Search Results for: oven and shaker

Oven and Shaker Chef Series: Ox’s Clam Chowder Pizza

I’ve covered during 2013 many sandwiches from Lardo, who have been doing chefwiches– that is chef collaboration sandwiches, each with a guest chef of another excellent restaurant in Portland. Recently in November, Oven & Shaker started doing a chef series in which there are collaborations with chefs for a special pizza option on the menu, and part of the proceeds for that pizza go to the charity of choice selected by the collaborating guest chef. Oven and Shaker schedule is for a beginning-end of the month rather than Lardo’s mid-month change-up. So the second pizza in this post is available until the end of December!

The first chef pizza at Oven & Shaker was in collaboration with Rick of Lardo, with the charity of choice for November being Ecotrust’s Farm to Schools. Together, they turned Lardo’s mortadella sandwich into pizza form with a Mortadella pie. This pizza started with an olive oil, oregano, and garlic base topped with provolone picante, Mama Lil’s peppers, and mortadella, and then was topped after the wood fired oven with shredded lettuce and dressing. It was a very meaty pizza. Sorry for the dark lighting!
Oven and Shaker's Chef Series pizza pies, starting with the November Rick Gencarelli's Mortadella Pie with an olive oil, oregano, and garlic base topped with provolone picante, Mama Lil's peppers, and mortadella then finished with shredded lettuce and dressing. Proceeds benefit Ecotrust's Farm to Schools program Oven and Shaker's Chef Series pizza pies, starting with the November Rick Gencarelli's Mortadella Pie with an olive oil, oregano, and garlic base topped with provolone picante, Mama Lil's peppers, and mortadella then finished with shredded lettuce and dressing. Proceeds benefit Ecotrust's Farm to Schools program Oven and Shaker's Chef Series pizza pies, starting with the November Rick Gencarelli's Mortadella Pie with an olive oil, oregano, and garlic base topped with provolone picante, Mama Lil's peppers, and mortadella then finished with shredded lettuce and dressing. Proceeds benefit Ecotrust's Farm to Schools program

This month, December, the collaboration chef is Greg and Gabrielle Denton of Ox with a Clam Chowder Pizza Pie with split bone marrow and jalapeno. Very indulgent.
Oven and Shaker Chef Series, from Ox the Clam Chowder Smoked Bone Marrow Pizza for December 2013 Oven and Shaker Chef Series, from Ox the Clam Chowder Smoked Bone Marrow Pizza for December 2013 Oven and Shaker Chef Series, from Ox the Clam Chowder Smoked Bone Marrow Pizza for December 2013 Oven and Shaker Chef Series, from Ox the Clam Chowder Smoked Bone Marrow Pizza for December 2013 Oven and Shaker Chef Series, from Ox the Clam Chowder Smoked Bone Marrow Pizza for December 2013
Clearly the Oven & Shaker series is going after some signature dishes with each guest chef. Compare this with the famous Ox Clam Chowder soup…
Ox's Fresh Clam Chowder, Smoked Marrow Bone, Spring Onion, Jalapeño . . . SO GOOD

Every visit I’ve also treated myself to one new cocktail. Both are still available on their current cocktail list. The first was a Kingdom of Walnut Cocktail, which has 2 oz Bols 1820 Genever + 1/2 oz Punt e Mes + 1/4 oz Nux Alpine Walnut Liquor + lemon oil. It is a strong drink.

The second for December was a refreshing Honey Basil Collins: loose third pint full of basil, + 2 oz vodka + 3/4 oz freshly pressed lemon juice + 3/4 oz house made clover honey syrup + 2 oz club soda. Of course, you can always go for the classic favorite from the cocktail menu (I don’t think anyone can dislike this cocktail), their Pineapple Trainwreck or Pepper Smash: I’ve had both before and covered them in previous blog entries.
Oven and Shaker Fresh cocktail, Honey Basil Collins: loose third pint full of basil, + 2 oz vodka + 3/4 oz freshly pressed lemon juice + 3/4 oz house made clover honey syrup + 2 oz club soda

I also can’t resist the fact that Oven and Shaker also offers the iconic Nostrana Radicchio Caeser. At happy hour they have a smaller portion for half price… and you can see the portion is still very generous. There are times I can’t stop thinking about this salad and just have to go have it. I don’t know what you’ll think of me when I admit I’m more likely to suddenly have the urge for this salad rather than anything with chocolate.
Oven and Shaker offers as part of their happy hour the iconic Nostrana Radicchio Caeser, a small portion for half price. Clearly the portion is very generous Oven and Shaker offers as part of their happy hour the iconic Nostrana Radicchio Caeser, a small portion for half price. Clearly the portion is very generous Oven and Shaker offers as part of their happy hour the iconic Nostrana Radicchio Caeser, a small portion for half price. Clearly the portion is very generous

Which of these items sounds most interesting to you? What do you think of a pizza that comes with a big marrow bone in the center!? I didn’t have to share, so no worries about dividing the marrow bone with others for me.

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A Winter dinner at Oven and Shaker

So I’ve already raved about their savory Wild Fennel sausage pizza with potato, tomato, chilies, scallions, smoked mozzarella, and their heavenly Bianca cheese pizza topped with teleme, truffled sottocenere, bufala mozzarella, and fried sage. These two are regulars all year round. The brussels sprouts pizza is part of their winter menu, replacing what during the summer included the smoky and tangy Cauliflower pizza I had with roasted cauliflower, mozzarella, provolone, olive, spring onion, Mama Lil’s chlies, and crumbled salami.

See, I haven’t even shown you what I ate yet and you probably already want to go to Oven and Shaker.

This time I will roll my eyes back as I bite into their Brussels sprout pizza. After seeing I Love to Eat, it was only a block away to Oven and Shaker, and I had no problem waiting the 15 minutes or so until their dinner menu began to be served (this was perfect for vegetarian F who immediately ordered off the Happy Hour menu). He started with the salad of Semplice with spring greens, fennel, carrots, scallions, pear, red wine vinaigrette, a nice starter if you don’t want the heavier Nostana salad. He also ordered from the Happy Hour menu the Margarita pizza which had lots of tangy tomato sauce.

Oven and Shaker salad Oven and Shaker margarita pizza

I will also sip these beautiful new cocktails they offer. The Caribbean Snowflake with 2 oz Cruzan Single Barrel Rum, 1/4 oz St Elizabeth All Spice Dram, 1/2 oz freshly pressed lime juice,. 1 oz freshly pressed grapefruit juice, 1/2 oz simple syrup, 1 small egg white, and silver flake sparkled before my eyes and as I sipped it, I think it also added sparkles to my eyes too.

Oven and Shaker cocktail Oven and Shaker cocktail

I also loved the Pisco Noir with 7 fresh blackberries and 2 oz Capel Pisco, 1/2 oz Green Chartreuse, 3/4 oz freshly pressed lime juice, 3/4 oz simple syrup and 1 small egg white with its dark berry and citrus flavor. Ok, I admit maybe my eye wandered a few times to the Pepper Smash and Lost Cosmopolitan cocktails at the table over, but I wasn’t cheating. I was reminiscing and admiring beauty.

Oven and Shaker cocktail

And I loved you most of all, Brussels Sprouts pizza with brussels sprouts, bacon, robiola, pecorino, a mix of flavors of the leafy shreds of brussels sprout and salty bacon and creamy robiola. I had to force myself to stop eating you all up because I totally good you are so delicious, but I wanted to wrap you up to go so I could have some more of you later. I have to stop looking at you now or I will go pull you out of the fridge even though I told myself you are a reward after going to the gym. Miss you already, brussels sprouts pizza.

Oven and Shaker brussels sprout pizza Oven and Shaker brussels sprout pizza

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Oven and Shaker- the Bianca pizza

As I had promised myself the previous two visits (one during Dining Month and one where I tried Aracine and Cauliflower Pizza), I would return to Oven and Shaker and try the Bianca. This past week gave me an opportunity to do so. As I perused the menu, I noticed that the seasonal pizzas from August that included zucchini and marscarpone and blackberry and peach had been amended, with the blackberry removed (but there is still a peach pizza) and a roasted pepper pizza as well. It’s good to see they are continuing to freshen up the menu monthly. As last time, the service was attentive in checking in for drinks and food so that you can casually chat and snack on starters and small plates, and the food does come out in whatever order the kitchen has it ready.

I started out with a cocktail I had been eyeing my last visit, called the The “Lost” Cosmopolitan. The menu boasts that this is vintage circa 1933. To me though, it tasted pretty modern, a good mix of tart and sweet without being to much of either, thanks to its ingredients of “7 ea. fresh raspberries + 2 oz. Aviation Gin + ¼ oz Cointreau + ¾ oz. freshly pressed lemon juice + ¾ oz. simple syrup Americano”. I would have had more of this delight to drink, but decided to stick to a lot of water because it was a sweltering above 80 degrees that day. But this drink also made me feel so girly and pretty!
Oven and Shaker cocktail

As a starter, I tried the Kale Salad, with grapefruit, toasted breadcrumbs, poppyseed fricco, pecorino, anchovy vinaigrette. The result was a crunchy salad experience with pops of salt. The way the kale was shredded though was a bit long for a neat mouthful but too short to twirl and too thin to cut, which resulted in me wiping my face a lot as the vinaigrette splashed all around my mouth from the length of the kale. Now I felt messy and like a slob with no manners. Thanks for the highs and lows Oven and Shaker. This is not a good dish if you are on a date. Or with anyone who wants to look at your face and not see shiny vinaigrette dribbles shining from you.
Oven and Shaker salad

And then, well there was the pizza I came for, the Bianca. You can tell from the description it has my name appended at the end: a wood oven fired pizza topped with teleme, truffled sottocenere, bufala mozzarella, and fried sage. Teleme is a luscious high fat cheese that is creamy white, sort of like a mix between a brie and creme fraiche because it is very oozy. Then add fresh bufala mozz, and a cheese with flakes of truffles!? Yes please!

If you love lots of gooey cheese on your pizza, and throw in the scents and flavors of  a bit of the smokey dough it is piled and melted on, this is for you. It is quite rich, and if you aren’t ordering this pizza with others that you are sharing with (along with mixing it up with slices of other pizzas), consider adding an extra topping from their menu to add a bit of contrast- I think I woudl choose the spicy roasted chilis myself, although the salt cured anchovies would also work if you didn’t just eat a whole salad littered with anchovy bits. I would get this pizza again in a heartbeat… if I’m not tempted away by a combination of a seasonal pizza making a guest appearance.
Oven and Shaker Bianca pizzaOven and Shaker bianca pizza

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Oven & Shaker: a second visit for Aracine and Cauliflower Pizza

I arrived specifically at Oven & Shaker because I wanted the Cauliflower pizza, which had not been on the menu my previous visit. I was really tempted, just like last time, with the Bianca pizza, boasting teleme, truffled sottocenere, bufala mozzarella and fried sage.

Also new to the menu was a pizza of Blackberry and Peach with garlic, arugula, pecorino, rocotta and aged balsalmic. They also had more specials in the Finger * Fork section (the small plates). But, fearing that the Cauliflower, just like the Brussel Sprout pizza, might be a seasonal and therefore temporary offering, I went with that as my pizza choice. I was very glad I did. But damn you Oven and Shaker, with your temptations that will bring me back again…!

Oven & Shaker, Cathy Whims, Wood fired pizza, Portland Oven & Shaker, Cathy Whims, Wood fired pizza, Portland

I started with the fried risotto balls, or aracine. They came in four different flavors, and not able to decide, I didn’t decide at all and got them all. They are very filling- I would only be able to eat 2 slices of my pizza when it would arrive later, and based on delicious the pizzas are, would rather leave the room for more slices. Ranked in order of
what tasted best of the four Aracine:

Oven and Shaker aracine Oven and Shaker aracine

  1. suppli al telefono, wild mushroom risotto, smoked mozzarella and tomato ragu aracini
  2. lager beer risotto cheddar salami aracini
  3. aracini of basil risotto with house mozzarella  and fresh tomato sauce
  4. herb risotto wtih summer vegetables and  fonduta aracini

Even though it was Friday, the restaurant was not very busy, possibly because there were other summer festivals going on that night as well, though it was also pretty early on a Friday- maybe everyone was at happy hour still (O&S’s happy hour is only until 2:30-4 or 10-midnight). Thanks to the lack of crowd, I was able to really admire how long and incredibly well stocked with bottles the bar was.

Also, not being in the weeds greatly improved how quickly I got my food and how well it was executed, and the staff was able to be more attentive in checking on me, bringing food to me promptly, and removing finished service ware.The atmosphere was much more relaxed and casual, rather than leaning on the frenetic side during my last visit.

Oven & Shaker, Cathy Whims, Wood fired pizza, Portland Oven & Shaker, Cathy Whims, Wood fired pizza, Portland

While I awaited my meal, I enjoyed a drink that had caught my eye on a previous visit and had remembered, so this visit I didn’t hesitate to reward myself. The Oven and Shaker’s Pepper Smash comes with lots of mint leaves, Krogstad Aquavit (a caraway/anise flavored vodka), lime juice, maple syrup, and freshly extracted yellow bell pepper juice for a very smooth liquid taste of… the description that comes to mind is je ne sais quoi.

It had citrus flavors and a little tartness from the lime but not too sour or acidic thanks to the maple syrup, and then add in that freshness of the bell pepper with the flavors of caraway and anise… it all came into to a unique medley that is refreshing and easy to drink but that you want to sip to have those flavors roll and rest on your tongue.

Oven and Shaker Pepper Smash cocktail, Oven & Shaker, Cathy Whims, Wood fired pizza, Portland

Meanwhile, the pizzas are all cooked in the wood fired oven so it is ever so lightly scorched for some burnt smoke flavor: this time when it arrived rather than soggy it was a nice thin crisp yet doughy consistency which I enjoyed.

Oven and Shaker Cauliflower Pizza, Oven & Shaker, Cathy Whims, Wood fired pizza, PortlandOven and Shaker Cauliflower Pizza, Oven & Shaker, Cathy Whims, Wood fired pizza, Portland

The ingredients on the pizza of the roasted cauliflower, mozzarella, provolone, olive, spring onion, Mama Lil’s chilies, crumbled salami was a wonderful mix of the crispy salami and the soft creamy cheese with the tangy bits of olive and taste of smoke from the slightly scorched pizza foundation.

I’m coming for you Bianca pizza… I’m coming back for you.

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Oven & Shaker: Portland Dining Month

Next Portland Dining Month 2012 destination: a dinner at Oven & Shaker, the new venture from Cathy Whims of Nostrana fame and success (including being a James Beard Finalist 2012). This new joint is in the Pearl District and focused more on the pizzas and cocktails. For $25, you get to choose a salad, pizza, and scoop of housemade gelato or sorbetto.

We sat at the counter right in front of the pizza oven, and got to see for ourselves the assembly line as they carefully created each pizza and as soon as the food was ready, a runner was called to dispatch it hot to the table.

We started out with the Nostrana salad with radicchio, parmigiano, rosemary-sage croutons, Cæsar style dressing, with the creamyness of the Caeser dressing countering the slight bitterness of the radicchio, and also the Shepherd salad with spring greens, pickled onion, walnut vinaigrette, egg, goat cheese, bruschetta (but without the egg). Both salads were great starters.

Oven and Shaker, Cathy Whims, Pearl District, Portland, wood fired pizza, Nostrana salad with radicchio, parmigiano, croutons, Caeser style dressingOven and; Shaker, Cathy Whims, Pearl District, Portland, wood fired pizza, Shepard salad, spring greens, bruschetta

The pizzas, fresh from the wood oven burning pizza: Wild Fennel Sausage – potato, tomato, chilies, scallions, smoked mozzarella and Wild Mushroom – yellow foot and hedgehog mushrooms, fontina, green garlic.

Wild Mushroom pizza with yellow foot and hedgehog mushrooms, fontina, green garlic, Oven and Shaker, Cathy Whims, Pearl District, Portland, wood fired pizzaWild Fennel Sausage with potato, tomato, chilies, scallions, smoked mozzarella Oven and Shaker, Cathy Whims, Pearl District, Portland, wood fired pizza

Both also delicious in different ways, the sausage balancing the seasoned sausage with little bites of spicy chili, while the mushroom slight crispness at the top from the oven was a nice textural contrast to the fresh green garlic. We definitely want to go back- as we watched the pizza production we were quite intrigued by the zucchini pizza we saw with chili oil, spring herbs, and finished with willdflower honey and marscapone.

Wild Mushroom pizza with yellow foot and hedgehog mushrooms, fontina, green garlic, Oven and Shaker, Cathy Whims, Pearl District, Portland, wood fired pizzaWild Fennel Sausage with potato, tomato, chilies, scallions, smoked mozzarella Oven and Shaker, Cathy Whims, Pearl District

We finished with a bay leaf gelato and a strawberry sorbetto, each topped with a waffle cone triangle. My drink, the Pineapple Trainwreck original, was nice as well, a mix of Bacardi Anejo, freshly pressed lemon juice,  in house pressed and extracted pineapple juice, with some house made spicy ginger syrup and dashes of Peychaud Bitters and Angostura Bitters.There were plenty of other impressive, varied selections on the cocktail menu as well which also are calling me back to try them out.

It seems that Oven & Shaker does do justice its namesakes of producing good food from the oven and shaker. They have some regular topping combination pizzas, but others that rotate seasonally, and as we saw from our seats, they do use quality ingredients for their toppings, and put them together in unique new combinations.

The restaurant is loud and feels communal in terms of how close all the seats are, with the space clean with some wood for warmth as universal mingling music plays in the background as you are surrounded by trendsters as the vibe around is definitely outgoing.

The kitchen is churning out those pizzas as fast as they can, and send them to you as soon as they are ready, but in the small space they have, there is only room for about 4 people, and only so many in the oven, so hopefully you are not looking for a fast experience- you are willing to be patient and focus on socializing while waiting (oh, they are “casual” so don’t take reservations, only walk in and be lucky or walk in and get your name on the list), and you are looking for creative unusual combinations atop pizza not the traditional comfort ones full of cheese, and you are forgiving on dough. Of course, they are relatively new to the area, so the hype may die down to make the wait more reasonable, or we came on a very busy night.

They do have some other bites, but I didn’t see many of those going out the kitchen… and while we enjoyed our salad and pizzas, the dessert was nothing special so try another dessert offering. Still, I might try some next time, if there are enough to share pizzas instead like in this visit ordering one individual pizza per person (each pizza is probably enough for two).

Oven and; Shaker, Cathy Whims, Pearl District, Portland, wood fired pizza Oven and; Shaker, Cathy Whims, Pearl District, Portland, wood fired pizza

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