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.
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| 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.
)) (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.
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