Tips for Attending Feast Portland

September 10, 2014 by 7 Comments

GAH! Where did the summer go soooo fast? Can you believe Feast Portland, the best, most delicious, food festival in Portland, the all holidays rolled into one long weekend of September 18 – 21, is only 1 week away! EEEEEeee!!!

I have shared before an overview of Feast PDX 2014 in a previous Countdown to Feast post. This time, assuming you have a ticket to at least one event or have signed up for volunteering for Feast, I wanted to share tips for attending Feast Portland.

Tip 1: Carry a tote bag

You will be picking up business cards and pamphlets for instance if you are attending the Oregon Bounty Grand Tasting on either Friday or on Saturday. Tickets are still available for these two events BTW! Anyway, I have a tote bag that has a small little mesh pocket on the side which I actually use to carry my drink glass sometimes. That way I had someplace to put my glass when I wanted to get both hands on my mini sandwiches when I was at the Sandwich Invitational last year (I also plan to attend the Sandwich Invitational this year also. And there are still tickets available for this event if you are interested).

The glass for beer at the Widmer Sandwich Invitational at Feast 2013 Supporting local, thanks to Whole Foods at Feast 2013

I also use the tote bag to carry extra napkins (including wetnaps!) and to carry the same knife/fork/spoon all night so I don’t have to use additional ones because I threw it away. I also have a bottle of water in there!

My tote bag also has a little notebook where I might jot down notes of things I might hear, be it stories from the vendors or one of the chef demonstrations at the Grand Tasting, or from talking to various people I may meet as we are simultaneously tasting wine together.

Who knows, you may even find something you’d like to buy and carry back with you… like I got these awesome T-shirts from Flavour Gallery that are super soft and comfortable and proudly proclaim my love of deliciousness. Only a week after Feast 2013 last year, I was excited to pack that shirt and wear in when I was traveling looking at waterfalls in Ithaca NY. I remember seeing them at the Sandwich Invitational and at the Oregon Bounty Grand Tasting
Shirt from Flavour Gallery at Feast Portland 2013. I love this shirt. Me wearing my Feast Portland 2013 shirt from Flavour Gallery just a week later after Feast while posing with Buttermilk Falls in New York

The biggest secret in my bag? I have little ziploc bags in there. You don’t have to sample everything, but believe me, even so you can only eat so many of those Sandwich Invitational sandwiches without feeling overly full. One thing I learned from being a certified PNWBA barbecue judge is that there is no reason to take more than a few bites. Since I don’t want to waste the food, I then put the rest in the ziploc bag in my tote and move on to another taste. And then I eat those leftovers the whole next week after Feast…

Tip 2: Talk to Strangers

Oregon Bounty Grand Tasting, Friday, Kyra's Bake Shop Oregon Bounty Grand Tasting, Friday, Ben Jacobs3n himself of Jacobs3n Salt

I give my personal business card out freely as anyone I meet whether it be in line or while trying to balance samples is a food lover like me, and we can surely be friends. Something as simple as “Oooo, what are you having? Where did you get that?” or “Did you have a favorite sandwich/sample/wine/etc” is a great conversation opener. Everyone here is HAPPY to talk about food and drink while eating food and drink, believe me!

At events like the Oregon Bounty Grand Tasting, take this opportunity to find out the story about the various artisan vendors and to explore new things you have never tried before. This is a serious tip- Urban Bliss also included it on her tips list, and you should also check out her Top 10 Tips for Feast Portland Newbies post!

Tip 3: Make a Game Plan

When I first go to an event, before I even attend I take a look to see if their are any names that initially jump out at me as ones I want to visit right away. Then, when I actually arrive at the event, based on how busy it is, I will decide how I am going to order my visits. I personally like to be there when the event first opens. Then I walk around the entire event space, seeing who is where and what everyone is offering. Based on that, I then plan my visit order!
The layout of the High Comfort event at Feast 2013 Grilled Cheese Please! From Tillamook Widmer Sandwich Invitational at Feast PDX 2013

An example might be at the Sandwich Invitational and when I attended High Comfort last year (there are tickets still available to High Comfort for 2014!), I picked out certain chefs who I knew were from out of town and likely to be in high demand and figured out where their booths were and looked to see what they were serving as their sample tastes. Then based on that,  I picked out what I wanted to eat most and went from there. Pretty much I’ll be making a beeline for Hugh Acheson at Sandwich Invitational and for Aaron Franklin at the Tillamook Brunch Village (tickets already sold out!) for instance. <3 <3 <3

At an event like the Oregon Bounty Grand Tasting, check the schedule of the day to see who and when the chef demonstrations are occurring at the KitchenAid Main Demo Stage!
The Lee Brothers charm the audience during their Kitchenaid Demo, regaling with many stories while making oyster peanut stew on the KitchenAid Main Demo Stage at Oregon Bounty Grand Tasting, Feast 2013 Naomi advise to squeeze butter w your hands to help warm it up as she prepares corn souffle on the KitchenAid Main Demo Stage at Oregon Bounty Grand Tasting, Feast 2013

Tip 4: Wear Comfy Shoes and have Pockets

For events in which are will be visiting a lot of different booths in a food market style – namely the Sandwich Invitational Oregon Grand Bounty Tasting, High Comfort, and Brunch Village, you will be on your feet a lot. If you are attending the dinners or tasting panels you will be seated so relax.

Be prepared accordingly. These events are also rain or shine, so check the weather and bring a rainjacket hoodie if necessary. Don’t do an umbrella – you don’t want to waste your hands that could be holding food and drink!

I also highly recommend wearing something with easy accessible pockets. Even if you have your tote bag, you don’t want to go scrounging around in there each time you want to get your camera to grab a photo.

Tip 5: Use your Phone! Take Photos and follow Social Media

One of the best tricks for remembering delicious things is to take a photo of them. I take photos of signs describing the dish as I’m going up to the booth, and if I really like a particular beer or wine or anything, I take a photo. The visual cue of seeing the descriptions (particularly wine bottle labels) when I look on my phone is so helpful later!

In order to see what is happening and hot, be sure to check the hashtag #feastpdx on Twitter #feastpdx  or the handle Twitter FeastPDX and follow on Instagram Feast Portland to also see what everyone is talking about – maybe that’s how you’ll know to hurry and get into a particular line for a food dish before it runs out. If you do share, make sure you tag #FeastPDX too.

I know I’m sorry to be missing the Night Market, but I’ll be following the pictures online to live vicariously through all the social sharers out there.

Given that you may be taking photos and twittering… don’t you think of leaving home without your phone charger with you. Who knows how long the evening might extend to and you don’t want to run out of battery.

Make sure you also program a taxi number in your phone. You may not need it, but it’s so useful to have just in case you get invited to party on with new friends that you meet…

I’ll be on Twitter and Instagram myself covering Feast, so I hope we are already friends on Twitter @pechluck and on Instagram @pechluck .

If you don’t have tickets yet, the recommendation I would give (and apparently so would Carrie Welch, one of the co-founder of Feasts – she noted this in an interview Bakery Bingo recently posted. Also check out some interesting tidbits about her at an interview of Carrie at love, rachel with her post Coffee Conversations: Carrie Welch Co-Founder of Feast Portland is to strongly consider either the Sandwich Invitational on Thursday evening, or Oregon Bounty Grand Tasting on either Friday or on Saturday.

I hope these tips are helpful to you, and maybe I’ll see you at Feast? Don’t be shy about coming to say hi!

Disclosure: I was granted a Blogger Pass for Feast Portland 2014 for blog post and social media coverage but I am not otherwise being compensated. Even before I was given the Blogger Pass I already had tickets for some Feast events – so it just means I will have more to recap for you now!

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The Magic at Pacific Pie NW Portland

September 1, 2014 by 6 Comments

I have been a fan of Pacific Pie for several years, ever since I discovered them at the Farmers Market where they got their start. Husband and wife team Sarah and Chris founded Pacific Pie when being the sweet loving wife that she is, Sarah tried to help Aussie Chris’ homesickness for savory pies by baking meat pies. I love their sweet pies too (my favorite is the Chocolate Bourbon Hazelnut), but Sarah’s savory goods were really what hooked me in. Also, Sarah is a better food lover than I: like me, even while eating she is already thinking ahead to the next deliciousness, but with the extra expertise of being able to actually come up with interesting combinations and make it happen. Even though this is a business, you can see and taste the love in these pies.
Sarah and Chris, the owners of Pacific Pie Portland Sarah holding one of the pie offerings of Pacific Pie Portland

Sadly, I had not had the time to visit their new NW 23rd location when it opened last year in December. It sure is a struggle to be a food blogger while simultaneously trying to slim down for my sister’s October wedding! When a Pacific Pie Food Blogger Event invitation appeared in my email box a couple weeks ago though, I knew I had to go. And look at the reward I got!
Pacific Pie NW 23rd Avenue Pacific Pie NW 23rd Avenue Bloggers Event - Spinach Strawberry Rhubarb Salad with organic baby spinach, fresh strawberries, toasted almonds, goats cheese, and rhubarb vinaigrette, some mini pies and a piece of Grand Central Bakery baguette smeared with Marinated Goats Cheese

This new second location of Pacific Pie (their original is still open at 1520 SE 7th Ave) at 1668 NW 23rd Ave has the same great sweet and savory pies, but aims to be more of a neighborhood restaurant that you can bring the family in for a laid back delicious meal without the hustle and bustle of many of the other options on NW 23rd. The interior feels open and airy but casual, like a combination of a coffeeshop that you can hang out at, but with the benefits of being able to order many many more baked good items OR from a bar. In fact, they have a happy hour Monday-Friday 3-6 pm!
Pacific Pie NW 23rd Avenue Pacific Pie NW 23rd Avenue Pacific Pie NW 23rd Avenue

I mean, do you see these kind of offerings behind the glass case as you are ordering your latte normally? There are some regular pies and also seasonal pies that just vary from key lime, chocolate bourbon hazelnut, chocolate peanut butter, apple sour cream streusel, marionberry, peach crumb… And tarts like chocolate salted caramel tart, pecan pie bars, anzac biscuit, cowboy cookie, peanut butter cookie with a Hershey’s kiss…
Pacific Pie NW 23rd Avenue, some of the temptations behind the glass case Pacific Pie NW 23rd Avenue, some of the temptations behind the glass case Pacific Pie NW 23rd Avenue, some of the temptations behind the glass case

Sarah understands the dilemna of there being multiple options you want to try… so she also offers the most adorable little mini pies so you can have several of them and try more flavors without having to eat a whole pie’s worth. How adorable are these? And how perfect would they be as a tray to have at a party?

Pacific Pie Food Blogger Event - mini pies! Pacific Pie Food Blogger Event - mini pies! Pacific Pie Food Blogger Event - mini pies! Pacific Pie Food Blogger Event - mini pies! Pacific Pie Food Blogger Event - mini pies! Pacific Pie Food Blogger Event - mini pies!

But don’t think that Pacific Pie only has pies. They offer lunch and dinner during their hours on the weekdays, and on the weekends they also offer breakfast/brunch. This is only at their NW 23rd location.
Pacific Pie has brunch on their NW 23rd location Pacific Pie has brunch on their NW 23rd location

During the Pacific Pie Food blogger event I attended, I was able to try some samples of these offerings. They offer six different salads, but the two that caught my eye were the Arugula + Roasted Squash Salad that has molasses roasted butternut squash, feta, currants, candies walnuts with arugula in a Balsamic Vinaigrette and the one we got to sample, the Spinach Strawberry Rhubarb Salad with organic baby spinach, fresh strawberries, toasted almonds, goats cheese, and rhubarb vinaigrette.
Pacific Pie NW 23rd Avenue Bloggers Event - Spinach Strawberry Rhubarb Salad with organic baby spinach, fresh strawberries, toasted almonds, goats cheese, and rhubarb vinaigrette Pacific Pie NW 23rd Avenue Bloggers Event - Spinach Strawberry Rhubarb Salad with organic baby spinach, fresh strawberries, toasted almonds, goats cheese, and rhubarb vinaigrette

They also have 5 sandwiches and 7 other entrees to choose from, varying from a lamb meatball wrap and curried chicken salad sandwich to lentil & veggie’s shepherd’s pie (Yes! Vegetarian shepherd’s pie!) and chicken schnitzel. And of course, they have more than a dozen combinations of pasties, which is their founding food, varying from Steak and Cheese pastie or Beef and Stout (with Burnside Brewing stout) to Thai Green Chicken Curry or a Roast Lamb with lamb braised in a shiraz red wine sauce. 4 of their offerings are vegetarian! Yes, that is the most adorable little chicken shape on top of their chicken pot pie.
Pacific Pie, Classic Chicken Pot Pie

Among their 10 snack & starter plates include intriguing options such as Mini Sausage rolls with beer mustard, Mini pasties where you get 2 each of the spinach and feta pasties (with organic tomatoes and hint of spice), and curried samosa (these are stuffed with peas, carrots, potatoes, finger, garlic, cilantro and spices) served with cilantro yogurt sauce. Or indulge with mini chicken pot pies with Draper Valley chicken in a creamy white sauce with peas and carrots. These mini things are so endearing!
Pacific Pie Portland, Mini Sausage rolls with beer mustard

Pacific Pie NW 23rd Avenue Bloggers Event - Pasties! Mini spinach and feta pasties with organic tomatoes and hint of spice, and curried samosa mini pasties that have peas, carrots, potatoes, finger, garlic, cilantro and spices served with cilantro yogurt sauce. "Pacific Pacific Pie NW 23rd Avenue Bloggers Event - mini pies! These are mini chicken pot pies with Draper Valley chicken in a creamy white sauce with peas and carrots

Or how about Marinated Goats Cheese, creamy goat’s cheese marinated in olive oil with fresh herbs and peppercorns served with Grand Central Bakery baguette? On the non baked good / no carb side, how about a starter of Chicken Satay, a yogurt marinated chicken breast on ginger soy slaw finished with peanut sauce?
Pacific Pie NW 23rd Avenue Bloggers Event - Marinated Goats Cheese, creamy goat's cheese marinated in olive oil with fresh herbs and peppercorns served with Grand Central Bakery baguette Pacific Pie NW 23rd Avenue Bloggers Event - chicken satay, yogurt marinated chicken breast on ginger soy slaw finished with peanut sauce Pacific Pie NW 23rd Avenue Bloggers Event - chicken satay, yogurt marinated chicken breast on ginger soy slaw finished with peanut sauce

On both their lunch/dinner menu and also available at their breakfast/brunch is their Polenta with mushroom sauce, baked polenta with creamy organic crimini mushroom sauce. The only difference is the breakfast/brunch version comes topped with 2 eggs. This is so melt in your mouth you can see even though I sampled it at this Bloggers Event, I also ordered it when I returned for lunch a couple weekends later!
Pacific Pie NW 23rd Avenue Bloggers Event - Polenta with mushroom sauce, baked polenta with creamy organic crimini mushroom sauce Pacific Pie NW 23rd Avenue Bloggers Event - Polenta with mushroom sauce, baked polenta with creamy organic crimini mushroom sauce

Pacific Pie NW 23rd, Polenta with mushroom sauce, baked polenta with creamy organic crimini mushroom sauce Pacific Pie NW 23rd, Polenta with mushroom sauce, baked polenta with creamy organic crimini mushroom sauce

Vegetarian F was able to have a pie as well – there are many options, and it was great that he had multiple choices of different vegetarian friendly pies. He ended up selecting the Lentil and Veggie Shepherd’s Pie with french green lentils, carrots, sweet potatoes, turnips, and potatoes cooked in a savory porcini mushroom vegan gravy topped with vegan mash and served with a small green salad.
Pacific Pie NW 23rd, Lentil and Veggie Shepherd's Pie with french green lentils, carrots, sweet potatoes, turnips, and potatoes cooked in a savory porcini mushroom vegan gravy topped with vegan mash and served with a small green salad

I went wholely the opposite way with an un-pie option but which still reflects the Aussie story here, Chicken Schnitzel that is skillet fried, seasoned and crumbed chicken breast served with your choice of potato and with a small green salad. I upped it by adding ham and melted Tillamook Cheddar. I think this ended up being not only lunch but 2 other meals with the leftovers!
Pacific Pie NW 23rd, Chicken Schnitzel that is skillet fried, seasoned and crumbed chicken breast served with your choice of potato and with a small green salad. I upped it by adding ham and melted Tillamook Cheddar Pacific Pie NW 23rd, Chicken Schnitzel that is skillet fried, seasoned and crumbed chicken breast served with your choice of potato and with a small green salad. I upped it by adding ham and melted Tillamook Cheddar

I would also highly recommend stopping in even if you don’t want coffee or a meal just to come for dessert. Obviously, there’s the pies. But, they also have concocted pie shakes. PIE SHAKES. In case you wanted to go beyond a pie a la mode, they have pie shakes, which are their amazing pie with ice cream. Because it was my super lucky day, besides sampling all the above I was able to get a glass of my favorite pie in shake form- the Chocolate Bourbon Hazelnut Pie Shake. If you want, you can ask to spike it with bourbon or rum.. Seriously Sarah, you are not good for my waistline.

Pacific Pie, pie a la mode Pacific Pie NW 23rd Avenue Bloggers Event - Pie Shakes! The amazing Pacific Pie pies + ice cream make milkshake heaven. This is their chocolate bourbon hazelnut pie shake - you can even spike it with bourbon or rum! Pacific Pie NW 23rd Avenue Bloggers Event - Pie Shakes! The amazing Pacific Pie pies + ice cream make milkshake heaven. This is their chocolate bourbon hazelnut pie shake - you can even spike it with bourbon or rum!

If you can’t stay and linger for pie, you can even cheat and take some of the pies home to bake for your dinner party or to have later for dinner or lunch the next day, as it includes their sweet and savory pies and many of their pasties!
Pacific Pie NW 23rd, you can grab frozen pies to make hot at home!

Try visiting Pacific Pie NW Portland – I think you will be surprised  by this wonderful gem.

Disclosure: The Blogger Event meal was complimentary, but I returned later and had a regular lunch out of my own pocket. I will always provide my honest opinion and assessment of all products and experiences I may be given. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own.

 

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Giveaway to see The Trip to Italy at Cinema 21

August 21, 2014 by 7 Comments

Are you feeling like it can’t be the end of summer already, because you haven’t been able to do all the travel and vacation you had hoped for? I’m definitely feeling that way. How can I have still not gone to the Coast yet all year? It just keeps getting put off for other things going on.

On my bucket list has always been to visit Italy. I hear that it’s hot and tourist season, but they also have a lot of festivals and outdoor events. I guess it is going to continue forward on my list of to dos for sometime in the future. In the meantime, might I recommend to you a mini mental and culinary escape to Italy without having to pack any bags or sit on any planes?

The movie The Trip to Italy is opening to pretty strong reviews already, with its official open on August 29 at select theaters, find your nearby theater using this link here: http://thetriptoitalymovie.tumblr.com/find-a-theater.

I am giving away FREE tickets to attend an Advance Screening of the movie The Trip to Italy at Cinema 21 in the trendy Nob Hill neighborhood in Portland at 616 NW 21st Ave. This free screening will be held on Monday August 25, 7 PM

I haven’t seen this movie yet, but given it’s current 88% critic / 71% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, I think this is still an enjoyable movie to cool off from the summer heat. A positive review from NPR here and Sundance review from Variety here seems to back up that gut feeling I have, as do snippets such as snippets like “Brilliantly funny, hilarious, and touching” – Entertainment Weekly and “A hilarious tasty treat” – USA Weekly.

Also, I find bromance/watching guys hang out extra amusing, maybe because I’m not a guy so the things they talk about are fascinating and boy, these two just go off on tangents and keep going and going and going. They really embody that what makes the experience of a trip and memories is not only about where you go, but who you are going with. Particularly, this pair is witty and smart but also dorky. Adorkable.

With the money you are not spending on the movie, can I recommend getting a nice Italian dinner afterwards at nearby restaurant… for instance, Cafe Mingo or Serrato only a block or so away. Other favorite Italian places I like in Portland include on the east side of the river Ava Gene’s, Accanto, These other restaurants close earlier so maybe you do date night part 2 the next night at options like Grassa, Nostrana (which also has a convenient parking lot), Tabla or a Cena.

After seeing The Trip to Italy, perhaps visit Ava Gene's for dinner, so you could try their pane. For instance, this Pane of squash, mint, ricotta salata, barrel aged colatura, carta di musica Oven and Shaker Cauliflower Pizza, Oven & Shaker, Cathy Whims, Wood fired pizza, Portland After seeing The Trip to Italy, perhaps fill your tummy with Radiatore with tomato braised chicken, crisp skin, ricotta, basil, from Grassa by Rick Gencarelli Coffee and dessert idea after the The Trip to Italy movie at Accanto: Rose panna cotta with strawberries and lambrusco

Synopsis

Michael Winterbottom’s largely improvised 2010 film, The Trip, took comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon—or semifictionalized versions thereof—on a restaurant tour around northern England. In this witty and incisive follow-up, Winterbottom reunites the pair for a new culinary road trip, retracing the steps of the Romantic poets’ grand tour of Italy and indulging in some sparkling banter and impersonation-offs. Rewhetting our palates from the earlier film, the characters enjoy mouthwatering meals in gorgeous settings from Liguria to Capri while riffing on subjects as varied as Batman’s vocal register, the artistic merits of “Jagged Little Pill,” and, of course, the virtue of sequels.

Winterbottom trains his camera to capture the idyllic Italian landscape and the gastronomic treasures being prepared and consumed while keeping the film centered on the crackling chemistry between the two leads. The Trip toItaly effortlessly melds the brilliant comic interplay between Coogan and Brydon into quieter moments of self-reflection, letting audiences into their insightful ruminations on the nuances of friendship and the juggling of family and career. The result is a biting portrait of modern-day masculinity.

 

Enter to Win!

I will be traveling out of town for work so won’t be attending the free screening, but don’t let that hold you up and I still wanted to present this opportunity to you!

There are 28 tickets I can give away, so in your only mandatory task (commenting on the blog) to enter, list how many tickets you would like – if I have more than 14 or more entrants I will give them away as pairs only, but since this is last minute maybe you’ll get lucky and do a double date?!

Seating is first come first serve, but if you get a ticket you should arrive at 6:30 as you will be let in before the general line!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Are you going to see the movie?

Did I miss naming your favorite Italian restaurant- tell me about it! Are there other movies that combine food and travel that you love and want to recommend to me?

Disclosure: I am not being compensated for this post – I just thought this was a wonderful opportunity to give something away to you readers out there! I will always provide my honest opinion and assessment of all products and experiences I may be given. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own.

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Countdown to Feast 2014

August 13, 2014 by 2 Comments

Can you believe it’s almost mid-August? Where did the entire summer go? Is it really the time of back to school sales already – and did those commercials for school supplies seem to run way early this year?

I haven’t been in school for a long time, and with no kids, September has not meant a reason to go shopping for school supplies. Instead it was just a time to start putting the summer strappy dresses away and taking out the cardigans for layering outfits. In a way, I missed that excitement of what a milestone September used to be, when it was time to go back and see all my school friends and be back with my social tribe.

Actually though, last September and this September I’ve been feeling that same enthusiasm and anticipation as the first day of school used to bring… and that’s because of Feast Portland.

Looking back on some of my stuff for the scrapbook of Feast Portland 2013

Feast 2014 is a huge food and drink festival that will run this year from Thursday September 18 – Sunday September 21st, 2014. That’s only 5 weeks away!

Most of the over 30 food and drink events are located in various locations in downtown Portland, and draws food lovers from all over as the premier Portland food and drink festival of the year.

In fact Fodor lists it as one of the top 15 North America food festivals alongside The Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival, NYC Wine & Food Festival, and Aspen’s Food and Wine Classic. Pretty good since this is only Feast’s third birthday.

The festival draws food lovers and big food names from all over, varying from the fellow West Coasters of California and Washington to the cosmopolitan cities of Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, New York, Boston… and you can expect that many established and rising stars of Portland will also be there.

What this means to me is that like a special 4 day summer camp for adults, food lovers will be gathering at Feast to learn and share knowledge and most important, do a lot of eating and drinking of deliciousness.

When I attended Feast last year (both with a Feast Media pass and because I bought tickets to a couple events on my own dime), I came home every day with a big bag full of cards and pamphlets of new products I had just been introduced to, lots of scribbled notes of tips and ideas for future scrumptiousness, and a tummy full of so many distinctive bites and sips. For instance, what you see below was from just 2 hours in of Feast on Day 1…
Some swag from Feast Portland 2013

If you’ve been to Feast before I’m probably preaching to the choir, so let me help give an overview to those who haven’t attended Feast before, and why you should strive to attend at least one event.

First, you should know that the tickets for each of these events is always all inclusive. That means all food and drink are included in your price. Also, all the events for ages 21 and over only.

Second, you should also keep in mind that the net proceeds of Feast go towards ending childhood hunger in Oregon through Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon and Share Our Strength. In it’s first two years, Feast has been able to raise $46,000 in 2012 and more than $52,000 in 2013 so far. So your money is not only getting you admission to all this food and drink, it’s also for a worthy and important cause.

Third, if you can’t afford a ticket, you might also consider applying to volunteer for Feast. Remember it’s all for a valuable cause, and also promoting so much culinary delight!

The Type of Events at Feast

There are 4 main types of events at Feast.

1. Hands On Classes

These are workshops where in small groups like in a hands on cooking class, you will be tutored on a specific subject, and all the classes are spread throughout the days of Saturday and Sunday of Feast food camp. They all take place at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts.

What makes these stand out from normal cooking classes is that you will be learning from a nationally, even internationally, recognized expert in that subject!

Six of the eight the classes have already sold out, so I won’t tease you with those. The classes that are still open as of this post in case this is something you want to be schooled by one of the best include

Feast Portland Classes 2013 c/o Shawn Linehan, Tea Blending class
Photo Credit: Shawn Linehan CopyrightAll rights reserved by Feast Portland

Saturday, September 20, 2014
  • Soda Jerk: Artisanal Soda Making with Ross Hunsinger. Learn how to craft amazing soda with fruit syrups and infusions in your own kitchen so you can make your own spruce cola, birch root beer, etc that are restaurant quality from Ross, the founder of Atlas Sodaworks and who provides soda for Aviary 3-4:30 PM for $65
Sunday, September 21, 2014
  • Juicy Juice with Portland Juice Company. Have you been hearing about the juicing trend, varying from those on juice cleanses to those who just want to incorporate more healthy juices in their regular diet? Portland Juice Company can help you create winning combinations that are enjoyable and healthy. Class is from 11-12:30 PM for $65

2. Tasting Panels

These are classes where you get to taste a large variety of a special beverage while being educated on that particular beverage by expert tasting panel. Most of these run on Friday and Saturday and are held at the Portland Art Museum, outdoors under a tent in the museum’s sculpture area.

Friday, September 19, 2014

Tasting Panel 2013 c/o Katie Acheff for Feast Portland
Photo Credit: Katie Acheff CopyrightAll rights reserved by Feast Portland

  • Chardonnay is for Lovers aims to introduce you to a fresh perspective on this white wine from 12-1:00 PM for $55
  • A Walk on the Sour Side explores sour beers from 2-3:00 PM for $55
  • Negroni O’clock explores the classic negronis from various negroni experts of Seattle, Portland, and New York from 4-5:00 PM for $55
Saturday, September 20, 2014

Tasting Panel 2013 c/o Katie Acheff for Feast Portland
Photo Credit: Katie Acheff CopyrightAll rights reserved by Feast Portland

  • Tiny Bubbles takes a look at the bubbly beverages ranging from champagne to prosecco from 11-12:00 PM for $55
  • Beans and Booze mixes coffee cocktails with you from 12:45-1:45 PM for $55
  • Tastes Great. Less Filling challenges you to try lighter lager beeers from 2:30-3:30 PM for $55
  • Get Lei’d: It’s Tiki Time takes you on a tiki cocktail journey from 4:15-5:15 PM for $55

3. Dinner Series

These are 10 dinners from Thursday to Sunday of Feast food camp. Each of unique dinners is a mash-up of chefs from various restaurants and various cities all contributing their skills and culinary perspective to a singular dinner experience for that one night. Every dinner includes drink pairings – remember, it’s all inclusive.

If you were to continue this school analogy, this would be the final projects of various self-selected groups… and your ticket to the dinner means you get to be the judge of how well the end project result is. And the groups are all made of your teachers.

Feast Portland Dinner Series 2013 c/o Shawn Linehan Feast Portland Dinner Series 2013 c/o Shawn Linehan
Photo Credit: Shawn Linehan CopyrightAll rights reserved by Feast Portland

Last year, I did not buy a dinner series ticket, as I had decided to splurge on a ticket to High Comfort. This year, I decided that I wanted one of these special Dinners instead.

Nine out of ten of these once in a lifetime dinners are already sold out, including the one I have a ticket to – the State of the Art with Adelsheim Vineyard and Willamette Valley Vineyards and chefs from 5 different cities but all individually defining the boundaries of modernist cuisine.

There is only one dinner left with tickets on sale, if you are interested:

  • Dessert for Dinner brings together 5 dessert chefs plus pairings of the courses with Sherries and Madeiras for one sweet time on Thursday September 18th at 7 PM for $100

I’ll try to take as many photos as I can of my dinner experience with State of the Art so you can see for yourselves what these final project report outs are like!

4. Main Marquee Events

Finally, the events that are like the school science fairs… but better because instead you can eat these, and the booths are all about deliciuosness.

These are five Marquee events which operate similar to open markets for you to sample from various tables. Unlike the previous three types which are in smaller groups, the Marquee events involve you being a lot more on your feet and in control of what, when, and where you’ll be as you wander as you’d like to each sampling station.

If you have ever seen on shows like Top Chef when the chefs each are manning a station putting forth a small sample dish they have conceived- that’s what these first four Marquee events are like.

Sandwich Invitational

The official name of this marquee event is Widmer Brothers Brewing Sandwich Invitational Presented by Dave’s Killer Bread. This runs on Thursday September 18th from 6-9:00 PM in Director Park.

Feast Portland Sandwich Invitational 2013 c/o John Valls
Photo Credit: John Valls CopyrightAll rights reserved by Feast Portland

For $95 , for those 3 hours you can have at least 14 slider sized or better sandwiches, one from each of the 14 chefs in the lineup, including from visiting chefs like Hugh Acheson, Chris Cosentino, Paul Kahan and Matt McCallister as well as ten more Portland chefs from fine restaurants and the reigning sandwich kings of Portland, Rick Gencaralli of Lardo and also Tommy Habetz and Nick Wood of Bunk Sandwiches.

Feast Portland Sandwich Invitational 2013 c/o Allison Jones
Photo Credit: Allison Jones CopyrightAll rights reserved by Feast Portland

Oh yeah, and there’s also free flowing Widmer Brothers beer, cocktails by Reyka Vodka, and six wineries pouring all night. I attended this event last year – you can see my recap that was in my post in 2013 here – and I’ll also be attending this year!

Night Market

This is always the first Marquee Event to sell out- and it has just indeed sold out in the past week! The official name of this event is USA Pears Night Market at Zidell Yards and runs on Friday September 19th from 6-9:00 PM at Zidell Yards.

Feast Portland Night Market 2013 c/o Allison Jones Feast Portland Night Market 2013 c/o Allison Jones
Photo Credit: Allison Jones CopyrightAll rights reserved by Feast Portland

For $125, for those 3 hours you can journey to the markets of Asia to eat street food, courtesy of 20 chefs, each presenting their interpretation of a street food plate for you. You won’t be thirsty though with 10 breweries, 6 wineries, and 9 distilleries keeping your glasses full. Given the famous names in the chef lineup, it’s no surprise this event is so popular.

High Comfort

Of all the five events, this is the one that is the fancy dress up and dine on comfort food like you were the 1%. The official name of this marquee event is Oregonian Media Group High Comfort at the Nines, held at the Nines Hotel on Saturday September 20th from 6-9:00 PM.

For  $175, for those 3 hours you can eat comfort food that has been upped in decadence and luxury from 20 different chef stations while enjoying generous pours of Widmer Beer, cocktails by Hendrick’s Gin, or keeping your wine glass full thanks to 15 wineries.

Feast Portland High Comfort 2013 c/o John Valls Feast Portland High Comfort 2013 c/o John Valls
Photo Credit: John Valls CopyrightAll rights reserved by Feast Portland

I attended High Comfort last year in 2013: here’s my recap if you are interested in what it was like, and I’m sure it will be even better this year.

Brunch Village

This is a new marquee event for Feast’s third year. The Tillamook Brunch Village is taking over Pioneer Square held at the Nines Hotel on Saturday September 20th from 11-:200 PM.

For $75, you get a long and leisurely 4 hours to enjoy brunch bites from several nationally known chefs including the familiar faces of BBQ King Aaron Franklin and Ace of Cakes/Charm City Cakes Duff Goldman and more, plus the 5 breweries and 5 wineries.

All this eating and drinking will be while also watching a Brunch Brawl on the Main Stage as five bartenders compete to make the best brunch cocktail. The pictures below are from the Portland Monthly Country Brunch I covered earlier, but I am guessing that the concept will be similar in that there will be enticing brunch bites like this…

Chef Johanna Ware from Smallwares brought one of my favorite Asian breakfast dishes, Breakfast congee with Chinese Sausage, egg, scallion, granola and maple ponzu at Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm Chef Rick Gencarelli from Lardo of course brought the fat with a Pork Belly Egg Benedict with a buttery buttermilk biscuit, big hunk of pork belly, fried quail egg, and Frank's hollandaise. Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm  Chefs Michael Madigan & Jeff McCarthy from TenTop did a unique take with their Miso Soy Ginger Bagel with bulgogi beef, kimchee schmear, and cured egg yolk at Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2014 at Castaway benefiting Zenger Farm

I’ll be at the Brunch Village event, reporting back with my recap of this event after I probably waddle home and take a big long nap.

Oregon Bounty Grand Tasting

This two day marquee event is like the best farmers markets you have ever visited- be it your local city one, Pike Place Market in Seattle or Granville Island Public Market in Vancouver or the great big markets in Europe or Asia.

Don’t be surprised if you are even a little overwhelmed by all the various booths of artisans. After all, there are 15 breweries, 33 wineries, and 16 artisan product stands and more… with each stand usually having multiple items for you to sample, and most with a winemaker or the artisan maker of the food product right there on the other side of the table for you to ask all the questions you want.

Feast Portland Oregon Bounty Grand Tasting 2013 c/o Allison Jones
Photo Credit: Allison Jones CopyrightAll rights reserved by Feast Portland
The $60 ticket to the Oregon Bounty Grand Tasting Presented by Alaska Airlines is good for all that that day (either Friday or Saturday) from 12-5:00 PM at Pioneer Courthouse Square.

Feast Portland Logo

I’ll be back in a few weeks with specific tips on how to make the most of Feast 2014 if you attend. Meanwhile, I hope this post has been helpful to understand what will be going on in mid-September and how delectable it is all going to be! If you want to find out more, visit FeastPortland.com

Disclosure: I was granted a Blogger Pass for Feast Portland 2014 for blog post and social media coverage but I am not otherwise being compensated. Even before I was given the Blogger Pass I already had tickets for some Feast events though- it just means I will have more to recap for you! Follow me on Instagram @pechluck or Twitter @pechluck and check this blog during Feast for updates, or check the hashtag #feastpdx.

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Whole Foods Market Pearl Brewery Dinners

August 1, 2014 by 4 Comments

Do you check the Events page of your local Whole Foods once in a while? You may be surprised at all the events the store has.

For instance, the local Whole Foods to my home happens to be the one in the Pearl District at 1210 N Couch, though I will also visit the one in the Hollywood neighborhood as well since it is close to my gym. During this month of August 2014, the Whole Foods Market Pearl location alone will be hosting a kids Melonheads class to taste melons and learn to make melon soup, teach you how to use lentils in a variety of ways, have a free Sandwich Smackdown event  to inspire you to make new creative sandwiches and you get to vote for the winner, and offers a class to make 3 meals in a jar! Most of these events have only a small cost, ranging from free to donation to $15.

One of the monthly events they will be doing are Whole Foods Market Pearl Brewery Dinners. For August, this will be a four course dinner on Thursday August 21, 6:30-9:30 pm made by the Whole Foods chef paired with Hopworks Urban Brewery beers. The cost is $15, and all proceeds benefit The Whole Kids Foundation, an organization devoted to improving children’s nutrition and wellness with the goal of ending the childhood obesity epidemic.

To give you an idea of what this would be like I wanted to recap the dinner they did for July with Fort George Brewery. This event was a little pricier at $25, but when you see that third course, you will understand how that course alone justifies the price. I do want to disclose that I was invited to this dinner but I will be back and pay my way to experience more of these brewery dinners, and this recap is no different than any of my other recaps.
Whole Foods Pearl District Portland hosted a Brewery Dinner featuring Fort George Whole Foods Pearl District Portland hosted a Brewery Dinner featuring Fort George

We started off with an Artisan Cheese plate paired with Fort George Wit. While of course I loved all that cheese…mmm cheeeeese… Because the Wit is a light Belgian style  I also loved the pairing of the Fort George Wit beer (conveniently in a can in case you want to take it camping or on a river float or on a hike) with the pate on a Simple & Crisp dried Orange fruit crisp. Simple & Crisp, like Fort George, are both local purveyors – both north of us, with Fort George in Astoria and Simple & Crisp a little bit more so in Seattle.
Whole Foods Market Pearl Brewery Dinner, Artisan Cheese Plate with Simple & Crisp dried Orange fruit crisp under some pate, paired with some Fort George Quick Wit

In an interesting twist, although a Wit beer is traditionally brewed with coriander and orange zest, the Fort George Wit instead uses more local flavors, specifically coriander and lemongrass (to impart a citrus character but in a different way) as well as a bit of floral note thanks to elderflower. This is tasty, and for me then adding in the bite of orange fruit crisp (the orange that is usually there but not there in this wit) with the creaminess of cheese and pate made this dish disappear in minutes.
Fort George Wit beer (conveniently in a can in case you want to take it camping or on a river float or on a hike) Fort George Wit beer (conveniently in a can in case you want to take it camping or on a river float or on a hike)

Next, we first got to admire the really cool Fort George 3 Way IPA can. This beer is a collaboration of 3 breweries (thus 3 Way) of Fort George (guitarist on the very right) with the other rocking breweries here of Block 15 (middle) and Boneyard (left).
Fort George 3 Way IPA, a seasonal that is a collaboration of Fort George (guitarist on the very right) with the other rocking breweries here of Block 15 (middle) and Boneyard (left)
Fort George 3 Way IPA, a seasonal that is a collaboration of Fort George with the other rocking breweries here of Block 15 and Boneyard Fort George 3 Way IPA, a seasonal that is a collaboration of Fort George with the other rocking breweries here of Block 15 and Boneyard Fort George 3 Way IPA, a seasonal that is a collaboration of Fort George with the other rocking breweries here of Block 15 and Boneyard

This IPA was then paired with this delicious course from Whole Foods Pearl chef Matt of Scallops with pea puree and beet greens. This may sound like an odd pairing, but actually this IPA has lots of citrus and especially lemon tones to it that of course go well with buttery seared scallops. Then add the natural hop flavors of the beer with the earthy pea puree and greens and it was a winning combination in which the IPA tastes better with the food, one of the transformations I always love discovering when attending beer and food pairing events.
Fort George 3 Way IPA, paired with this delicious course from Whole Foods Pearl of Scallops with pea puree and greens

And then it was the time for the main course, which as mentioned before totally justifies the $25 ticket price. You can expect to get a great value for your cost here. I mean look at the size of this dinner plate! This is the Alaskan halibut dish with roasted cherry tomatoes, mache, crimini and shitake mushrooms, potatoes, roasted pepper pesto and greens with Sherry Bacon Vinaigrette and oh, a little bit more bacon. The Fort George beer pairing here was a special beer they made for the Cheers to Belgian Beers festival, Tripel Au Poivre, so this was our lucky chance to be able drink this one off special beer they created. This halibut dish was such an embodiment of the richness of summer, so full of flavors and textures. I kept eating it even though I was full-  I left no survivor behind on that plate.
Fort George Tripel Au Poivre paired with Halibut, Tomatoes, Sherry Bacon Vinaigrette for the Whole Foods Pearl District Portland Brewery Dinner featuring Fort George Fort George Tripel Au Poivre paired with Halibut, Tomatoes, Sherry Bacon Vinaigrette for the Whole Foods Pearl District Portland Brewery Dinner featuring Fort George

As if that was not already amazing enough, before I could stagger out of here, stuffed, out came dessert: Polish’s Walnut Stout Float with Mexican Chocolate. The Fort George Polish’s Walnut Stout was another unique beer that they especially created earlier this year for February Stout Month and their special dark beer festival, the Festival of the Dark Arts, that they hold every year. The Polish in the name comes from the brewer, nicknamed Polish. The beer uses walnuts in the fermenter for nutty taste and then more walnuts, this time toasted, for aroma.

You then pour this nutty toasty roasty beer into a mason jar with honey coconut whip and Mexican chocolate cherry cream (again made with coconut base) – so that this whole dessert is vegan and maybe even healthy… YUM. And they literally added a cherry on top.
Polish's Walnut Stout Float with Mexican Chocolate - before pouring in the Polish Walnut Stout, Fort George and Whole Foods Pearl Brewers Dinner dessert course Polish's Walnut Stout Float with Mexican Chocolate - before pouring in the Polish Walnut Stout, Fort George and Whole Foods Pearl Brewers Dinner dessert course Polish's Walnut Stout Float with Mexican Chocolate - before pouring in the Polish Walnut Stout, Fort George and Whole Foods Pearl Brewers Dinner dessert course Fort George and Whole Foods Pearl Brewers Dinner dessert course of Polish's Walnut Stout Float with Mexican Chocolate

I’m not even sure what to say what was the highlight of this four course meal… all the pairings were wonderful, as I detailed when describing each course. If I had to pick my least favorite, it would have to be the Tripel Au Poivre with the halibut only because the halibut, with all that gorgeous color and medley of flavors, just paled in taste. But, that’s only because the halibut was just so outstanding. I did like the beer by itself, but the flavors are very light so were in my opinion overwhelmed by the boldness of the food dish.

My favorite pairing was the IPA (as you may know, I’m not a huge fan of unbalanced bitterness, and so many IPAs are such hop monsters on the West Coast) with the scallops because it made me really love that IPA when I normally probably wouldn’t. My second favorite was the cheese plate with the Wit, just because I loved the addition of that orange chip with cheese or pate in my mouthful before the sip of beer and the play of the orange flavor being separate from the Wit. Overall, I thought it was totally a great deal, and I want to encourage more beer dinner pairing events.

This Fort George dinner is actually the second of the series- if you want a recap of their first brewery dinner with The Commons, check out this recap by Kris from Beer Musings at her post Beer Dinner at a Grocery Store for more reassurance that you are getting a good bang for your buck.

And for even more food pornesque photos of the dinner, Marlynn of Urban Bliss Life took her as always mouthwatering want to eat your screen photos as she was sitting right across from me (and you can see my out of focus flowery shirt in the background of her shots 😛 ) at her post Beer Pairings Menus at Whole Foods Market

I also encourage you if you are in Astoria to stop at Fort George Brewery. They always have a huge selection of beers to taste, and so visit (maybe they’ll be brewing and you can smell the delicious beer in progress in the air), relax while having lunch or dinner or just snacks. I always enjoy restaurants that use their chalkboards to not just write the menu but also use it for art, and Fort George does an admirable job of that as well at their main restaurant portion, but they have also a taproom section by where the tank are, an outdoor area, and an upstairs bar. If you get normal pours instead of the taster tray one of the options is mason jar sized!
The outside of Fort George in Astoria The amazing chalkboard of beers available at the downstairs restaurant location of Fort George in Astoria The amazing chalkboard of beers available at the downstairs restaurant location of Fort George in Astoria Beer at Fort George in Astoria Beer at Fort George in Astoria Beer at Fort George in Astoria Beer at Fort George in Astoria

Disclosure: This meal was complimentary, but I will always provide my honest opinion and assessment of all products and experiences I may be given. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own.

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