Portland Food Adventures + Wafu = Wowza!

Our Portland Food Adventures dinner at WAFU was a universal hit. Everyone expressed enjoyment, from our incredible guests, to some of Portland’s absolute finest: Trent Pierce (chef), Kurt Huffman (restaurant entrepreneur), Israel Morales (front of the house man) and Amanda, (my favorite waitress!). It appears our lovely Dina Avila enjoyed, too. Hope you enjoy her blog about the night as much as we all enjoyed everything about the evening:

Grüner

Simply put (and this will be short, since I have to leave for Bend early in the AM), we had a very nice experience at Grüner. I had only been there for Happy Hour once, and enjoyed. The view of the old church from the rather modern looking dining room is an interesting contrast. If you walk back to the bathrooms and pass the kitchen, you’ll get a glimpse of the rest of a very cool design. It would have been a nice night to eat outside, but we rather enjoyed the clean lines and contrast of black paint and lighter wood.

Before we ordered, we were brought a plate of a homemade pretzel and some delicious dark nutty bread and butter.

We loved the homemade pretzels with a Pilsner.

Both salads we ordered, the Endive with speck, and mine, a green bean salad, hazelnuts, fava beans, with duck tenderloins, topped with crispy shallots was incredible and surely would have been enough for a light dinner in and of itself. Our very sweet and sunshine of a server, Ramlah, when asked what appetizer she recommended after the salads, did is a service in suggesting our two salads and entrees would be plenty. Ramlah was attentive and made the experience at Grüner even more enjoyable than it would have been. If I were voting, she’d get my vote for best server in Portland. She wasn’t intrusive, but she added to the experience with her smile and knowledge of the menu. And did I not see any tattoos? A server in Portland with no ink?  Could it be? (Not that there’s anything wrong with that!  Just an observation.)

My Spaetzle with rabbit medallions and mushrooms had a sauce that made the dish both of our favorites.

The trout in a salsa was good, but probably not the house specialty, and it surely wouldn’t have been a full meal (for a guy like me at least) if we hadn’t ordered salads and partaken in a couple of those delicious pretzels preceding the entrees. Neither dishes were large portions, but the meal itself was just perfect. We probably wouldn’t have been able to eat more anyway. I do need to get back to try a few of the meat dishes, though. And of course, the burger gets nothing but excellent reviews by everyone, most recently Nick Zukin’s (of Kenny and Zuke’s) 74 burger binge led him to name this one #2 in Portland, although he had a questionable burger or two in there according to my tastes, but it would be virtually impossible to get any two people to agree on what are the top 50 burgers.  I think Ken did an amazing, and of course enviable job.  If his health plan administrator sees that article, he will surely be dropped from his plan.   See his top 10 burgers here.

Burgers and sausages:  Next visit.

We capped the meal off with coffee and the berry crisp, with walnut streusel, which if it took the 10 minutes the menu said it would, portends a great time because it went fast. Blackberries, strawberries and raspberries, steaming hot and delicious.

It’s a nice touch that they bring the check in a paperback book. What if the book is an appealing read, we wondered. Do they let you take the book?

Appropriate though, because dinner at Chris Israel’s Grüner was as enjoyable as a good book. Only, slightly more fattening. (According to my nutrition scale, anyway).

H50 Bistro on a warm Summer morning

I had some business to discuss at H50, so I stopped in early for breakfast. I had been to H50 for Happy Hour quite a few times (often finding myself on Naito Parkway and diverting before hitting I-5 for one of my favorite Happy Hours in Portland). I’d also been for dinner once. While much is memorable about H50, I think my favorite dish even was a dessert–the churros with the spiced chocolate and homemade marshmallow. I had also used some of H50s images for my website, which were particularly beautiful presentations.

Back to breakfast, though. Normally, it’s hard for me to resist a big breakfast when a menu like this is whetting my appetite, especially when I heard the party near me raving about their French Toast…

BREAKFAST IN BREAD sauteed arugula, tillamook cheddar, scrambled eggs, roma, aioli    7

HOUSE-SMOKED SALMON HASH soft poached egg, crispy new potato, sofrito, smoked salmon, avocado puree  12

A.M. STARTER  house-made yogurt, granola, fresh fruit, toast   8

H₅O BREAKFAST two eggs, toast, sausage, crispy new potatoes  10

FRENCH OMELETTE sun-dried tomato goat cheese, greens, fresh asparagus with crispy potatoes  10

AMERICAN OMELETTE  black forest ham, tillamook cheddar, green onions, crispy potatoes 10

FRENCH TOAST grand marnier custard-soaked brioche, fresh seasonal fruit 8

CLASSIC EGGS BENEDICT english muffin, poached all natural eggs, ham, roasted tomato & hollandaise, crispy potatoes 11

STEAK AND EGGS oz culotte sirloin steak, two eggs your style, fine herbs, crispy potatoes, your choice toast 14  (# of ounces missing from the online menu)

CLASSIC LOX  fresh bagel, whipped cream cheese, crispy capers, lemon marmalade  10

A LA CARTE

PANCAKES grade A maple syrup, fresh seasonal fruit 7

CARAMELIZED GRAPEFRUIT 1/2 grapefruit, caramelized to golden brown  2

ASSORTED FRUIT  assortment of fresh and seasonal fruit  3

FRESH YOGURT & GRANOLA house-whipped with home-made ingredients  3

TOAST choice of white, wheat, english muffin, or plain bagel  2

EGGS YOUR STYLE  two farm fresh eggs prepared to your liking  4

NUESKES BACON two slices of thick cut bacon 3

CHICKEN AND APPLE SAUSAGE great alternative for those who don’t eat pork 3

CRISPY NEW POTATOES  finished with sea salt and fine herbs 3

ASSORTED COLD AND HOT CEREAL ask your server about the many choices  3

BEVERAGES

Stumptown Coffee

Espresso

Latte

Mocha

Hot Tea

Fresh Juice –

orange, apple, tomato, cranberry, grapefruit

3

CHEF Nicholas A. Yanes — CHEF de CUISINE Trevor Niekowal

But this morning, I went for something lighter, since the caramelized grapefruit seemed to catch my eye — something I’d never had before. So, I grouped that together with some other a la carte items, the house-whipped yogurt with granola and an English muffin.

I needed to section the grapefruit, and once done, it had a sweet juicy saltiness thing going on. Very unusual, but different that the usual sugar-topped version. Of course, homemade jam accompanied what appeared to be a Thomas’ English muffin. Speaking of those, years ago, these were only sold on the east coast. Once, with my girlfriend, I took a shopping bag full of them on the plane back to Tucson, and the bag was shredded in the security screening at LaGuardia Airport. There were Thomas’ English muffins everywhere. Everyone thought I was nuts. But if they’d known they couldn’t be bought in Tucson, I am sure they would have understood why I had a dozen packages of them! I mean really… what’s important in life?? So here we were, salvaging what we could and taking the ones that weren’t exposed to the conveyor belt with us. Our treasured Thomas’ English Muffins.

That leads me to wonder, while most of the favored spots in Portland will serve homemade jams or preserves and excellent breads, as H50 does, does anyone in Portland make a homemade English muffin? Hmmmm…. mmmmm. I’d go for that. And another thought. Next time I order an English muffin at a restaurant, I will ask them to butter it right out of the toaster. English muffins NEED to have melted butter dressing them. That’s what brings out the flavor.

This light breakfast, with a view of the Waterfront Park and the Morrison Bridge, was purely delightful. The whipped yogurt and granola were perfect–chilled, light and tasty, with crunch. Although I would recommend only having that grapefruit as a breakfast appetizer. You can’t go from anything sweet back to that. One’s palette simply isn’t set up after the delightfully sweet yogurt to go back to that salty very easily, or so I learned. Speaking of sweet, though, there was the check. $7.

H50 has always been a great go-to spot.

Eat Meat (and fish): Olympic Provisions

After another backgammon tourney defeat last night (I maintain I only play people with extreme good luck), I jumped over to finally give Olympic Provisions a try. I’ve almost gone to OP a few times, but seem to have my plans dashed at the last minute. Not this time. John Gorham at Toro Bravo, who has given me some excellent “head’s ups”, suggested this was one of the truly inspiring and up and coming spots in Portland earlier in the day, when I met with him about doing Chef’s Choice Portland Food Adventures. So, looking for a way to salvage the night from sheer defeat (OK, I met a woman I had a GREAT time with at the backgammon tournament, to be sure), I headed up from Spring Creek Cafe on 99E and found Olympic Provisions in the most unlikely spot for a restaurant–if I had been anywhere but Portland. On the southeast part of a block in the Southeast Industrial district, on SW Washington is the entrance for Olympic Provisions. It reminded me a bit of walking into Simpatica Dining Hall. Until you get in. You’re greeted by the giant MEAT sign, which has a flashing M, of course a low-tech way of getting across most of the point of this restaurant: Eat Meat. I was reminded of years past, on a different scale, of course, when my brother did the light shows for Van Halen. He ended many shows with the VH logo flashing at the audience–all zillion watts of lights–to the final beats of You Really Got Me, so they would have that logo emblazoned in their retinas every time they blinked for at least a day after the show, just to remind them of where they were. So, then, at 23, it was Van Halen. Now, here I am, having EAT MEAT flashed at me at 52.

The crowd ? Young and on the slightly chic side of Portland hip. I could envision many of these people making their ways to Beaker and Flask for late night drinks afterward.

I felt like only one plate… not too much.

While the EAT MEAT message was resonating in my mind and my stomach, I gravitated to the Roasted rock cod. But wait, the bright lights of the EAT MEAT sign brought my eyes northward on the menu to the Roasted pork belly! Rock cod. With morels! Pork belly. With clams! Rock Cod. Pork belly. Am I the only one who is this insane? I venture to guess not. So, the two guys sitting next to me, who were paying their bill, I decided, would sway my decision. I asked them, and while they reeled off about five dishes they did have, they hadn’t tried the pork belly, but the rock cod was their favorite of all the dishes they ordered. DONE! Server comes. I order the rock cod. She informs me these are small plates and I might want to order a second–probably a vegetable (EAT MEAT… EAT MEAT…) if I am there to get full. (EAT MEAT… EAT MEAT) I abstain (visions of my cardiologist on my shoulder fighting the EAT MEAT sign), and figure I’ll go with one dish tonight and have a feast when I come back with someone, and will save the pork belly (and others) for the next visits. I do ask about taking some provisions home, to which she responds that I need to meet her at the deli counter. We agree that should happen when all is said and done. She leaves, and I think… “shit, should I have ordered the pork belly?” Yes, I am insane. Even though I was bellied up to the chef’s counter, I didn’t have the best view of the preparation from my particular seat, I could see that sign flashing very prominently, That must be the problem. Yes.

A few moments later a most delicious aroma wafted by my nose. I asked the cook what that was. “Butter. Your rock cod is about to take a swim.” The lighting in the restaurant–very dim–was too dark to take a pic of the dish with my Droid phone, but I have to say, no picture would have done it justice. Simply devine (and I don’t use that term very often). The arugula puree was so flavorful, and the few morels complemented the tender meat of the cod (with a carmelized crust) so perfectly. It was a tantalizing and satisfying light dinner.

As agreed, I met the beautiful young hostess/server at the deli counter where i would also pay my check, and among the nicely laid out salamis and other delights, I picked out a plump and beautiful tube of Kielbasa. $5. The thought was an omelette on Sunday morning.

Yeah, that’s the ticket. Meat. You really got me.

 

 

 

Afternoon Delight in the Wine Country

It was a gorgeous Sunday afternoon yesterday. After getting done what needed to be done around the house, at 3:00 we set off for a little drive to Henry Hagg Lake, but on the way stopped to pick some raspberries

Then on to Hagg Lake

Passing so many wineries, we stopped here…

Then to the Allison, a gorgeous hotel/spa in Newberg, where we decided to forgo a $16 burger in the bar in favor of less expensive fare at the L’il Cooperstown Grill just across the way. I’ll make a visit soon for dinner, though. It just wasn’t the right night to do so.

As we were driving out, we noted the 99W Drive-in, and had the delightful opportunity to take on a movie in the beautiful Oregon Summer air, which we seized, after a very short discussion. Of course, Toy Story was playing, being a family venue.  My son, having never been to a drive-in, whom I took to see the first Toy Story when he was just a little kid, and I really enjoyed the experience.

Here’s an image that captures that feeling of not being able to get your mind off the snack till you satisfy the urge…

What a great way to spend an Oregon Sunday afternoon and evening. Nice Adventure. Living in Oregon is kind of like being on a permanent vacation.

Food Cart Video Tour

Here’s a nice video done by Men’s Health Magazine.

It covers some of my favorite carts: Nong’s, Grilled Cheese Grill, Pyro Pizza and a few others I was glad to have learned about. Portland Soup Company will be a stop soon.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid271548429?bctid=97200454001

Not your father’s Ping

If you said to someone “Let’s have Chinese. Let’s go to Ping in Chinatown” they’d surely have no idea what they were in for, or they’d be misled at the very least. Ping is really multi-Asian, and as a food lover and not a food writer, I’d peg it somewhere between street Thai and Malaysian. You can’t call it Asian Fusion, because that conjures up visions of perhaps European influence. I’ve got it. Let’s just call it great.

Last year I had Ping on the itinerary when my brother was here, and the decision making process involving four people led us astray. I’m sorry that happened–for his sake.

On the first gorgeous summer Friday night of the season, my dear friend Donna and I headed to the Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts. Perhaps an indication that the night would be right, I found a parking spot a block away from the park. After we enjoyed some of the exhibits, especially the Luminous Layers exhibit, about which Donna and I both agreed her work could easily have garnered best in show, we jumped back in the trusty Touareg and dialed up Ping to see if getting a table at 8:15 would be a problem. I was surprised to hear it wouldn’t.

We found a parking space on the northern outskirts of Chinatown, walked a few blocks past some of what I thought wasn’t the best side of our fair city, but quickly found Ping, and our choice of tables in the rather modern space. We chose a spot by the window with a good view of the specials board.

Donna ordered a Gin Rickey, and I a Tsingtao, and we were off to the races with Ping’s family style menu.

A few skewers of beef and shrimp. The Pork Collar’s sauce appealed to me, and my inclination was entirely correct. The juicy meat dipped in the spicy sauce was our favorite in this round, although we enjoyed everything. The shrimp is served with limes on the side, which we were told should be squeezed into the salt and pepper as a sauce. Simple, and delightful. This one is easy to remember for shrimp at home.

(Short ribs and beef satay, below)

Shrimp skewers and pork collar

We ordered a little rice, and then the nonya-style green beans (shown here after we had already dug in–they were so good–perfectly al dente with the crispness of the fried shallots to finish them off.)

We toyed with the idea of the pork knuckle, which I had been told was incredible from a few well-heeled sources (the waiter was nice enough to stop by for a quick picture before he served it to a table nearby)

but it was just too much for two (next time!), and opted instead for the special–Pompano.

This delicious and tender dish was served whole and scored, ready to easily scrape from the bones and dip into the amazing spicy sauce (also great for pouring over the jasmine rice.) I ate the skin, but Donna preferred to delight solely in the succulent and plentiful meat we could scrape (flip it over!) Just wonderful. I hope this is on the menu often.

If I had one suggestion to make, it would be to serve the beverages, including the water, colder.  Perhaps it’s authentic not to have the H2O ice cold, but once I asked the server for a glass of ice, into which I poured my water, that helped cut through the spice a little bit, and keeping with Ping’s theme of relative simplicity, was a nice complement to the dishes, along with my beer (which I would have loved to have been served with a chilled glass itself).

I had been to Ping before, but just for appetizers before a show at the Roseland, and another time for lunch where I had ordered a salad. They were enjoyable, but not the best way to experience a place like Ping. The Ping journey is best experienced with a large appetite and a spirit of adventure. After all, it’s that same spirit that takes Andy Ricker away for weeks at a time from his prized restaurants in Portland on his treks in Asia, to keep pushing the envelope of Asian culinary creativity. It’s truly an art form when we a chef can serve up what’s in his heart and soul and make you understand the joy he must have felt during his discoveries. With someone like Donna

( http://www.donnayoung.com ), we experience her vision through our eyes. With a visionary chef like Mr. Ricker, our senses are touched through our sight, smell, and taste.

That’s why art is so wonderful–a gift we’re blessed with as humans to appreciate–that which makes us feel alive. And the simple, spicy plates at Ping do just that.

Serratto Happy Hour

Dinner is great at Serratto, but for Happy Hour, Serratto is absolutely one of the nicest choices in Portland. A varied menu of excellent items (I particularly love the shrimp), and a really nice atmosphere, whether inside or out.

 

 

Happy Hour Menu

Hummus, olives and seasonal vegetables, served with grilled flatbread  $4   French onion soup baked with a seasoned crouton and Gruyère cheese  $5   Mediterranean-Blue mussels sautéed with chorizo, peppers and onions in a white wine-garlic broth  $6   Crispy fried calamari served with lemon-caper rémoulade  $5   Anderson Ranches lamb albóndigas with roasted garlic tzatziki, arugula and roasted red peppers  $5   Hand-cut pommes frites with dipping sauces  $4   Organic mixed baby greens with candied walnuts and red wine vinaigrette   $4    Caesar salad of romaine lettuce, romano cheese and toasted croutons  $4   Sautéed prawns with white wine, garlic, basil and chimayo chile oil  $6   One already consumed here! So good, we couldn’t wait. Painted Hills burger with bacon, white cheddar, bbq sauce and crispy fried onions, with pommes frites  $6   Rigatoni with spicy Italian sausage, garlic, tomato, fresh mozzarella and basil  $6   Serratto’s cheese pizza  $6.00   Add spicy Italian sausage, pepperoni, or fennel salami  $2   Took this home! Really good. One of my favorite PDX pizzas, especially for $8.00 Serratto’s pizza del giorno, tossed to order and baked   in our stone oven  $8     Ask about today’s wine and   cocktail specials for $5!

 

Next time I am not sure what I feel like when Happy Hour rolls around, I’ll head to Serratto. Decide what mood you’re in when you get there… salad, seafood, burger, pizza… all really great. And two of us enjoyed a very filling meal and a beer, with plenty to take home, for $35 after tip.

Bar Avignon and the “did you want change?” question

Met a friend here for a drink, although it turns out she hadn’t eaten ahead of time so she was going to venture beyond a Pinot to the menu.

Her salad, with a crumbled bleu cheese dressing, was, as she put it, crispy but tender.  We had some fun with that definition, but when I dipped my fork in, the description didn’t matter because it was just delicious unto itself.  I ordered a half-dozen oysters, 2 of three different kinds.   I wish there had been a cocktail sauce, but I the vinaigrette based accompaniment was nice enough.

But, the highlight?  Two tables near us had the fried chicken ($11) in front of them–drizzled with honey and looking delicious.  I must get back there for that.  It will be on my mind till I do.

OK, lastly, not to pin this server’s handling of the check on Bar Avignon because this has happened at many places, but here’s my Larry David gripe for the day:   Any server who picks up the check and says “do you want change?” just pisses me off.  Especially in this case.  The check was $30.  There were two twenty dollar bills on top of the check.  Is she presuming that we should be giving her a $10 tip?  Or over 30%??

Nonetheless, even if she didn’t know the numbers involved (and my companion pointed out that she might not have, which I think is sloppy at best, and conniving at worst), I think servers should just take the check and bring back the change, without asking that question.  I’ve been asked that with a credit card in the check folder.   “Yes, I’d like my credit card back!”   And second, even if I am leaving cash, I consider it a demonstration of laziness when this question is asked.

Don’t interrupt my conversation to ask if I can save you the trouble of bringing back change so you can have the whole balance as a tip.  Just bring the damn change and let me deal with it on my time.

Have a nice day.

Seres (former Sungari Pearl)

While the afternoon hunger pangs were starting to arouse my attention, I happened upon a Facebook status update from Seres that their Happy Hour, featuring a delicious Kung Pao Chicken, was being extended to 8pm.  I was to meet a friend for drinks at 7:30, so I thought a nice way to pass that time was to try Seres.  I had never been to Sungari Pearl, it’s former name.  Same management, though.

It’s easy to find.  Right below the Go by Streetcar sign in The Pearl.

Walked right in and was greeted by an extremely beautiful hostess, who pointed me to the bar, where she said Rian would be taking care of me.  I chose the bar versus sharing a large six seat table with someone else, in favor of not staring at a wall.  I had a little difficult time negotiating getting situated.  The bar stool, with shock absorbers, was tough to figure out how to maneuver while not smacking into the guy next to me.  He had a bit of an attitude about that.  Later he was discussing his New Jersey roots and the weather here in Portland.  I nodded that to a northeasterner, the weather was nothing here.

I ordered a Pils, but was told they were out of that.  I was given a Bridgeport IPA, which Rian tried to tell me looked dark, but tasted light.  I didn’t swallow it that way.  It was dark, and not to my liking.  Tsingtao instead.

I asked Rian what he recommended, and was steered away from the special Kung Pao to the General Tso’s chicken.   OK, while I didn’t feel like something so heavy, I thought if he was so high on it, I’d go with it.  For an extra $5., I asked him to add an order of House Fried Rice.

While waiting, I discussed the name change with Rian, which he said stemmed from the restaurant taking a very active change toward local organic and free-range poultry and meats, along with composting, etc.   Fresh sauces made to order were now the rule.   He then went on to take someone’s order for a drink, and exclaim that he did the best lemon zest in the business.

Rian was right about the General Tso’s.  Very nice, with the perfect amount of spice for my taste.  Not crazy, but just enough to complement the delicate white and dark meat chunks of chicken.  Really a deal for five bucks.  The fried rice was chock full of shrimp and large shreds of chicken.  There was one piece of beef to be found.  I thought it needed a bit of soy, which Rian quickly delivered to the table.   I really liked the sterling silver chopsticks.  A nice touch for an inexpensive meal.

Happy hours are a great deal, but even better when they go till 7, and you can enjoy great food in a really nice atmosphere.  That doesn’t preclude going to Seres on the regular menu, of course.  Just a nice way to hang for a bit for $15 total.