Current Coffee...

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

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

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

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

Just saw this on Uncrate and had to share.

Five

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

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?!?

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

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??

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

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

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

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

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

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

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??

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

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

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."

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

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