Archives for May 2014

Book Club Review: A History of the World in 6 Glasses

For May the Kitchen Reader book club selected reading is A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage. For our casual online club there is a new book selected for every month, each book is related to food, and members write a review on their blog during the last week of that month. If you are interested in joining, check out the website.

This was a pretty quick read for me, part of it is because the tone is very light, which makes sense as the author is an essayist who often writes articles for magazines. As you proceed through it, you get to pick up lots of interesting facts about how the six beverages of the book- beer, then wine, then liquor, then coffee, then tea, and then Coca Cola – was an incarnation of a certain time period of western history. Everything is easy to understand and follow, although at times information is just stated as a story or cause and effect without much more proof to argue that the statement or tale is true. But, there isn’t really anything controversial here. And even if there is sometimes missed opportunities, there are still plenty of fun stories and facts thrown in.

There is one particular quote that I wanted to point out, as I don’t want to give away all the good tidbits of the book, but that I think helps embody why this various liquid drinks are so important in human history:

Unlike food, beverages can be genuinely shared.When several people drink beer from the same vessel, they are all consuming the same liquid; when cutting up meat, in contrast, some parts are deemed more desirable than others.As a result, sharing a drink with someone is a universal symbol of hospitality and friendship.

It was true in each of the time periods, with each beverage, even if some were alcoholic, some were not, some were religious or intellectual or even initially for health reasons, several were even used as a form of currency, but all endured because of the role drinks lay in socializing.

Also interesting to me is that some of the social roles still remain today in our current society.

  • Beer remains seen as a “common man” drink that equalizes everyone. It may have also played a strong part in early human civilization settling down because the beer process makes water safer to drink. Also, people used to drink beers together from the same vessel using straws!
    Christina Collada from Google Places pouring the beer at the Guild Pub House We found a place called Tasting Arizona which offered both wine flights and beer flights.  View while enjoying beer flight- you can see Snoopy Rock towards the right
  • Wine still carries to this day the air of civilized refinement from the Greeks (which probably began with the fact that wine production needs specific climate or trade, while beer is made from the much more common grain). When absorbed by the Romans, wine could emphasize social divisions based on how good your wine was (based on type and how old it was- something that still is intimidating/gives an air of judgement based on what you drink and snobbery today!).
    Tasting room stop before Sip McMinnville Wine and Food Classic: Anam Cara, where Et Fille gets their grapes for their Nicholas Pinot Noir... really liked Anam's clean bright Riesling and Mark II Vino Volo, A vacation starts with a wine flight while waiting for our flight in Seattle to get to Chicago
  • Distilled spirits are often still seen, unlike beer and wine, as a means for getting drunk. The distillation process from alchemical laboratories became dominant during the Age of Exploration, a reflection of how science and travel/navigation were becoming more intertwined – and it certainly helped that distilled alcohol worked well for long cruises in both being efficient as only small rations were needed and mixed with lemon or lime juice helped combat scurvy. The book went a little into how it also was a tool for social control – with a mention of slavery in rum production and only the vaguest hint of the effect to help subjugation with discovered civilizations in the New World. To balance that, although rum encouraged the slave trade, whiskey was a symbol of the pioneer spirit of America.
    American Whiskey Ginger by Bull Run Distilling, made with Temperence Trader American Whiskey
  • Coffee continue to be regarded now as the opposite of alcohol and a soberer (even though this isn’t true!) and the drink of those who are smart. Coffeehouses remain a gathering place for learning. This is where I noticed that the book does focus a great deal on Western Civilizations, as there are many different ways people of the worlds “take” their coffee, and I wish we could have explored that a little.
    Coffee with a heart... Kafae Boraan, Sook brewed ancient Thai coffee with condensed milk and sugar. Available hot or iced.  It looks thick like an espresso, but it is sweetened up with that condensed milk and sugar, don't worry! This is also good with the Patanko and sankhaya.
  • Serving tea at home is still seen as a symbol of being genteel, probably stemming from its Asian ceremonial origins! Too bad though it has lost its ability to just be a whole new afternoon meal because I would like more accessible adorable dainty tea sandwiches and excuses for clotted cream.
    6/16/2008 Domo restaurant in Denver: enjoying tea in a handcrafted ceramic tea bowl Wave Restaurants accompaniments with tea: Sweets of Macaroons- sea salt and caramel, lemon, chocolate and berry , Scones- butter and orange-vanilla, Madeleine- vanilla and orange zest , Market fresh fruit tarts , Tea cakes- lemon-poppy seed and chocolate chip with Devonshire cream, lemon curd and strawberry jam
  • Coca Cola came from the trend at the time to market soda water as a health drink because of it’s refreshing bubbles similar to spring water. I totally admit first I laughed, and then I remembered that when I’m not feeling well I still rely on Sprite to help “settle my stomach”. I also admit that when I was in Atlanta I visited the Coca Cola museum and was surprised that it was pretty fun! I have to admit I didn’t get to finish reading the last chapter yet on globalization, but it’s pretty obvious it is true… have you heard the Coca Cola song for the World Cup, or the ad during the superbowl with America the Beautiful in different languages?

Next in June the book club reading is A Moveable Feast (Lonely Planet Travel Literature) published by Lonely Planet. It has a lot of essays in it by different authors and looks very interesting!

Signature

Portland June 2014 Events Roundup

Sometimes I joke that Portland has made me drink more. But it’s not really a joke- the high caliber of local wineries, distilleries and microbreweries here in Portland has really wowed me and made me enjoy beverages more than I ever thought.

Portland also isn’t shy about outright celebrating its liquid bounty. Take June for instance. I decided to do a Portland June 2014 Events Roundup of all the various events in June, and I decided to highlight these (keep in mind there is probably more that I missed).

Tiki Punch Out!

Wednesday May 28 – Tuesday June 3, 2014

Portland Monthly Magazine and Captain Morgan White bring you Tiki Punch-Out!, a classic tiki punch competition! At the free but ticketed event (21+ only) at Punch Bowl on Tuesday June 3 5:30 – 7:30 PM, they will be breaking out the rum, the booze infused watermelons and hollowed-out coconuts! Six of the city’s best bartenders will vie for the title of Tiki Punch-Out Champion and a cash prize of $500!
Tiki Punch Out!
Participating Establishments:

  • Kask
  • Hale Pele
  • Alibi
  • Trader Vic’s
  • Punch Bowl Social
  • Sand Bar

May 28 to June 2 is Tiki Punch-Out Week so you can stop by any of those above participating bars to get previews of the punches.

Salt & Straw Cocktail Ice Cream Month

June 1 – July 3,  2014

At all of the Salt & Straw locations, you can try for one month only some special ice cream flavors. Welcome to The Summer Cocktail Ice Cream Series where Tyler Malek, Salt & Straw’s head ice cream maker, collaborated with various top bartenders in Portland to offer five ice cream twists on classic drinks (the ice cream itself has the alcohol burned off so you will get the flavors without the tipsyness).

  • Chocolate Chip Mint Julep: Hand-selected batch of bourbon from Four Roses Distilling with Oregon grown spearmint and Oregon roasted single-origin chocolate (Brandon Wise, Imperial)
  • Strawberry & Verbena Pimm’s Cup: Strawberry and lemon verbena ice cream with Aviation gin marmalade (Ross Hunsinger, Aviary), a sweet and bitter, citrusy pop in the mouth
  • Lemon Amaretto Sour: Amaretto sherbet with punches of lemon egg cream (Jeffrey Morgenthaler, Clyde Common)
  • Pineapple Honey Dorléac: based off of Kyle’s own Dorléac recipe, Honey, vodka and Aperol ice cream with a gentle ribbon of pineapple caramel (Kyle Webster, Expatriate)
  • Rhubarb & Saffron Champagne Cocktail: Subtly yeasty Champagne ice cream with a tart ribbon of saffron and rhubarb jelly reminiscent of that perfect summer-fresh rhubarb spritzer (Evan Zimmerman, the Woodsman Tavern)

Part of the proceeds from the summer cocktail ice cream series will go to  Global Fund to Fight AIDS, in support of (RED)’s EAT (RED). DRINK (RED). SAVE LIVES campaign. No seriously it is all caps and with the parenthesis, I remember buying their tshirts before and the RED is always like that.

Negroni Week

Monday June 2 – Sunday June 8, 2014

Negroni Week is sponsored by imbibe Magazine and Campari internationally. In the 7 days of Negroni Week, participating bars take advantage of the ingredients of a Negroni (Campari, Gin, Vermouth) to raise money for various charity causes. Participants vary from Canada and England and Australia and France to all over the US, including almost 40 participating bars here in Portland Oregon.

Negroni Week 2014 is June 2-8

Each bar can select the charity of their choice, so for instance by filtering to Portland in the US here at the participating bars list you may decide to have a Negroni at

  • Bunk Bar or Irving Street Kitchen benefiting Share our Strength. I should mention that Bunk Bar plans to serve a slush-i-fied version of the Negroni…
  • Clyde Common for the Pixie Project
  • Multnomah Whiskey Library for United Way
  • Ned Ludd for Zenger Farms
  • Ox or Whey Bar for Panda Paws Rescue
  • St Jack for the Humane Society
  • Teardrop Lounge for Alzheimers Foundation of America, 
  • etc.

The above are only a small selection I pulled out as examples but illustrate the amazing bars that are participating. So make sure to browse the list and visit a bar or two for a Negroni! I’m actually going to be in San Diego and Chicago for part of Negroni Week, but don’t worry that are participating bars I saw for Negroni week in both those cities as well, so being out of town is no excuse.

To kick off Negroni Week, Imperial will host a Negroni-centric happy hour on Monday, June 2nd from 4-7 PM featuring Negronis made with local Aria gin and Beefeater from guest bartender Douglas Derrick (previously of Nostrana, now managing Raven and Rose, and also featured in that video below! He helped inspire Negroni Week with the Negroni Social he used to hold at Nostrana) and Imperial’s presiding barman and Negroni Week supporter Brandon Wise.

There will also be a special Negroni ice cream from Salt + Straw made with House Spirits’ Aviation American gin.

Scoops are just $3 and Negronis are $5 and a portion of the proceeds will go directly to the Red Cross. I’ll still be in San Diego so am missing that event, but how awesome does that sound?

Imbibe and Campari Present: Negroni Week 2014 from Imbibe on Vimeo.

PDX Beer Week

Thursday June 5 – Sunday June 15, 2014

Apparently it’s not enough that we have July dedicated to Oregon Beer. We need a special week just for Portland beer celebrations. And boy, is there a lot going on for PDX Beer Week! I am not going to cover all the events going on- look on the website yourself for that as there is lots to read and more being added it seems every time I check! But let me highlight in my personal opinion (of course- this is my blog after all) my selected 12 favorites for beer week. Ok, technically, it is a little bit more than a week, it’s 10 days, but no problem with that!

  • The Official Beer Week Sandwich available at the various Lardo locations and Easy Company will be featuring this official special sandwich as well as the official beer week beer and t-shirt for sale as a special package for the duration of Portland Beer Week. The official beer week sandwich is with Olympic Provisions Kielbasa, smoked Tillamook cheddar, sauerkraut, Worthy/Hopworks Session India Rye Ale mustard on toasted ciabatta.
  • What? There is also an Official Beer Week Donut??? Yes, Blue Star Donuts is developing a special beer week beer donut that will be featured at their 2 locations and at select beer week events, a Widmer Brothers Hefe citrus cake donut
  • pFriem & Irving Street Kitchen Beer Dinner Pairing. Sunday June 8, 2014 5:30-8:00 PM Irving Street Kitchen Executive Chef Sarah Schafer will be hosting pFriem Family Brewers for a four course meal plus passed canapes paired with a lineup of Pfriem beers. I love the farmhouse style beers of pFriem and I think it would go fabulously with the Southern cooking by Chef Sarah. Tickets will will be $85, which includes food, beer, and gratuity. For reservations contact Irving Street Kitchen at 503.343.9440 or jessie@irvingstreetkitchen.com. The photo below is an example of the awesomeness that can come from Chef Sarah when I attended an event where she matched her cooking with Hawks View Wine so I am confident she will be just as kickass doing food pairing with beer. There is another Brewer’s Dinner event taking place at Raven and Rose with Samuel Smith beer that same night, but since that is more of an English, I’m going to vote for this Beer Dinner pairing because it’s local.
    Happiness is an Irving St Kitchen fried chicken with smashed potatoes and country gravy and greens. Fifth course, Beautiful serving of Irving St Kitchen Teres Major Steak with garlic grits, ancho ketchup, onion rings, marrow sauce paired with 2010 Hawks View Washington Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Alternately, also on Sunday June 8 6 PM is a Beer Versus Cider & cheese pairing where the same cheese, selected by Cheesemonger Steve Jones of Cheese Bar, is paired both by a beer from Alex Ganum of Upright Brewing and a cider by Nat West of Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider as part of a face-off to see whether the beer or cider paired better with the cheese. You would get 10 different cider and beer pairings for $31 (advanced ticket sales only). Take a look at the cider and beer and cheese that will be at the event here at the ticket site.
  • New School and Bailey’s Taproom New Breweries Showcase June 9 2 PM – midnight features ten new breweries from across the Oregon state. These are all breweries that are probably new to you: Chetco Brewing, Salem Ale Works, Buoy Beer Company, Sam’s Bond Brewing, Plankton Brewing, Vagabond Brewing, Gratin Station Brew Works, Baerlic Brewing, Thunder Island Brewing, and Stormbreaker Brewing. Don’t worry, they have been conveniently gathered for you to learn about all in 1 place. At Bailey’s Taproom 2 beers from each of these breweries will be on top, and from 4 to 7pm at The Upper Lip you can meet the owners and brewers. No admission fee, just pay for what you drink! See that link to the showcase description at the New School website for more information/hint of what beers everyone is bringing to this party.
  • Old Salt + Upright Brewing Brewers Dinner. Upright Brewing is teaming up with chef Nathaniel Price of the Grain and Gristle for a special pairing dinner at Old Salt Marketplace’s event room on Monday June 9th 7 PM. This seven course dinner is going to exclusively feature vintage barrel aged beers. and is the first time the brewery has reached into the cellar for every course, including sometimes their final cases of a beer. There are some amazing verticals slated for the seven course dinner, including 2012 & 2013 Blend Love, 2011, 2012, 2013 Fantasia, and 2010, 2011, 2013 Billy the Mountain. Yeah, that’s a lotta beer for some of those courses, but I love tasting verticals to compare and contrast the flavors, and you get to taste them with food pairings too! Email the brewery uprightbrewing@gmail.com to reserve a spot, tickets: $75.

PDX Beer Week poster 2014

  • Mussels from Brussels is an event where 4 breweries (Breakside, Lompoc, pFriem, and defending champion Upright) create 4 secret sauces for dipping in one pound of mussels served with fries, and paired with their Belgian-inspired beer. There is a seating for a table of 10 that takes place every 30 minutes between 5:30-8:30 PM on Tuesday, June 10, with the awards ceremony at 9 PM. The cost is $25 per person (ticketed) and the event is taking place at Bazi Bierbrasserie. Mmmm beer and mussels and fries is a classic, just classic combination.
  • More seafood + beer coming your way… this time with the Upper Lip Oyster Social which brings together on 5 – 8 PM Oyster Social’s Hama Hama oysters, six taps and over 100 bottles to try at The Upper Lip. Sip beer and slurp freshly shucked oysters right on the spot. Eat one or a dozen–the world is your oyster at $2 a pop! Please note that the raw bar is cash only, though you can have a tab for the beer.
  • The Sour and Wild Beer Seminar on Thursday June 12, 2014 6 – 8 PM is an opportunity to both learn about and taste sour and wild ales from Oregon’s masters of the styles including Cascade Brewing’s Ron Gansberg, Block 15 Brewing’s Nick Arzner, De Garde Brewing’s Trevor Rogers and Breakside Brewery’s Ben Edmunds. It is a seated seminar style event that includes a panel discussion with the brewers while you also get to taste the beers by the brewer panelists. Last I checked, this seems to be still in the finalization stages and I didn’t see tickets on sale yet.
  • On Friday, June 13th, from 4 PM -2 AM is the Taplister Rye Beer Festival, held at Eastburn.  The festival features 22 rye beers, as well as rye cocktails and rye-themed food. Partial proceeds from the sale of beer will be donated to the Dawn to Dusk paddle fund for the Children’s Cancer Association. Entry to the event is free, and you just pay for the price of your beer (5oz samples and pints), cocktails and food as your order.
  • If like me you love barrel aged beers, perhaps instead of the Rye Beer Festival (or before…) you might attend the Barrel Masters Night on Friday June 13th 6 – 8 PM at Hopworks on SE 28th and Powell. This social mingle event includes Brewmaster Matt Van Wyk of Oakshire Brewing, Ben Love of Gigantic Brewing, Widmer Brothers innovation brewer Jack Beiting, Deschutes barrelmaster and Assistant Brewmaster Ryan Schmiege and moderator Ben Edmunds of Breakside Brewery in a guided discussion with free samples of all the beer included in the ticket pricing. Tickets are $37 from Stranger Tickets., and you can check the list of the beers at the PDX Beer Week event listing
  • Ok, maybe these are multiple events, but they are all with Firestone Walker. The one I ranked highest is the Luncheon with the Lion at Saraveza and Firestone Walker. I love Firestone Walker, so I was quite torn when I saw that this event on June 15 12 – 3 PM Sunday is taking place the same day as the Portland Beer and Cheese Festival (which I cover below). The event includes David Walker of Firestone Walker Brewing Co at Saraveza where he will be speaking specifically about Firestone Walker’s barrel-aging program at 1:30pm. Meanwhile they will have a special ‘Bangers & Mash’ pasty alongside many delicious draft offerings of Firestone Walker beers, including the highly regarded 2010 “Abacus” Barrel-Aged Barleywine, 2013 “Stickee Monkee” Barrel-Aged Belgian-Style Quad, ”Parabajava” Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout Infused w/Coffee, and more! No admittance fee for this event, you just pay for what you order. Alternately, David Walker/Firestone Walker is doing a Lions Brewers Dinner with Old Salt Marketplace that evening though the menu and beer options are not listed yet as of writing this post. And, earlier the day before, at The Lion’s Scratch event which is free (pay for what you drink), David Walker/Firestone Walker will be at Belmont Station Saturday June 14 4 – 7 PM where they will be offering 2011-2014 Parabola vertical flights. They will also have some special Firestone Walker vintage beers for sale in the bottle shop and if you buy one of these special vintage Firestone Walker beers, you can have David Walker sign it for you! Afterwards, follow The Lion as he walks pied-piper style down the street to The Horse Brass, where he will continue his evening there with 13+ Firestone Walker beer offerings.

Portland Fruit Beer Festival

Friday June 6 – Sunday June 8, 2014

Taking part in PDX Beer Week as well is this festival so good I made it a section of it’s own. Saturday June 7 – Sunday June 8 is the Portland Fruit Beer Festival, which features almost 50 fruit beers and ciders. As usual nearly every beer and a few ciders have been brewed specifically for the Fruit Beer Festival and use a wide range of fruits.

Some of the beers on the list vary from 10 Barrel Brewing Cherry Sour Brown, Breakside Passionfruit Sour Ale, Burnside’s Nero Fiddle with a blend of apples, Elysian D’Mango Unchained, Falling Sky Marionberry Smoked Ale, to Oakshire Oude Bes: Strawberry Balsalmic, Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider Sweet Triple Hot ¡Tepache! Pineapple wine with three different hot peppers to Stone Brewing’s “The Tiger Cub” Saison aged in White Wine Barrels w/Sour Cherries… (you can see the list here at New School which has descriptions with the beer, though that list of 25 does not yet include the two dozen Rare Rotating Tap list of one-off or vintage kegs of just 5 gallons each).

I know right, doesn’t that sound delicious!!?? It is a one of a kind festival, with one of a kind beers exclusive to this festival.

Portland Fruit Beer Festival poster

Tickets are already on sale at $20 general admission Saturday 11am-9pm or Sunday 11am-6pm. There are also $30 VIP admission on Friday 4-9pm and limited to 300 VIP guests with a few special tappings – that one is almost sold out so if you are interested in that act fast! The Fruit Beer Fest is open to All-Ages.

The festival will be held Burnside Brewing. Burnside Brewing will be open, so you can still get a cheese plate to compliment your beers, or my personal favorite their cohiba cigar as I covered here previously and/or beer cheese curds on their menu! Not only that, but one of my favorite food carts Pulehu Pizza will be there with their grilled pizzas and making a special pizza for the festival, as well as Bunk Sandwiches.


Burnside Brewery & Portland Fruit Beer Festival Documentary from Ron Cummings on Vimeo.

Portland Beer and Cheese Festival

Sunday, June 15, 2014 12:00PM-6:00 PM

I guess technically this is also part of PDX Beer Week, but too good to not have it’s own section. I have been attending the Portland Beer and Cheese Festival for several years as it brings together beer AND cheese. You can see my recap of 2012 here and my recap of last year 2013 here, and the photos below are from those previous festivals.
Portland Beer and Cheese Fest 2014 poster

Held this year at Burnside Brewing, this will be the festival’s 3rd year featuring 11 breweries and beers each carefully paired with a select cheese by award winning cheesemonger Steve Jones of Cheese Bar. Tickets are $35 (on sale now, advanced ticket sales only so there will be no tickets at the door- this helps control the amount of people there and amount of attendees and prepare tastings accordingly. No minors allowed at this event). When you check in you will get a special festival glass and a punchcard for samples of each of the 11 beers and their respective cheese pairing. Maybe 11 beer and cheese pairings doesn’t sound like a lot, but it is. You should skip brunch and go directly to this event.

Portland Beer and Cheese Festival, beer and cheese pairing, The Commons Berwery, Steve's Cheese, Pfriem Family Brewers Wit, paired with Fern’s Edge Dairy Mt. Zion, raw goat, Oregon Portland Beer and Cheese Festival, beer and cheese pairing, The Commons Berwery, Steve's Cheese, Oakshire Brewing Auslaufen Rauchbier (cherry wood smoked ale), paired with Rogue Smokey Blue, raw cow, Oregon

Also, did I mention Olympic Provisions will be providing complimentary charcuterie at a table for your own savory meat cleanser/complement as needed. I mean, just look at Chop’s amazing meat board from previous years (he is taking this year off to actually enjoy Father’s Day), which they kept filled during the event!

Portland Beer and Cheese Fest 2013: charcuterie provided by Chop Butchery Portland Beer & Cheese Fest Portland Beer & Cheese Fest Portland Beer and Cheese Fest 2013: charcuterie provided by Chop Butchery

It was never so crowded that there were more than a few people in front of me, and most of the time I could just walk up and ask for my taster and sample. The Punchcards helped suggest an order as well as provide information about the beer and cheese that would be in the pairing. It it is one of my favorite beer events all year, and particularly it brings out a generally sophisticated beer drinking crowd that wants to think and savor what they are having rather and how everything tastes than just taste a lot of beer.

Cider Summit

Saturday June 21 – Sunday June 22 2014

Did you know that Portland has a Cider Festival, called the Cider Summit? SBS Imports and the Seattle Beer Collective organize the fest that is presented by World Foods & Bushwhacker Cider, and ironically when I attended the Cider Summit I did so in Seattle because they also do it theirs in the fall. It looks like next year they are even expanding Cider Summit to two new cities, Chicago and Berkeley!

Cider Summit Portland 2014

This year the Cider Summit is celebrating its 4th year in Portland by moving from the South Waterfront to the northern Pearl District at Fields Neighborhood Park. It will be held Friday, June 20 from 2 – 8 PM and Saturday, June 21 from 12 – 6 PM. As before, cidery owners and cidermakers will be on hand to inform and guide guests through the samplings which will be available in 4-ounce tasting portions in a souvenir festival glass.  

In addition to the range of ciders, the event will feature the DoveLewis / Unleashed by Petco dog lounge, expanded food selections from World Foods & St. Honore Boulangerie (if you visit their Division location they have wonderful cider taps!), special dessert pairings from Smitten Truffles and cider ice cream from Fifty Licks. Transportation wise Brewvana Brewery Tours shuttle will run a continuous loop from SE Portland to the Park because of its location you can easily also ride the Portland Streetcar to the event.

Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 (cash only) at the door and are available online via Stranger tickets, Umpqua Bank Pearl District branch, and at many of the area’s leading bottle shops.  Admission includes a tasting glass and 8 tasting tickets.  Additional tasting tickets will be available for sale onsite at $2 per ticket. There is also a special VIP ticket available for $35 that includes 4 additional tasting tickets and early admission on Friday from 2p-3p, only 200 of these tickets are available – exclusively online via the event website. Dogs are allowed at the event, but no minors.

Re-admission will be allowed at any time with event wristband and tasting glass.  The Cider Summit event will benefit Northwest Cider AssociationCascade Blues AssociationDoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital, and The Institute for Myeloma & Bone Cancer Research.

Portland Monthly’s Country Brunch & Bloody Mary Smackdown

Sunday, June 22, 2014 11:30AM-2:00 PM

I hesitated too long when the first Portland Monthly Country Brunch tickets went on sale their first year, but was smarter and snapped them up quickly last year and again this year. The photos below are from when I attended last year and did a blog recap so visit there for more.

Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2013, Kevin Atchley, Walt Alexander and Brian Snyder of Pine State Biscuits, whose sample was Ayers Creek cornmeal crusted Carolina catfish mini biscuits with vinegar slaw and sweet pickle remoulade Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2013, Genies Cafe Horseradish Bloody courtesy of Nadia Mihalik included their house infused horseradish vodka and Genies bloody mary mix garnished with an olive, pepperoncini and celery, and a jalapeno infused salt rim, paired with the Genies Cafe brunch plate of Chef Dee's Classic Bene, with housemade Canadian bacon topped with a cage free poached egg and famous homemade hollandaise sauce on an English muffin Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2013, Boke Bowl Boke Eggs & Bacon with fried quail egg with pork in black bean sauce over rice tots

This event is obviously sponsored by Portland Monthly Magazine, which is one of the best organizers of events. They always put together a beautiful atmosphere and most importantly, always think of seating to enjoy the food and drink! This year, six chefs will prepare bites of their favorite brunch fare while Irving Street Kitchen (People’s Choice) and Le Bistro Montage (Judge’s Choice) winners from last year defend their titles of “Best Bloody Mary” in the third-annual Portland Monthly Bloody Mary Smackdown!

Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2013, Bloody Mary Smackdown, Olympic Provisions provided by Jess Hereth an Olympic Mary with House Mary mix, vodka, and a pickles and of course their excellent salami as part of the garnish Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2013, Bloody Mary Smackdown, Circa 33 and adorable Spencer Conger delivered The Experiment #3 with a Pan-Asian style Bloody Mary that included lemongrass, togarashi spice, fish sauce, freshly grated wasabi, tami, galanga root, and a little chili and a dried shrimp. Seriously, OMG

Furthermore, 100% of net proceeds will benefit Zenger Farms new Urban Grange. Urban Grange is an 8,960-square-foot facility that will support the Zenger Farm ongoing efforts to connect Portland communities to fresh-grown food by being a space for Zenger youth field trips, summer camps, healthy eating workshops, and farmer training programs, opportunities for emerging businesses in the commercial kitchen, etc.

Here are the participants for the Brunch and Bloody Mary competition!

Brunch Bonanza by:

  • Chef Matt Christianson from Urban Farmer
  • Chefs Karen Pride & Brittney Galloway from Harlow
  • Chef Johanna Ware from Smallwares
  • Chef Rick Gencarelli from Lardo
  • Chef Jose Chesa from Ataula
  • Chefs Michael Madigan & Jeff McCarthy from TenTop

Bloody Mary Smackdown presented by Grey Goose:

In addition to brunch, guests will enjoy bottomless Manmosas (see: beer +orange juice) by Miller Highlife and Crispin Cider. I’m not sure what to think about that yet. Also, New Seasons Market will treat attendees to fresh organic juices and local hot sauce condiments. Sunshine Dairy will be sharing its delicious yogurts and Boyd’s will be keeping everyone caffeinated with their fresh brew.

Just like last year, Whole Foods Market will host a Bloody Mary Accoutrements Station to dress your Bloody to your liking… which was amazing. I think I ate like a half dozen of those giant cocktail shrimp.

Portland Monthly's Country Brunch, Whole Foods, Bloody Mary Smackdown, garnish station Portland Monthly's Country Brunch, Whole Foods, Bloody Mary Smackdown, garnish station

Do you have your tickets? VIP Brunch & Bloodies (must be 21+) includes early admittance at 10:30 AM, brunch items, adult & non-alcoholic beverages and swag are ticketed at $45, or you can just have brunch and no bloody marys for $35 and still get 1 hour early entrance and swag. Or, enter at the regular admission time like I am at 11:30 AM and enjoy Brunch & Bloodies for $30 or Brunch Only for $20. Kids 5 or younger are free. The event is taking place at Castaway Portland. Get your tickets here at Eventbrite.

Sake Fest

Thursday, June 26, 2014 6:30PM-9:00 PM

Saké Fest PDX brings together more than 130 samples of saké, plum wine & beer with food from local restaurants & purveyors at the Sentinal Hotel. I’ve never been, though I have heard good things! The admission fee for the ticket/tasting glass is all inclusive, so all food and all saké sampling stations! Tickets for the event are $50 per person in advance online with limited tickets will be available at the door for $60. Participants must be 21 years or older to attend

A portion of the net proceeds from Saké Fest PDX benefits the Japan-America Society of Oregon (JASO)

North American Organic Brewers Festival

June 26-June 29, 2014

The North American Organic Brewers Festival brings together organic beers and ciders alongside live music, food, sustainability-oriented vendors, non-profits and a children’s area at Overlook Park. I missed it last year, but attended the previous two years. The goal of this festival is to raise awareness about organic beer and sustainable living and the NAOBF serves up nearly 60 organic beers & ciders from around the nation.

The festival times are 12-9 PM Thursday, Friday & Saturday, and 12 – 5 PM Sunday. Admission into the event is free, but the $6 reusable, compostable cornstarch glass is required for tasting beer. You also need to purchase drinking tokens, each token is $1. However, you can get a $1 discount toward the tasting glass with a validated Tri-Met ticket! ALso, the event is cash only.

 

WWOOOOOOOO!!!

Isn’t it crazy with all these June events? And to think after that is July, which is Oregon Beer Month and there will be even more events to celebrate! What a summer that is coming!

Are there any events that I mentioned that you are thinking of attending / will I see you?

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Scenes from Chelsea Market and Todd English Food Hall

I couldn’t visit New York without stopping by both of these food court meccas, could I? So as I mentioned in my last New York recap post where I basically draw little hearts all over Russ & Daughters, I had one day off from the conference. After eating the best bagel and lox sandwich in my entire life, I needed a little walk… so I walked to Chelsea Market. Chelsea Market became my progressive lunch stop. Later that evening, I would visit Todd English Food Hall for dinner. Here is my photo recap of the scenes from Chelsea Market and Todd English Food Hall. Warning, this is a very photo heavy post!

Chelsea Market

I browsed the Chelsea Market looking at all the shops, even bringing back some snacks from The Nut Box and learning about spices at Spices and Tease. If you haven’t heard of Chelsea Market before, it’s a giant building- a whole city block long- which hosts an indoor food hall that includes shop vendors like I just mentioned as well as cheese vendors, bakeries, and imported Italian specialty food.
Chelsea Market, New York

It also is the home to many small booths just like you might expect in any food court mall, but here the vendors include big names like Buddakan, Morimoto, Sarabeth’s or an outpost of the highly ranked sandwich New York chain Num Pang. You can get fine Maine lobsters (Lobster Place) and escargot, Australian meat pies (Tuck Shop), made fresh daily pastas (Rana), conversation cookies (Eleni’s) or crepes (Bar Suzette) and more.
Chelsea Market, New York Chelsea Market, New York

I walked around a long time, wanting to eat everything but settling for just feasting with my eyes. There was a lot to look at just in terms of the building itself with its stripped down architecture including safe deposit boxes that surround one elevator shaft, glistening starry strings of lights that sparkle as curtains in a hallway with a large clock, a fountain gushing water echoing the richness of the food bounty surrounding its location, and various art, old and new, adoring its halls.
Chelsea Market, New York Chelsea Market, New York Chelsea Market, New York Chelsea Market, New York Chelsea Market, New York Chelsea Market, New York Chelsea Market, New York Chelsea Market, New York

I ogled all the food in the shops and food booths and on people’s tables also like it was another form of art all around me.

Chelsea Market, New York Chelsea Market, New York Chelsea Market, New York
Lobster Place in Chelsea Market, New York Lobster Place in Chelsea Market, New York Lobster Place in Chelsea Market, New York Lobster Place in Chelsea Market, New York Lobster Place in Chelsea Market, New York

For lunch, I followed a recommendation to Dickson’s Farmstand, where I had the rotisserie chicken with brussels sprouts and potatoes. The poultry at Dickson’s is brought into the city every morning from Amish farms in Lancaster Pennsylvania or live poultry market in Queens. Dickson’s calls in their order for their chickens fresh each day. The chickens are cage-free barn raised without hormones or antibiotics and have a vegetarian diet. I couldn’t help but want to support this old fashioned way of sourcing.
Dickson's Farmstand Meats, Chelsea Market, New York Dickson's Farmstand Meats, Chelsea Market, New York Dickson's Farmstand Meats, Chelsea Market, New York Dickson's Farmstand Meats, Chelsea Market, New York Dickson's Farmstand Meats, Chelsea Market, New York

Oh, did I also mention that this building is also the office of Food Network, and they film Iron Chef America and used to film Emeril Live here? During my visit I was still in the midst of reading From Scratch: Inside the Food Network, which I already reviewed in another blog post so I was also letting my imagination fill in the blanks of the tales from the book on how Food Network was formed and grew up as I also people watched during my visit.

Todd English Food Hall

Later that same day, I browsed the Todd English Food Hall, located in the basement of the Plaza Hotel. I walked there from my hotel, which gave me a little time to walk around Central Park at dusk by Columbus Circle as I walked there along W 59th and watch the moon rise.
Some shots from Central Park at dusk by Columbus Circle Some shots from Central Park at dusk

Keep in mind that the Todd English Food Hall is in the Plaza basement floor. So, rather then going up the steps past the doorman to enter the hotel, look for the sign and doorway, which will then lead you to escalators down.
Todd English Food Hall entrance Todd English Food Hall entrance Todd English Food Hall entrance

While Chelsea Market had been an upscale take on a food court, the Todd English Food Hall is a modern take on European specialty markets. There were lots of rows of beautiful goods, and in a few places there were some stools so you can sit at a bar and enjoy a bite to eat at some of the booths that offered food service rather than just food goods. There are nine such food booths, representing nine kinds of food stations (Burger Grill, a Seafood/Oyster Bar, Asian Noodles and Dumplings, Pasta Bar, Flatbread Pizza Bar, Sushi Bar, Taqueria, Cheese & Charcuterie, and a Wine Bar and Patisserie).
Todd English Food Hall, New York listing of occupants

As I was waiting for my friend and her friends to arrive, I browsed with my eyes and camera… Yes, that is S’more made to order. Why is this not a food cart here in Portland.
Todd English Food Hall, New York Todd English Food Hall, New York Todd English Food Hall, New York Todd English Food Hall, New York Todd English Food Hall, New York Todd English Food Hall, New York Todd English Food Hall, New York  Todd English Food Hall, New York Todd English Food Hall, New York

For our dinner we ate at the restaurant within this underground food hall. Here, the menu includes some selections from each of those food stations, but it is brought to you at the table instead of sitting at one of the individual food stations. You don’t get access to the whole menu of each station though – for instance you can’t order the lobster roll, but you can a whole grilled lobster, or you can only have 3 choices of tacos.

There was a lot of wine going on at this dinner, and also I wasn’t exactly starving for a lot of dishes given my visit to Russ & Daughters and Chelsea Market and Momofuku Milk Bar earlier in the day. So, my pictures here are a bit more limited. We started out with a side order of Brussels Sprouts with pancetta, roasted jalapeno, red wine vinegar, and butter. Although I won’t be adding pancetta to my regular roasted brussels sprouts standby recipe, I did like the addition of the roasted jalapenos for a little extra kick!

And we got two orders of those addictive and light Risotto Tater Tots with fontina and truffle aioli
Todd English Food Hall, New York - Brussels Sprouts with pancetta, roasted jalapeno, red wine vinegar, and butter Todd English Food Hall, New York - Risotto Tater Tots with fontina and truffle aioli

Also maybe some Fried Oysters with caviar creme fraiche, lemon, and micro cilantro
Todd English Food Hall, New York - Fried Oysters with caviar creme fraiche, lemon, and micro cilantro Todd English Food Hall, New York - Fried Oysters with caviar creme fraiche, lemon, and micro cilantro

When you dine here, do not miss out on the Rigatoni Bolognese. It uses Todd’s Old School bolognese, veal reduction, and pecorino – here we happened to switch out the rigatoni pasta with gluten free spaghettini for my gluten free friend (you can also substiute Whole wheat for any pasta dish of your choice). That sauce is incredible- I can just eat that sauce by itself with a spoon. 10/10. Would go there and order this pasta dish again, as well as more new things to try, but this is a dish worth repeating. The Veal Agnolotti with veal confit, truffle, and parmesan was good, but that bolognese was even better.
Todd English Food Hall, New York - Rigatoni Bolognese, It uses Todd’s old school bolognese, veal reduction, and pecorino - here we happened to switch out the rigatoni pasta with gluten free spaghettini for my gluten free friend Todd English Food Hall, New York - Veal Agnolotti with veal confit, truffle, parmesan

If you are meeting a group of friends in New York, definitely consider stopping by either Chelsea Market  or Todd English Food Hall for a meal together. By having a good group, you can try a lot of different things at these places, and the possibilities are just amazing that you will want to take advantage of numbers to try as much as you can! If you go to Todd English, make a reservation – otherwise if you are trying to eat at the food stations since it is a bar it is better to be a small party of 1-2. For Chelsea Market, there are some tables but if the weather is nice consider taking your food outside and walking to the High Line park.

I still have two more meals to cover from my time in New York (it sure seems like I ate a lot huh in the 6 days I was there…): Pearl Oyster Bar, and Ivan Ramen!

Other New York highlights from this trip that I have blogged about:

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Sweet Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango Recipe

I know this is totally not a Memorial Day recipe in any way. But, I’ve been seeing that mangos are starting to appear at some of the grocery stores, and a weekend or so ago, my friends and I decided to have an Asian themed potluck for our Game of Thrones night. The mains included Do It Yourself Vietnamese rolls (very easy- just prep the filling options and everyone else just will select, wrap, and eat, and it’s even pretty healthy!), and there was also an Asian Salad with optional steak. Now that the weather is heating up, this is a great idea for a potluck theme. The two wraps below use the rice paper, but you can also use lettuce wraps as well. It is easy to accommodate for vegetarians since it’s up to everyone whether to add the bbq pork (and alternately you can offer fresh tofu as an option).
Do It Yourself Vietnamese rolls Do It Yourself Vietnamese rolls Do It Yourself Vietnamese rolls

I contributed a dessert of sticky rice with mango, known in Thai as ข้าวเหนียวมะม่วง.
Sweet Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango Recipe

The key to making sweet sticky rice is to make sure you use the right rice- specifically, glutinous rice. You can find these at an Asian grocery store. This is the same sticky rice that you often see served with satay/meat skewers – but in that preparation you don’t use coconut milk.
Glutinous Rice
Speaking of, while you are there at the Asian grocery store, pick up a can of coconut milk too.

When you buy your mangos, make sure they are slightly softer to the touch- similar to when you check avocados. If not, when you peel/cut the mango it will still be a little green and sour, which is fine for some other Thai dishes I know but not for a dessert dish like this.
Mangos

In order to help ripen your mango, you can try a few tricks such as putting it in a paper bag and leaving it on the counter at room temperature. I hear that putting an apple or banana might also help with the ripening process. If you want to slow the ripening because it is already ready but you’re making it fresh the next day, put it in the refrigerator. A ripe mango put in the fridge might last a handful of days, so don’t wait long.

Sweet Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango Recipe

Yields enough for 2, with usually each person getting 1/2 a mango.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup of glutinous rice
  • 1 can of coconut milk
  • 3 tbsp of sugar (adjust to taste)
  • 1/2 tsp of salt
  • 1 sweet, ripe mango (preferably Thai honey mango)
  • 2 tsp of sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

Directions:

  1. Take 1/2 cup of the coconut milk and add it to 1/2 cup of water. Now add the 1/2 cup of glutinous rice and let the rice soak for about 30 minutes. The rice should get fatter as it absorbs the coconut water.
    Sweet Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango Recipe Sweet Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango Recipe
  2. After the soaking, do not drain the water. Pour the rice into a pot and simmer on low heat on the stovetop until the rice is cooked and soft. You may need to add a cup or so of water if the rice gets too dry.
  3. In another pot, mix the 1/2 cup of coconut milk with the sugar and salt on simmer until it begins to bubble/is on the verge of boiling. At this point, add it to your cooked glutinous rice and stir to mix. Cover, and let sit on the simmering heat until the rice has absorbed all the coconut milk mixture, about 30 minutes. Taste and see if you’d like to add more sugar for sweetness, or a pinch of salt to balance the sweet.
    Sweet Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango Recipe Sweet Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango Recipe Sweet Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango Recipe
  4. Remove from heat and let the rice cool so it is still warm but no longer hot. This is usually the time I cut the mango to place on top, and garnish with sesame seeds.
    Sweet Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango Recipe Sweet Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango Recipe

Sooo….

It turns out despite what I wrote before about making sure your mango is ripe, with everything that was going on that weekend I spaced on putting it in the paper bag when I got home, and I didn’t know F put it in the refrigerator. So when the cutting happened, the mango was still a little green. What to do?

I tried to recover my dessert by turning to the fact that green mangoes are often used in Thai cooking and in those cases, there is a spicier take on it. Particularly, Mango Salads are pretty popular. So I decided to make slightly spicy diced mango- I tried to dial back the spice as I knew I had guests who are not lovers of the spicy heat like F and I are.

Sweet Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango Recipe

Spicy Diced Mango

Ingredients:

  • 3 firm mangos, diced
  • 3 small chilies, minced. If you want to dial back the heat, deseed it. Alternately, as I did, since I didn’t have any chilies I used 3 teaspoons of chili powder, or to your taste.
  • 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh basil
  • 3 teaspoons honey
  • 3 teaspoons of soy sauce
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • Salt to taste

Directions:

  1. Toss together all the ingredients. Adjust seasonings to taste.
  2. Let the flavors marinate/mingle for about 30 minutes before serving – if you’d like, chill it in the refrigerator
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Best Bagel Sandwich in New York: Russ & Daughters

So I’ve fallen a bit behind on my mid-March trip recap of my time in New York. I’ve covered previously my stops at Momofuku Noodle and Momofuku Milk Bar, the grilled cheese and sweet treats at Bouchon Bakery Rockefeller, some of my Midtown Manhattan lunches from Xian Famous Foods, ‘wichCraft, Zucker’s Bagels & Smoked Fish.

While I was there during the conference, there was 1 day where I was not attending a seminar. I thought about visiting museums, or walking in Central Park and reading a newspaper and absorbing the New York energy. Instead, I decided to eat all day – a progressive dining day. I suppose I really am a food lover in that exploring food to me is an equivalent option for an experience to what I listed on a trip.

I started out with Russ & Daughters for their famous smoked salmon bagel sandwich. I considered then visiting a few doors down Katz’s for the pastrami sandwich and pickles, but ultimately I was still too freshly full from that sandwich for “breakfast” and so instead I walked to Chelsea Market and that’s where I had a progressive lunch. This was then wrapped up with Momofuku Milk for dessert, even though I was kicking myself later as I should have walked the High Line that day instead of the next, when it would end up pouring rain. Finally, in the evening, I met up with a old co-worker/friend from Chicago and we had dinner at the Todd English food hall.

Since I didn’t actually go into Katz’s, all I did was look and ponder and eventually rationalize walking away, with only these photos to show for it. Have you been there, and did I miss out?
New York Katz's Deli, of the famous pastrami and pickles New York Katz's Deli, of the famous pastrami and pickles

I loved the Russ & Daughters experience so much though that I’m going to devote this entire post to them. This specialty family-owned (four generations!) shop has been offering high-end smoked fish, caviar & New York-style specialty foods (bagels and high end cream cheese flavors, bialys, sweets like babka, rugelach and halvah, and more!) for a long time. Their byline is that they have been “Appetizing Since 1914”. Just very recently, they expanded to besides this old fashioned shop also open a Russ & Daughters Cafe
Russ & Daughters Russ & Daughters Russ & Daughters

I arrived with a singular goal in mind: to order the “The Best Bagel and Lox in New York”, per New York Magazine. When New York Magazine interviewed Anthony Bourdain and asked What’s the best meal you’ve eaten in New York?, Bourdain answered, “Bagel, nova, cream cheese at Russ & Daughters. Not just the best, but ‘ours.'”

All righty then! Will it live up to this hype?
Russ & Daughters classic bagel  sandwich, a bagel with your choice of cream cheese and smoked salmon

I knew it would as soon as I walked in and saw what I am completely sure is angelic light over the beautiful selection of cream cheeses and roe. I looked so longingly at these cream cheeses- plain, scallion, vegetable, horseradish dill, caviar cream cheese, lox cream cheese, goat cream cheese, even a tofu cream cheese… wait, back up. Caviar Cream Cheese?

Also, you see the glow of the French Trout Roe, Whitefish Roe, Wild Alaskan Salmon Roe, and Wasabi infused Flying Fish Roe calling to you like those glowing power pellets of Pac Man?
Russ & Daughters, the angelic light over the beautiful selection of cream cheeses and roe. Plain, scallion, vegetable, horseradish dill, caviar cream cheese, lox spread, tofu spread, goat cream cheese

I was fortunate in that I came here on a Tuesday mid-morning, so there was no crowd at all, only a handful of people before me. I didn’t even need to take a number, though I have heard it can be a madhouse, crowded with people desperate for the treasures and packed into this small, narrow store. I was able to stand there with no on in my way save a handful of people before me, admiring each cream cheese and smoked fish and each box and tin individually in the little store, wishing I could take them all back with me but realizing that was being greedy.

I focused. I went with the Classic, your choice of bagel with your choice of cream cheese and your choice of smoked salmon. The patient, friendly, sweet gentleman behind the counter and I talked for a while, comparing the textures and flavors of the various available smoked salmons. I have never before had the fortune to get to select from amongst Gaspe Nova, Scottish, or Irish Smoked Salmon; Norwegian Smoked Salmon; Belly Lox, GravLox or Pastrami cured salmon; loin cut smoked salmon; Wild Western Nova or New Zealand King Salmon.
Russ & Daughters The patient, friendly, sweet gentleman behind the counter and I talked for a while, comparing the textures and flavors of the various available smoked salmons as I have never before had the fortune to get to select from amongst Gaspe Nova, Scottish, or Irish Smoked Salmon; Norwegian Smoked Salmon; Belly Lox, GravLox or Pastrami cured salmon; loin cut smoked salmon; Wild Western Nova or New Zealand King Salmon.

It’s just a little deli shop, so I had to go outside and walk down towards the subway station where I had seen a little park in order to find a place to eat. There, I was in heaven as I bit into the doughy but firm bagel, the richness of the cream cheese and flavors of the smoked salmon were exquisite. I understood why running out for bagels and lox in New York is such a singular experience.
Russ & Daughters classic bagel  sandwich, a bagel with your choice of cream cheese and smoked salmon Russ & Daughters classic bagel  sandwich, a bagel with your choice of cream cheese and smoked salmon

It’s also possible to get this sandwich on a bialy instead of a bagel. They also have tomato, capers, and onions optionally, but you know it’s not really an option right, it’s a must have?
Russ & Daughters classic bagel  sandwich, a bagel with your choice of cream cheese and smoked salmon

I carefully wiped the wax paper it was wrapped in (ok, after licking all the cream cheese left behind) with napkins and folded it away to put in my scrapbook later because I already knew it was a food memory that I would always remember years later.

In fact just writing this post I am craving this sandwich pretty desperately. I considered for a while that they even ship nationally. If I’m ever in New York, this will be a must revisit for me.

They have other possible combinations you can try- I was torn between for instance the other sandwich of Daughter’s Delight, with Gaspe Nova and Wild Alaskan Salmon Roe with cream cheese on a bagel or bialy. Or the Super Heebster with Whitefish and Baked Salmon Salad with horseradish dill cream cheese and wasabi flying fish roe on a bagel or bialy… among several other options.

If you go to New York, would you visit Russ & Daughters? Have you been there before, and what did you have? Do you have a real craving for a bagel sandwich now, because I do and that’s one of my goals for this long weekend… a fancy bagel sandwich. Where do you get what you think are the best bagels in Portland?

Other New York highlights from this trip that I have blogged about:

Coming Next Week: photos from Chelsea Market and Todd English Food Hall!

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