A few months later I found myself on a plane to Oregon. Sitting on Phil's bachelor futon the first night he told me he loved me. I was head-over-heels in love with him, and crazy about Portland, and I didn't want to leave either one.
Although we ultimately chose Bainbridge Island as our home, Portland remains a special place for both of us. Add to that the fact that it is one of the great food destinations in the US and it was a clear choice for a weekend away.
Join us on the anniversary tour.
11:00am Saturday - Pollo Norte
Pollo Norte has a passionate following. Locals line up or call ahead as the restaurant closes when they sell out. The chicken is Mary's free range organic, soaked in a brine with lime juice, achiote,
sugar and sea salt, rubbed with a trio of powdered chiles, skewered then
thrown on Pollo Norte's imported Mexican rotisserie. For $16 we feast on a half chicken, cowboy beans, roasted potatoes, three house-made sauces, three handmade tortillas, and wilted cabbage. Oh, the cabbage. It's piled in the bottom of the rotisserie and catches the drippings as the chickens cook. We ate every bite.11:45am Saturday - Case Study Coffee on Sandy
 |
| The chandelier is a caffeine molecule |
This is Portland. There will be coffee. A quick check online provides a list of the top 20 roasters. Time to get on it. Case Study Coffee's obsession with perfection and proximity to Bakeshop make it our first choice. This spring they offer 5 coffees from Costa Rica’s Las Lajas, each one unique as a result of a different method of processing. I have red honey, Phil has black honey, both as pour overs. Beans and water are weighed. Temperature monitored. The timing of the drip carefully watched. It is magnificent. | |
| Bakeshop Kouign-amann, maple pastry, and Stout Cake with Case Study Coffee |
12:30pm Saturday - House Spirits Distillery
Portland's coffee scene is matched only by its small-batch distillery scene, so next we head to House Spirits' new tasting room. We are old fans of their Coffee Liquor and Westward Malt Whiskey but today are sold on Old Tom Gin, which is their Aviation gin aged a year in used whiskey casks. It is unmistakably gin, but smooth and mellow. Perfect for sipping neat. Or while taking a selfie at the tasting room camera. 2:00pm Saturday - Providore Fine Foods
Pastaworks, a European-style market of long standing, recently closed their main shop in Southeast Portland and reopened a bit further north in the gorgeous new Providore. It is all things necessary for happiness under one roof. Mountains of fresh flowers, rows of olive oil, vinegar, sauces, fresh pasta cut to order, wine, coffee, sandwiches, cheeses, cured meats, fresh-baked focaccia, fresh meat sourced from local farms, sustainable seafood, and an oyster bar. 
Sure, we're full from lunch, but who can pass up oysters?
Saturday 3:00pm - Hotel DeLuxe
Time to check into our boutique hotel for a nap. The Hotel Deluxe has something for both of us. For Phil, it's the hotel's theme based on the Golden Age of Hollywood. Our floor is lined with photos of Bogey, Bacall, Lorre, Monroe, Sheridan, and Hepburn. For me, there are big fluffy towels, an excellent shower, down comforters, and a pillow menu. Checking in I am reminded that Keep Portland Weird is more than a slogan. Alongside us is a young woman with her lap dog. She's carrying a bag of beautifully wrapped packages and a Happy Birthday balloon. The clerk inquires and she shares that it is the dog's 9th birthday and they are spending the weekend at the hotel to celebrate. Saturday 5:00pm - Multnomah Whiskey Library
Unwilling to wait two hours for a seat in the actual Library, we opt for a drink in the Green Room, which is bright and loud, and full of (Yikes!) young people. Phil splurges on a Laphroig single malt scotch neat. I am excited to try Koval's four grain whiskey. A blend of rye, oat, barley, and wheat, it is lush and remarkably mellow for a 94-proof spirit. My favorite memory here is a lumbersexual with enormous hairy hands drinking a cocktail from a delicate stemmed coupe.
6:30pm Saturday - Mediterranean Exploration Company
New, loud, crowded, and cool, with creative, vibrant food. It's a blend of Greek, Turkish, Lebanese, and Israeli, painted with a Pacific Northwest brush. The cocktail menu illustrates what a good mixologist can do. Phil has the Constant Gardener, a savory mix of Aviation gin, genepy des alpes, dolin dry vermouth, aquafaba, lime, and Scrappy's celery bitters. I am smitten with the Smoking Gaucho, a dangerously pretty blend of del maguey vida mezcal, olmeca altos reposado tequila, lemon. aperol, genepy des alpes, and valdespino manzanilla sherry. We want everything on the menu, but settle on house labna with roasted cauliflower scooped on just-made pita, grilled Pacific octopus salad with fresh peas and mint, lamb kabobs, chicken kabobs, and fried fresh anchovies with shallots and green harissa. We permit ourselves a bottle of Turkish wine as we are walking, not driving.
A trip to Portland is not complete without browsing the shelves at Powell's. Acres of new, used, and out-of-print books. The perfect nightcap before heading back to the hotel. Easter Sunday, 8:00am - Blue Star Donuts
Quality over Quantity is the motto of Blue Star. If you only eat one donut in your life, it should be from Blue Star. At 8:00am on Easter Sunday the line is out the door. By mid-afternoon they will sell out. From their website: Our donuts are made from a classic brioche recipe that originated in the
south of France. The dough takes 18 hours to make and is made from
scratch every day; we start with a sustainable bread flour from
Shepherds Grain, add cage-free eggs, whole hormone-free milk, and then
fold in a European-style butter. Our donuts, glazes, and fillings are
made fresh throughout the day, and we only cook our donuts in rice oil. It is soooo hard to choose. Raspberry rosemary buttermilk, lemon poppyseed, Meyer lemon curd, dulce de leche, Vahlrona chocolate, passion fruit cocoa nib, chocolate hazelnut ganache, marionberry pepper jam with peanut butter powder. We limit ourselves to three.
8:30am Sunday - Coava Coffee
Sure, we had a mug of Stumptown drip with our donuts, but that was 15 minutes ago. Time to see what the kids are drinking these days.
 |
| Coava Coffee Bar |
You instantly become hip by walking through the door of Coava Coffee. Everyone is young, thin, dressed in skinny jeans and properly weathered expensive leather shoes. Tattoos are ubiquitous. Not a gray hair in sight, present company excluded. No moms with strollers. The menu is spare to highlight the bean. No syrups, no flavors. Pour-over, macchiato, latte, cappuccino, espresso. Period.
On weekdays the large open space doubles as a design showroom for Bamboo Revolution an oh-so-Portland endeavor to create a sustainable timber bamboo industry based in Oregon. The table where we sip our coffee is a work of art. And do visit the bathroom.
9:00am Sunday - Pure Spice Dim Sum
We bid the young and beautiful adieu and head over to the Jade District to meet up with our friend Patrice for the best dim sum in Portland. Reminiscent of the Asian neighborhood joints I knew in Chicago, hanging in the window by the door are whole ducks, head and all, roasting. We are immediately given mugs of green tea and menus written in both Chinese and English. After much deliberation we mark off our choices: three kinds of steamed dumplings, pot stickers, scallion pancakes, pumpkin pancakes, seaweed wraps, two orders of sesame buns, fresh rice noodles with bbq pork, grilled green beans in hot pepper sauce, and steamed bok choy. The food is awesome. Patrice will eat the leftovers all week. The total bill for the three of us is $53.00. 
Noon Sunday - Five Points Roasters
More coffee, anyone? After a stop at Fubon, an Asian super mall, and wandering in and out of antique shops on Division, we pop into Five Points Coffee Roasters. This is clearly a family hangout and the neighborhood is funky and artsy and young. The music is loud and, as we have now come to expect, the coffee is excellent. Of COURSE you will be presented with information on the beans, including the elevation at which they were grown.
Yet more things I love about Portland are the quirky public art projects. Some happen organically, like the Tiny Horse Project. Long ago when Portlanders traveled on horseback, metal rings were placed to tie up the ponies. Those rings are still in place and locals took it upon themselves to attach colorful tiny plastic horses. On this trip we stumbled upon cleverly adorned ornamental metal statues from Cr&sh Studio's Division Street installation This All Happened More or Less.
Still working off our lunch we wander back downtown where we stumble upon Shinola. Phil sees the look in my eyes and knows this is going to be expensive. Shinola's mission is to create jobs in Detroit by bringing back high quality manufacturing. They partner with other craftspeople to create the highest quality watches, leather goods, bicycles, and writing implements. I leave with my anniversary present. A steel watch made by hand. It will last a lifetime, like our marriage.
6:00pm Sunday - Ox
The anniversary dinner. As we talked with people around town they would ask "Where are you going to eat?" When we mentioned Ox the response was universal. Ooooh, you're going to the best place. Chefs Greg Denton and Gabi Quinonez are racking up accolades as from James Beard and Food & Wine. Like so many wonderful places in Portland it is a small, neighborhood spot. Cozy, dark, warm.
The staff is instantly gracious and eager to please. We decide to sit at the chef's table so we watch the action and learn from the masters. We start with local gin martinis. An amuse bouche of rich squash soup laced with sherry appears with our drinks. Off to a good start.
Everything is over the top rich. House made ricotta is baked, topped with grilled mushrooms and served with grilled bread. We share a 16-ounce 100% grassfed ribeye from a local farm, and watch it grilled over hardwood. The secret we learn, is in the specially made grill, slanted to collect the drippings from the meat, in a tray filled with fresh rosemary. This is presented alongside your steak in a tiny white porcelain cup. The chef calls it black gold. We pair our steak with big Oregon reds, mine a blend of Syrah and Petit Verdot and Phil's a Cab Franc. As over the top insanely delicious as our steak was, it is the salad that will stay in my memory. Bitter endive and treviso with carmelized pears, marcona almonds, chorizo, manchego cheese and sherry vinaigrette. Every bite a perfect mix of bitter, salty, rich, savory, and sweet. We wave away the dessert menu. We cannot eat another bite. Or, maybe we can. With our check arrives a small scoop of house made ice cream on buttery cookie crumbs. Nice.
Monday 8:00am - Heart Coffee Roasters
So much great coffee, so little time. Around the corner from our hotel is Heart. Sleek, spare, sparkling with light. Yet another example of Portland's love of the bean. I order a drip with steamed whole milk and the foam is so thick I should eat it with a spoon. Although the pastries are lovely, we pass as we are headed to the mother of all bake shops.
9:00am Monday - St. Honore
Monday 10:30am
Time to start filling the car with goodness to take home. This ritual takes us all over town, but nets delights for weeks to come. A few of our favorite things.
Bui Natural Tofu. Tofu that people who don't like tofu will love. Made throughout the day it is thick and rich and comes in varieties like green onion and lemongrass. The fresh soy milk is so rich it's like soy cream.
Old Salt Butcher and Restaurant
Everything about this place is perfect. We load up our cooler. I could prattle on, but their website says it all: Old
Salt Marketplace exists to serve the neighborhood – deli & meat shop, supperhouse &
bar, event & classroom, and a mid-week farmers market through the summer. The shop proudly offers the finest meat available, period. Everything is made in-house, beginning with whole animals from Oregon's best farmers and ranchers.
Our expert butchers keep the meat case full with everything from
rib-eyes to roasts. The supperhouse, named runner up restaurant of the year,
is fueled by a wood-fired hearth where the aforementioned meats share
center stage with seasonal produce sourced from growers that take pride
in their work. Paired with one of your favorites from our extensive list
of libations, you can enjoy any experience between a quick bite and
drink to a multi-course feast.The Portland Mercado
A brilliant concept. Bring together a row of Hispanic food carts. Add an indoor marketplace with a butcher, grocer, and coffee shop and you've got one-stop shopping. We continue to load our cooler with freshly made salsas (my favorite are the habanero-carrot and the coban), Oaxacan crema, Mexican cheeses, green chorizo, carne asada, and more.
Last Stop before hitting the highway home.
Lunch at Sen Yai. Andy Ricker is The God of authentic Thai cuisine. Bringer of hot, salty, sour, sweet. Bring it to me, baby.
 |
| Noodles in a complex dark rich broth with spices, herbs, stewed beef, poached beef, house-made meatballs, water spinach, dry chiles, herbs and bean sprouts. |
 |
| Noodles in a savory/sour fermented tofu and tomato broth with house made fish balls, prawns, cuttlefish, water spinach, white coral mushrooms, tofu puffs and fried garlic |
And so we bid adieu to Portland until June. Watch these spaces. There will be coffee.
No comments:
Post a Comment