Dining out in Portland, Oregon and other Food Travels
I have given a lot of love to Lardo in the past, in particular their Chefwich series which spotlights a collaboration with a local chef with a portion of the sales going to a charity near and dear to that guest chef’s heart. For December, the chefwich spotlight is to XLB‘ s Jasper Shen + Laura Tran. Together, they created a Char Siu Reuben that stars roasted Chinese pork, spicy cabbage, Swiss, XLB secret sauce on griddled rye bread.
If you are a regular visitor of my blog, you probably know I am a fan of Rick Gencarelli. I’ve been going to Lardo monthly for their Lardo Chefwiches. As an aside, they recently finishd running through the latest 6 chefwiches, so the big Lardo Chefwich Party is now coming up on Sunday June 8th at the 1212 SE Hawthorne location, from 12-4 for $20. If you missed any of this year’s six, here’s a chance to try them all out, and there will be also a beer tap takeover by Crux Fermentation Project at the event.
Sometimes though, I might instead go next door to Grassa which is right next to Lardo (in fact there is a connecting door) at their location of Southwest 12th and Washington. I have not yet had the pleasure/greed to order from both Lardo and Grassa in a single meal- but I have thought about it.
I love sitting at the counter in Grassa and watching them make their fresh pasta. It takes a lot of willpower not to reach over and grab some pasta and just eat it raw, right then and there.
On this particular visit several months ago, a friend ordered (I think) the Italian Sausage pasta with peppers, onions, basil, grana, escarole.
Also on deck for me was the Carbonara with bucatini, pork belly, and slow cooked egg
The meatballs at Grassa are incredible.
I would recommend ordering this as your side instead of the garlic bread that I ordered on my last recap post of a Grassa Visit that included the Radiatore with tomato braised chicken, crisp skin, ricotta, basil (which has turned into agnolotti with chicken liver mouse, jalapeno butter, but still that crisp chicken skin this season) and the Bucatini wtih hazelnut pesto, zucchini, mozzarella crema. Neither of those original pasta dishes are on their current menu anymore- so check every once in a while to see what new pasta masterpiece is now on the menu!
On yet another much more recent visit (this month), I tried out the Creste Di Gallo with pancetta, whipped ricotta, English peas, fine herbs and grana.
Is this too much pasta porn for you? I don’t feel bad at all about it.
This month, until May 15, the Lardo and Mi Mero Mole Chefwich collabration with Nick Zukin is to benefit Hacienda CDC. Hacienda CDC is a Latino Community Development Corporation that strengthens families by providing affordable housing, homeownership support, economic advancement and educational opportunities.
The chefwich is a Portland Ahogado that includes Pork belly, potato, re-fried beans, egg, red onion, red chile sauce.
The Mi Mere Mole Chefwich is just smothered in that red chili sauce, so make sure you have a big beverage with you (like the grapefruit margarita I did) in order to help calm your tastebuds down. Don’t worry about it making the sandwich soggy though- it all held up, with the outside grilled side remaining crunchy, just like a torta ahogado should even though it is drowning in sauce.
If you are sensitive to spicyness you might want to ask them to take it a little easier on the red chili sauce- but make sure you still get some, it’s fireworks in your mouth!
Also, make sure you have lots of napkins. I think I used 6 myself.
It’s a huge sandwich- just compare it to the silverware there on the platter!
In addition, if you buy this chefwich, Mi Mere Mole is stepping it up to encourage you to support Hacienda by offering a deal that if you visit Mi Mere Mole in Chinatown or on SE Division, show a receipt or tweet or share a picture with/to Mi Mero Mole proving you’ve eaten the Lardo Chefwich, and receive a free Mi Mero Mole taco!
Keep in mind you can get this chefwich at any of the THREE Lardo locations:
You can visit Mi Mero Mole at their TWO locations:
The Mi Mere Mole Chefwich is only available at Lardo locations until May 15, so hurry to benefit Hacienda and your tastebuds!
I’ve written about the Lardo and various restaurant collaboration chefwiches so much that I’ll be brief for a change for this blog post. The next chefwich that is up until mid-April is one by Sarah Schafer of Irving Street Kitchen, with proceeds to benefit Share Our Strength. This non-profit endeavors to end childhood hunger in America- I have another post coming up next about the Taste of the Nation in Portland (of which Sarah/Irving St Kitchen as well as Lardo are also participating) so you will hear more details about this soon.
You can get this chefwich at any of the THREE Lardo locations.
This chefwich, #5 in the series, is a sandwich of Fried chicken, tasso bacon, padron pepper relish, buttermilk slaw, cajun mayo.
Go get this chefwich.
It is delicious. It is spicy, so make sure you order a nice cider or beer to wash it down with. Really, you will need it. It is an intense explosion of flavors in your mouth.
I know, it’s shocking that this time I actually got to the Lardo chefwich and am reporting back on it when there is more than 1 week of time left for you to go get it. When I saw on Instagram that Gregory Gourdet of Departure was collaborating on the next Chefwich, I knew I had to go try this one right way.
I adore GG- the creative things he’s doing with the Departure menu of modern Asian cuisine to make it a dining destination not just for the cool view and “eating in a spaceship in the future” feel inside a restaurant are spectacular. To begin your crush on GG, if you don’t already have one, check out this profile on Portland Monthly. PS, he was also voted Eater Portland’s Hottest Chef 2012. Whenever I see him at a festival doling out samples himself, I can’t even speak and only gaze at glow, both physical and metaphysically in the positive energy he passes on through his food and just his good cheer to everyone around him. Let me stop the fangirling and get to the food… and I will try not to think about how the one time I attempted to exchange words with him all I did was babble nonsensically.
The chefwich he created with Rick is a Chicken Tonkatsu yuzu jalapeno slaw, Japanese pickles, and sweet vinegar mayo. Part of the proceeds of this Chefwich, available until mid February, will benefit Our House of Portland.
As always, almost any sandwich can be made into a salad. In my case, although I enjoyed half of it in sandwich form, I admit that for the second half I discarded the bread to just enjoy the crispy chicken with the pickles and the bit of that mayo with its sour undertone unencumbered. Keep in mind that this is chicken, not the traditional pork that is used for Tonkatsu, in case you are comparing it to previous Tonkatsu. I was hoping that the yuzu jalapeno slaw would have had more spicyness to it, but settled for the strong citrus flavors it offers to cut the deep frying here. This is a sandwich enjoyed as fresh as possible.
I can’t leave without one last squee and share to try to convince you of the awesome of GG.
Pechluck's Food Adventures
Enjoying deliciousness in Portland & wherever travels may lead me.
My name is Pech, short for Pechluck. I enjoy adventures in eating - dining out and cooking and imbibing for local Portland deliciousness or wherever travels lead.
Disclosure: There may be at times sponsored posts where the ticket to an event or meal or sample product to review 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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