My New Happy Place

I'm just finishing it now.  The Tequila Tres Leches cake that K and I picked up after dinner.  I love it even more today.  It could be because I stuffed my face silly last night and picking up the piece of cake for a very un-needed dessert was simply to satisfy my obsession with Tres Leches (3 Milks). No, this cake is worth it.  If you really knew me you'd know that means something.  I'm not usually a cake kind of person.  I prefer Pie.  Almost every time.  Tiramisu or Tres Leches would be the exceptions.  So let's talk about last night, and the delight that I found at the Portland Mercado.  Or, make that plural, Delights, we brought home a lot of good food.

We had gone looking to simply "check it out".  Friends had shared pictures from the Grand Opening a couple of weeks ago and I was excited to see how it turned out.  We entered the vividly glowing building through the foyer that holds Cafe' Revolucion.  That is where I first saw the Tequila Tres Leches.  Sitting in a lovely pastry case next to an equally scrumptious looking flan, this particular Tres Leches indicated something a little special with it's fresh lime slices sitting atop the pillowy whipped cream frosting. If there was truly tequila in the cake, I couldn't taste it but no matter.  The cake itself was the perfect spongy white cake consistency just slightly soaked in sweet condensed milk.  The frosting was creamy, cool and carried the lime flavor through out the layers of lusciousness.  Granted, it was the first thing I saw and I wanted it immediately but thought we should have dinner first.  With eight food carts and the beer/wine shop, Barrio,  calling our names, I decided we would return for it later in the evening.  Barrio is definitely worth looking into.  Growlers and bottles "to-go" along with a fine tap list and wines from Latin America to savor "in house".  After K and I gathered all the food we could carry we picked out a prime seating location and took in some highly enjoyable and lovely people watching.  We plan on spending many of our summer days parked in this same spot.

I enter the main room somewhat timidly, afraid to miss a single thing.  There are good things happening all around us, including a meat counter.  You can tell this place is poised to become a hub of the community.  The perfect neighborhood hang, with meat counter to boot.  A juice bar with line out the door, a dulceria (sweet shop), and did I mention the meat counter?

The lure of fresh spicy chorizo drew us quickly to The Don Felipe Chorizeria.  There we found Salud and Angelica and their absolutely delicious chorizo.  Hard to choose between the Red Chorizo, one of the best chorizos I have had or the exotic Green Chorizo, styled after chorizo popular to the Toluca region of Mexico just southwest of Mexico City.  We chose green this time and K whipped up chorizo and eggs this morning that were so fantastic I am still smiling about it 8 hours later.  Seriously. This giddiness may take me through Monday.


Let's get back to last night's dinner:  8 food carts, all highlighting cuisine from deliciously diverse regions of Latin America.  Salvador, Colombia, Cuba, Argentina, Mexico; amazing, but now what to choose?  Again with the choices people.  Good thing I choose to come back another couple hundred times, this place wins.

K and I do finally choose to sample off of three different carts and with fabulous results I must say.
First: our appetizer.  Yuca Frita from Que' Bacano.  Oh sweet heaven above.  These Yucca Fries are cut into little wedges and fried to crispy perfection.  Dense and moist, served with a garlic sauce that makes ketchup bow it's head in shame.  Enough for two to enjoy as a starter or just make it a deliciously reasonable meal.  But who said I was reasonable?












On to Fernando's for a Tuc Burrito.  A delicious vegi burrito featuring Nopales.  I cannot bring myself to go through the tortuous task of preparing and cooking cactus segments and so I am really happy I have found a place that will do it for me and then wrap the "leaves" into a big fat burrito full of goodness. The menu here is so enticing I can say that at least three of my next five trips to the Mercado will include a fresh, spicy delectable burrito from here.  All of the  burritos at Fernando's EASILY serve two.  Thank goodness I was splitting this monster with K.

Normal people would have stopped there.  By now, you've deduced I'm not normal people and so onto Mixteca. Hailing from Oaxaca, Mexico, Paula Asuncion easily makes some of Portland's most delicious tamales.  She's won awards for them for crying out loud. She started selling her tamales at Portland area farmer's markets in 2012 with business training and support from Micro Mercantiles.  But I wasn't here for the tamales this time.  Not this time, for there it was- a dish that is interpreted very differently everywhere you go but almost always turns up with delightful consequence: Mole (MOH lay). I like to say it slowly, drawn out, Mooooooooh laaaaaaaay.  The Mixteca cart at the Mercado had Mole, either in a full plate meal or as a bowl.  K and I went with the bowl: shredded chicken, black beans, white Mexican rice w/ veggies, Mole Negro sauce and topped with the Mixteca salad, a spicy lime-dressed coleslaw.  Authentically tasty.

And THEN we went back inside to purchase the Tres Leches.  To bring home.  To eat later.  K grabbed a fork and handed it to me.  "For the ride home".

Take note: Serious heart and soul went into this food.  Actually, serious heart and soul went into this entire venture.  The Portland Mercado is an incubator for small businesses and an economic development project of Hacienda.  Micro Mercantile runs a beautiful kitchen here, available for small businesses to use for a reasonable rental fee.  While we were there, a small cooking class was using the space.  This place really is a win-win situation for this neighborhood and this community in general.  

I Heart Austin

It was going to be quick but we had so much to do.  So much to eat.  So much to drink.  Although there were a few places that definitely needed a re-dough, I mean a re-do, headed back to Austin, Texas for Spring Break this year was a little bit of a bucket-lister.  Topping the list was Franklin Barbecue.  I had heard enough.  Lines be damned, it had to be done. And so it began...

 

First off, the re-do(ish).  K and I had to go back to Gordoughs. The Granny's Pie (Cream Cheese icing, Caramel, Pecans, Bananas, and Graham Crackers) and a second sampling of the Ring of Fire ( Chipotle infused chocolate batter, Chocolate sauce, Brownie bits, Salted Caramel Sauce, Cayenne Candied Pecans)  were all we needed to remind us that maybe a certain pink box organization in PDX could up their game a bit.  Plus the drinks available at this Public House are over the top.  Infused tequilas and vodkas, mason jars, splashes of St. Germain and the like.  You get the picture. 

Wednesday morning opened the quest.  Is it a myth?  Just a giant pile of hipster driven hype?  A good thing taken to the limits by amazing marketing?  We were here to find out and so at 9:00 am, a good two hours before they even open the doors, we headed downtown towards Franklin Barbecue.  It is almost synonymous with Austin eating and so we braved forth.  Empty handed.  Hearing that some smarter folk bring chairs and games and coolers of provisions, we still were not sure what really to expect.  Many of the reviews and articles I had been reading were over two years old.  Was it still the experience being touted across the internet?  I know I had been kicking myself all winter for not attending the PDX Feast which included the Tillamook Brunch Village that featured Franklins.   

But we were here, now, our time had come.  When we arrived approximately 9:15, we found about 35 people in line.  We felt fortunate.  SXSW was the previous week and we were here mid-week. No line wrapping around the building yet meant we may be walking in shortly after opening at 11 right?  Don't hold your breath.  The sweetest young lady came out to us to get a "pre-order".  Simply feeling out the situation regarding how much brisket and other assorted goodies we wanted and gauge how soon she was going to cut off the line.  She very graciously let us know we would probably eating around 12:15.  What?!  That was almost 3 hours away. Maybe she was being safe and expanding the time so we wouldn't grumble if she under-evaluated.  Let me just tell you now she had it Right. On. The. Money.  We had our food and found a lovely table inside at 12:15.  Franklin magic.  And it was.  I'm telling you right here and now, it was worth a 3 hour wait for the brisket.  And I would do it again.  The restaurant has a small corral for rag-tag, take 'em and leave 'em chairs under the stairs so if you're early enough and didn't have the forethought to bring your own, all is not lost.  There is also a CVS right around the corner to purchase "fortification" if you so need but around 10, a server from the restaurant comes out again to check on how y'all are doing and offer you beverages for a small fee.  I, of course, went for a Shiner (when in Texas as the saying goes...)  

Growing line...yikes. 

Smoke rising from Heaven

Franklin hospitality. Thank you. 

Almost there...

Getting the job done. 

At this point, I may be tearing up a little. 

We over-ordered.  There were five of us and we ordered enough meat for 10.  We were going to walk out of there with the meat sweats or die trying.  This particular plate held a lb of Brisket, a lb of Sausage and 1/2 lb of Pulled Pork.  We unfortunately did not order the turkey but I will next time.  I probably will not order the sausage.  It was good, but I've had better and so will not want to waste digestion energy.  I wish I was better with BBQ words.  I wish I could wax on about the "bark" and how it was crispy meat candy (it was).  How the savory mixed with the sweet and married the heat and there was no need for a sauce ( there wasn't).  Words like succulent, moist, melting, tender all leap to mind. Where are my words?! I can only tell you I would do it again.  I would wait 3 hours to eat more meat in one sitting than I should in a week. Thank you, Mr. Franklin ( he was there but I didn't want to post his picture w/o actually meeting him and getting permission)

I know you may be thinking "that's enough food for the day" but no.  No.  We needed to head into Houston to our hotel so we could rise bright and early and hit as many Museums on Free Museum day as possible.  Going to Houston meant there were different restaurants to try out.  We headed to the Hobbit Cafe.  Haven of Tolken paraphernalia and Guacamole goodness. The curried chicken is so thick on my sandwich I cannot pick it up. This is a good thing and I am in love.  I am also in love with my sweet potato french fries and my Leprechaun Hard Cider. 

The service here is fair.  I don't think they were prepared for the number of patrons they were receiving and they were audibly complaining about how tired and busy they were but our server was pleasant at our table and so there's a plus.  We ate outside on the patio which has a fun atmosphere, busy and colorful with special details that most fans of Tolkien would well appreciate.  Parking situation for this place and the surrounding restaurants sucks.  Simply being honest here.  You'd do better to take a cab.

Thursday morning, we woke to pouring rain that threatened to damper a day of walking round so we delayed the walk and headed to La Guadalupana Cafe for amazing coffee.  Cinnamon delicious.  Not overbearing simply well, perfect.  The delightful owner made us feel as if he had known us for years and after a wait for our breakfast tacos, machaca and tortas he brought us out a Tres Leches that was delightful.  If I lived in the Montrose area of Houston, I would be here every week.

After we had finished with the museums and parks which were all amazing and lovely and a little overwhelming, we went to Tampico Seafood and Cocina.  Had a very delicious and generously portioned Ceviche.  The fish here was fresh and delicious.

Next stop: El Bolillo Mexican Bakery.  Absolutely amazing.  Took some home for breakfast on Friday.  K knows how to set up a sweet bon voyage.

Headed back through San Francisco's Terminal 2 ( Thank you Virgin America!)  Had a quick dinner at Cat Cora's Kitchen.  The Lobster Mac and Cheese?  Yes please!  Creamy, delightful deliciousness.

The grilled Chili-Lime Flank Steak tacos were some of the tastiest most tender tacos we've ever enjoyed.  Love this little layover. And so our Moveable Feast moves on.  Heres to traveling on your stomach ;)