock, and simmer for about an hour.

Fourth, bake the turkey, covered in the finished sauce, in a roasting pan. Then, after baked, pull meat out of sauce, cool, remove skin and debone.

Finally, place the deboned turkey in serving dish, pour sauce over, sprinkle with sesame seeds, garnish with a little cilantro, and serve with rice and tortillas.

CC (from The Devouring Woman) and her father made a tortilla soup, and BC made a tres leches cake. We had Negro Modello and Tequilla Rickeys to drink.

All in all, a fantastic Christmas meal with good friends...

Feliz Navidad - Mole pt. 2

2007-12-25T08:44:00.000-08:00

My plan is to combine days 2 and 3 together, leaving day 4 on it's own so that Christmas day isn't too crazy. To make a long story short, it doesn't happen...

Day 2 calls for cutting up the turkey and making the stock. Seems simple enough... While the stock is simmering, I can complete day 3's tasks (finish the sauce, brown the turkey in lard and bake it, etc). Except that the I need the stock to make the sauce. What was I thinking? Why didn't I read the recipe in full?

So, this morning, Christmas morning, I am starting early. The dried, lard fried peppers are reconstituting, the stock is ready, and I'm prepared to cook the meat.

Wish me luck.

Here's a few pics of the bird and stock (thanks, CG, for the new cleaver!!)

Feliz Navidad - Mole pt. 1

2007-12-23T15:17:00.000-08:00

I'm making mole for Christmas dinner this year. I'm using Rick Bayless' Authentic Mexican for the recipe, which is WAY too long and involved to copy here. I'll try to paraphrase for you, offering figures and illustrations where necessary...

Rick says you can complete the whole task in 7 hours from start to finish in one day, but that if you spread it over 4 days, the flavors are allowed to develop more fully, and it is less stress on the home cook. I'm tweaking his days a little, but it will be spread from Saturday, December 22 to Tuesday, December 25.

Bayless says "Day 1 - Assemble the ingredients and compete the toasting/frying" portiong of the recipe. I spend day 1 assmebling the ingredients and day 2 on the toasting and frying...

Saturday, the 22nd: I hit New Seasons first, and find most of what I need. I know I want to buy the lard from Viande. In addition, NS dosen't have the chiles mulatos I need. On my way downtown, I check Jesusito Market on N Interstate, Whole Foods in the Pearl, and Fred Meyer NW for the missing peppers. No dice. I arrive at City Market in the NW for the lard, and I hope they might have the peppers, but they don't.

I meet CC for lunch at Russell St BBQ, and she suggests checking for the peppers at Don Pancho carniceria on Alberta. Sure enough, they have what I am looking for.

Task 1 - Assemble the Ingredients - Check!

Sunday the 23rd: I start by measuring out all the ingredients, cuting, slicing, and chopping where necessary...

Next come the peppers. I have to stem, seed, and devein the dried chiles. That's 28 peppers. Takes a while, but I finally get them done.

Next, I toast the seeds (sesame, chile, and coriander).

Then the frying starts. I plop a generous portion of lard into my great grandmother's cast iron skillet and get to work. Peppers, almonds, raisins, onions, garlic, one by one, all adding amazing aromas to my house...

Then, I fry up a corn tortilla and some stale bread, and add all of the above (expect for the peppers) to a can of drained whole tomates and broken up Mexican chocolate.

Tomorrow? Deconstruct a turkey, turkey stock, soaking peppers, finishing sauce, and cooking turkey. Stay tuned...

My new cheese cave...

2007-12-08T17:47:00.000-08:00

As some of you know, I worked the harvest at Ch. Coupe-Roses in France this past September. I spent two amazing weeks in the town a La Caunette, and I've put some pictures way down below, as (unfortunately) my trip isn't really the point of this post...

Everyone knows the French motto "Liberté, égalité, fraternité," right? While there, I learned the motto of the French table, "Pain, Vin, Fromage." We consumed this trilogy at nearly every meal (we substituted cafe for vin at petite dejunnier).

And for the cheese, my hosts had a fantastic little cheese cave in their fridge. I shit you not, it was a Tupperware brand "Cave a Fromage." I love cheese, and I wanted one of these, but instead of carrying it back with me, I decided to track it down once back in the states. You know, we have Tupperware here too...

Or so I thought. After an exhaustive search of the web and stores as well as e-mails and phone calls to Tupperware, I realized I was in trouble. Not only weren't these sold in America, they couldn't even ship to me. I found a few on French e-bay, but with the shipping and exchange rate, the price was out of control.

And then it dawned on me, CG's folks were heading to France the following week. Could they be persuaded to bring one home to me? After a few e-mails, they agreed. Then in late November, the cheese caves (yes plural) arrived. One small and one large. These are Tefal brand, not Tupperware, but I'm not complaining. These are even better than the ones I used in France. Merci beaucoup, Steve!!

I've been using them for a few weeks now, and I love them. The keep the cheese at a better humidity than what the fridge normally offers, and they filter the smells of more pungent cheeses as well. What a delight. In the cheese cave pictured above? Montgomery's Mature Cheddar from the UK (the guys at Setve's Cheese tell me this is the best wheel they've ever had, it is simply fantastic), Abbaye de Belloc (a sheep's milk cheese from the Pyranees), and Mary's Peak goat cheese pyramid from River's Edge Chevre (who is quickly becoming my favorite Oregon creamery).

If you are over in France and you like cheese, I'd recommend bringing one (or two) back with you...

Now for the pics of La Caunette. There are from my visit in early 2006, but I assure you absolutely nothing has change...

Coffee

2007-12-05T07:08:00.000-08:00

Long time readers of my little blog will know that I like a good cup of coffee. One of my favorites, Panama Esmeralda Especial, is back at Stumptown after a bit of an absence.

Here's what the Stumptown page has to say about this coffee...

The 100% geisha varietal from Hacienda La Esmeralda, known as Esmeralda Especial has won first prize in every single cupping competition it has ever been submitted in. The Peterson family first came across these trees on their farm in the early 1990's looking for a way to survive one of the most historically oppressive coffee market crises in history. The long, dangling arms, large cherries and minimal yield were unlike any varietal known in Panama to date. The Peterson's separated the coffee and entered it into the Best of Panama auction in 2004. It has commanded record prices at auction every year since. Stumptown Coffee Roasters has been committed customers of the Peterson's since 2004 when we bought the auction lot and will continue to bring our customers this unique coffee for years to come. With every sip, you will taste pineapple, clementine, key lime, papaya, mango, bergamot, all spice, and high percentage cacao, with a champagne grape finish.

I paid $21 for 3/4 of a pound, which seems quite fair to me for a top tier coffee. However, almost every other roaster on the web is charging more like double or triple that price for this Panama. Am I drinking the real deal? Maybe Duane Sorensen got a pre-auction lot before the price skyrocketed? Anyone know the story?

Milestone

2007-11-27T20:41:00.000-08:00

My new (old) little car just hit 30,000 miles (or is it 230,000?).

Drink

2007-11-18T09:37:00.000-08:00

Impromptu mini-party at my place last night. We were thinking of trying to recreate a drink from Siam Society, the Midnight in the Garden (fresh blueberries pureed with vodka & a splash of fresh squeezed lime juice served on the rocks, according to their web site). But, realizing that blueberries aren't in season, we opted for cranberries instead. Since these little red beauties are a bit more tart than their blue siblings, we needed to tweak the rest of the ingredients a little...

Here's the recipe we came up with...

1.5 oz vodka (we used Ciroc)
.5 oz Cointreau
.5 oz fresh lime juice
.5 oz simple syrup
1 heaping tablespoon pureed cranberries (fresh cranberries and a little water)
.5 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
Put all ingredients in shaker with a generous amount of ice, shake well, and pour into a cocktail shell

Yep, that's it. Super easy and super tasty.

New Magnetic Fields

2007-11-17T14:04:00.000-08:00

Howdy y'all.

It's be a while, no?

An MP3 of the first song from the new Magnetic Fields' record Distortion is up over at Stereogum. It's called "Three-way." The new track has that low-fi pop sound from the early Fields' albums Holiday and The Wayward Bus. I absolutely love it...

Stephin Merritt is taking the Fields on a seven city tour next Spring (their first tour since '04). The nearest stop to Portland is Seattle, where they are taking up a two night residency at Town Hall. I've got tickets for the March 7 show. Anyone want to tag along?

USDA gets one right...

2007-10-16T18:45:00.000-07:00

This from the Ethicurian blog... Good news for conscious carnivores...

Breaking news: USDA limits “grass fed” label to meat that actually is

In Rainbows

2007-10-10T20:40:00.000-07:00

Anyone still checking this ol' blog? God, has it really been 2 months to the day since the last post (god capitalized only because it's the first word in the sentence)? Maybe you have it on rss feed on some reader or some such device...

So, the new Radiohead is out today. I paid 5 pounds at inrainbows.com. Something like 12 bucks? Seems fair. Only, I am a little disappointed. I got home from the Scout Niblett show at about 1:15 am (I was the last one standing, CG, LP, C&S left before the end) to find the access code in my inbox. I HAD to downoad right away and listen.

One of the things I always liked about Radiohead (esp. the recent stuff) is that they always seemed to be breaking new ground, trying new approaches and angles. With 'In Rainbows,' that doesn't seem to be the case. More of those electronic beats. A few tunes even hearken back to the 90's rock Radiohead (you know, an actual live drum kit?). Just nothing new.

Now, this is only a cursory listen. It just came out today, after all. And, it's still better than a lot of the shit that masquerades as music these days. I had just hoped for a little more.

Have any thoughts? Comment here, I'm curious if I'm way off base here...

23 Hoyt

2007-08-10T07:45:00.001-07:00

CC and I (and 6 others) dined at 23 Hoyt earlier this week. The service wasn't the best. She tore them a new one on her blog The Devouring Woman...

PS, love the new design, CC.

My first Noris Dairy delivery

2007-07-30T18:03:00.000-07:00

You have to love a farm whose motto is "Purity in Food."

Loyal readers (if there are any left after my long absence) may recall that I blogged about the lack of Noris Dairy products at New Seasons (and their subsequent replacement by the high quality but non-local Straus Creamery out of California). If not, click here for the old post... Theoretically, this change was supposed to have ensured consistent supply of organic, glass bottle dairy. New Seasons (at least the Arbor Lodge store) has still not been able to maintain that consistency.

So, I'm taking matters into my own hands. For an order of $15 or more, Noris will deliver to your door free of charge. I talked to a few of my friends, and we easily exceeded that dollar amount. This week, I got half and half, yogurt, eggs, cheese, and milk. Next week, more half and half, and probably some butter too. I can't tell you how excited I am to have Noris back in my house!

Here's how it works, you download an order form from Noris' web site, fill out out, and fax it in. I'd recommend calling after you fax the first time to see what day they will be in your area. When that glorious day arrives, put a cooler outside, leave a check for the correct amount, and when you return home, viola, dairy for you to enjoy.

Here's a direct link to the order form, in case you want to download and fill out right away (and who can blame you. Go for it!).

Need more convincing? Check out their "About Us" page.

And finally, this little blurb from Salon (from way back in 2005)...

Already, some small dairy farmers say the big dairies are squeezing them off the shelf. About 30 miles southeast of Bansen's farm, Franz Wenz, owner of Noris Dairy Inc., the only independent organic milk producer and bottler in the Northwest, says only large operations like Organic Valley and Horizon can afford to spend big bucks on flashy marketing and offer supermarkets exclusive deals at lower prices.

"The big guys can bury us," says Wenz, an Austrian native with bushy eyebrows and heavy jowls. "They can make exclusive deals and say, 'You just take our product and we'll give you a good deal.' The stores don't understand that they're hurting themselves when they depend on just one company that can then control the price."

To stay in business, Wenz and his family have carved out a niche by selling and personally delivering their glass-bottled milk, yogurt, cheese, ice cream and sour cream directly to more than 300 customers in the Portland and Eugene area. Wenz says he and his family intend to stick it out, despite hard financial times.

So, today's lesson, boys and girls? Buy local. Support the little guy. Enjoy purity in food.

Hey Mississippi Pizza...

2007-07-28T23:00:00.001-07:00

...thanks for the fresh grapefruit juice in my Greyhound. I didn't care so much the seeds that made their way in, though. Lots and lots of seeds. I didn't know a grapefruit could have so many.

Trip to LA - Part 2

2007-06-11T07:20:00.000-07:00

OK, long overdue post about my LA Trip with MS from back in September '06 (you can read Part 1 of the post here). I've lost most of the details, but here's a little photo tour of some of the things we ate. Lotteria Grill, Outdoor Grill, In N Out, Foster Freeze...

PS-If anyone is looking WAY in advance for a gift for my birthday or Christmas, check out the 4th photo below. Nice grill. I'm just saying...

Goat Curry

2007-06-02T11:25:00.000-07:00

Time again for EP, my quasi-monthly dinner group, to reconvene. This time, it was my turn to host, and spurred on by my insanely late 'discovery' of Lee Scratch Perry, I settled on a Jamaican theme. Inspired by a trip to Montego Bay years ago for Scoop's birthday, the dish of choice was curried goat.

Other dishes present: Jamaican beef patty with Sauce Chien (Caribbean spicy dipping sauce which, as you can guess, means dog sauce), accras with black eyed peas, mofongo, red beans and rice, and banana-bacon skewers in brown sugar with avocado ice cream. To drink, rum punch and Red Stripe. (As EP evenings wear on, and more alcohol is consumed, in this case the punch and beer, fewer and fewer photos are taken. For this reason, unfortunately, most dishes were not photographed.)

I'll spare you the boring details, and simply give you a peek at the day of cooking and evening of eating with this selection of photos.

Sunday Night/Monday Morning

2007-05-28T12:03:00.000-07:00

Sunday Night

jerk chicken
coconut/allspice/cinnamon rice
sauteed garlic shoots
red stripe

Monday Morning

goat cheese omelete
(eggs, purple haze goat cheese,
scallions, fresh garlic, s&p)
nutella toast
coffee

Best Wine of the Year (so far) - Parts 1 and 2

2007-05-18T18:36:00.000-07:00

I haven't written one of these entries in a while. Not because I haven't had any good wines recently, but because I haven't had any amazing wines recently. To make it into one of these posts, a wine has to be mind blowing, earth shattering, revelatory. Lucky me, I've had 2 wines in the past 2 weeks that achieve this lofty standard. Here they are...

Weingut Seebrich
Niersteiner Oelberg Riesling Beerenauslese
Rheinhessen, Germany
2006 vintage

On May 7, 2007, my company held a really cool German wine tasting. We had 13 or so German producers in town, all pouring their newest releases for the buyers of the best wine shops and restaurants in town. In addition to this baker's dozen, our importer had two representatives pouring wines from another 7 or 8 wineries. Every table in the hall seemed better than the last, but one table and one wine in particular really stood out for me; Jochen Seebrich and his amazing '06 Beerenauslese (or BA for short). Not sure what BA is all about? Check this Wikipedia link.

My notes on this wine from the tasting are pretty limited. I've written 'searing acidity,' 'amazing,' and a big number 5 with a star next to it. I have a rough 1 to 5 scale when tasting wines. Very few wines merit a 5, which for me means things like 'buy a case,' 'absolutely unbelievable,' and 'worth the three times the price.' A 5 with a star next to it, well, you can imagine.

I've put in my order for a case. The wines should arrive in Portland in 2 months. There will be a scant 36 bottles for everyone else in the city. If you need some, give me a call.

Ameztoi
Rubentis (Rose)
Getariako Txakolina, Spain
2006 vintage

We had a Spaniard in town for work all this week. On Wednesday, we met for happy hour at Patanegra. I went, we had had some good tapas and a nice Albarino. We talked about wine and the wine business. It was a good time.

We were to meet again on Thursday, this time at Andina. I've been to Andina a number of times, and enjoyed it, but I'd been to this party just the night before. I imagined more good small plates of food, more nice white wine, more talk about the biz. I decided to skip out.

Then the call came in. Txakolina rose was making an appearance at the table. I didn't know they even made such a thing. I had to go. I've tried whites from Txakolina and I've heard about their red wines, but never a rose. For more info on Txakolina, check out this Wikipeadia link.

As with the Txakolina whites I've had, this rose was a little spritzy, high in acid, with hints of fruit and plenty of minerality. One of the loveliest roses I've come across in some time.

It's not cheap, retailing for between $16 and $18, but it is definitely worth it. Alas, good luck finding any. Word is that the importer, De Maison Selections, imported a scant 50 cases into the states, and that 20 of them made it to Portland. I personally called or visited 6 of the finest wine shops in the city and only came up with 2 bottles. Most were long sold out, or never had the chance to buy.

If you see this, I highly recommend picking up a bottle or two. Chill it way down and drink it on a hot afternoon. You won't regret it.

Apotheke

2007-05-18T07:40:00.000-07:00

Man, I like this place. Yeah, it's white. Yeah, it's very hip. Get over it.

Go in for some fine Belgian beer (they use correct glassware), cool and esoteric liqueurs, European estate made wines, and some killer food (I'm partial to the French fries that are fried in duck fat...). Also, cool ambient music from live DJs most nights of the week.

Upstairs from Andina in the Pearl.

Where's My Fino Review!?!

2007-05-16T07:02:00.000-07:00

Tommy over at Macerating Shallots clearly beat me to the punch. I've had a draft of a write-up kicking around for weeks if not months, it's just that every time I go there, I try something new and tasty, and have to rewrite the whole thing. Hell, just last night Stan served us his 'pancetta basket.' House made pancetta, wilted arugula, garlic tomatoes, and oven roasted grapes. Mmm.

Eating...

2007-05-13T09:25:00.000-07:00

Here's a little recap of some of the more interesting things I ate last week...

Sat 5/5/07 - Le Pigeon (plus pre-meal drinks at Rocket)
with BC
a-Leek carbonara, in which leeks took the place of pasta
b-English pea risotto
c-Apricot bacon cornbread dessert
d-Bottle of Gruner Veltliner

Mon 5/7/07 - East Side Dining Club (hosted at Le Pigeon)
with BC, Y, and N
a-Grilled skewers, one with chorizo and banana, one with pork belly and watermelon
b-Ceviche with ancho popcorn
c-Venison "Tamales"
d-Black bean chilaquiles with a poached duck egg *
e-Grilled quail with mango, chiles, and prosciutto blanco (aka lardo)
f-Mexican drinking chocolate and housemade choco-tacos...
g-A couple of Spanish wines

Tue 5/8/07 - Rocket
with SS, GA, DJ, EK, and BC
a-Pork "Pocket Rocket"
b-Fries
c-Ginger pea shoots
d-Braised beef ribs
e-Some cherry dessert
f-Nut covered ice cream bar on a stick
g-Beer

Wed 5/9/07 - Clyde Common (opening night)
with BC and Y
a-Butter lettuce salad with rhubarb, aged balsamic, and parmesan
b-Asparagus with caul fat wrapped egg (poached)
c-Chitarra with nettles, walnuts, and pecorino
d-Whole roast fish with preserved lemon, olive sauce, and chickpeas
e-Charred hangar steak in harissa with grilled onion salad (mushrooms make an unannounced appearance)
f-a bottle of Gruner

Fri 5/11/07 - Pok Pok (plus post-meal drinks at Victory)
with CC
a-Khao man som tam
b-Khao soi kai
c-Mango and sticky rice with coconut milk
d-Cha manao

Honestly, a pretty serious week of eating.

* - Best thing I ate all week

Le Pigeon image nicked from http://www.ianlynam.com
Other images from the restaurants' web sites

What happened to Norris?

2007-05-12T18:15:00.000-07:00

Anybody else notice the distinct absence of Norris Dairy products everywhere? Well, I guess I can only confirm they are missing at New Seasons on Interstate and at the Farmers Market, but isn't that enough?? The guy at Salumeria de Carlo told me he hadn't seen them at the market at all this season.

Oddly, in place of Norris, New Seasons is now carrying Strauss Family from California. One of the reasons I love NS is their commitment to local goods. This seems to be the exact opposite... Nothing against Strauss, but they are not local.

Anyone know what's up?

Current Coffee...

2007-04-29T10:53:00.000-07:00

Faithful readers will know about my slight obsession with coffee. I get whole beans from Stumptown (Which I like, although a recent date told me that they can't hold a candle to Intelligentsia out of Chicago. She orders pounds of beans and has them shipped out. When you add the cost of shipping, the negative environmental impact, and the reduction in freshness to what appears (at least to me) to be exorbitant prices, I just don't get it. For an example of their prices, on the coffee below, Stumptown's price is $25 per pound, Intelligentsia's price is $32.99 per HALF POUND. Which makes makes it more than 2.6 times the price, and that's before factoring in the shipping, etc. What gives?) .

And, speaking of other cities' coffees, a friend mentioned, out of the blue with no prompting whatsoever, Blue Bottle out of San Francisco last night over drinks at the old Mississippi Avenue Social Club (which I will continue to call it because their new name is so stupid). Blue Bottle is some seriously good coffee...

OK, sorry... Back on topic...

My current coffee is Fazenda Pedra Preta (COE) from Brazil. Not only is this a cup of excellence coffee, it was also awarded a gold special award, and was the #3 coffee in Brazil in 2006...

This from Stumptown...

Guilherme Dias De Castro's family first introduced the Yellow Bourbon variety to the Sul de Minas region over 100 years ago. Fazenda Pedra Preta produces coffee between 1150 to 1250 meters above sea level on 30 Hectares of this 70 Hectare farm. Care is taken to preserve the native forests and water sources. The coffee is pulped natural processed making for an extraordinarily sweet and heavy bodied cup. The beans are carefully tended by employees who live on the farm. The beans are turned each day, and covered at night for about ten days. Once they reach 11.5% humidity, the beans are bagged and kept in brick bins to develop the complete flavor profile. Melon, orange blossom, lemon, vanilla, and cranberry inhabit this subtle yet multidimensional cup.

Images from the Brazil Specialty Coffee Association web site...
They also have a small profile on the farm here...

Moscow Mules at the Victory

2007-04-26T07:55:00.000-07:00

As loyal readers will know, I'm on a constant search for good Moscow Mules in town. I've found one that I feel compelled to tell you about...

I was heading to Pok Pok with some friends a few Fridays ago, and they suggested that we head to Victory for drinks during the wait. Vistory is just up at 37th and Division, so it was an easy move to make. We grab three seats at the bar and begin to pour over the menu.

That's when I see it, a house cocktail with Blenheim Spicy ginger ale. This stuff is mythical. I'd been hearing about Blenheim for a while from my good friend NT. We even went so far as to try to order the spicy version from the east coast (they were out of stock, so we had to settle for the regular, which still has a little burn). I paid something like $55 to get 24 bottles out here. But that's another story...

The cocktail on the menu has a drink with bourbon, fresh ginger, and Blenheim's. Well well, that's pretty damn close to a mule. I ask for the modifications necessary. It's all right. I'm not convinced.

My friend NT calls that Saturday and wants to see Grindhouse at Cinemagic. But where to eat? How about Victory. When I mention they have Blenheims, the decision is made. The food is good, a spatzle mac and cheese with crispy shallots and apple sauce, and duck with cheese grits and rapini.

This time, I simply ask for a moscow mule. It is the most perfect mule I've had out anywhere in quite some time. Impeccable balance and flavor. Do yourself a favor, get over to Victory and ask Amalia for a mule with Blenheim's spicy. You will not be disappointed.

Fake Can Be Just As Good

2007-04-20T19:18:00.000-07:00

Or not, as it turns out...

I went to see Blonde Redhead last night at the Wonder Ballroom. I'd seen them twice before, both times at the Aladdin (which to be honest I don't care for as a music venue, but it's nowhere near as bad as the Crystal... why don't more bands I like play at the Roseland!?!). I'd almost seem them back in Missoula at the Cowboy Bar, but we chose Don Caballero at Jay's Upstairs (where my own little band used to play) instead... Too many tangents, back on topic...

I bought the new album last week. I'd been waiting to download from e-music, but they didn't have it. I had to shell our cash for this one. I'm a big fan of Lemons, and I appreciated Misery in all of it's overproduced glory, but honestly, the new album is crap. I can't play the whole thing through in one sitting. Horrendous. I won't go into details, but I'll say this, don't pay for it. Ick. That being said, they've always mixed old songs and new at their shows, and the chance to see them at what I consider to be a superior venue to their previous shows proved difficult to pass up. I get tickets for myself and my buddy NT. SF also joins.

Before the show, we grab food and drinks at Echo after we see how long the wait is at Russell St. BBQ (see how it all gets back to food sooner or later?) I'll say this, Echo makes a good Moscow Mule, and they serve it in a proper copper cup. Tell Aaron and TK I sent you.

We stroll over to the Wonder. The opening band is mercifully almost done. We grab drinks and head to the balcony. The lights dim, and the band appears. Or sort of appears. The lights are very dim on stage, and you really can't see anybody. Then the music starts. Some sequenced, prerecorded stuff. Yeah, they've done this before to good effect, using it mainly for their quirky sounds, but this time it's different. I think they had whole songs recorded. I think they were just playing along. At one point, everyone stopped playing, sort of a break in the music, but the music kept going. Serious drumming, but the drummer wasn't moving. What the fuck? Fake simply isn't as good.

They play a very short set which might have been a good thing, seeing as how they really only played the new stuff. Yeah, they turned in a less than inspired version of "Melody of Certain Three" from Lemons and a garbled, looped, and sampled version of "Falling Man" from Misery, but by and large, the entire show, encores and all, stuck to the crap from their new "album" 23.

Yeah, I'm a little bitter. I'd been looking forward to their new album and this show En Particulier for quite some time. And boy was it a letdown.

Eeeww

2007-04-19T07:35:00.000-07:00

I said to lavendersoda just last night that I was done reading the Cool Hunting blog because it had nothing that interested me any more. And sure enough, look what I find this morning, meat business card holders. I'm not sure what this thing is made of (hopefully not actual meat) but it does look awfully greasy. Check out their other food related products too.

Extra Cool Squid Whisk

2007-04-18T07:53:00.000-07:00

Just saw this on Uncrate and had to share.

Five

2007-04-14T11:44:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Guilty Carnivore, you will now learn 5 things about me. Some loyal readers may know a few of these things, but even the most devout fans may learn a thing or two (or maybe not, who knows)...

#1 - j'aime la Nouvelle Vague
Yep, I like me some French new wave cinema. I tend to like all things French (wine, cheese, language, etc) and am an admitted Fracophile. While I've enjoyed Gallic gastronomy for years and years, my love of French cinema is somewhat new. At any moment, you'll find at least one French New Wave flick from Netflix at my house (hell, my queue is full of 'em). Right now, I'm getting ready for a little Melville double feature this weekend (Un Flic and Le Samourai). In the planning stages: a full screening of Eric Rohmer's six Moral Tales over the course of an entire weekend (I'm planning to show My Night at Maude's before The Collector, preserving the director's original plan for the films, not the order of their theatrical release). Enough already? That's what most of my friends say.

#2 - Music snob, guilty
I don't like mainstream music, mostyl because it's typically no good. But my bias goes deeper. I'm one of these people that can love a band for years and years in obscurity, and then, when they make it big, I'll turn my back on them. Like the opposite of a fair weather fan. Foul weather fan? I like to root for the underdog, I guess. I'm not saying I was ever a fan of Modest Mouse, but they'd make a fine example. If I had liked them back in the 90's (which I didn't), I would almost certainly despise them now. I mean, how many times was Float On on (insert popular radio station name here)?!? I am VERY frightful that the day will come when everyone figures out what really good music sounds like and The American Analog Set, Yo La Tengo, and Destroyer will go triple platinum. What will I listen to then?

#3 - Picky Eater
In the realm of food, I know what I like and what I don't like. Some may call this picky, I think of it as discerning. There are 2 things that I really don't like, mushrooms and seafood. People have pointed out that I can't possibly be as into food as I am and not like those two things. It's not like I'd flat out refuse, but given another option, I'll most always take it.

#4 - Food Snob
Contrary to what fact #3 may have led you to believe, I am more or less a complete food snob. I only like the best. Thank god Albina Press isn't too far from my house because I swear I'd drive across town for good coffee if I had to. I once dated a girl who lived near on MLK near the convention center. She had just moved to town. I went to great lengths to tell her about the fareless square and how Stumptown was just across the bridge, on the max line, and was the best coffee in town. She continued to go to Starbucks just down the street. Clearly that relationship didn't work out. My snobbery goes beyond coffee, though. Wine, cheese, cuts of meat, anything consumable, really. Does that make me a bad person?

#5 - My Past Life
Although I work in the wine field, I went to grad school for Forensic Anthropology. Took a lot of classes in skeletal biology, archaeology, forensic sciences and the like. I've worked with the FBI and local law enforcement teams on murder investigations in Montana, Florida, and Georgia. I spent a summer in Guatemala working a human rights forensic team uncovering, excavating, and anazlying mass graves. But now I sell wine. Sometimes I think I should be doing more for the public good.

So, I guess that's that. I'm throwing the challenge out to my pals lavendersoda at The City by mouth, CC at The Devouring Woman and Miss Tasty over at the cafe...

Bird Bottle Opener

2007-03-31T19:54:00.000-07:00

I needed a new bottle opener. The one I'd been using was one of those 99 cent grocery store church key deals. It did the job, but wasn't anything to look at. I kept it atop the fridge for easy access. But, the cheap metal began to bend, and with every bottle I opened, it became more and more misshapen. Hell, the metal looked like it was about to snap in two.

So, when I ran across this beauty at Canoe, I knew I had to have it. My new bird opener wasn't inexpensive, but it looks damn good. This was designed be legendary Japanese iron artist Tadahiro Baba. The beauty if this lovely piece is that the beak opens tin tans (like pineapple juice or like product) while the back of the foot and the tail feathers work in concert to open bottles (like beer or the bottle of ginger beer for Moscow mules).

Here's the rough translation I was given at Canoe of the booklet that came with the opener...

Without speaking of "material," we cannot talk about "craft." Because, character of Iron and Copper have been decorated people's life with craftman's knowledge and skills. We could say that we need space for "crafts" in current society which had broaden and materialized lifestyle. However, "new relationship between human and things" must be created with harmony of design and material. In the past, we had almost lost wealth of our spiritual life to industrial society. We should not lose our humanity to civilization.

European Oils has saxaphones?!?

2007-03-14T19:44:00.000-07:00

Just listening to Destroyer's Rubies (for the millionth time), and for the first time ever, I heard the baritone sax in the middle of the song European Oils. Yeah, it's clearly there at the end, but I had never noticed it in the middle before. Damn I love hearing new things in music I've listened to again and again...

Sunday Supper #3

2007-03-14T18:36:00.000-07:00

My good friend CC has beaten me to blogging about our dinner on her blog, but I thought I'd throw up a few pics of my own...

What happened to Apizza??

2007-03-08T08:01:00.000-08:00

I used to love Apizza. Went last night with CC, and the new space feels empty, unfinished, and cold. We actually waited longer just so we could sit on the old side. Got the usual, the amore, a cesar, and Caldera pale ale. The food isn't what it used to be, either. Not bad, just not the epiphany it used to be. I gotta say it, I don't think the wait is worth it anymore.

Kitchen Bling

2007-02-26T20:12:00.000-08:00

I've had Teflon pans for too long. With the health warnings piling up, I knew I needed to change. Recently, the nonstick coating on one of the sauce pans began to flake. That was really the final straw.

And, if you're going to switch up, why not go all the way.

So, I sprung for the All-Clad Stainless starter set. Damn, they work absolutely. They are a true joy to cook with. I'll need to add a couple of pieces here and there, but this 9 piece set is really tight.

Kitchen bling, indeed.

Pizzetta 211, SF

2007-02-17T11:11:00.000-08:00

So it's Sunday eve, my last night in SF. -M- and I scour the Slow Food Guide to SF, that Eat Drink Shop SF book, and Chowhound. We aren't quite sure what we are looking for...

Then, somehow, we come across Pizzetta 211. I think we saw it first in the Eat Drink guide. We checked Chowhound again to see how it fared. Lo and behold, a positive review from Kim at Apizza Scholls. That was good enough for us.

Pizzetta 211 is a little out of the way. It's in the Richmond (hope I've got that right, -M-, maybe you can clarify if needed?). We park a few block away and walk on over. There is a bit of a wait as the place is VERY small. Counting outside seating, there can't be many more than 25 to 30 seats. We are told 30 min, but a table gets up sooner than expected, and the wait is more like 5 min.

We order a few things to try...

White bean and kale soup (or some kind of green, maybe chard) - Tomato-y and delicious. A good start to the evening.
Artisan cheese salad - Perhaps the only down part of the meal. A plate of slightly overdressed greens and some hunks of cheese on the side. When asked which 'artisan' cheeses they were, they told us cheddar, brie, and a sheep's cheese. All tasty, but not an amazing dish.
Pizza 1, a basic margherita - Tomato base, mozz cheese, and basil. These are small-ish pizzas (maybe a little smaller that Pizza Fino's small [and yes, I will review them soon]), so -M- and I are able to polish them off with no problems. Good crust, top notch toppings, very satisfying.
Pizza 2, we go out on a limb - Olive oil base, sheep's milk cheese, pine nuts, rosemary, and farm fresh eggs. We were a little confused about the farm fresh eggs. We imagined hard boiled, which seemed weird, so we inquired. No, in fact, they are over medium. The pie goes into a hot over first, with no egg, to set the crust and melt the cheese. Then, a couple of eggs are cracked on top, and the pie is put into a slightly cooler oven to cook the eggs. When they come out, the eggs are a prefect over-medium. We ask for an egg on only one side, not sure if we are going to like it. We crack the yolk and spread it around. One bite and we're hooked. So rich, so velvety. Why isn't this being done everywhere (although, when I mention it to Queen E, she says they have this over at Nostrana. I'll have to investigate).
Scharfenberger flourless cake. A good ending to a lovely meal.

The wine list is small but good. Surprisingly it is mostly French, so you know I am happy. We get, through the course of the night, 2005 Chidaine Touraine Blanc, 2005 Kermit Lynch Cotes du Rhone, and 2005 Joguet Chinon (Petite Roches, I believe...) And, of course, I get coffee with the chocolate cake.

A spectacular last meal in SF. Good call, -M-.

PS, image borrowed from http://bayarea.typepad.com/

Sparklehorse at the Wonder

2007-02-16T09:59:00.000-08:00

Yep, I go see Sparklehorse again, this time at the Wonder Ballroom in PDX. Smaller space, louder sound, basically the same set. This time, I was much closer. Fast songs fared better then slow songs at the Portland show, basically the opposite of the SF show.

Pre-concert, I ate over at Pok Pok. 45 min wait for a seat at the Whiskey Soda Lounge (and I was already running late) so I grab a few items from the cart and sit outside. It's cool but not cold.

Sparklehorse at the Fillmore

2007-02-11T10:05:00.000-08:00

I'm traveling in CA this weekend. Sat and Sun in San Fran, Monday in LA.

Who is playing at the Fillmore while I am in SF?? None other then the mighty Sparklehorse. Yeah, I am going to see them in Portland on Tuesday too, what of it? -M- picked up tickets for us a few days ago. How thoughtful. The Fillmore is nice. The show is spectacular. Although Sparklehorse is really, for all intents and purposes, only Mark Linkous, the live band was a four piece (including long time collaborator Johnny Hott on drums and pump organ, Chris Michaels on guitar and keyboards, and Paula Jean Brown on bass and vocals. They were occasionally joined by a fifth, unnamed person on pedal steel guitar).

The first part of the show relied heavily on the first album, Vivadixie... In fact, they opened with an amazing rendition of Spirit Ditch. Unfortunately, my favorite record, It's A Wonderful Life was neglected a little (they did play Apple Bed and Eyepennies, though). Two encores. The first ended with Homecoming Queen, which would have made for a nice, bookended concert. The second one song encore was Shade and Honey, not a bad song, but certainly a bit of a weak end. Oh well.

It seemed to me that the slower, less rockin' songs held together better in a live setting. Not that the rockers were bad, they just seemed to lose some of the vitality they possess in the recorded versions.

Yep, looking forward to the show at the Wonder Ballroom on Tuesday.

Oh, photo credit (shh... without permission) : Magnet

N. Lombard Taco Taste Test, pt. 1

2007-02-10T06:57:00.000-08:00

My friend, the ADC, has decided to eat at all the taquerias on N. Lombard over the course of the next year. I'm trying (with little luck thus far) to convince her to try them all over the course of a week or two, and hopefully expand it to all of north Portland.

Last weekend, we grabbed waffles and coffee at the Flavour Spot (I'll try and post more on that later), and drove all the way up Lombard, way past St. Johns, up to Terminal 4 and beyond. Then, we turned around and drove back, taking copious notes on every taqueria we came across. Address, hours, etc. I'm pushing to include one that is actually on Portland Hwy (which is what Lombard turns into)...

Anyway, here is the preliminary map.

If you have any suggestions for judging criteria, I'd love to hear them. Watch this space for future reports...

PS - Yes, I know Google has misspelled Javier's Taco Shop. Unfortunate, but not my fault.

Oregon Trail Sourdough Culture

2007-02-10T06:53:00.000-08:00

I just ran across this on Boing Boing while waiting in the airport Saturday morning. I've never been able to bake a decent loaf of bread, but I'm thinking about gettin' me some.

Which one are you??

2007-02-06T07:41:00.000-08:00

Great post from Indexed, tracked down via Boing Boing, who has this to say...

"If you arrange the 7 Deadly Sins around a heptagon label them A-G, and connect each Sin to the others, you get 21 secondary sins. For instance Sloth + Pride = Slackers."

Short Ribs

2007-02-03T17:19:00.000-08:00

CC had the idea to start up Sunday Supper, and I of course took the idea and ran with it. What you’ll see below is a mercifully pared back version of what I had originally envisioned…

But first, the guest list. The gardener and the barrister, who I don’t see nearly enough, agreed to join us. CC was of course in attendance, and my good friend NT also made it over.

CC and I spent the better part of the day shopping, prepping, drinking a little wine, and listening to music. We were, however, no where near ready in time. Last minute details to finish up, you know, frying up pancetta for a crispy soup topping, grating cheese for the polenta, things like that… Luckily, the gardener was up for helping us set the table.

Also, check out my new salt setup... Cyprus black salt, coarse French grey salt, Redmond Utah sea salt, and Hawaiian Alea red salt...

So, here’s the meal, laid out course by course:

To start, n/v A. Soutiran Grand Cru Brut (100%) – Oh, the percents. These will refer to how much of said wine was consumed. Sort of a guide to how much the group liked this or that particular bottle. Bubbles are fully consumed.

Course 1 - Celery Root Bisque. I used veggie stock in place of the water that was called for. I’d found the water version, well, watery, and wanted it to have more flavor. I think I’ll make my own celery stock next time. Bisque was good, good texture and flavor, but not celery-y enough in my opinion. The crispy pancetta topping was really great, though!

2005 Dom. De Triennes Viognier “ Sainte Fleur” VdP du Var (80%)
2003 Francois Villard Condrieu De Poncins (50%, criminal! This wine was great)
2002 Marc Tempe Pinot Blanc “Priegal” (20%, this was going through a secondary fermentation, and was a little spritzy, but still tasted good)

Course 2 – Braised Short Ribs with Parsnips and Bacon. I had intended to write this up earlier so I wouldn’t forget too much about the meal, but here it is, a week later, and I’ve forgotten plenty.

We roast the short ribs in the oven, drain fat, deglaze roasting pan, add all to the Dutch oven, add a bottle of Zinfandel, some parsnips (my first experience with them, nicely spicy, cloves and allspice, very cool vegetable, this 'parsnip'), and bacon. We served this up with a little creamy parmesan polenta and some broccoli rabe.

2001 Dom. Ott Bandol Rouge (80%, a pretty rare bottle. Too young, even when decanted)
2000 Dunham Syrah (30%, NT claims this tastes of Malibu, all coconut and vanilla, like the overly oaked wine it is)
2000 La Cave des Vignerons de Chusclan CdRV Chusclan “Les Monticaults” (100%, perhaps the winning red wine. We thought it might have been over the hill, but it was soulful and satisfying)

Course 3 – Cheeses. Again, I should have written down the amazing selections CC picked from Pastaworks, but I didn’t. Maybe she can enlighten us with a comment? Anyway, there were amazing cheeses, pecans, hazelnuts, dried cherries, and currants. Served with an amazing 2003 Champlou Vouvray Trie de Vendage “CC” (100%, a sweet Vouvray in a 500 ml btl, fabulous!)

Course 4 - Chocolate Espresso Truffles, Sea Salt Caramels, and Candied Citron. We serve this up with a little cup of French press coffee (COE, Columbia Finca el Placer).

At the end, we all sat back, completely full and satisfied.

Pizza and Beer

2007-01-20T10:45:00.000-08:00

Friday night. I'm exhausted. Long week at work. What I want is a little comfort. Pizza and beer pop into my head, and it seems so right.

On the way home, I swing into New Seasons to pick up some supplies. Lagunitas IPA, pizza crust dough, some fresh mozzarella, spicy Italian sausage, a bulb of fennel, and a little Pastaworks marinara. Oh, and a cucumber for a little salad. It ends up being a pretty full bag of food.

So, once I get home and get the mail, I put on some music. My friend J.R. has recommended 2 bands for me to check out, The Hold Steady and The Walkmen. I like the Walkmen better, and put them on to cook to. To me, the sound a little like French Kicks, but good...

I preheat the oven, put the sausage in a pan to cook, and get to chopping. I'm tempted to pull out the mandolin to cut the fennel, but I still fear this tool after a mishap years ago that left me, at least temporarily, without a fingerprint on my right index finger... I end up with my big, trusty chef's knife instead. I don't get the fennel as thin as I'd like, but I think it'll be good enough.

Next, I slice up the two balls of mozz I have. I wonder if this is going to yield to much cheese, but it ends up being just right.

Finally, I knead and roll out the dough on my lightly floured counter. I pull out the oven rack (which is supporting the pizza stone) and assemble. Crust, light saucing, mozz all over, thinly sliced fennel, Italian sausage, salt, pepper, and oregano.

I put the whole thing back into the oven, and 15 min later, I have a tasty little pizza.

I've been debating buying a peel for making pizzas. Any one have experience with these at home? Is it worth it? I find that by dressing the pizza on the stone, the crust gets a little hard on the bottom before the top is crisp and the cheese in melted.

I eat the pie with a few beers and watch the excellent, riveting documentary Unknown White Male.

All in all, a nice evening.

"Cleaner, healthier, cheaper and kinder."

2007-01-14T09:27:00.000-08:00

And creepy.... Sounds like a Radiohead song...

Check out the article "Will the Petri dish put Daisy out to grass?" from the Times Online.

SF Road Trip pt. 3 - Sunday in the city

2007-01-13T19:00:00.000-08:00

Cole Coffee

I have this habit of planning a meal or two ahead. You know, asking what is for breakfast tomorrow before we begin dinner tonight…

Before we are served at Chez Panisse, -M- and I ask the experts where we should get coffee in the morning. We briefly consider both Blue Bottle and Ritual, but then rule them out, as we are in Berkeley and they are in the city (you know, San Fran). J finally settles on Cole Coffee, a joint not too far from where we are staying. Before the end of the night, we get directions.

The next morning, we rise and hit the road. Cole Coffee is right where it’s supposed to be. We park and head inside. I had been told that they brew to order. Each cup of coffee ground and brewed as you watch. This isn’t the fancy machine they have down at Stumptown on Belmont, just good, old-fashioned drip. They’ve put together this contraption that can hold 6 or so cups, and dangling above, a filter holder. When the drips stop, you grab your cup and enjoy.

-M- had soy latte and a cinnamon twist. I had coffee. Very dark and rich, just how I like it. It was a little full, so I couldn’t put as much half and half as I wanted into it, but I tried (so now it was WAY too full, and began to drip on my hand from under the lid).

Ferry Market

-M- wants me to see the Ferry Market. We go to CC’s favorite chocolatier, Recchiuti, as well as Boulettes Larder, where I pick up some Japanese salt with gold flecks. Luckily we are there before the crowds show up. Things are just beginning to open, and we have no problem browsing leisurely.

La Palma

After the market, we rendezvous with S and J. We are getting a driving tour of the city. -M- is looking for ‘hoods for apartments.

Lunchtime arrives, and we head to the mission district for tacos. S knows of a great little place, La Palma, which bills itself as a ‘Mexica-tessen.’ More of a market with a deli in back. Piñatas line the ceiling.

They naturally make their own tortillas here. We get some tacos, both pollo and carnitas, and a cheese pupusa . Not bad: tasty, but not spectacular. We eat right outside on the street corner.

To be honest, I was more impressed with their lard, tortillas, salsas and various grains and masas than I was with the food itself. I almost bought a tortilla press…

Good Luck Dim Sum

I still don’t quite get dim sum. –M- and I attempted it in LA. S swears by this place Good Luck Dim Sum. We get seamed BBQ pork bao, pork shu mai (which were greasy but good) Chinese chives, and a couple of fishy items as well.

We get them to go, and take a cool ride through the Presidio. We park and eat right on the bay, under the Golden Gate, where Kim Novak, playing Madeline in Vertigo, leapt into the water.

Blue Bottle Coffee

I’d found the place while doing some research. I was trying to track down the best coffee in SF, as -M- wouldn’t be able to get to Stumptown quite as often as she used to. Both Ritual and Blue Bottle were the two that kept popping up.

The tour continues to Hayes Valley, a nifty collection of shops and a park full of utopic hula hoopers. Stuck in an ally past the homeless and numerous drug deals, a line ran out the garage door of a fairly nondescript and unmarked coffee shop… The smell was fantastic. Again with the individual drip coffee, I’m seeing this everywhere. We want to get some beans for Margo’s place, but they refuse to grind, so we go away with just a cup for me. Again, dark and tasty. I prefer this to Cole, but the attitude has totally put -M- off.

Pasta Shop

We’re tired after a long day of driving. We hit the 4th Street shopping area of Berkeley to pick up a few wine glasses, dish towels, and the like for -M-‘s temporary place of residence.

We decide that our last night in SF will be spent at home. We get salami and cheese, some bread from Acme, and a few other tasty treats (Cyprus black flake salt, cacao nibs) that actually are not for dinner. We are unimpressed with the produce and wine selection (we really want clementines, and theirs leave a lot to be desired). The store reminds me a little of Pastwaorks and Elephants Deli combined, although, in my opinion, not as cool as either of these Portland institutions. Finnochiona, Genoa, and mild coppa. St. George and a fresh goat cheese with herbs.

Tacubaya

As we are checking out of the Pasta Shop, the aroma hits us. The unmistakable smell of little tacos and corn tortillas. Should we stop in for a few? Of course!

We get a carnitas and an asada taco, as well as a little plate of perfect chips and so so salsa. Also, a litlle limonada. Very satisfying. We knew we were in for a treat when we spotted carnitas on a spit with a chunk of pineapple melting over the top.

Whole Foods

Yeah, not a SF institution, but we needed a bottle of wine (we got a 2004 Tempier Bandol) and a little fruit (a couple of clementines) for diner. Also, a couple bottles of water. We head back to the house, get Mr. Kitty some kibble, and chill. Later, we eat the spoils of the day and watch the latest episode of Top Chef on -M-‘s iPod (all the while chiding Tom Calicchio as he chides the contestants. His food at CraftSteak in Las Vegas was some of the most disappointing food I ate last year).

The evening was simple and plain, but it was very satisfying, and true to our style (and besides, after the drive, late dinner, and all day in the city, we needed a low key evening).

Peet’s

I really wanted to head back out to Cole Coffee this morning, but time just wouldn’t allow it. We get up a bit late, and leave the house even later. Luckily, the highways are fairly clear and we make it to OAK in plenty of time. I check in at the airport, and amazingly, I get an A boarding pass for my flight on Southwest. As I walk to the gate, I pass by numerous Starbucks. I’m hoping that there is another option up the terminal, and sure enough, there is a Peet’s. Not great, but still miles better that the over-roasted (oft burnt) over extracted sludge Starbucks pumps out. I also pick up a little decongestant and a bottle of Fiji water.

And with that, I’m on my way back to rainy, cold PDX. Thanks, -M-, for a fantastic trip.

SF Road Trip pt. 2 - Chez Panissse

2007-01-13T10:32:00.000-08:00

We FINALLY pull in to Berkeley. We are a bit late, so -M-‘s friends pick us up (giving us time to change and get freshened up a little from 11 hours in the car). After a surprisingly short car ride, we get to Chez Panissse.

One of -M-‘s friends works there, so we sneak into a super secret parking area and head inside. Everyone greets us, and we are shown to our booth in the café upstairs. While we are looking at the menu, we get a few glasses of wine. I got the 2006 Mulderbosch Sauvignon Blanc, S gets 05 Colle Stefano Verdicchio di Matelica, -M- and J both have the 2005 Tempier Bandol rose.

We get a bunch of apps to start with, all to share. All are well crafted, hyper local, and delicious. Here’s the rundown:

Bread from Acme bakery in SF
Pizzetta with nettles and ricotta salata
House-cured bresaola with rocket, new oil, and Parmesan
Baked Sonoma goat cheese with garden lettuces
And, one other with fish. I didn’t partake, so I’ll not list it here.

S brought a bottle of 2004 Robert Sinskey Pinot Noir which we enjoyed with the meal. I still took a long and carefully glance over the wine list. Well chosen, priced right, and nicely organized…

We all agree to get what we want entrée wise, but promise to share. S and I both get the ‘grilled heritage pork chop with crispy potatoes and frisee and apple salad.’ -M- gets the ‘braised Marin Sun Farms short ribs with kale and cardoon crostini and anchovy-green garlic salsa verde.’ J gets the ‘pan fried Hoffman Farm chicken breast with artichokes, mint, pine nuts, and chopped egg.’

Bites of chicken, pork, and beef cross the table as we all take turns tasting each others’ dishes. I think we agreed that the chicken topped the bill. My second favorite was the short ribs. My entrée was my least favorite (although still pretty damn good).

Desserts we handled in similar fashion. We ordered up a number of dishes and shared. Here’s the list…

Meyer lemon profiteroles with caramel sauce and kirsch cream
Passion fruit ice cream with orange confit and pizzelle cookies
A bowl of Fairview Gardens clementines and Barhi dates
Mocha custard with bittersweet chocolate curls and crème Chantilly

Oh, and of course Moscato d’Asti.

Of the bunch, my pick was the Meyer lemon profiteroles. Absolutely stunning.

On the way out of the dining room, I spy a dessert I wish we had gotten, the ‘red and white wine-poached pear tart.’ This would have been served with vanilla ice cream. Sounds a little plain-Jane, but it look gorgeous…

On our way back to the car, S gives us a tour of the restaurant, the kitchens, wine cellar, cheese locker, the drying/curing meats, whole pigs hung in the walk in. Everything was just as I had imagined.

A truly lovely evening I won’t soon forget.

Blueplate Lunch Counter and Soda Fountain

2007-01-12T18:41:00.000-08:00

I met S at the (apparently) hard to find Blueplate Lunch Counter and Soda Fountain (308 SW Washington). This is Jeffery Reiter's (ex-Park Kitchen) little lunch destination. There is the counter (where we sat) and an additional half dozen or so tables.

The food is simple but delicious. They offer a mere handful of items each day. Each dish prepared while you wait. And, they've got an honest to god soda fountain. They make sodas to order.

S and I both get the French Dip. Jeff cut the roast beef by hand, piled it lovingly onto a grilled roll, an served it up with jus and a side of mashed potatoes and gravy.

-M- was SO right, I should have been here way before now. A true gem.

SF Road Trip pt. 1 - On The Road

2007-01-11T21:02:00.000-08:00

Albina Press

We hit the road early, 6:30 AM. As it turns out, the coffee shop that opens earliest is also the best (and luckily not too far from my house), Albina Press. I run in for coffee while -M- hangs out in the car with Mr. Kitty. I order up a medium double soy latte and a scone for -M- and a large coffee for myself.

Fittingly enough, they are playing Mulatu Astatqé. You know, the music in the road movie Broken Flowers? We just happen to be on a road trip today. It’s also something I discovered from -M- on our first date between dinner at Noble Rot and the Found show at Holocene.

In-n-Out

We planned out trip so that we’d hit Redding, CA around lunchtime. Redding, of course, is the northernmost outpost of In-N-Out Burger. We’re a bit behind schedule and don’t get into Redding until 2:15 or so. We also miss the exit. I assumed there would be signs, or that it’d be clearly visible from I-5. No luck. We drive all the way through Redding without finding our destination. Do we turn around or keep going? My thinking is that we have to eat, and Wendy’s and Pizza Hut just aren’t going to do the trick. -M- called 411 and got the number for In-N-Out customer service. They guide us back into Redding, to the right exit, and through a maze of strip malls to the promised land that is In-N-Oout. My oh my is the line long!

The last time I had In-N-Out was in Los Angeles. I ordered a basic cheese burger. I left a little disappointed. Apparently I completely blew it. The menu behind the counter is so vague and simple: little did I know there was another ‘secret’ menu out there for the ordering…

This time, I went in more prepared (thanks in part to both -M- and the Guilty Carnivore). I order up a double double animal style, fries well, and a vanilla shake. -M- gets a double double protein style with grilled onions and no tomato, fries also well, and a coke. [Click here for a link to Wikipedia’s article on the ‘secret menu’]

Since Mr. Kitty is in the car with us, we decide to get drive through and eat in the car. After we eat, we make a trash dump, rearrange the car and hit the road. 3 more hours to San Fran, and 4.5 hours ‘till our reservations at Chez Panisse!

-M-'s Last Dinner in Portland

2007-01-11T07:34:00.000-08:00

For –M-‘s last meal in Portland, she picks Le Pigeon, one of our all time favorite spots in Portland, hell, one of our favorite spots anywhere. On the way over, we drop some boxes off with a fellow Reedie who has agreed to carry them down to SF for –M-, whose car is way to full to fit anything else into.

We plan to get there at around 7. I am a little worried, you know, the most popular dinner hour, the fact the they are always packed, it’s a Friday night, and they were just written up in Bon Appetite. We walk in and they are, in fact, packed. (this is a far cry from my birthday dinner back in August shortly after their opening, when we had no problems getting a seat, which is actually a good thing. Gabe and his food deserve all the recognition they are getting, and then some). Tonight, the wait for a two top is 2 hours. We have no option; we have to eat there. It is –M-‘s last night in town, after all.

Gabe, Erik, Bryan, and Leif wish us happy new year as we walk in. They’ve expanded seating as much as they can (it is a small space, after all), and totally revamped the menu for the new year (only two old menu items remain, the beef cheeks and the cornbread dessert).

They take our cell number and will call us when our seats are ready. We walk down to Rontoms for a drink while we wait. We are hungry so we get an order of deviled eggs and an order of Swedish meatballs along with my terminal Gravity IPA and –M-‘s Mai Thai.

We settle up and head over the Ozone to kill more time by browse CDs. We’re about to walk in when –M-‘s phone rings. Dinner time!

We take our seats at the Chef’s counter. M wants the beet/meyer lemon slaw as a starter, and gets talked into oysters as well. They are beautiful together. The beet juice that spills onto the rock salt turns a lovely scarlet color.

I get a frisee salad with pine nuts and cheddar. Dressing is a little strong, but overall, very tasty.

We order up a bottle of 2004 Jasmin Cote Rotie. I fear it may be a bit young, but we are pleasantly surprised. The wine is supple and elegant, with just enough funk and fruit. Very nice.

For the main course, -M- gets the beef cheek Bourguignonne with crispy potato and glazed vegetables and I get Grilled Strawberry Mountain flat iron steak with brandied peppercorn butter, wilted spinach and garlic roasted potatoes.

Cheeks are one of M’s favorite cuts of meat [Last minute correction, she says they are UNDOUBTEDLY her MOST FAVORITE cut of ALL TIME]. She has gotten this dish the last 2, maybe 3 times we’ve been to Pigeon. As mentioned above, this is one of two old menu items left after the new year, perhaps due to it’s mention in Bon Appetite. At any rate, it lives up to the press description ‘so tender they’ll fall apart with a good hard stare.” -M- makes several comments about the melted collagen, and then makes sure that I know I will never find anyone else with such a love a collagen. She’s probably right.

Although they recommend medium rare for the steak, I have it cooked medium; it arrives absolutely perfect. The steak itself (tender and juicy) sits atop a bed of wilted spinach and potatoes. Atop the steak, a lovely pat of pepper butter. I watch Gabe melt it a little with a blowtorch. It’s a little showy, but it certainly does the trick.

I need to backtrack a little here…

As we are about to order our main courses, we hear Bryan (-M-‘s favorite server of all time) tell a table they are out of the cornbread dessert that we have come to know and love. We pull him aside and tell him that we MUST have this dessert. He assures us there is more in the oven.

Jump forward again…

When we are ready for something sweet, the cornbread is done. We get both this and the crème brulee with espresso pot au crème. A couple glasses of Moscato d’Asti make dessert compete. (We get Moscato EVERY time we are here, and they know it; so much so that both Bryan and Leif make sure to let us know they have switched from Elio Perrone to Vietti).

Dessert is lovely, and as usual, the apricot cornbread with bacon and maple ice cream wins out. This is the other item that was held over from last year (again, it was mentioned in the BA article).

On our way out, everyone wishes us well, and says a bittersweet farewell to M, whom they make promise she will stop back in whenever she is back in PDX.

Next up, our road trip to San Fran...

Screen Door - 12/27/06

2006-12-30T18:28:00.000-08:00

Yes, yes. I know, faithful reader. You’ve checked back, week after week, hoping for a new post. I’ve let you down. This trend is about to change…

Last night, -M- and I went back to Screen Door. You see, -M- is moving to San Francisco VERY soon (like in a week), and she had a list of spots she wanted, needed to eat at before she left. The last spot on the list was Screen Door (other notables included Pok Pok/Whiskey Soda, Le Pigeon, Caffe Mingo, and Apizza Scholls).

We had been to the Screen Door once, a few months back, and really enjoyed it. We sat at the bar and had a good chat with David, the owner, about food, music, all sorts of things. Upon our return, we take seats at the bar again (I love eating at the bar), and sure enough, David is there. I am fairly sure he’ll have no idea who we are, but he does. He even remembers my drink, the Moscow Mule.

Let’s start with the drinks. -M- and I both get the mule. Screen Door has this fantastic, slightly sweet ginger puree (they source it from Aloha Juice in SE Portland). Ingredients include only ginger, cane sugar, and water. Honestly, this is the best mule I have tasted anywhere outside my own home (-M- actually prefers the Screen Door’s version, mine is too gingery, she thinks). Mmmm. Nice work, David!

We start with Hush Puppies, fried oysters, and a side of grits (-M- has never had grits before). The hush puppies are delish. Minced green onions and whole corn kernels dot the inside. There is a little ramekin of the tastiest mustard sauce ever. And, the salt is perfect. So nice!

I generally like grits, and these do not disappoint. They arrive with a little grated white cheddar on top. I add a little salt, and eat most of the bowl myself. Here’s -M-‘s take on grits… “I like these. Innocuous, comforting. Like a down blanket made of carbs with cheese on top.”

And, since I detest seafood, I didn’t taste the oysters. Again, here’s what -M- has to say… “Fantastic, crispy crunchy layer of breading that gives way to a burst of briny, meaty goodness. Mmm”

Main courses… -M- gets the fried chicken (also what she got last time). This time, she swears she will not overlook the side of smoked tasso gravy. This is some tasty fried chicken. Crisp on the outside, super moist and juicy on the inside. Served with a side of wilted greens. -M- is very happy.

I get the burger. I’d been craving a burger all day. It’s a pretty standard burger, cheddar, onion, lettuce, tomato, and the like. A side of tasty fries completes the meal.

We skip dessert, we are both super full.

If you haven’t gotten over to the screen door yet, you should make the trip. Sit at the bar, order up a Moscow Mule from David, and enjoy!

New Music

2006-11-05T10:32:00.000-08:00

So, here are the highlights of the past 3 months (Sept 30 to Nov 7, 2006) of music acquisition.

Okkervil River - "Black Sheep Boy" and "Black Sheep Boy Appendix"
Found these folks thanks to fellow blogger The Guilty Carnivore after posting my last music round-up. I should do more background research, but it's really about the music, right? I feel like there is some Austin TX connection. Heartbreaking music, beautiful, passionate, amazing. The Appendix are songs that wouldn't quite fit on the original release, but were too good to cast off to oblivion.

Mulatu Astatqe - "Ethiopiques Vol. 4: Ethio Jazz & Musique Instrumentale 1969-1974"
Thanks to -M- for this one. Super smooth, slightly scratchy, tripped out jazz. Apparently used in a recent Jim Jarmusch film that I have yet to see. Instrumental bliss.

The Evens - "The Evens" and "Get Evens"
A little find thanks to DS, a co-worker. The Evens are Ian MacKaye from Fugazi (vocals & baritone guitar) and Amy Farina from The Warmers (vocals & drums). Their 1st, self-titled record came out in March of 2005. The 2nd, new album was released just last week. Although I am still in the initial listening stages, I've gotta say I prefer the 1st album, but the are both pretty damn good. [Correction, listening to "Get Evens" right now. Good, but in no way holds a candle to "The Evens." ]

Guided by Voices - "Alien Lanes"
Evening out with some friends, playing some (unfairly judged, in my opinion) pub trivia. During one of the breaks in the 'action,' this amazing, scratchy, poorly recored rock comes blaring out of the speakers. It sounded more like a friend's crappy 4 track demos than an actual release in terms of recording quality. But the songs! Short little burst of some of the most perfect pop/rock I've heard in quite some time (and by short, I mean 1 to 2 minutes per song). I finally asked what was on, and it was GBV's Alien Lanes. I picked it up from e-music and have loved it ever since.

Sparklehorse - "Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly Of A Mountain"
A new Sparklehorse album is always reason to celebrate. Notoriously reclusive Mark Linkous finally emerges again. His last full length, "It's A Wonderful Life," is still one of my top 10 records of all time. This one is good, but feels like it's comprised of leftovers from the last release (partially due to the fact that one track is a previously released b-side and one actually is a leftover). At any rate, the songs are good, and the overall feel to the album is much like "Wonderful." Guest musicians include Dangermouse, Tom Waits, and the Flaming Lips' Steven Drozd.

Tommy Guerrero - "From the Soil to the Soul"
By my count, Guerrero's 4th solo full length. This picks up right where Guerrero left off on Soul Food Taqueria; mellow, mostly instrumental tracks that are at once both warm and slightly aggressive. I really dig this guy. He gets next to no press or recognition, which is criminal. Check him out.

Destroyer - "Thief"
I picked up three Destroyer albums recently, "We'll Build Them a Golden Bridge," "City of Daughters," and "Thief." The first 2, including the LONG out of print "...Golden Bridge" don't do a whole lot for me. They're most just Dan Bejar recoding on a 4 track. Not a bad thing, but I don't think they really show Destroyer's brilliance. 'Thief" on the other hand is great. Released in back in 2000, it is the first of a trio of albums I consider Destroyer's best. I love "Rubies' (their latest), but it's no match for "Thief" (2000), "Streethawk: A Seduction" (2001), or 'This Night" (2002). [For the fans out there, the CBC has a 5 song Destroyer studio performance from earlier this year.]

Anyhow, those are my latest picks. Enjoy...

Chablis

2006-10-28T08:32:00.000-07:00

I haven't written about a 'supplier dinner' in a while. Last week's is certainly worthy of a write up.

In town, Bernard Raveneau and Jean Montanet from Chablis, France.

We head to Paley's and proceed to have one of the finest meals I have ever eaten. Words will not do this meal justice, so I'm just going to list off the wines and courses.

WINES:
1990 Raveneau Chablis Gr. Cru Clos
1990 Lasalle Rose Champagne
1990 Quintarelli Alzero Cabernet Franc
1981 Vina Tondonia Rioja Blanc
1982 Italian Red (I want to say Barbaresco)
1994 Picolit (don't recall the producer)
???? Some outrageous sherried Italian delight
199? Franciacorta Cuvée Annamaria Clementi

COURSES:
Liver and Foie Gras Mousse
Pate
Sweetbreads
Oysters
Lamb's Tounge Salad with Chantrelles
Bacon wrapped scallop with celeriac puree and caviar
Squab with Foie Gras
Rabbit with carrots and fennel
Roasted pork with tounge and cheeks
Cheese plate with 4 killer cheeses
Almond chocolate torte

Jealous much?

Not Dead

2006-10-27T08:20:00.000-07:00

OK, so I know what you all have been thinking... "Where the hell is T? Is he dead?" Answers are "I've been very busy" and "no."

I'm working on LA Part 2 where -M- and I eat some of the most heavenly tacos on the planet.

I'm also working on the last 3 months of music (I'll narrow it down to the things I'm digging, not everything I've added). Here's a preview: thanks to Guilty Carnivore, I checked out Okerville River. Their latest full length "Black Sheep Boy" is simply amazing.

At any rate, I'm not dead, and there will be more. Check back soon.

Coast Weekend pt 2

2006-09-24T08:50:00.000-07:00

Dinner time at the coast...

M and I hit New Seasons on the way out of to town to stock up on some provisions. The house we are staying at has a grill, and she wanted grilled flank steak. Who was I to refuse? She marinates this steak in a secret family marinate recipe (of which all I can divulge is a lot of garlic). Oh, and we pop the cork on tonight's wine to let it breathe, a lovely 1999 Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

We brought up a few sprigs of rosemary, but it is clear we didn't get enough. Luckily, while getting glasses of wine (Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Grigio) and a pre-meal snack at Vino Manzanita (just around the corner) our anti-pasta plate arrived with a few sprigs as garnish. We sneak them back to the house for the potatoes.

M prepares the sides (roasted potatoes with rosemary, garlic, salt, pepper and oil) and green beans, raw at my request, with lemon wedges and salt.

Meanwhile, I run to the nearest gas station to fill the propane tank. Yeah, yeah, I know, propane is no good, but you have to work with what you've got. I get back and re-assemble to grill, light it, and get it cleaned and ready. When the potatoes are 15 minutes away, I throw the meat on the grill, 5 minutes per side and 5 minutes to rest before cutting.

We sit down with some good music on the iPod (M chose Quantic), a great bottle of wine, and some killer food.

After, we put on a DVD of Arrested Development and eat the hell out of some chocolates from Sahagun (truffles included lavender, jasmine, rose, the 'morning pill' with espresso, and a liquidy caramel centered sea salt one. Oh, and some bark with puffed corn, nuts, chiles, and sea salt). Damn!

Perfect end to a perfect day.

Coast Weekend pt 1

2006-09-23T09:17:00.000-07:00

M and I are at the coast this weekend. We got a bit of a late start, and had snacks in the car last night on the way out, finally arriving at 10 or so. Got into the house, and promptly fell asleep after a long and stressful work week.

This morning, we woke up and took a walk to the ocean. On the way back to the house, we stopped at Bread and Ocean to pick up a bottle of bubbly Lurisia and a brioche with dark chocolate, orange, and walnuts.

Back at the house, we boil up a kettle of water and make Stumptown's Columbia La Virginia in my French Press. I'd say a good first meal on our coast trip. Watch for more...

BONUS FEATURES:
#1 - Yep, that's an electric burner on the stove in the first photo. Everything else was perfect. And really, this wasn't a huge deal, water just took a bit longer to boil that I'm used to.

#2 - A photo of my camera falling into food as I am trying to take a picture. This happens more than I'd like to admit, usually it's not caught on film (or, I guess a digital camera's flash card).

Trip to LA - Part 1

2006-09-14T12:43:00.000-07:00

So, little weekend trip to LA with M.

We leave Friday afternoon. Pick up sandwiches at New Season on the way to the airport. Running VERY late, and I begin to panic a little as we hit traffic and I-5 and I-84. We make it in time to inhale our sandwiches before boarding the plane. Apparently, a little mayo and mustard on a sandwich can still make it through security. I had roast beef and swiss on sour dough. M had turkey and swiss on sour dough.

We get into LA, and catch a cab to get M's mom's car. Then, over to Father's Office for a little snack. Nice beer selection. We get fries. They come in a cute little shopping cart. Here's a photo someone else took. These are sweet potato. We go the plain ones. Thinner and crisper, just the way I like 'em. Served with garlic herb aioli. These guys don't have ketchup (don't even ask), but you can apparently bring your own, if you are thinking ahead (and if the TSA would let you carry on tomato based liquids).

Somewhat satiated, we head to M's mom's place to unpack and relax a bit. Although we only made coffee and bagels in the kitchen, I've put a few photos here 'cause I like it so much (especially the labeling).

We pick up M's mom, and meet G at Le Petit Bistro. We get a 375 ml bottle of some tasty little 2001 Bordeaux. I start with celery soup while M gets endive salad with candied walnuts and hearts of palm. Salad was great, reports M. I wish the soup had more celery essence. As for the main course, we get a lot of [insert name of meat here] frites. I get what's listed as baby lamb chops and frites (aren't all lambs babies?). They are a little undercooked for my taste. M gets roasted chicken and frites, perfect. M's mom gets steak frites, again, for me a little underdone. G gets a Moroccan roasted halibut with harissa. All in all, good, but not exceptional. If nothing else, certainly filling and satisfying. I am tired and full, and nap a little on the way home.

Saturday AM, we have coffee and bagels. We brought Stumptown's Columbia La Virginia down to share, and onion bagels (from Vicente Foods) with Pulgra salted butter.

Lunch. Langer's Deli. Right across from MacArthur Park. This is the sandwich I'd been hearing about for months. Juicy hot pastrami (by their definition, "HOT PASTRAMI is a select cut of beef, sugar-cured and seasoned as corned beef, then slowly smoked for tenderness and tantalizing taste and flavor, then covered with choice and costly spices."). It's good, but it is still (in my opinion) just a sandwich. Pastrami, swiss, slaw, and Russian dressing on rye. M gets and egg cream (which has no egg and no cream, can someone please explain this to me?), and I get Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray (celery) soda. We also get a side of pickled tomatoes, crisp and vinegary. M is a little disappointed that the 'hot' pastrami is merely warm, not nearly hot enough to melt the swiss. We get a loaf of rye to take with us (it's sitting in my freezer right now).

I get a nice driving tour of the City of Angels. We make a brief stop into Amobea Music (I'm trying to track down Destroyer's "Theives," no dice here), buy some shoes, and the head to my pals Mike and Debbie's place.

I haven't seem Mike for a year and half, and I haven't seen Debbie for like 5 years. And, I'd never met their adorable son Ben. Ever. They know of a little Oaxacan place within walking distance. M and I are a little skeptical, as this place is in a strip mall. Boy were we wrong. The food was AMAZING!

To start, we get 3 kinds of tamales: tamal de mole (leaf wrapped tamale with chicken and black mole sauce), tamal de salsa (chicken with mint salsa, corn husk wrapped), and tamal de rajas (veggies and cheese, also cork husk wrapped).

Main courses include mole negro (chicken with black mole sauce made from 30+ spices, peppers, chocolate, and seeds), chilaquiles (tortillas in a tomato sauce with chicken and cheese), enfrijoladas con tazajo (same as chilaquiles, except with a black bean sauce in place of the tomato sauce), and ceviche (which is quite spicy). Ben gets a grilled cheese and chicken quesadilla.

I wish I had gotten photos of the food, the place, anything. I can't seem to track down any images save the generic pic of mole on citysearch. If you are in LA, you should check this place out.

And that ends days one and two of my LA adventure. Part 2 of the report (days three and four) should appear here soon...

POK POK RETURNS!!

2006-09-12T10:31:00.000-07:00

Yep. They re-opened the stand yesterday, the 11th of September. And yep, I was there. The food was as tasty as ever. I really missed it.

I got my usual, an order of Khao Man Som Tam (Papaya Pok Pok served with steamed coconut rice, sweet shredded pork and fried shallots) and an order of Muu Sateh (pork loin skewers marinated in coconut milk and turmeric, grilled over charcoal and served with cucumber relish, peanut sauce and grilled bread). Oh, and to wash it down, Cha Manao (Thai iced tea with fresh lime juice). YUM!

Watch this space, hopefully I'll be able to compose a post about my eating adventures in LA with the lovely M.

Oh, the photo? It's the first thing that showed up when I googled Pok Pok looking for images. It was too funny to pass up.

Pig's Tail at Le Pigeon

2006-09-02T09:45:00.000-07:00

M and I headed back to Le Pigeon (yep, third time this week, we LOVE it there). We get a half liter of some southern French rose (delightful).

M orders up the burger (which I had last week). It still looks fantastic, with it's heirloom tomato, slaw, and pickled onion garnishes. Mmmm. Instead of the potatoes, M gets a little salad. Cornichons, capers, and the like. Very nice.

I'm not terribly hungry, so I order up the pig's tail. Yep, sounds crazy, but everyone there said it was great, Gabriel, Leif, the whole crew. It came with the same salad M got with the burger. I was warned, but also ordered the buttermilk dressed mixed greens too. It ended up being an excess of lettuce. So, the pig's tail was breaded and then pan fried in butter. The base (the part that would have been nearest to the pig's body) was very fatty, but as I got toward the tip, less fat and more meat. The skin was there too. It was an amazingly tasty gelatinous pile of food. Gabriel said I should just dig in to it with my hands, and he was right. I tore the segments apart, vertebrae by tiny vertebrae, and nibbled all the goodness off each piece.

For dessert, we got our fave, the apricot honey cornbread with bacon and maple ice cream. We also tried that night's new dessert, the peach upside down cake. Very good, but it was no match for the cornbread. We had a 375 ml of Moscato d'Asti as well.

Again, a truly fantastic meal. If you haven't been, do yourself a favor and check it out.

Birthday Weekend Eats

2006-08-28T09:13:00.000-07:00

My birthday was Friday. Needless to say, I ate a lot of good food over the weekend.

Friday, Lunch - 'Za at the office

We ordered up 2 large Hot Lips pizzas (one was cheese, for the vegetarians, the other was their tasty housmade pepperoni for the meat eaters). For wines, we had:

1990 Bert Simon Serrig Wurtzberg Riesling Auslese
1992 Araujo Cabernet Sauvignon "Eisele Vineyard"
1997 Rocca di Castagnoli Chianti Classico
1998 V. Girardin Pommard "Clos des Lambots"
1998 V. Girardin Gevrey-Chambertin "Les Champeaux" (corked)
1998 Cantina del Pino Barbaresco "Ovello"
1999 McKinlay Pinot Noir "Special Selection"
2001 Anne Gros Vosne-Romanee "Les Barreaux" (corked)

Friday, Dinner - Le Pigeon

New place in town. I'd been hearing good things. Old sous chef at Gotham. Etc etc. Let's just cut to the chase, this was one of the best meals I'd had out in some time. Here's the rundown of what my dining companions and I shared...

Mixed green salad with a lovely buttermilk dressing
Foie Gras
Flat Iron Steak with Marrow Crostini
Squab with duck fat potatoes
Burger (w/ pickled onions and slaw), also with duck fat potatoes
Chocolate sea salt tart with mint pesto
Grilled peach with goat cheese ice cream
Cornbread "cake" with apricots, bacon, and maple ice cream

Honestly, it was truly amazing. Word is the brunch is killer too (see Sunday, breakfast a little further down the post)

Friday, drinks - Gilt Club

Faithful readers know if my love for the Moscow mule. Gilt Club has it on their menu. We go for drinks after dinner. Mmm.

Saturday, breakfast - Di Prima Dolce

Lucky for me, Di Prima's once-a-month Zeppoli Saturday is the day after my birthday. I go, accompanied by a number of friends. We eat lots of Zeppoli. I'd say, in total, we had to have eaten close to 15 orders (3 zeppoli per order). Coffee, too, of course.

Saturday, dinner - Lemongrass beef

We cook at home in Saturday. We make a few alterations to Guilty Carnivore's recipe for lemongrass beef (minor alterations, like extra garlic). We have Moscow mules, because they seem like they'd be a good match. On the side, M served up a little cucumber salad. All served with jasmine rice. Mmm, this is tasty. We'll be making this again, without a doubt.

Sunday, breakfast - Le Pigeon

We head back to what has become my new favorite restaurant, Le Pigeon. We get breakfast sandwiches (egg, cheese, and some heavenly bacon) with salad and potatoes. Although we like dinner better, the brunch totally rocks. Stumptown French press and '05 Perrone Moscato d'Asti. Lovely.

Sunday, dinner - Chicken

Sounds simple, and that was the idea. It's hot out. We invite CC and Porkchop over for dinner. Basic chicken breast grilled over mesquite (Porkchop was grill master for the night). Salt and pepper only, no real marinate. Mango cilantro salsa on the side. Corn on the cob, green leaf lettuce salad with heirloom tomatoes and housemade vinaigrette (by CC). Baguette with homemade butter. A little wine. Nice night out on the back patio, under the stars, with friends. A good and fitting end to my birthday weekend.

Unfortunately, I was too busy enjoying myself to take any photos, so you'll have to let your imagination run wild.

One last thing, if you haven't yet been to Le Pigeon, you should go already. If you have, you should go back. So good!

Dinner with CC

2006-08-24T12:29:00.000-07:00

I had a lovely dinner last evening at CC's place in NW PDX. It had been way too long since we'd properly dined together (mostly my fault). So, she invited me over, and all I had to bring were dried currants, one whole nutmeg, and some hazelnuts.

We had:

A Dr. Loosen Riesling, I think it was Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese (2003 vintage? CC, correct me if I'm wrong).
A lovely salad with mixed greens, edible flowers, dried currants, goat cheese, and hazelnuts. Dressed with a moscato vinaigrette.
Cappellini with cream, butter, lemon zest, and a little freshly shaved nutmeg.

A simple, lovely dinner. Why don't we do this more often?

Zach Attack

2006-08-18T12:22:00.000-07:00

It's Tuesday and nearing the noon hour. Lunch time has arrived, friends. I'm on SE Hawthorne and heading back to the office. Consensus is dogs. We usually hit the Dog House on Burnside, but today, I decide to surprise my co-workers with tasty treats from Zach's Shack.

Only two of us got dogs (the third person at the office brought a salad (?!?) for lunch instead).

Boss lady got a plain dog with extra hot mustard. Pretty good.

I go a bit more esoteric, a red hot (as Zach puts it, a "very spicy pork and beef red hot” sausage with hints of paprika and garlic) with cole slaw. I figure the two will be nice contrasts and foils for one another. It was SO satisfying. If you haven't had a slaw dog before, I highly recommend it. Mmmm.

I've including a photo of the whole dog, untouched, and one that shows off the beautiful stratigraphic layers. How lovely!

Taqueria Villanueva

2006-08-11T07:48:00.000-07:00

Queen E, MA, and I were at the office earlier this week. The lunch hour was quickly approaching. We needed some food.

Our usual options (Dockside for salads, Russell St. BBQ for pulled pork) just didn't sound right. MA had seen a taco truck just a little way down Front Ave near those new hideous condos. We agreed that tacos sounded good.

We hoped into the car and headed that direction, but when we got to where MA was SURE the cart had been parked, it wasn't. What to do. We all had our hearts set on tacos, so we agreed to head down to SW 3rd, food cart row. We stopped at the first taco stand we saw, Taqueria Villanueva. Yep, they have a horse on the side of their cart.

Queen E wanted one chicken taco and one beef taco (I got her a machaca beef with some sort of mild green sauce). MA got a pastor burrito. I get a machaca taco a pastor taco. You can see photos of all, except the chicken taco, above and to the left.

The pastor taco, in my mind, was the hit, although the machaca wasn't bad. The burrito was big and hefty, and a good price.

As time goes on, I find that I prefer the light little flavor bomb tacos in their tasty tortilla shells to the big (often too big) and heavy gut bomb burritos. But that's just me. I think I'm on a tacos al pastor quest. Anyone have suggestions around town they'd like to share?

Cooking with M

2006-08-10T08:25:00.000-07:00

So, I'm behind a little on blog entries. I'm feeling a little motivated by CC's slew of posts on The Devouring Woman, so here is the first of 3 that will hopefully all appear in the next day or two.

This little entry will recount the tale of the first time M and I cooked together. We had talked about what to prepare for days, and finally settled on a favorite of ours, hangar steak. When we finally got over to New Seasons, they, of course, didn't have any. We opted, at the butcher's recommendation, for flat iron. The steak was prepped very simply: a good dose of kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper. The lovely piece of meat was then seared in a skillet on the stove before being taken out to a hot, mesquite charcoal fueled grill.

Meanwhile, M was inside sauteeing (heirloom star) squash with onions and zucchini (all from the Gardener's garden) while boiling some sweet corn.

The meal came together quite nicely, as you can see in the photos (I've somehow screwed up my focusing technique, need to work on that). The steak was covered in a lovely red wine, shallot pan sauce, the sauteed squash was garnished with a little fresh parsley, and the corn was served with a little home-made butter and sea salt. We also had a couple of nice cheeses, including the Cabot Clothbound Cheddar (a cooperative venture of Vermont cheesemakers Cabot Creamery and Jasper Hill Farmcheese) that won best in show at the recent American Cheese Society meeting.

For wine, we had a stunning 2000 (although technically n/v) Leon Barral Valiniere. Here's a nice little description of the wine from A&B Vintners...

In the Valiniere we have one of Southern France's greatest reds. It is 80% Mourvedre, from the healthiest vines imaginable, and 20% Syrah and is velvet in a bottle. Mourvedre always needs a bit of time but this is well worth the wait. The 2000, although still a baby, is sublime right now, seamless, i.e. no hard edges, with unbelievable depth of fruit and great length on the palate. Those of you who love Mourvedre should be involved with this wine.

And you all know me, I LOVE Mourvedre...

Fantastic meal, great times in the kitchen, an altogether lovely evening.

Amazing

2006-08-04T08:46:00.000-07:00

I just posted a video on my dinner club's blog (click here to link) that EVERYONE should check out. It's unbelievable. Hurra Torpedo, a musical group from Norway covering Bonnie Tyler's 'Total Eclipse of the Heart.' Did I mention that 2 of the 3 band members bang on kitchen appliances for sound?

The Last (2) Supper(s)

2006-07-30T08:26:00.000-07:00

Here I sit, coffee in hand on a Sunday morning, reminiscing about my last 2 meals at Pok Pok before their one month closure...

The lovely M and I went over to Pok Pok on Thursday. She had never been, and was leaving town Friday afternoon for California. It was our last chance to enjoy the pleasures of Pok Pok Version 1 (at least her last chance, read on, faithful reader, for more). We ordered nearly everything on the menu (save of the roasted bird). We had:

Khao Soi Kai (Chiang Mai-style chicken noodles in a milk coconut soup topped with crispy yellow noodles, shallots, pickled mustard greens and served with a hot chili paste)
Khao Man Som Tam (Papaya Pok Pok served with steamed coconut rice, sweet shredded pork and fried shallots)
Muu Sateh (pork loin skewers marinated in coconut milk and turmeric, grilled over charcoal and served with cucumber relish, peanut sauce and grilled bread)
the special, who's name I didn't get down (it consisted of pork ribs and a couple of dipping sauces)
another special, a grilled ear of corn on the cob with white soy sauce (whose name I also didn't get)
We each had a Cha Manao (Thai iced tea with fresh lime juice)

M and I both really enjoyed our meals, but agreed that the ribs were the weakest in the group. Not bad, just not as strong as the others (there is a bit of a discussion right now on portlandfood.org about these ribs, btw). I really wanted to get the khao niaw mamuang (the mango, coconut milk, and sticky rice dessert), too, but it wasn't on the menu. Was that ExtraMSG I saw chowing at the next table?

I am really going to miss Pok Pok in August. Where will I have my birthday meal now?!?

So, it's Saturday, M is in Cali, and I'm doing chores around the house, laundry, sweeping, and the like. Then, the most lovely idea occurs to me, hit Pok Pok one last time before they close...

I call Miss Tasty, Smooth Melon, Scoop, and Cheesy T, and get only voicemails, so I head down alone. I can only imagine that they are kicking themselves right now. Since it is only me, I limit my order to one item, my fave, Khao Man Som Tam. I must say, this is the best order I have ever gotten. The meat was incredibly moist and flavorful, and the fried shallots on top were quite crisp, creating a lovely juxtaposition of textures in my mouth. That, and a Cha Manao, and I couldn't have been happier.

Now for the painful, painful Pok Pok-free month of August.

New Music

2006-07-27T09:55:00.000-07:00

A lot of you have been writing in and asking "Hey T, you have impeccable taste in music (and are attractive and modest, too). What are you listening to these days?"

Well, friends, here is a list of things I've put on my iPod in in the last month. I'll also put a little score (from 1 to 5) and maybe a brief comment so you know what I like.

Ms. John Soda - "Notes and the Like" - 3/5
Good but not great. If you wanna hear a great Ms. John Soda album, but up "No P. or D." German Electro-pop.
The Raconteurs - "Broken Boy Soldiers" - 2/5
Not getting much play. I much prefer the older Stripes material.
The Angels of Light - "The Angels of Light Sing 'Other People'" - ?/5
I haven't given this enough of a chance. Great cover, and from Young God Records, so it has some potential.
The Unicorns - "Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?" - ?/5
Again, needs a few more listens. I've been meaning to check out this lengendary band for a while. It's on my list of things to do today.
Low - "The Great Destroyer" - 3/5
I really wanted to like this a lot, but find it only allright. Lots of great press, and I like it, I just don't love it.
CocoRosie - "La Maison de Mon Reve" - 3/5
More of an interesting listen than something you go back to again and again. Interesting songs and found sounds, and some truly haunting vocals.
Thom Yorke - "The Eraser" - 4/5
This one is growing on me. I really enjoy 7 or the 9 songs. The other 2 still haven't found their way into my heart. Imagine the most electronic of songs from Kid A, and then imagine an entire album of those songs, and you've got "The Eraser"
Couch - "Figur 5" - 4/5
Instrumental German rock, with a touch of electronic tossed in. Great tunes and melodies. Somewhat repetitive in a very good way.
Beirut - "Gulag Orchestar" - 4/5
interesting CD, lots of eastern European sounds, but coming from Zach Condon, a 19 year old kid from Albuquerque.
Destroyer - "Notorious Lightening and Other Works" - (3?)/5
I really wanted to love this. I've been digging "This Night" and "Streethawk" a lot recently. This EP is a full band reworking of 6 songs from the keyboard heavy "Your Blues." It deserves a few more listens, but the older (and newer) stuff is treating me better.
Three Mile Pilot - "Three Mile Pilot" - (2?)/5
I picked this up on the strength of and MP3 I'd dowloaded last year, 'On A Ship to Bangladesh.' That song is the true highlight of this 5 song EP. Not the the other tracks are terrible, they just pale in comparison to 'Bangladesh' (which you can download free from Epitonic, BTW).
Oval - "94 Diskont" - 3/5
Very early example of glitchy IDM. These guys manually scratch and draw on CDs (most notable some Aphex Twin), recorded the skipping playback, and the work them into ambient beauty. Not the most exciting listen, but fascinating and enjoyable nonetheless.
Tapes 'n Tapes - "The Loon" - 3/5
Good, straightforward indie rock. A little cliched, a little predictable, but a totally enjoyable listen.

And that's it. Any questions of comments, let me know.

Best Food Yet

2006-07-18T20:52:00.000-07:00

One of the best things I saw on my trip to Atlanta...

Simpatica Sandwich Sunday

2006-07-10T07:53:00.000-07:00

My oh my, what a lovely Sunday... I'll skip the World Cup wrap up, as I'm sure you've seen the results elsewhere, and focus on eating...

CC and MA head over to watch the game, and bring ingredients for breakfast sandwiches... English muffins, eggs, bacon, cheese, tomatoes, and butter. And, a big container of great orange juice... Mmm lovely.

After the game, my house is heating up, so we head to Sagittarius for a few beers. We also have chips, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, and cheese fries. So satisfying.

Then, I meet up with M for a glass of wine at Basta's. She has Soave, I have Lugana. The Soave is much better.

M and I then meet up with CC, MA, Smooth Melon, Miss Tasty, and "The Belly" at Simpatica for their Sunday sandwich night. So good! We drag along some wine, a 2003 Puligny Montrachet (the producer escapes me at the moment) and a bottle of 1997 Thomas Pinot Noir. We also order a 2004 Thomas Leithner Gruner Veltliner "Loess" from Austria. I like this quite a bit, although the rest of the table isn't convinced.

Here are the sandwiches we had. Many were shared...

Pulled Pork
Pork Chop on a Waffle
Chicken Salad
Ham and Brie
Salmon Cakes
BLT
something else

I thought everything was very good. Choice of fried gnocci or cole slaw on the side.

If anyone can fill in that last blank, please do (I think that it was Smooth Melon's sandwich)...

Allright, that's all for now. More later.

Dog Day Afternoon

2006-07-07T15:59:00.000-07:00

When I saw "World's Largest Hot Dog and Bun" on the web site for Pioneer Courthouse Square's web site a few months ago, I was interested. It'd be overstating the truth to say that I was excited. But mildly interested, certainly so. If nothing else, it afforded me the opportunity to get out of the office for part of the afternoon...

I roped MA from the office into attending, and M agreed to meet me there as well. 11:30 in front of the Starbucks. Scoop from EP was there, too, but somehow, I missed him (sorry buddy!).

I bike over from the office, roll up to the square, and lock up my bike. Up the stairs to meet M. We head down the steps again to take in the wonder that is the World's Longest Hot Dog (WLHD from this point on)... I've substituted 'longest' for 'largest' because it is more accurate. Largest implies a proportionally correct 100 ft long dog, which this was not. Longest implies a regular girth dog, just stretched to 100 ft in length. At any rate, we get down to the WLHD, just to find out that my camera is out of batteries. We head to Rite Aid to remedy this problem. Back for a few photos, and then on to eating. Only problem is that the line is stupidly long. We agree not to wait.

In summation, yeah, it was a long hot dog. And, as the first paragraph says, interesting but not exciting. Now on to eating...

Seems like we should stick to the dog theme today. M argues for Hot Dog on a Stick in the mall. I've never been, there are apparently some special hats? As we make our way down to the mall, we run into MA from the office, who wisely councils us to go to Good Dog Bad Dog instead. I have a hard time choosing, and eventually make the wrong choice of the Oregon Smoky with grilled onions and garlic. A little bland, I should have gotten the hot Italian. M gets the mild Italian, and MA, um, I forget... I know it had grilled onions and some cheese on it. I think. We all get beers and sit outside on a lovely Friday afternoon...

Kelly Point Park

2006-07-02T10:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon, I biked out to Kelly Point Park. It didn't look like it was so far away on the map I had. It took me about 90 minutes to get out there. I did have to stop once and pump up one of my tires, but beyond that, it was all riding. Columbia Slough Trail, Peninsula Crossing Trail along Portland, then on a trail along Marine Drive, up to Kelley Point. Along the way, I had the lovely opportunity to see where our Spanish containers arrive (Terminal 6).

On the way home, I felt like I deserved a beer. I mean, it had ended up being a longer ride that I expected. A little back story is in order here... M's mom is in town. It appears likely they will, at some point, hit the Kennedy School. I know I am pretty close to the St. John's Pub, so I bike over there. Kind of an intentional Couvade Syndrome of bad dining. I get the Hammerhead Ale and a burger. I am also able to fill up my water bottle there, which is nice, since I am more or less out.

Which reminds me of another story... If the city is going to spend the money to put up a park, and the money to plumb and build water a fountain at the Smith Bybee Lakes Trailhead, it would be nice if it worked...

Overall, great ride. I was out for close to 3 and a half hours. I'm sure I'll do it again soon (but I'll bring more water next time around).

Pretty in Pink

2006-07-01T14:35:00.000-07:00

I met up with M last night for dinner and drinks. I wore my new pink shirt with jeans. When I show up at her apt. at 6:30, she is also wearing a pink shirt and jeans. Weird...

We go to Wilf's. I get the burger. The menu claims "It's Great!" It is, in actuality, merely OK. M gets the chicken Caesar. Lettuce looks a little wilty. She makes me try one of the croutons. There are made from old cinnamon toast. What is that about!?! Also, super bad jazz band, who we talked about mercilessly before realizing the lady at the table next to us (clearly in earshot) was the drummer's girlfriend. Ouch!

We hit Saucebox afterward for a few more drinks, and a little more food for M, who couldn't stand to eat much of the salad.

Then to Voodoo for dessert. Spinning the proverbial roulette wheel, M asks for whichever doughnut is the freshest and newest out of the kettle. It ends up being a gigantic apple fritter. I get the blood filled. Neither of us are able to finish.

Take Your Bike To Work Day

2006-06-23T16:06:00.000-07:00

With no sales calls scheduled for Friday, and clear skies for as far as the eye could see, this morning seemed like the perfect opportunity for my first bike ride to work. I get up at regular time, make coffee as usual, but skip the e-mail/pitchfork/blog session. I leave for work at 7:15, figuring on a 45 min ride.

As it turns out, Shift was offering free coffee and doughnuts to bikers on the Broadway bridge (a photo I did not take appears above and to the left), so I stopped off for a few minutes for a break, talked to some fellow bikers, and admired the view of the city from the bridge.

I got to work a few minutes shy of 8. Unfortunately, no one was there to witness my glorious arrival.

Biking home was a bit more difficult (or at least could have been). I cross the Broadway Bridge again, but instead of peddling my heart out on either the Interstate or Greeley Ave. hills, I caught the max in front of (the now defunct) Gotham Tavern. I only rode one stop, right up the hill, and got off in front of Kaiser. A quick ride back to the casa. Cool shower and cold beer.

EP - Dropped Foods

2006-06-19T10:12:00.000-07:00

Here's a little preview photo of our Dropped Foods dinner. Watch the EP Blog for a report. Oh, we also have video which we hope to have up on EdiblePorn.com soon!

And yes, that is a canvas. We've 'created' a piece of art for each dropped course. We should have those on the web site soon too!

Pork Pok

2006-06-17T10:06:00.000-07:00

No, not a typo. I met CC at Pok Pok last evening. Instead of getting my usual (which CC got), I got Muu Sateh (pork loin skewers marinated in coconut milk and turmeric, grilled over charcoal and served with cucumber relish, peanut sauce and grilled bread). Mmm, tasty. Juicy, flavorful meat. Nice peanut sauce. Spicy cuke relish. Very enjoyable. As usual, we split the mango and sticky rice dessert.

Steak

2006-06-15T20:28:00.000-07:00

I hate cooking for one. It's a bitch. Don't get me wrong, I love to cook, but I also love to share the experience. Tonight, table for one (unless you count Alma, who was trying to nibble at my food, in which case it'd be table for two)...

I have no clue what to make. I ask around at the office, and there are few good suggestions. Seems to me that the easiest thing to do is get a piece of meat and some veg for the side. I stop in at New Seasons on the way home from work, still not sure what I want.

I head to the meat counter first. I get hanger steak. Then to produce, where I get a shallot, some thyme, a lemon, and some kale (I also get half and half for Friday's coffee).

First, the meat. I consider grilling, but it's already 7, and the kitchen is still messy and needs cleaning before I cook. Grilling will take too long. I put some oil into a pan and heat it up. I coat the meat with salt and pepper. I coarsely chop the shallot. Both go into the pan with the whole thyme sprigs. Cook it on down.

For the kale (and this is a nod to my ex, ADC), I put some olive oil in another pan. Chop a few leaves of kale VERY coarsely. Put into pan and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Saute, but don't wilt. I like veggies to have a little crunch.

When the meat is done, I pull it out of the pan to rest. I then pour some of tonight's wine (2003 St. Cosme Cotes du Rhone) into the pan with the now caramelized shallots and sprigs of thyme. This simmers down until a bit thicker. I cut the steak, put the kale next to it on the plate, and drizzle the pan sauce on top.

Not too shabby. Ends up I put too much lemon juice on the kale. I cut the meat at the wrong angle. At least the sauce tastes good. I sit at the table to eat, listening to the blues (Lightnin' Hopkins, and at the very moment I type these words, 'Baby, Please Don't Go' is on...)

Worst Quesadilla Ever?

2006-06-15T07:43:00.000-07:00

I went to La Calaca Comelona last night with M. The idea was that we would go to a place neither of us had been to before. And it was my job to figure out where. This place, with it's striking blue building and a sign with their name spelled out in bones seemed like an OK choice. I couldn't have been more wrong. FYI: La calaca comelona means 'the hungry skeleton.'

First, and this isn't really a big deal, they don't have burritos or chips/salsa. They say those foods aren't traditional, and they may be correct, but I kind of had a craving for those exact things. They had a number of entrees, all of which seemed over priced. We both ended up getting quesadillas. M got spinach and tomato, I got 'housemade' chorizo. Both ran about $6.00.

These were thick! Lots of cheese and fillings. Honestly, too much cheese. These looked more like plump omelets that quesadillas. The, they were greasy. Not sure what cheese they used (although I swear I saw 'mozzarella' on the menu), but there was too much. Neither of us finished. And, they forgot our appetizer.

So, after running an errand or two, we take a walk. And midway through the walk, my belly starts to rumble. I haven't felt worse so quickly after eating in a long time.

I'm warning you, just don't go.

Rating : 1 of 5

New Bike

2006-06-11T09:05:00.000-07:00

I bought a new bike yesterday afternoon. It's the first bike I've had for a while, and the first bike I've had that fits me properly in quite some time. Got it over at the Bike Gallery. Got lights, a lock, some repair type tools, and a water bottle. I should be all set to go...

I woke up extra early this morning (5-ish) and couldn't get back to sleep. I drank some coffee, bought new flip flops and FM, and then, with nothing better to do at 7:30 in the morning, decided to ride to St. Johns, and more specifically Cathedral Park (I've never been before).

The ride took about an hour and a half total, including a quick stop at the park to admire the river and the St. Johns Bridge.

Eating with the Parents

2006-06-05T08:46:00.001-07:00

My folks were in town last week. Here's a sampling of what we ate...

Autentica:
Since it was Thursday, most of us had posole. My mother had short ribs. We shared a cactus salad, some chorizo and cheese, and tacos. Everything was OK. I'm sticking by my previous statement that the way to go is tacos al pastor with beer at the bar.

Fire on the Mountain:
My folks loved the wings. I had the spicy peanut pasta with chicken. They had wings (medium sauce, I convinced them not to get El Jefe). We were there on a Friday for lunch. It was packed and loud, but really good.

Apizza:
The folks meet ADC. We eat the best pizza in Portland (the Apizza Amore). Also, Cesar salad. Mmmm. Everyone is VERY happy with this meal (has anyone ever been unhappy at Apizza?!?)

New Seasons:
We need a light lunch after a morning of fixing things around my old house. New Seasons makes pretty good sandwiches. Kettle chips and sodas. We get them to go and eat at my pad. Me: curried chicken salad. Mom: roast beef. Dad: tuna salad (I think, but I may have this all wrong).

Pix:
Lunch was late, so we don't have a proper dinner. We do, however, get dessert after the "Shanghai Tunnels" tour. Pix is so tasty! Passion fruit macaroon, the amalie, torte, apple tarte, coffee.

Simpatica:
Brunch. It's good. I don't think it's great. I may have built it up too much in my head before going. I got the bbq sandwich.

Dinner at Home:
My folks want to eat at home one night. A number of tasty cheeses with crackers (the ADC made me swear to put a picture of her favorite cracker on this blog, you'll see it to the left). Butter lettuce with homemade buttermilk dressing (buttermilk from the butter I made). Bread and homemade butter. Penne with tomato basil cream sauce and sausage. Sorbet with strawberries and dark chocolate shortbread. Wine.

Bon Temps:
After a trip to Home Depot, we need some food. Po boys at Bon Temps do the trick. Boylan Black Cherry Soda, chaurice, softshell crab, pork tenderloin, cole slaw, potato salad. Mmm.

Russell Street BBQ:
Last night in town. Something casual. BBQ fits the bill. I like Russell Streets vinegar sauce. Pulled pork all around. Lots of sides. Folks agree it's a bit different than in the south, but they like it...

Merritt hawks Cesar

2006-06-01T13:01:00.000-07:00

I was watching TV the other night. The Magnetic Fields' song "I Think I Need a New Heart" from '69 Love Songs' was in a commercial for Cesar Dog Food. Huh?

Stephen Merritt, what gives?

PFO's Eastside Hot Dog Crawl

2006-05-20T08:47:00.000-07:00

After months (probably years) of lurking over at PortlandFood.org, I finally signed up for one of their events, a hot dog crawl. The plan? Hit 5 or 6 important hot dog spots on the eastside, roughly from south to north. Here was the preliminary schedule... Otto's Sausage Kitchen, Zach's Shack, Nick's Famous Coney Island, the Dog House on Burnside, Michael's Italian Beef & Sausage, and Roakes #6. Not a bad line up. I'm bringing a knife, my camera, a small notebook, and cash. This should be a lot of fun!

I get to Woodstock a bit early and check out bikes at the Bike Gallery. I really need a bike! Then over to...

Otto's Sausage Kitchen and Meat Market
4138 SE Woodstock
Our first stop. We figure out a couple ground rules first... One person pays and we all settle up at the end. We order a few dogs and share. Who wants to eat 6 whole dogs anyway (or more, if you want to try more than one at each place)? Bonus points to Otto's for having a grill.

At Otto's, we get a plain hotdog and a pork sausage. Both good, cooked over a grill (see photo). I taste them both with no toppings so as not to bias one dog over another. The plain dog is OK. Fluffy bun, not much snap in the skin, some good char off the grill...

In my book, the pork fares much better. A touch more char, firmer and spicier than the plain dog, and good marbling inside. Tasty.

To drink, a bottle of Lagunitas Censored Ale.

Decent and plentiful outdoor seating, but on the street (although there wasn't too much traffic).

Zach's Shack
4611 SE Hawthorne
I'd heard about Zach's for years as being THE spot for dogs in Portland, but hadn't ever been. Here, we get a plain red hot and a dog with chili and slaw (like in the old days in the south)...

The red hot is spectacular (and I don't mean to give away the ending here, but this is the best dog of the day). Good snappy skin, spicy and flavorful.

The chili slaw dog is OK. The slaw is good and the dog is good, but we all agree that the chili is lacking. Not meaty or saucy enough, and could use a little ketchup infusion. But good overall.

To drink, a glass of Lompoc C-Note IPA.

Seating was nice, a small but ample patio with a few picnic tables out back.

The Dog House
2845 E Burnside
We're here for Chicago style kosher dogs. The dogs are big, and people are getting worn out, so we get 2 dogs and cut them into thirds (although we also get a chili cheese dog and a beer sausage later too). For my money, these are the best toppings. The dog is good, thick, juicy, and tasty.

To drink, a bottle of Henry Weinhard's root beer.

I've always been a big fan of the Dog House's deck, but today they were doing some repairs. The sound of a circular saw and the occasional breeze full of sawdust were a little offputting.

By this point, we are all full and sunburned (at least I am. Why didn't I accept the offer of sunscreen at Otto's?!?). We make the Dog House our final stop. My final take on the day? I'd like to see Zach's dogs, grilled at Otto's, with toppings from the Dog House.

Tommy Guerrero Live

2006-05-19T11:12:00.000-07:00

It's Tuesday, May 16. Tommy Guerrero is playing at the Doug Fir tonight. One of only 3 performances scheduled this year thus far (the other 2 are in Florida). And, I can't talk anyone into going with me. It's only $10, go figure.

I don't have much food in the house, and I make an executive decision to eat at the Fir. I get the cheeseburger with fries and a beer. I usually find the Doug Fir's food to be passable. Never great, but not bad. Tonight was the exception. The burger was inedible. I don't mind burgers cooked medium, but this was raw in the center. I didn't feel like complaining, so I ate around the edges, and had a few fries (the most bland fries I'd had in quite a while). After finishing my beer, I settle up and head downstairs.

I arrive downstairs, and the opening band, Recall Seven is just taking the stage. They aren't bad, and remind me of a mix of the Killers and Joy Division. Again, not bad, but the music wasn't at all in line with Guerrero's.

Around 10:45, Tommy comes on stage with his self described "full band of bad mothafukas." He says that two of the guys had just flown in from the east coast that day for this show especially. They band was really solid and tight by the 3rd song (the first few songs were a bit rough, probably due to the lack of a pre-show warm-up practice). Tommy said he'd be playing songs from all his albums, basically in chronological order. I can't give you the names of many of the songs, but I can confirm that the last 3 songs came from the newest EP, 'Year of the Monkey.' Final songs: 'Archaic Days,' 'By Fist and Fury,' and 'Knives Fighting Guns' (my favorite track on the new EP, played a little slower here than on the recorded version).

The band was great, a drummer, a keyboardist, and a bassist. Guerrero is really a bassist at heart, but he played guitar all the way through. I'm pretty sure he plays all the instruments on his albums.

Tommy was terribly nice and sincere, thanking the crowd for their support in all his endeavors over the years (he is a former pro skateboarder, and was part of the legendary Bones Brigade, and has released 3 full albums and 2 EPs under his own name, a full length record with Gadget, and a number of records with his 'other' band, Jet Black Crayon). He stuck around on stage once the show was over, signing posters, set lists, and tickets. What a guy, what a show...

Check out Tommy's web site for some free MP3 downloads and more info.

WW's Cheap Eats Pt. 3

2006-05-19T09:15:00.000-07:00

Autentica
ADC and I were trying to figure out where to eat last night. We tried to use our WW Cheap Eats plan, but it fell through. We have slightly abridged the rules... 2 restaurants from each letter, then, if we get to the end, back around to 'A' again. So, after Aqui and Apizza, we were onto the 'B's. ADC had heard bad things about Baan Thai's treatment of employees, so we passed on that. Bakery Bar is only breakfast and lunch. Ah yes, Baraka on Alberta. We had both read bad reviews, but were committed to our exploration of the Cheap Eats guide, so we hopped in the car and headed down to Alberta.

Argh! Baraka is closed for 2 days for some undisclosed reason! There is a sign, but I don't bother to read it. I know that Bella Faccia should be next, but we've both been there before, and I am pretty sure that is an acceptable reason for exemption.

Then ADC remembers that Autentica is close. I don't have the Cheap Eats guide in the car, so the serendipitous fact that this place is in the guide escapes up both until later. We head north again to Killingsworth.

Thursday at Autentica is posole night, so it is pretty clear one of has to order it. ADC wins to argument, and I order green pork mole instead (and a taco al pastor on the side).

First, we are presented with pickled veggies and bread. I found the pickled veggies a little bland; we had hoped for more crunch and more vinegar (carrot, potato, and peppers). I also found the bread fairly tasteless, white and fluffy on the inside. I had expected fresh tortillas from start to finish. The bread was what you might get at costco or something.

The taco came with three salsas, cruda, macha, and chile de arbol. Homemade tortillas and tender tasty pork topped with cilantro and a lime wedge on the side. And all for $1.50. I could go back and just eat these little gems at the bar. So yummy.

The mole came on a huge platter, lots of pork with onion, cilantro, and radish to accompany it. Oh, and on the side, more homemade tortillas.

ADC's posole was the white variety (as opposed to the red or green posole). A HUGE bowl of steaming goodness appears at the table. Hominy, juicy pork, tasty broth. And then, the side platter shows up. Radish, onion, jalapeno, queso fresco, avocado, chile relleno, pork rind, homemade chips, cabbage, lime, oregano, and a beef taquito. An amazing wealth of food, no doubt.

I had a Negra Modella and ADC had a coke.

I really enjoyed it here. I will be heading back, maybe for just tacos and beer, who knows!

Pizza Quest Pt. 3

2006-05-12T07:46:00.000-07:00

Nostrana
After visits to Apizza Scholls and Ken's Artisan Bakery, ADC and I had but one high end pizza left to try. The plan was to hit all 3 of the top spots for pie in one week, and we have accomplished that goal.

Last night, Nostrana (they have just been named Restaurant of the Year by the Oregonian (it's been 3 weeks to the day, in fact)). I've heard stories about hordes of people waiting to get in. We plan to go VERY early, and get a seat at the bar (if two are available)...

They open at 5. ADC plans to be home by 5 or 5:30, and we head right over. We arrive at 6, and the place is already full. There is a 30 to 45 min wait, but we snag a couple of seats at the bar in about 10 minutes (making it, I believe, the shortest wait of the three stops). One thing to note, the service seems to have improved. I have to guess they have brought on more staff with the ROY award and the crowds that follow. They actually had a hostess. Novel concept! ADC makes a comment, toward the end of the meal, unsolicited mind you, about how bad the service is. I tell her that it has gotten a lot better, and she finds that hard to believe...

I order a beer to keep consistent with the previous 2 stops, and ADC gets makers and ginger ale. We get the salami plate (consisting of meats from Seattle's Salumi), 4 meats, marmalade, and mushrooms. Pretty good, but in my opinion, the marmalade got in the way of the savory meaty flavors. ADC seemed to like the mix.

Course 2 is the salad. With the absence of a true Caesar on the menu, we get the Nostrana, "radicchio, Parmigiano Reggiano with rosemary and sage croutons in a Caesar style dressing (contains raw egg)." ADC admits she's not a fan of radicchio by itself, and I'm not that impressed anyway. The leaves are a little soft. Passable, but not exciting.

And, the pizza. Again, trying to keep the meals consistent, we get the margherita with prosciutto. As at Ken's, the basil is baked with the pizza, but unlike out other two stops, the meat is placed on the pie after it's cooked. The prosciutto is tasty, quite hammy. ADC likes the sauce and the crust, I find the sauce lacking. Seems to me that the kitchen at Nostrana is a little afraid of salt (also, no salt on the bar or at any of the tables). They use fresh mozz, but cut it a little thick for my taste. resulting in mushy lumps of cheese on top. I find it all a little greasy, too.

And now, for the 4 categories of judgment...

1-Beer list. Nostrana clearly loses here. 5 beers, all from bottle, none on tap. And, it's 2 Deschutes products, 2 Morettis, and Pilsner Urquel. Decent choices, but nothing exciting, nothing original, and a very narrow selection.

2-Salad. Again, Nostrana loses. I prefer Apizza, and ADC prefers Ken's. We both rank Nostrana's in 3rd place.

3-The pie. ADC ranks Nostrana's pie as 2nd place overall. She enjoys the crust and the sauce here a lot, but not the toppings. She still prefers Apizza, and I remind her that with a new oven, Ken's pies could improve. Me, I rank Nostrana's third. Crust for me is OK. I don't like the sauce, and I find the toppings to be lackluster, plus the absence of salt. And, you have to cut it yourself. I know, I know, this is traditional. I'd just like to not waste time and look foolish by cutting my own pie with a knife. At least give us pizza cutters! ADC likes the pizza, but says that she wouldn't come back just to eat it.

4-The locale. Finally, Nostrana loses on ambiance too. I kind of like the high ceilings and grand scale, but it needs to be broken up a little. Plants, something, I don't know. ADC compared it to a big cafeteria. The noise was loud too, not unbearable, but loud. There is a ton of exposed wood on the ceiling, again, it looks great, but reflects sound like nobody's business.

Alas, poor Nostrana, that is strike 3 for you. I won't be returning.

Overall rankings are the same for ADC and me...

#1 - Apizza
#2 - Ken's
#3 - Nostrana

Oh, and a quick note on pricing. None of these places is particularly cheap, but they are consistent. For two, with drinks and salad, you can expect to pay around $50 for any of the three options. Nostrana was the priciest (we did have an extra drink and the meat plate, though) and Ken's was the cheapest. Apizza? Just right...

Links to my previous 2 Nostrana visits...
http://tarteauxpoires.blogspot.com/2006/04/nostrana-with-cc.html
http://whatteats.blogspot.com/2006/03/thurs-march-2.html

And, the first two installments of Pizza Quest...
Pizza Quest Pt. 1, Appizza Scholls (a.k.a. WW's Cheap Eats Pt. 2)
Pizza Quest Pt. 2, Ken's Artisan Bakery

Pok Pok with CC

2006-05-11T20:44:00.000-07:00

Reading Miss Tasty's Pok Pok review today made me so hungry; I really wanted to head down to Division and get my snack on... Luckily CC called and wanted to know if I'd meet her there this evening. Must be something in the air, all of us craving the Pok. Of course I agreed. How could I refuse?

I leave work around 6, and get there a few minutes before CC. I grab a cha manao (one of their two Thai iced teas), sit, and read the Mercury.

Once CC shows up, we head back to the window and order our food from Andy. We order SO much food, it's almost obnoxious. CC gets khao man som tam (the pork dish Miss Tasty speaks so highly of) and khao soi kai (the chicken and coconut milk soup). I get another order of khao man som tam (my favorite dish on the menu), an order of the ma ma ramen that Miss Tasty mentioned (I didn't care for it quite as much as she did, and I did try adding some of the chili oil, it just didn't do it for me), and khao niaw mamuang (the mango, coconut milk, and sticky rice dessert I had last time I was there as well).

As always, everything was exquisite. I had planned to talk CC into a walk down to Pix for a bit of chocolate, but we were both way too full to squeeze anything else in our bellies.

Pizza Quest Pt. 2

2006-05-09T21:34:00.000-07:00

Ken's Artisan Bakery
ADC and I hit Apizza the other night because it was in the cue for out WW Cheap Eats survey (see this entry). We decided that evening to embark on a pizza quest. On Monday, May 8, we hit Ken's Artisan Bakery for their pizza night, and round 2 of our search for Portland's best pizza...

We tried to recreate the meal as best we could... Beer for me (Terminal Gravity IPA instead of Caldera), a Caesar salad for us to split, and a hot sporessata pizza (in place of the hot cappicola). Here is the break down...

1-Beers. Better selection at Apizza. But hey, they are a full service restaurant. If I were judging espressos, I'm sure Ken's would prevail.

2-Salad. This time we do get croutons (if you recall, Apizza was out for the night). ADC prefers this Caesar to Apizza's, I find it a little too garlicy (I know, hard to believe), but don't particularly prefer Apizza's either (meaning the salad is a wash for me).

3-The pie. A different topping makes it a little tough to judge. Spicy, yes indeed. Crust, yeah pretty good. Thinner on the bottom than Apizza's, and a little chewier on the edges where it gets thicker. A nice bit of char around the edges. One major difference, Ken puts the basil on before baking, whereas Apizza applies fresh basil once the pie is out of the oven. I prefer Apizza's take on basil, and both the ADC and I prefer Apizza's pie overall.

4-The locale. ADC prefers the feel of Ken's, saying that it is cool when a local bakery has pizza night once a week. This 'warm' feeling will most likely fade when Ken has his own pizzeria. But, then again, the pizza may improve with a heftier oven...

As for now, Apizza beats Ken's. Nostrana still to go (if we can get a table). Watch this space for results.

Q:What is the best lunch ever?

2006-05-09T21:16:00.000-07:00

A:This is the best lunch ever...

2006-05-09T21:00:00.000-07:00

1-Olive oil, sea salt, garlic, and rosemary foccacia from Pastaworks

2-Salami from Salumi (Seattle), both fennel and mole

3-Goat cheese 'cherries' from Fromagerie Soreda (France), one plain, the others coated in herbs, ash and paprica respectively

4-Extra Dark (82%!!) chocolate from Scharffen Berger

5-2004 St. Cosme Cotes-du-Rhone

WW's Cheap Eats Pt. 2

2006-05-07T13:14:00.000-07:00

Apizza Scholls
ADC and I take a step back in the guide and head down to SE for Apizza (if you recall, Apizza was closed when we first hit the guide a few weeks back). I've been here plenty of times, but it is my ADC's first visit. It is a Saturday evening, and we don't get there until around 7. There is, of course, a monster wait 45 min to and hour, they tell us. We both like sitting at the bar, though, and two seats open up there in about 10 minutes.

ADC gets a pint of Anchor, and I get a can of Caldera Pale Ale. We split the Caesar (they are unfortunately out of croutons). The Caesar is always good, flakes of Parm, the killer dressing, the beautiful, whole leaves of romaine. Mmm. Although the salad is big, we finish every bite.

We also agree to split the Apizza Amore (always my favorite pie). We are both delighted. We each eat 3 pieces, leaving 2 to take with up (which we proceed to eat for breakfast this morning). The pizza did not disappoint, and ADC agreed that this is one of the best pies in town. We discussed heading to Nostrana and Ken's to compare and contrast. I'll let you know if that happens.

We leave, VERY satisfied. But, what I can't figure out is how this makes it into the 'Cheap Eats' guide. Every time I go, it is almost always close to $20 per person (last night, I parted ways with $50 for a pizza, a salad, and a few beers). Now, let it be known that I am not complaining. I think the food we had was worth every penny, but this is certainly not 'cheap.'