Remember when you were a kid (or even maybe now) and you'd go to The Spaghetti Factory? After the meal they'd bring a small bowl of green ice cream? Yeah, I wasn't a big fan of it, until I got older. This is Chef's play on said ice cream.
A bit more decadent, I do believe.
Also sorry for the lack of posting this week, I've been going toe to toe with a cold. Not sure if I caught it at work, or going to the library on Monday - either way been feelin' pretty crappy.
Sorry for the tardiness of this post, decided to take a couple 'mental' days.
First off, I should have taken notes, I figured with my mind being a steel trap and all (yeah right, those who know me - know how untrue that is) that I'd be able to remember and recall everything that went down my gullet. I did get pictures so that helps with the memory recall.
Lets just say that everyone involved brought their A game on Monday night. When I mean everyone, from the vendors to the volunteers to the wonderful food peeps in attendance. Not to sound cheesy or nothing but you guys should give yourselves a round of applause - because you truly showed that the food community in Portland is one hell of a class act.
It was nice to be able to put actual faces to twitter handles, or blogs for that matter. To say it was packed, is a giant understatement.
Here are my top three dishes from the event, in no particular order. And I will abstain from putting both of our offerings on the list. Because, you know bias and all.
Metrovino's Black Pepper Corn Panna Cotta w/ Foie Gras, Burbon Carmel Corn and Blue Berries. (This by the way seemed to be the hit among everyone).
The Gilt Club's Wild Boar rillette
Beaker & Flask's Gazpacho with Oregon Bay Shrimp & Smoked Scallop salad.
And now for the photographic evidence, including a nice shot of me and my friend Jen from Daily Blender.
I took this when we were on our way back from my son's 8th grade graduation in June. We were driving along the Columbia Gorge and the cloud formations were too cool looking - not to stop and take some pictures.
This is one of the first years I've attended the Oregon State Fair on opening weekend, and the BBQ'ers were in full force. While I didn't have any of his offerings, I did have some Q. I wasn't overly impressed with what I had, good but not great.
Not only was Mount St. Helens looking great last Sunday, but so was Mount. Adams. As you can see, there were no clouds what so ever. I couldn't have asked for a better day to share with my son, and take some pictures.
Another twisted creation from chef. This time he decided to to tunnel bone chicken drumsticks - stuff the little bastards with a healthy chunk of Foie Gras. Then he buttermilk battered it (twice mind you) and then fried it. While that maybe just a biscuit, what's on top is not.
That would be a Foie/Honey "Butter" - no butter to be found. Just foie and honey, and the plate is finished off with some scratch made hot sauce. I'm pretty sure I don't need to tell you that this particular special didn't last long.
And for those of you who don't get the "Memaw" reference, it's southern and is one of the many names used for "Grandmother", I had not known that until I watched the Big Bang Theory. So for your viewing pleasure I've provided a video from the aforementioned from the Episode "Creepy Candy Coated Corollary".
I could end up spewing geek all over the place, but not right now. And if you're seeing this clip for the very first time, that is indeed Wil Wheaton, playing a evil eeeeeeeevvvviiilll version of himself. And as a little side note before wrapping this up with a video - if you're not reading his blog or listening to his podcast.
Shame. On. You.
Now, on the the video I promised, a couple paragraphs ago - I seemed to have been sidetracked.
While this looked good in color, I think it looks even better in b&w.
We're entering the final days of the current menu, August's menu will debut on Tuesday and from what I understand not much is sticking around from the current menu. Also, August 4th will be our 9th month in operation - chef was telling me we're over that "hump" for startup restaurants.
Honestly, I can't believe it's been 9 months. Not to sound cliche or anything; but it just seems like last week we opened the doors to the public.
This ladies and germs is fun on a plate, when chef has a bit of extra time on his hands - this is what he comes up with. "The Elvis" is what he called it. There's a lot happening on this plate. As I'm sure you can tell.
Tempura fried banana, chocolate lacquered bacon, peanut butter semifreddo, chocolate and caramel sauce. And that's not plain old powdered sugar on those banana's either. It's a mixture of powdered sugar and bacon powder. If you're wondering exactly what a semifreddo is, it's Italian for "Semi-cold". It's catch all for any frozen or half-frozen desserts. It could be cake, ice cream, fruit (you get the idea, right?).
In this case it plays the role of ice cream, it's a peanut butter mousse that's been frozen. And let me tell ya, freezing a moose is just half the battle [insert half-assed rim shot here]. What was great was the reaction from patrons as our servers would describe this special table-side.
Bonus points to who ever can guess where the title of this post comes from. I can give one hint and I'll say that it is a song.
With a small heat wave giving Portland and surrounding areas a weather junk punch, what's better than ice cream? Ok, lets up the stakes here - Fresh Oregon Strawberry Ice Cream sitting on a slice of Grains of Paradise bread pudding.
Oregon strawberry's have received somewhat of a second wind. While all the rain earlier put a damper on strawberry's the heat and dry weather have actually extended strawberry season, as it should have ended last week.
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