The Joys of January ( I stole that title from my daughter)

     I was going to title this blog entry BiGMoUtH Leftovers as it is a little bit of a photo-dump from a month of weekend eating/drinking/dinking around and because I've used that title before.  This morning I saw a little photo-dump my daughter had posted titled "January Joys".  I found it a fitting descriptor.  

     The weather here in Oregon this January has been pretty darn glorious by PNW standards and I have been taking full advantage by eating out, outside, as much as possible.  Not so great for my figure or my wallet but oh so good for my tummy and my spirits.  This month K and I visited the Gorge,  the lovely town of Astoria and some friends at a food cart pod down in Oregon City. 

 Now I have probably told you this before but it bears repeating: One of the most delicious places to visit in the Columbia Gorge has got to be Brigham Fish Market in Cascade Locks.  I cannot praise these people (two sisters), their market, their menu, all of it, can't praise it enough.   Of course I love my lunch with a view and the view from Brigham's picnic area makes it one of my true happy places. The food though.  Whether you get the Halibut, the Salmon or the Sturgeon (when available), the fish and chips are the way to go here but honestly, I haven't found a miss on this menu full of hits.  This time around we over-ordered a Halibut Po'Boy (pictured) and the Smoked Salmon Quesadilla which for some reason I have to order EVERY SINGLE TIME we go here.  Hence the over-ordering.  I know that I want to try everything on the menu but when you get a cheesy, smoky delicious 'dilla like the one here, it's hard to not order one every single time.  Afterwards you can go for a hike in the lovely Columbia River Gorge.  Any one of the gorgeous waterfall hikes will help burn the calories you consumed over-ordering. Or do like I do and take the hike beforehand so you get good and hungry because the portions here are generous and the food is fresh, rich and delicious.

     This past weekend K and I woke up and upon seeing the blue sky outside our window almost simultaneously announced we needed to head to the coast. Oh, but where?  So many delightful choices.  We decided upon  Astoria.  I love Astoria for so many reasons.  Just it's placement between mountain and river and sea is enchanting.  I am inexplicably drawn to the mix of industry and ocean, man vs. nature.  I don't know.  It is something I struggle to explain with words but feel in my heart every time we go there.  The last couple of times we visited I was disheartened by the number of vacant storefronts and I missed the bustle the pandemic ripped from the heart of this little town but she appears to be fairing better these days and I was all too happy to be there.  

Now some time ago (Leftovers, 2013) I had visited the Wet Dog Cafe.  I have since visited this taproom several times after it's changeover to The Astoria Brewing Company (although many still refer to it as the Wet Dog).  The food here is slightly better than standard Pub fare.  Nothing too fancy but it really hits all the right spots when you are walking around in the Pier 11 area.  I've had burgers here and tacos and Mac and Cheese (yes, please).  This time around K and I decided to split the Hazelnut/ Blue Cheese salad with crispy chicken and an order of the absolutely fabulous Golden Rye Ale Cheesy Beer Fondue with pita and apples. The salad was fresh and yummy but let me tell you about the chicken on top.  It was more like a Schnitzel than fried chicken strips and I approve.  Also, my favorite way to enjoy the fondue was to take a pita and place a slice of apple in it.  Fold it over like a little sandwich and then scooop it through the cheese.  This is one place where the amount of fondue meets the amount of dippers for the win.  And we ordered beer flights because I had forgotten which beer here was my favorite.  Isn't that why anyone orders a full flight?  I'm going to go into each of the beers and their very unique attributes in a later post dedicated to Astoria Brewing but for right now I will tell you my favorite was the Volksweissen Ale which is a 5.4abv wheat.  It had that perfect banana-y front that was smooth with a slight refreshing bite. I'm usually a girl for  the darker beers but my first true love was hefeweizens and this ale was Germanic deliciousness. 

     This pandemic has really made getting together with people I love challenging.  Besides the outrageous amount of head games I play with myself, sometimes finding a place where we can sit together, comfortably, safely, outside (preferably) can be a task.  Food cart pavilions seem to be our best bet with these circumstances.  There is also the bonus of a fairly good variety of food if you choose the right pod.  This past month we chose Corner 14.  This is a fun place.  I've never been here before, mostly because it is a trek but I would say now a trip worth taking.  There is a lively tap room with brews, wine and spirits, axe-throwing ( I have yet to try this but I tell you, I will) and 12 food carts surrounding a wide covered patio with a fire pit.  Now, the day we went, the firepit and the associated tables were coveted spots but we still found a nice table catching some elusive winter sun.  It was chilly enough that I was not interested in beer but ordered a Tuaca Hot Apple Pie.  I love Hot Apple Pies.  I would order them at the Gold Spike Saloon when I worked up in Denali, Alaska.  They are comforting, and tasty and warm, which is key.  So here I was huddled at a picnic table on a day that was easily only in the 30s but my heart was warm because I was with friends and I was enjoying a delightfully warm beverage. Still seeking comfort and of course some more deliciousness, K and I perused the cart menus before landing at Maw Maw's Cajun Kitchen.  I am a huge fan of all things Cajun and so this was an easy choice even with so much good stuff to choose from.  I had the Crawfish Etouffee and K had the Red Beans and Rice and both were out of this world.  So good, I'll probably drive down there and pick some up the week before Mardi Gras if K doesn't cook up some of his own.  And the hush puppies?  Ohmergoodness.  Couldn't keep them on the table (hungry friends).  Get at least the 6 pack because you'll want to be a hero and share.  It will be hard to head back down to this pod and not order at Maw Maw's but all of the carts had severely tempting menus and I am hoping to try them all.  It is my new quest.  

I'm Baaaack! Well, at least I thought I'd try...

 I stopped writing in this blog format close to 6 years ago.  I don't know why.  I guess it was faster, quicker, easier to just do what everyone else was doing and post my quick pic of food and drink and fun on the 'gram.  I stopped taking the time and energy to find the right words to describe my joy and just focused on the insta-joy.  I felt pangs of self-doubt and discouragement.  I compared my work to professionals and figured 'why bother?'.  I'm supposing it just wasn't fun anymore but that's not really true.  I loved writing.  I loved drinking. I loved eating.  I loved writing about what I was eating and drinking.  I didn't get paid for blogging.  I don't have aspirations of becoming America's darling food critic like I did back in my 20's.  That was when I would type out reviews and send them in to various local  news outlets hoping to catch the publisher's eye. The most I received from my Blogger writing days was the occasional extra pour or tickets to a beer fest and it was so worth it. Because I loved it.  And I think I'm going to try doing it some more.  Writing conventions, rules of grammar and Covid 19 be damned.  I just want to sit down and type out some praise and some prose and share with whoever is bored enough to take a few minutes and read about what makes me happy.  Which is what I think might make them happy.  Which is really what makes me happiest.  

Let's start with Breakfast.  I'm getting older and the hustle and bustle of the Brunchtime crowd in Portland has lost it's allure for me.  Plus...Covid...I'm not looking to jump into a super-spreader event but I do still like to go to restaurants that are still open (sadly, so many have closed these past couple of years).  In my heart I had planned a day of gluttony and food hopping.  In touch with reality, I chose to simply have breakfast at a locally famous diner and get there at the crack of dawn in an effort to avoid any crowds.  K and I perused menus and decided on Milo's City Cafe.  We had never been there and the thought of some delicious brunchy food and an outstanding build your own Bloody Mary sealed the deal.  

We arrived at  Milo's City Cafe moments after opening at 8:00ish which on the plus side pretty much gave us the place to ourselves and thwarted potential 'rona exposure but also thwarted some of our build your own Bloody plans.  As our very kind server gently explained, the kitchen wasn't quite ready for the day and so many of the options for the BYOBM were not available.  Regardless she poured us a fabulous drink and grabbed some bacon from the kitchen to zhuzh it up for us.  I ordered my drink with mild spice as I am wary/weary of not being able to finish a too spicy Bloody and this one came out perfect. She made me one with just enough spice to keep it real but not so much to cover the flavor of the vegis and vodka.  

The deliciousness of the Bloody Mary helped soften the blow when I ordered a Crab Benedict but found out that they were out of crab...ok...this is not a new unexpected occurrence.  It's not even one that is synonymous with Covid and our present supply chain issues.  Dungeness Crab is enormously popular and gets 86ed from server boards all the time, everywhere.  I can handle this...OK.  I'll have the Salmon Benedict and K will have the Chicken and Waffles.   

The Chicken and Waffles were good, maybe better than good. I'd even say delightful.  Topped with a crispy leek frizzle and served with whipped butter and a super yummy maple reduction (also known as syrup), the Belgian waffle was standard fare and the herb encrusted chicken fingers on top were  crispy, juicy, herby goodness.  I may have enjoyed them more than K did. 

I may have enjoyed his Chicken and Waffle more than I enjoyed my own choice of Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict.  *Heavy Sigh* Let me just start off by saying that nothing kills my EB vibe faster than a weak English Muffin.  The muffin for an Eggs Benedict should be toasted.  Crispy.  Not burnt, but at least crispy. The muffin is the base of a structure that holds all of that gooey, eggy, creamy deliciousness together. It should be crisp. I'm not sure my muffin saw the toaster.  That being said the top of my SSEB was all that and more.  Lemony, creamy hollandaise poured over a perfectly poached eggs cradled gently by some fairly decent alder smoked salmon.  It had all the right components in all the right places.  It was salty, it was sweet, it was creamy and rich.  It was all sitting on top of a cold, un-toasted english muffin.  

Now, I'm not going to write off  Milo's based on my english muffin experience.  I know that as I grow older I grow more particular about how certain things should or should not be and I have learned to leave space for providing grace in situations that may be less than ideal.  It may be a while before I get around to Milo's again because, well, Covid.  We just don't get out that much anymore and I like to spread the wealth, so to speak.  

But I'm still planning on getting out.  I'm still planning on eating and drinking and sharing my thoughts.  So there, even from behind a mask, this BiGMoUtH is getting back to it.