Rain? Bring it on. I'm going to the Oregon Brewers Festival 2014

"Whether the weather is wet, whether the weather is hot.  Whatever the weather, we put up with the weather, whether we like it or not." 
That popular tongue-twister is a favorite of mine.  It is Oh-so-true and ever more so here in the Pacific Northwest.  I, myself, am fond of the rain and so when the forecast for opening day of the Oregon Brewers Festival was for 100% precipitation I rejoiced.  Rain tends to keep the crowds at bay...wait, remember we are in Portland.  If we didn't drink beer in the rain we'd almost never get to drink beer.  That is not an option.  So damn the crowds and off we go to one of the largest outdoor beer festivals in the nation, 27 years strong.  

To start off the festival there is a brunch, followed by a parade. K and I missed both this year, unfortunately, but are planning on attending next year as I hear it is a good time.  We did, however, arrive in time to catch the end of the official Festival Barrel of Lucky Lab's Superdog.  Superdog is a consistently delicious Portland style Pale.  It comes in at 6.5% abv and a well balanced 90 ibu.  Deep and nutty but crisp.
  

I wanted to go into this year's festival with a plan.  Something like "hit all the IPAs that we can" or "do all the darks" or even "only beers from out of state".  Nah, I became so giddy when they put my wristband on, I'm surprised I remembered to grab a program. It was more like a book at 70 pages long and I would have referred back to it often if it hadn't been for the constant drizzle/drenching we were receiving from the sky.  Temperature-wise we were fine but the rain did prevent me from being able to take detailed notes on my tastes.  I had to rely on a checks/plus/star system to quickly keep note.  But no matter, there was beer to be had.  88 offerings in the trailers alone.  There was also the return of the specialty tent.  Higher priced, specialty or import beers that rotated through in limited quantity.  Over 100 were featured this year with 11 imports from our friendship city, Ultrecht, Netherlands and one from Germany.  So much good stuff.  I could have driven myself nuts sticking to a set itinerary.  So I let myself go, enjoyed the sweet reggae sounds coming from Sol Seed and hit the trailers. 

I am going to start with a trailer that immediately called my name.  Loud and Clear.  Trailer #9.  K and I sampled 21 beers at the festival, 7 of them were at Trailer #9.  Drawn by the brewery, stayed for the beer.  All of these are from brewers who have consistently produced delicious beers, although these brews were new.   

Ballast Point:  Oh wait, this brew isn't new.  And it was K's favorite from last year.  Sculpin IPA is hop-heavy fruit and flower with a pleasant bite at the end.  70ibu 7%abv

Deschutes Peppercorn, Lemon Verbena, Sumac and dried Lemon give this Saison a wonderfully fresh, spicy vibe.  That's why I really enjoyed Ester the Farmhouse Maiden.  5.9 abv 15 ibu

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery from Milton, Deleware has an impeccable reputation around here even though they've only been at OBF for seven years.  This year's Oak aged Strong Ale is just one example of a reputation well-earned.  Strong without being too boozy.  11% abv 70 ibu

Gilgamesh The Radtke Radler almost qualifies as a beer cocktail with 40% grapefruit juice added after fermentation.  Who cares?  It's light and refreshing and truly enjoyable quaff.  abv 4% ibu 19

McMenamins Concordia Brewery schools us once again with the Double Helix Double IPA.  You've probably heard me complain about McMenamins' service but their brews are consistently good drinking.  In my fumbling-rain-soaked note taking I gave this a CheckPlus and it looks like I meant it. 

Rogue Again, consistently good stuff.  I know, I have friends who disagree and I would say that I'm not madly in love with many of their brews but most rate high on the deliciousness scale and the Rogue Doppelsticke is up there.  Copper colored, clean and crisp.  abv 8.5 ibu 52

Stone Witty Moron: It's a Wit, but wait, it's black.  It's a black wit?  Yes, an oxymoron and it makes perfect sense.  Dark carafa malt, white wheat, flaked oats, coriander, bergamot and spicy clove create a deep, spicy, yeasty brew.  abv 4.9% ibu 40

Can you see why I spent so much time at Trailer #9?  There were so many more to go: Fitger's Brewhouse, Laurelwood, Omission Gluten-free, 10 Barrel, Gigantic, Terminal Gravity (woot woot!), Alaskan, Elysian, Sierra Nevada...whoa.  My fingers are getting tired so I'm just going to skip to four beers that I found to be extremely notable considering all of the great beers and breweries that we stumbled upon, or away from.  However you want to look at it.  

Boneyard is a newish Bend, OR brewery that continues to delight and carries one of my favorite IPAs, Bone-A-Fide.  abv 5.5 ibu 40.  Hoppy and delicious but super well balanced.  West coast style ales continue to rule.  

Caldera Brewing out of Ashland, Oregon brought a toasted coconut chocolate porter that stole the show.  Deliciously hand toasted coconut chips dry-hopped into this deeply chocolate malted porter makes for an amazing dessert any time of day. 

Speaking of amazing desserts, if you're looking for fruity, tangy, sweet-tart pow to the kisser- go for Pullman, WA Paradise Creek's Huckleberry Pucker.  This sour in the Berliner Weisse style uses just enough of the delicious Huckleberry to create a unique sweet aromatic draw followed by a quaffable tartness.  Yum.  Beer candy. 

Now my favorite.  And back to my true and genuine beer drinking nature, it is another chocolate porter style brew.  Shake from Boulder.  Cacao nibs, lactose, chocolate malt, chocolate wheat malt, crystal malt, black malt, layered on top of pale malt base providing a depth of chocolate and deliciousness that rivals it's namesake- the chocolate milkshake.  Not bad for an old guy like Boulder, 35 years in business and 22 years at OBF.  

Prost!

 And so K and I made our final judgements, jumped on the train towards home, and bid  OBF2014 adieu.  To you and you and you.  And the other 85+ brewers representing this year.  Can't wait to do it all again.

Back for another round: The North American Organic Brewers Festival

Last weekend, K and I once again ventured up to Overlook Park to attend our favorite beer festival of the year, The North American Organic Brewers Festival.  I love Overlook Park.  I love that tree. That magnificent tree. I love NAOBF.  Since K and I discovered it we have only missed it twice.  Once, for our daughter's wedding and once for an out of town family function.  The wedding was forgivable, after all, we were DIY catering the event.  After the second miss however I vowed, Never again.  It's that wonderful.

The  tap volunteers are conscientious and kind and willingly share their knowledge or honest lack thereof of any beer they are pouring.   Other volunteers at the event are warm, welcoming and keep the park in the tidiest condition. Keeping the beautiful park beautiful.  There have been vicious rumors that the event may change venues next year.  I pray not.  I feel like they have finally gotten into a sweet pattern with this place.  The layout is un-crowded and convenient. The giant Elm in the middle of the park is glorious. Yes, parking sucks but the Max train is RIGHT THERE.  Park at a Park and Ride and take the train.  That being said, I do not run the event and am not aware of any issues they may have with power, water, sanitation, etc.  But isn't that the point?  If I can't tell if there are problems, then someone, somewhere is doing a bang up job.  That's a good thing.

Farm to Fire folks working their tails off

We went on the busiest day, Saturday, and the only inkling of an issue that we were aware of was vendors running out of food early.  They were getting slammed and doing a killer job of feeding the hungry masses.  Lines never appeared too long and that is one of the reasons I love this festival. Even beer lines are moving quickly and efficiently.  Or perhaps I have just acclimated myself to the beer line.  Grab a taste, move on to next line, enjoy taster and the company of other patrons while waiting for next taste.  Seems simple enough.

Back to the food for a second.  Let's talk delicious options this year.  Vegan satay from Viva!Vegetarian?  Yes, thank you but wait- that  German Schweinbraten from Urban German Grill looks as amazing as the Wood-fired pizza from Farm to Fire.  And pork sliders from Bottles?  Forget about it.  I'm going to consume as many calories in food as I do in beer, it'll be a banner day.  I promise it was not I, who was responsible for the food selling out, although grabbing the second-to-the-last pizza was quite a score.

flying high pizza pie

Fellow beer lover putting her best fist forward

Now, for the beer.  This is a beer festival, after all.  Working my way through A-Z  I'm going to hit on my highlights.  Because I had tasted a lot of beer.  And some of it was just good beer.  And some of it was not so terribly good beer.  But some of it was stand out yummy beer. So here goes.

Ambacht Brewing Bourbon Barrel Aged G++  I really wanted to like this beer.  You know I love Bourbon barreled beers.  Love 'em.  This one was not to love.  Too much cherry?  I wouldn't have believed there could be such a thing but with the extra cherry and the bourbon aging this Strong Golden was just too much.  And too much is usually just right by me.  Sadly not this one. 8.5% abv 18 ibu

Bison Brewing I admit, I've reviewed the Honey Basil Pale Ale (6% abv) before and loved it.  Still do.  The floral notes of the Hop Cuvee (5.5% abv) west coast style ale was also remarkable. Bison brings it, again.  

Ft. George Brewery from Astoria offered up their yummy Spruce Budd Ale (4.9% abv).  I'm a big fan of Spruce and this Pale Ale packs a refreshing pop.  Could be the hand picked 550 lbs of spruce tips they used for the 30 barrel batch.  Hug a tree, friend. 

800 lbs of organic sweet potatoes and 400 lbs of organic rye married and produced a Belgian Pale Ale, Sweet Potato Rye (6.4% abv 32 ibu), that is smooth and delightful.  Well, actually Gilgamesh Brewing out of Salem, Oregon produced it but you know what I mean.

Loowit, our lovely neighbors to the North unleashed Gaiabolical (5.3% abv 45 ibu).  With fury and form, this goddess of beers proves to be more seductive than destructive.  

The only dark I had at the festival was McMenamins'  Pavol, the Collector.  This Baltic Porter was boozy chocolate yum but a little heavy on this humid summer day.  Hopefully, I'll be able to find it in October.

German import Neumarkter Lammsbrau was a simply refreshing pilsner (4.7% abv) that paired wonderfully with the German food we had and was delightfully hoppy and floral.

Old Town Brewing served up one of my favorites of the day, Chemtrails are real, man! (5%abv, 65 ibu) No really, that is the truly given name of one fine wheat Ale with an amazing hoppy-ness and the cloudy citrusliciousness of a heffe.

That was one of my favorites but Thirsty Bear from San Francisco had the beer that stole my heart, PandaBear Ale (5% abv 20 ibu).  Dry-hopped with organic vanilla beans and cocoa nibs this is a deep, rich ale with amazing aroma.  I will search for this one.

Two Kilts from Sherwood, Oregon, brought out a French style Saison.  Now I know it was getting warmer and a little sticky and nothing adds to sticky like a deep, sweet, warm Saison but I decided to try it anyway.  Glad I did.  This particular saison was crisp and light and peppery.  Happy surprise!

The day then turned to night and I realized that with all of our eating and drinking and talking to marvelous people and listening to fabulous music we had been at the festival a total of six hours.  Not a terrible way to spend the day.  Highly recommended.

Portland Magazine's Country Brunch and Bloody Mary Smackdown

Ok, We've gone over this all before.  Several times.  I love Brunch.  Mainly because I love breakfast foods, eggs being one of the most perfect foods in the world. Then add the delicious elements of lunch and dinner to it and that's it.  I'm done.  Lightly done, like an overeasy egg.  Cooked to perfection.  Sorry, I'm come back down to earth now.  I want to tell you about my experience from last Sunday.  It was glorious.  A fabulous  little known brunch held once a year and sponsored by Portland Monthly. After the first Country Brunch in 2012, Portland Monthly then joined forces with Zenger Farm.  It makes so much sense.  Celebrate our Urban Bounty.  The amazing food and sense of community.  Raise some money for a most beautiful cause, the Zenger Farm Urban Grange, a community space promoting urban farming education, small business incubation and communal growth and grace.  I really can't think of anything better right now. 

Although only three years old, this is no Toddler Brunch.  This is a full blown, grown up delicious intro to some of the best restaurants, bartenders and chefs Portland has to offer.  Six delectable Brunch bites + six outrageous Bloody Marys= One happy girl in Portland.  Or make that hundreds of happy girls and boys because the event sold out pretty early and for so many good reasons.  

  

Castaway: warehouse turned fabulous event space

Next year, I will be logging in early to buy VIP tickets.  VIP gets you into the venue an hour early and grabs you a bag of goodies.  General admittance tickets, although still a fantastic experience, leaves you in a pretty intimidating line around the building if you don't arrive early.  Consider yourself forewarned.  

The layout of the room harkened to barn dances and farm fests.  

Immediately transported to a delicious time and place. MC'd by the warm and wonderful Poison Waters.  Delightful sounds by Foghorn Stringband.  

So basically, you check in and get a brunch card.  Similar to a dance card, you only get to try each dish once.  And each beautiful Bloody Mary once.  Safe choice.  After trying all six Bloody Marys you have consumed the equivalent of three full sized drinks.  6 "brunch bites" of food plus the freebies provided by New Seasons and Whole Foods and I was stuffed.  Here is a wrap up of how and why I left fat and happy:

First stop, Smallwares, for a breakfast style Congee with Chinese sausage.  Basically egg, oatmeal, scallions, and maple flavored ponzu.  Others at my table shunned it for it's consistency.  I was strangely addicted to it and used their cards to enjoy more.  

You know of my love for Lardo, right? Well they brought it big-time with a buttermild biscuit topped with Pork Belly, fried quail egg, and a rich and creamy hollandaise.  Lardo brought a Biscuit Benedict at it's best.  Sign me up.  If we were able to vote on best dish, this did it for me.

 Another delicious savory/sweet breakfast sanny was the The Bohemian from Urban Farmer.  A stroopwaffle served with bacon jam and eggs and a bourbon maple syrup.  Don't ask me what a stroop waffle is.  I'm not sure.  It was simply yum.  I will go to Urban Farmer for more of their Breakfast/Brunch menu. Oh wait.  Wikipedia tells me this:   A stroopwafel (Dutchpronunciation: [ˈstroːpʋaːfəl] ( listen)) (English translation: syrup waffle, treacle waffle, or caramel waffle; lit "syrup waffle") is a waffle made from two thin layers of baked dough with a caramel-like syrup filling in the middle.^[1][2] They were first made in Gouda in the Netherlands. Large versions are sold in the streets as a snack.

Other delicious items included Ataula's Albacore Tuna Sandwich (coca bread, mango, arugula, and tuna sashimi) Pictured here with Doug Fir's award winning Antidote.  (Candied Bacon Bloody anyone? )  Very delicious but not my favorite Bloody Mary of the Day. That honor goes to Broder who boasted an ancient Danish secret.  Basically infused vodka with citrus and spice. Curry, cumin, fresh dill, toasted fennel, celery.  Bringing it as close to an Aquavit Bloody Mary as possible.  So dreamy.  

Another refreshing twist on the Bloody Mary came from Radar with their Voddie Mary: Tomato, peppercorn, roasted garlic, tapatio, lemon-lime and a Rainier- Celery soda shot.  I just dumped that little baby shot in there and enjoyed.  I recommend you do the same. 

The Bloody Mary Garnish Skewer pictured here includes beet pickled hard boiled eggs, saffron dipped mozzarella balls and summer sausage from Olympic Provisions.  Well, certainly.  

Along with this American Beauty from Irving Street there were warmingly yummy entries from La Bistro Montage and the Imperial.     Other bite delights included a smoky tempeh and polenta dish from Harlow and TenTop's miso soy ginger bagel with bulgogi beef and kimchi schmear (difficult to handle but oh so good to eat).

Truth be told, there wasn't a bad dish in the room.  It was a wonderful experience every way you looked at it.  Just wish it happened more than once a year, but then, where is the joy in anticipation.  Next year, VIP, for sure. 

Time to get busy Eating and Drinking our way to a Happier and Healthier Portland

It was a busy freaking weekend.  I know that started out blunt and maybe a little crass but no ill -will was meant.  I overbooked and it looks like I've set the stage for an entire summer of overdoing.  Over-eating, Over-drinking, spreading my time too thinly and my budget even thinner.  Oh why should this summer be any different from any other summer?  I clearly have no desire to change.  So when I do over-indulge, I at least like to think that some good is coming from it somewhere.

This weekend's events did just that: good stuff.  The Portland Summer Food Cart Festival, that helped raise awareness and funds for ALSO: Adult Learning Systems of Oregon and The Portland Monthly magazine sponsored The Country Brunch, a fundraiser for Zenger Farm.

Both wonderfully worthwhile causes, creating wonderful events worth attending.  Today I want to talk about the food carts but tomorrow, I promise, I'll give you a complete rundown of the Brunch and Bloody Mary Smackdown.  How's that for a teaser?

I had not been to either of these relatively new gatherings and was therefore intrigued.  The Food Cart Festival was in it's third year. Enough time to iron out some kinks but still new enough to not get too crowded, right?  Well...

K and I went early enough to get to the food cart festival and not hit a crowd.  We really didn't need to worry.  The parking lot in Mt. Hood Community College where the festival was being held was nearly empty.  We were assured by the volunteer putting on our wristbands that we came at the right time.  People had come later in previous years and run into long lines and 86'd items all over the place. OK, I can deal.  I'm not a huge fan of crowded situations but a few more people to help generate a festy type mood would be nice.  There was food to be had.  We lapped the lot once and took stock of what we were in for.  Some nice options, I was getting excited.  BBQ, Comfort Food, Tacos, where would I start?  Then I noticed that the carts were all charging basically full price for full items.  (insert Debby Downer face and waa waa flugelphone noise here.)  Not sure why, I just feel that if an event is charging a cover charge and there are numerous food items to be tried and there is a contest for best "entry", you shouldn't roll in with your full cart item and charge full price.  This would be the atmosphere and event for "trials" and "tastings".  Pick your favorite item, downsize it and offer "mini-me" selections.  In this manner, patrons wouldn't fill up on one sandwich or noodle bowl or what-have-you and have the opportunity to try-out more carts.  It's called exposure.  "Try this little nibble of mac and cheese now but you're really going to want to come to the cart/restaurant/bar later and try the entire Southern Comfort Food Platter."  OK!

I'm just sayin' I would've spent the same amount of money and spread the wealth even if the offerings were little bite sized tastes for $2 a pop.  Instead, I had to make a choice and risk further over-indulgence.

Oh well, I went for a personal favorite of mine.  PB&J's Grilled.  Yum!  If you have not enjoyed one of their grilled sweet, smoky, savory confections get over to one of their carts quick.  The Cartopia location at 12th and Hawthorne will unfortunately be closing down with the rest of the pod later this autumn.  Reason to smile may be if rumors are true and the developer leaves street level options for businesses.  Could brick and mortar be in PBJ's future?  Truly hope so. This time around, I ordered the Smokin' Goat:   KALAMATA OLIVE BREAD, PBJ’S ALMOND BUTTER APPLE WOOD SMOKED BACON, GOAT CHEESE, APRICOT JAM.  The olive bread hit the grill and immediately sent up a warm, pungent, savory toast.  Feel inward smile grow.  The heat, the sweet, the tang, the smoke.  There isn't a sandwich on the menu I wouldn't order twice.  Glad they were here to start me off on the right foot. 

 Now K is a big fan of all foods southern.  Southwest? Southeast?  Southern Pacific? Doesn't matter.  I thought for sure he would go for the Gumbo or Etoufee from Cajun Life but today he felt lucky and pulled the re-invented Comfort Food card.  A fried chicken Po'Boy with a remoulade dressed salad atop a brioche.  See the irony there? It was fabulous. In spite of the big pink truck and laid back attitude,Retrolicious is slightly illusive in the cart scene.  Coming out of Beaverton, you may want to look these people up on Twitter or Facebook as they post where you'll be able to catch them and their rotating menu of deliciousness.  It is worth the hunt.  Trust me.

Now after those sandwiches and the delicious brews from Base Camp, I was tempted to say "Uncle, I'm full", but nooooo.  I was determined to try out just a few more items.  I was on a mission.  There was more I needed to know.  And so we turned to Da Fat Boys,   They had bbq ribs for $2.  Thank you for showing them how it's done.  Less your typical food cart and more your beefed up competitive BBQ team with catering AND food cart options. These people knew how to draw a crowd.  Warm, spicy, crunchy bark wrapped around silky sweet meat.  Sauce delicious, but optional.  And now, much to my joy of joys, I hear that Da Fat Boys will have their truck at the Troutdale Farmers Market on Thursdays from 3-8pm.  Good enough reason as any to head east.

Now I was looking for something a little sweet. Retrolicious was putting together a NanaWafer Pudding but it wasn't ready so we decided to take a lap and wait it out.  We were waylaid at the end of the block by Stumptown Dumplings.  Now I had enjoyed the Stumplings at a Timbers' game. Savory, hot.  Just a perfect little pocket of pow. I was ready and willing to try their Nutella Bao.  I wish I hadn't.  It didn't live up to my delicious expectations and the bao itself was slightly underdone, making it more doughy chewy than fluffy, dense bao. I had not had their bao before and so cannot say if this is their usual bao faire.   

We walked further around the circle and stumbled onto Hungry Heart. And hence, I lost mine. This little pink truck puts out some of the sweetest little baby cupcakes you've ever seen.  But wait!  I know you're thinking cupcakes are a thing of the past.  A cliche' dessert that had it's heyday. More than once.  Sure, you can say that but you still cannot deny the delicious POW! to your mouth that is the Sweet and Salty: Chocolate cupcake filled with Salted Caramel, Creamy Peanut Butter frosting, Crispy Applewood Smoked Bacon and more Salted Caramel.  

The chocolate cake is dense, moist and almost meaty.  Not overly sweet, it is deep and rich and complex.  The peanut butter frosting doesn't have a hint of cloying sweet or pasty grease. Something I have unfortunately found in many a frosting mishap.  This frosting is silky and warm like a peanut butter blanket.  The salty caramel and the bacon balance any sweetness and turn this cupcake into a dessert worth dying for.  So don't eat one everyday.  It's bad for you. Except right now, it's too good to give up and K and I want to arm wrestle for the last piece of bacon.  

I understand that there was a vote on best dish but I was unsure how to do this and I did read later that Hapa Ramen took the prize with a Pork Belly Shaka Bowl. Congratulations!  I will definitely look them up and try that dish later this summer.  

My choice for winner would be Retrolicious and their amazing menu options.  But that is the joy of cart hopping, right?  We all get our favorite. 

Brought in for Brunch, came back for Happy Hour

I love Brunch.  Easy enough.  There aren't many silly enough to say they don't enjoy a delicious all-morning-long meal even if it does mean an hour long queue around the block.  But my love for Brunch will keep me in that line.  Better yet, I wake early enough to beat the others to the best spot to "build-your-own" Bloody Marys  or catch the nuanced rays of sunshine on a slightly damp but warming nicely bench on the patio. As Portlandia as my witness, I will not face the disappointment of an 86 board with my favorite biscuits and gravy again.

Nothing gets me to the front of the line faster than the promise of, yes, Fried Chicken and Waffles.  You say I've already talked about my love for this dish of olde made new?  That may be because my love/quest for this perfect dish is legendary.  Enough so that I have been approached by friends and loved ones with the opening line of  "you need to come and try this place's Chicken and Waffles".  They know I will not say no.  More likely I will say "What time do they open?"

This was the case when K and I accepted an invitation (dare I say challenge) to brunch with friends at NEPO 42.  So, so very glad we did.  First off, there was no line.  In Portland. On a Sunday. For Brunch.  Was there something wrong with this picture?  Yes.  But not in the way you may be thinking.  I'll blame the crummy parking situation.  There is only street parking available and it is sketchy but let's not digress into negativity. Inside, you'll find a quaintly decorated, slightly Portlandy but not over the top, cozy neighborhood pub. It holds all of the familiar trappings: pool table, large tv, dark wooded bench booths and a large chalkboard with the taplist (local and extensive) and today's specials.  In the lower left corner you'll also find a small list of the current infusions.  Luck have it, Cucumber Vodka will be there.  Have it in a Bloody Mary. Yes, go there.

Now, let's talk about the delicious food.

In spite of a delicious sounding menu of biscuit dishes and scrambles I had, drum-roll please, the Fried Chicken and Waffles. Delicious fried Chicken and Waffles.  In this case I would place more emphasis on the Chicken than the waffle.  The waffle, although flavorful without being overly sweet, became too soggy too quickly.  The Chicken, however was tasty and succulent and generously portioned.  Two full chicken breasts on top of two strips of peppered bacon on top of the waffle doused in a maple sage syrup. Fragrant, sweet, savory, mmmm.  Yes, I've had better (see Austin), but you could do a whole lot worse.






K enjoyed a delightful combo called Mr. October: A bacon (yes bacon) and cheddar biscuit topped with a fried chicken breast, bacon, sausage gravy an two eggs. Yes, yes, yes! I'll have what he's having. Sounds greedy?  Maybe, but to tell you the truth it would have been my first choice if I wasn't being driven by my quest.  But oh, what a wonderful quest it is.





I was so impressed with this first round of yum that K and I brought some more friends back in later in the week for Happy Hour.  We stared out the window, drooling over someone else's food choice that I would have sworn were corn dogs.  No.  They were the Poppers.  Peppers, stuffed with your typical cream cheese, cheddar, cilantro and spices.  These were not run of the mill frozen poppers.  These were...tender, tasty and filling (plan on splitting your order).  I ordered the Mac and Cheese. Yes, I am a comfort food fanatic.  Although I enjoyed it's blend of flavors, I found it to be more of a Penne Alfredo with bacon and chives than a true Mac and Cheese.  Enjoyable but not what I expected.  K ordered the Chicken and Waffle HH size.  Perfect.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Spring in Portland answers: How do I love thee?

What a delicious Spring Break this has been.  I have really been going overboard and there is simply too much to share in a singular post and so today let's focus on....mmm...breakfasts? burgers?  beer?  How about a little bit of everything?  No, too overwhelming.  Let's focus on beer, or at least a sweet little brewery and a tasty lunch.

Let's start with a quick snowshoe trip up on Mt. Hood a couple weeks before Spring really sprung.  It was soggy.  The snow from the previous storm had begun to slush up with whispers of warmer weather on the way and a light rain was helping it all along.  Puddles of water pocked the trail and pools of pine-needle tea formed at the bases of the trees.  Small emerging creeks added to the wonder and beauty of our venture but I started to long for a cozy lodge and a warm bit of something delicious.  

And so we headed into Government Camp and the Mt Hood Brewing Company.  I've been watching this place on and off as they went through renovations and a transformation of their brewery and their dining room.  They receive pretty inconsistant review on Yelp and fairly good ones with TripAdvisor and the Beer Advocate.  Inconsistant reviews are fairly common and that's what makes life so interesting right?  The three of us were pretty hungry and definitely thirsty but even without ordering an appetizer we rolled out happy and stuffed.  Yes, the beers we ordered were filling.  I ordered the sampler tray and our waitress brought out three, that's ok.  We'll finish them.  I mean who doesn't want to try 8 delicious craft brews?  

And yes, they were delicious.  I wouldn't say they were amazing.  Or my new favorites.  Or spend too many adjectives trying to describe them but the were delcious and refreshing.  Especially the Highland Meadow Blond.  It went down delightfully.  Light, easy to drink.  Just bubbly enough.  Flavorful, something I don't usually identify Pales with.  The Ice Axe IPA pleased K but he admitted he could name several other IPA's he enjoyed more.  The Hogsback Oatmeal Stout was delicious and the best one on the tray in my opinion.  The Smoked MultorPorter came in third behind the blond, and the Amber did not impress.  I was also not fond of the overly sweet Barleywine that was a seasonal choice or the Saison.  Too sticky sweet for me, at least on this day.

The food that followed was a little slow but so good.  I ordered what was listed as an appetizer but struck me as something that would satisfy, Poutine.  Holy Canadia, this was some order of Poutine.  A ginormous order of pub-fries, drenched with a pepperyummy peppercorn demi-glace, Fontina and fresh herbs.  I blushed when our server brought it to the table but left that shy-little-girl demeanor behind while I devoured the thing.  K ordered what was my second choice and if I looked up too long from my french fry frenzy, I would have been more jealous.  The Big Tube (it's a snowboarder thing?) Mac and Cheese was absolutely fabulous.  It features three cheese mix that includes Tillamook Cheddar, fontina and a garlic cream sauce I want to swim in. Instead it is poured over penne pasta and perfectly cooked cauliflower (al dente and delightful) He was a gentlemen and let me have a couple of tastes but I knew I may have overstepped my boundaries when he had to whack away my fork with his as I reached for yet another bite.    

Our snowshoeing friend, Sue, ordered the Grilled Cheese w/ Applejack Onion jam.  Served with the pub fries and dipping sauce it may not look like an impressive sandwich but the quality of the sourdough and the smoked provolone made this one tasty sammy.  Thank goodness snowshoeing burns so many calories.  If you're concerned about that sort of thing.  

ChocolateFest 2014: Returning to Yum

This weekend K and I decided to return to the ChocolateFest after taking a year hiatus from the event.  Last year we headed south to Salem for the First Taste of Oregon and that was wonderful but we missed the decadence and yumminess that is ChocolateFest.

Still fun, still delicious and filled with vendors of all things chocolate and some things not so chocolatey but still quite wonderful.  And occasionally quite decadent.

SakeOne again brought it in big with their delicious fruity but not overly sweet Saketinis. This Forest Grove, Oregon based craft sake brewer stole my heart long ago with their Momokawa, Moonstone and G+ Sake lines.  I had never enjoyed sake before SakeOne and now I purchase it as regularly as wine or beer.  It is a refreshing change and should be considered.

There is a small coalition of wineries at the festival and although they are fun and often offer a unique sampling of flavors (ie Chocolate wine) they aren't my favorite part of this event and so I try not to spend too much time lingering around them.  (I know a few of you who know me personally are doubting the validity of that statement but it's true).  I was however, intrigued by a sampling of sipping vinegars that were absolutely delightful and had me envisioning an evening of concocting old-timey flavored punches and cocktails.  I had to pick up the warming sweetness of the Ginger Honey Shrub from Sage and Sea Farms.

It was a difficult choice and I'm sure I'll need to visit the Portland Farmer's market and pick up a couple more bottles.  Perhaps the Beet Sipping Vinegar or the sweet soft and refreshing lavender.  Don't balk, just try them and let me know what you think.


Because we had already attended the Wine and Chocolate Pairing seminar a couple of years ago, K and I decided to watch the cooking demonstration for Chicken Mole by Lane Community College's Chef Clive Wanstall.  His humorous and delightful presentation may have been a little rushed but it introduced a delicious way to serve up chocolate in an unorthodox manner.











Now certainly some of my favorite suhweet treats were represented and we quickly sought out Cupcake Jones.  Still the best place for cupcakes in Portland,  if you ask me.  Did I tell the about the time I was sitting outside of Cupcake Jones face deep into an Orange Cremesicle when Timothy Hutton rode up on his bike?  Let's just say no words were exchanged but I know he wanted my cupcake.

Another favorite purveyor of dreamy deliciousness is Arrowhead Chocolates out of Joseph, Oregon.  They create the best single-malt whiskey truffle ever.  Their salted caramel, earl grey, tiramisu and huckleberry truffles should not be missed.  I need to stop talking about them because seriously I could talk myself into driving the 5-6 hours out to eastern Oregon just to buy some more.

I'm also a big fan of Cocotutti, although they are neither a local nor a small batch chocolatier.  They do, however, offer some bold adventures in chocolate without tasting fake, waxy, or false.  The tea infusions are amazing.  I know.  Overused word.  But amazing pretty much wraps it up here.




Some of the vendors were simply producing run of the mill, waxy, flat chocolate but some stand-out yum appeared around each corner and I was especially impressed with the organically and sustainably driven Stirs the Soul.  The owner/chocolatier, Darren Hayes, was especially informative and in spite of his laid back demeanor his passion for chocolate was clear.  I found him later on YouTube, so you can check him out here and see what I mean.  The man and his chocolate are the real deal.

I was also really delighted to meet the owner/creator of Kilikina's. You can tell that this chocolate is created with and inspired by love.  Really sweet, make you smile, kind of love.

With no doubt, I love ChocolateFest and was very happy to return this year.  Sadly, there were no chocolate fountains or sculptures or models drizzled in chocolate as in previous years but that just left more time for meeting people who love their product and eating more chocolate.  And really, that is the point.