Archives for February 2015

TOAST 2015 Ticket Giveaway – The Original Artisan Spirits Tasting

February 18, 2015 by Pechluck 8 Comments

Coming up in 18 days, on Saturday March 7, 2015, is TOAST 2015 – TOAST standing for The Original Artisan Spirits Tasting. The event will be held 4 – 10 PM at the Left Bank Annex. This lets you still enjoy most of the day Saturday doing what you need to, and then spend a leisurely 6 hours being able to wander and learn and taste from among the over 40 distillers and producers and over 120 spirits ranging from locally here in Oregon to across the Northwest, the United States, and oh just the world!

Tickets are $45 for General Admission and includes entry into the event, a commemorative tasting glass, unlimited bites from popular local chefs, unlimited spirit samples from 40+ distilleries, an Oregon Distillery Trail Scout book, plus the opportunity to purchase cocktails from the cocktail bar and purchase exclusive products from the distilleries.

You can upgrade yourself to a VIP ticket priced at $60 that additionally provides 2 cocktails from the cocktail bar, access to the VIP area, and access to the after party with the distillers. Designated Driver tickets, which gives you entry, free non-alcoholic beverages, and food are $15.

Or you can win a ticket to yourself from my giveaway below!

About the Oregon Distillery Guild

The Oregon Distillery Guild was founded in 2007 to promote and celebrate Oregon spirits. Oregon Distillers Guild President Ted Pappas explains that “As the country’s first distillery guild, it was something we looked to our brothers and sisters in the beer industry for. They had their guild and it made sense for distillers to have one as well. We have always worked together and the spirit of cooperation continues.”

The distillery trail has a lot of diversity, ranging from vodka, whiskey, rum, gin, tequila, brandy, liqueurs like limoncello, coffee or butterscotch or chocolate liqueurs, gluten free bai jiu, spirits like absinthe or aquavit… We are very rich in artisan spirits here.

Ted Pappas further noted that “I’m about growth of the industry in our state as it creates jobs not only to the distillery but all of the vendors needed to support them. Growth in the industry is everywhere. It is very strong in the NW as both Oregon and Washington are in the top five total distilleries in the country.”

As mentioned, with your admission you will get the Oregon Distillery Trail Scout book (aka ODT Scout Book). This is a small pocket notebook that provides a map with details of the location and contact information of each distillery on the trail, including the spirits produced and tours and tasting information.

As Ted Pappas explained, “The idea behind the ODT was for the end consumer to fully grasp who we are, and that there is a vast amount of spirits right in their own backyard.”

I’ll say… In Oregon alone, there are 400 spirits being produced by more than 30 distilleries, and the number continues to grow.

If you are in Ashland, Bend, Brookings, Corvallis, Dundee, Eugene, Hood River, Hillsboro, Medford, Newport, Portland, Roseburg, Sheridan, Troutdale or Warren you can check out the book to see if there’s a fun tasting adventure nearby with tarragon or saffron vodka or limoncello…

About TOAST

Or, save yourself the roadtrip and do all your tastings all under one roof of the Leftbank Annex building in Portland, Oregon with TOAST 2015. This is right by the Moda Center so easy to park as well as convenient to lots of public transit options like MAX and Streetcar. Event organizers have also coordinated with Broadway Taxi to ensure attendees have other transportation available (Broadway Cab will be there to provide free rides home between 8:30pm and 10:30pm, which is included with the ticket).

This is the 5th time the event is being held, and this year boasts more than 40 distillers on hand pouring samples of 100’s of distilled spirits from Oregon and beyond. Click here to view a list of all the TOAST 2015 distillery participants
Save yourself the road trip and sample 100s of spirits at TOAST, The Original Artisan Spirits Tasting event by the Oregon Distillery Guild

Local chefs will provide food prepared to pair with spirits and participants include

Elias Cairo of Olympic Provisions
Johanna Ware of Smallwares
Scott Dolich of The Bent Brick
Matthew Fields of Stella Taco
Kevin Schantz of (soon-to-open) RingSide Grill

There are so many times when I am browsing the liquor shelves and am intrigued by descriptions of different kinds of coffee liqueur for a more tasty Espresso Martini, or see a lemongrass lime vodka or lime flavored rum, or fresh peppers or ginger infused vodka, or marionberry whiskey or cherry whiskey…

Or coffee rum or ginger rum, how about apple pie liqueur, or Sweet Tea, Spice Tea and Smoke Tea spirits, or Chai Tea vodka…

OK OK I may lean a lot towards vodka in my own cocktail making. That’s why I am excited to attend TOAST 2015 this year and learn more about these other spirits and learn to appreciate them and distinguish their flavors on their own pre-cocktail.

All these flavors by the way that I mentioned above are all products that are produced by participants at TOAST.
Save yourself the road trip and sample 100s of spirits at TOAST, The Original Artisan Spirits Tasting event by the Oregon Distillery Guild
It’s continuing education… because we should all keep learning and expanding our view right? Including with spirits?

I mentioned the admission came with unlimited samples of the drinks and food right?

I asked Ted Pappas what his tips might be to experience TOAST, and he said “I see TOAST in two waves. For those who just want to have a quiet sampling experience interacting with the participants, the first part of TOAST is for you.

Once 6pm or so rolls around, the activities start with “Ted Talks” (interviews I’ll be doing with participants) on the half hour, introduction of the Oregon Starka Project, and who knows, maybe a few more fun things. Plus, VIP passes get you access to the after hour party with the distilleries, so making an evening out of it is very much an option. ”

And, you can win a General Admission Ticket to TOAST 2015 – I’m happy in conjunction with Little Green Pickle to help hook you up! Just use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter. You must be an adult 21+ and have valid ID to use the general admission ticket. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

To increase your chances of winning, hop on over to my friend’s blog Urban Bliss Life or to Salt. Water. Coffee. or to The Good Hearted Woman or at The Spicy Bee where those lovely ladies are giving a ticket away also!

You can follow the latest news via @TOASTPortland on Twitter and @toastportland on Instagram and/or checking hashtag #TOAST2015!

If you attended TOAST this year, how would you explore spirits? Would you try to taste a variety, or try to taste all of the versions of your favorite kind of spirit, or try new spirits?

Disclosure: I am being provided a ticket to the event for myself and a ticket to give away to you, my reader, in exchange for promoting TOAST and social media coverage. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own. Special thanks to Little Green Pickle for the tickets, and to Oregon Distillers Guild President Ted Pappas for answering some of my questions! Images in this post are courtesy the Oregon Distillers Guild. Follow me and the hashtag #Toast2015 to see more of the TOAST adventures to come!

Filed Under: Cocktails, Festival Event, Food and Drink, Sponsored Post Tagged With: #craftcocktail, #pdxdrinks, cocktails, Distillery, drinkportland, Liquor, ODG Trail, Oregon Distillery Guild, Oregon Spirits, Spirits, The Original Artisan Spirits Tasting, TOAST 2015, TOAST 2015 free ticket, TOAST 2015 giveaway, Toast 2015 Tickets

Las Vegas – Middle of the Las Vegas Strip aka a Fake Trip to Europe

February 17, 2015 by Pechluck 30 Comments

I consider the area with the Bellagio, Paris, Caesar’s Palace, Venetian and the Wynn to be the middle of the Las Vegas strip. In a previous post, I covered starting by Mandalay Bay and walking up to New York New York after a breakfast at Della’s Kitchen. That leaves us now walking past the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino where I always mention The Pub (“Food You Can’t Forget, Drinks You Can’t Remember” “Eat Like a King, Drink Like the Village Idiot”) as an option for visitors looking for a big beer menu.
Monte Carlo in Las Vegas The Pub in the shopping mall area by Monte Carlo- Food You Can't Forget, Drinks You Can't Remember

You can even get some beer tasting flights here at The Pub, particularly one of local beers from Sin City Brewing and Tenaya Creek Brewery. Sin City Brewing also has some small beer bars in a few locations on the Strip, or you can try it here with many other beers from other breweries. Of course in Las Vegas, I can come through with some local beer options for you! Their beers also show up on some of the beer menus at various places all over the Strip, so if you in the mood for a beer check out the list and see if a local beer might be available.
Tenaya Creek Brewery Calico Brown Ale

You can to walk through the Crystals, where there is a stop you can also make at Aria (or ride on through the monorail from Monte Carlo, through Crystals, to Bellagio). I happened to have spent quite a bit of time there in the Crystal Shops so I’m going to save that as a separate post. Instead, I’m going to point out that at this point, starting with Monte Carlo, and the rest of the casinos I’m about to cover, you are about to be transported from North America (as represented by MGM Grand and New York New York) or the faux historical themed Excalibur and Luxor. The trio of Bellagio. Paris, Caeser’s Palace and Venetian is essentially your fake trip to Europe you can go on while visiting Las Vegas. Let’s follow that theme… so onto from Monte Carlo and Monaco to the capital of France, that city of lights Paris!

I always enjoy visiting Paris Hotel and Casino. I’ve never actually been to France, so I can’t say how good it is as at representing France or Paris, but I’ll take what I can.
My pretend little trip to France thanks to Paris Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas
At Paris, the most obvious attraction is the Eiffel Tower. You can buy tickets to go up this half scale replica, but I like to recommend dining al fresco at Mon Ami Gabi (it’s the red awning you see in part of one of my photos). They are open from breakfast to dinner, including having a kids menu and gluten-free and vegetarian options so perfect for everyone at a better value than everyone going up the tower. Instead, pretend to be eating on the streets of Paris with a glass of French wine from their cart and pate or escargot, or a bananas foster crepe. My friend from Urban Bliss Life visited and had a great meal here – check out her photos as well as other recommendations here mid-strip!
My pretend little trip to France thanks to Paris Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas
If it’s too busy or too chilly for you to eat al fresco, go inside the casino as they have a few cafes in an area that mimics sidewalks in Paris and you can grab crepes from Le Creperie, or baguettes and croissants at JJ’s Boulangerie or Cafe Belle or Le Café Ile St Louis. If you feel like lounging and a drink, there’s a champagne bar with dueling pianos in the evening. Besides the obvious chance to gamble, these are the highlights I think of visiting Paris Casino, and visit both during the day to see the detail and at night to see the City of Lights effect.
My pretend little trip to France thanks to Paris Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas

Ready to continue on to another part of Europe? How about the glamour of Caesar’s Palace and the height of the Greek and Roman empire time period just across the street?
Exterior of Caesars Palace, Las Vegas Fountains just outside Caesars Palace

Some of the best shopping (well, for me, window shopping) is here in the Forum Shops and a huge 3 story H&M. At the end of the mall by where the Cheesecake Factory is, the statues at the fountain come to life telling the story of the Fall of Atlantis with animatronics and fire for a free 10 minute show (you should come early in order to find a good spot to stand) that plays every hour on the hour at 11 AM – 11 PM and is totally family-friendly. And free. There’s also a large aquarium here with feedings twice a day. If you have kids that are tweens or under, this could be a fun surprise. For more details on those activities fellow blogger Meagan as some info at her post Mommy Travels Caesers Palace Forum Shops
Caesar's Palace The Forum Shops area, Exterior fountain Inside Caeser's Palace, Las Vegas Inside Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas

Besides the various headliner concerts shows and other events that also are held at Caesar’s, you might also consider visiting the newly redesigned Bacchanal Buffet that features more than 500 items and is rumored to be one of the new best buffets at Vegas. I didn’t have the room during my short stay to eat there, but I was fascinated how they have kiosks by the entrance where you can input your party size and print out a ticket so you know when to return to queue up – a bit of a combination of a FastPass at theme parks, but for a buffet.

You can also actually get into Rao’s here, unlike the Italian original iconic outpost in New York, and there are also restaurants by famous chefs like Gordon Ramsey, Guy Savoy, Bobby Flay, and there’s a Nobu here too. Similar to my previous post on the South end of the strip where I highlighted a lot of food options at Mandalay Bay, when it comes to the middle of the strip if you are a foodie there are a lot of options at Caesar’s.

Now that you’ve seen all the gold and marble of the ostentatious Caesar’s, let’s up the luxury with a trip to Italy via the Bellagio. Let’s get this out of the way – the famous fountain shows play every 15 minutes starting at 8 PM to midnight everyday, but also during the day every 30 minutes starting at 3 PM on weekdays and at noon on weekends and holidays. There’s more than 2 dozen songs with routines that the fountains might play, and you never know what they will run. I’ve already seen them at night so I didn’t take any photos this visit, but you can see even during the daytime the fountains can be mesmerizing to watch.
The fountains of the Bellagio

The other famous attraction at the Bellagio are the Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, which are updated with new themes every few months. The website has the various seasonal themes and dates for when they change the themes.Similar to the fountains, they are free to visit, and probably take about 10-15 minutes to walk through. The gardens are open 24 hours every day of the week. Here are some examples of how the garden appeared for the Autumn Harvest theme in Fall 2014.
Details inside the Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens. Autumn Harvest 2014 theme.

The last photos are showing the floral arrangement modeled after Georgia O’Keeffe’s artwork Red Tree, Yellow Sky of 1952.

Another reason to go inside the Bellagio? There’s also the obligatory admiration and selfie with the Dale Chihuly created Fiori di Como glass sculpture in the Bellagio lobby. You can also see some great sculptures of the human form in the gallery of The Art of Richard MacDonald by the O theater lobby
obligatory admiration of the Dale Chihuly created Fiori di Como glass sculpture in the Bellagio lobby in Las Vegas

Mee!
obligatory admiration and selfie with the Dale Chihuly created Fiori di Como glass sculpture in the Bellagio lobby

But, that’s not the only reason you should visit. Jean Philippe Patisserie inside the Bellagio happens to also be the home of the World’s Largest Chocolate Fountain (as listed in the Guinness World Records). The fountain of liquid chocolate includes white, medium and dark confectionary grade chocolate, over 500 feet of stainless steel piping, with 2 tons of chocolate at a rate of 120 quarters per minute rising up 27 vertical feet. And it’s free to see!
Jean Philippe Patisserie inside the Bellagio and the World's Largest Chocolate Fountain (as listed in the Guinness World Records). Includes white, medium and dark confectionary grade chocolate, and free to see inside the Bellagio Las Vegas

To complete your trip to Italy, go back across the street and walk inside the Venetian with its “canals of Venice” inside. The wandering and window shopping and people watching are free – the food, drinks, and buying things of course are priced individually. 🙂
Exterior of the Venetian at the Las Vegas

Have you ever done a “trip to Europe” in Vegas, and if so which “European casino stop” is your favorite? If you haven’t been, which one do you think interests you the most?

My Guide to the Free and the Food on the Las Vegas Strip

Las Vegas Hotels at the South End of Strip: Mandalay Bay, Delano, Luxor, Excalibur, New York New York, and MGM Grand and what each offers in terms of feel
A look at some of the breakfast options at Della’s Kitchen in the Delano, including juice, Doughssant, bacon cheddar biscuits, and Pecan Raisin French Toast
Take a little trip to Europe with the offerings and recommendations for free stops in the Middle of the Las Vegas Strip like Paris, Caesar’s, and the Bellagio properties. Did I mention they are all free, and include the World’s Largest Chocolate Fountain?
Photos recapping my lunch at Giada Las Vegas inside the Cromwell, including the G signature cocktail, flatbread with pesto, burrata, grilled cheese, gelato
Art Walking Tour at The Shops at Crystals and Aria, Las Vegas, including Gallery Row with Richard MacDonald and Dale Chihuly to the various art in Crystals and Aria
The garnishes of the Bloody Marys at Todd English PUB in Las Vegas are outrageous, ranging from bacon, onions rings, sliders and corn dogs to chicken wing!
My tour of The Wynn in Las Vegas, including details on The Lake of Dreams, Parasol Down, the Conservatory, Jeff Koons sculptures, and Le Reve The Dream show
Lunch at Beijing Noodle No 9, Caesar’s Las Vegas of Shanghai Wave cocktail, Sichuan Dan Dan Mein Spring Noodles, Shanghai Soup Dumplings, and Lamb Pancakes
Steampunk restaurant of Rx Boiler Room by Mandalay Bay brings an opportunity for a cocktail from a crystal skull

Filed Under: Beer Review, Food and Drink, Travel Tagged With: #traveltuesday, Animatronic Show Caesar's, Bellagio Autumn Harvest, Bellagio Autumn Harvest 2014, Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, Bellagio Fountains, Bellagio Gardens, Caesar's Forum Shops, Caesar's Palace, Caeser's Palace, Fall of Atlantis at Caesar's Palace Forum Shops, Fiori di Como, free guide Las Vegas, Free show, Jean Philippe Patisserie, Las Vegas, liquid chocolate, Mon Ami Gabi Las Vegas, Monte Carlo, Paris Hotel and Casino, sights in Vegas, The Pub, walking tour vegas, World's Largest Chocolate Fountain

Tasty and Alder Highlights

February 13, 2015 by Pechluck 10 Comments

Back in 2013, purchased a ticket to my very first Portland Food Adventures eating extravaganzas. What Chris puts together is a special dinner that includes the chef coming out to introduce/discuss the dish, each course comes with a pairing, and at the end we each receive an envelope of gift certificates to encourage us to continue our food adventures at picks for eats by the chef. I highly recommend each and every food experience he puts together both for the excellent food and the outstanding atmosphere of the great people you can meet at these gatherings.

That first one I attended was for right before the opening of Tasty N Alder with John Gorham. I loved my experience, and the fact that during that special dinner I got to try and realize I enjoyed so many options (rather than just an entree or so at a time) made me very confident that this restaurant worked for me.

Tasty n Alder restaurant area Tasty n Alder restaurant space, kitchen bar seating

Since then, I can’t even exactly recall how many times I’ve been to Tasty N Alder. I thought I would list my Tasty and Alder Highlight of some of my very favorite things since it’s now the 2 year anniversary of that first experience for me. Specifically, my top things that I insist you must order when you visit.

1. Bloody Marys. Any of them. Below you see the Cuate Mary with chili infused tequila, tomato, pimenton, and calabrian chili, and then another offering called the Dockside with gin, kummel, tomato, old bay, and shrimp. Both were kickin! I’ve had many other delicious cocktails from the bar here, including three Grown Ass Milkshakes that are alcoholic ice cream dessert drinks, so don’t feel like you need to limit yourself to bloody marys.

The Cuate Mary with chili infused tequila, tomato, pimenton, and calabrian chili at Tasty n Alder The Dockside Mary at Tasty n Alder with gin, kummel, tomato, old bay, and shrimp

2. As a dinner starter, if you are willing to get your fingers a little messy get the Blaze’s Smoked chicken wings. When I attended the Portland Food Adventures dinner, I got to hear from John Gorham the story about how he had these wings at a big get together and hired Blaze after eating these wings.
Tasty and Alder Blaze's Chicken Wings at dinner as a starter are messy but delicious

3. For a less messy start, the Radicchio with bacon lardons, manchego & six minute eggs is amazing, and you don’t often hear me praise salads. This is available on all their menus throughout the day, be it brunch, mid day, or dinner. It’s one of my top favorite salads in Portland.
Tasty and Alder famous salad, the Radicchio salad with bacon lardons. manchego. six minute eggs

4. Any steak or duck is good, a version is always on the menu at brunch or dinner. When friends are looking for steak but want an alternative to the plated Steakhouse entree experiences at Ringside, Laurelhurst Market or Urban Farmer, the meats of Ox and here at Tasty and Alder are always my recommendation. That’s because they are cut to be served family style so that everyone can feast on multiple cuts of meat family style.
Tasty and Alder offers lots of meat dishes at dinner that are steakhouse quality but in a format that is tapas style for sharing family style

This is the Duck Duck Steak available at Brunch, where it’s served medium rare with an egg and duck fried crispy potato wedges.
Tasty and Alder brunch dish of Duck Duck Steak

5. For a dinner side, get the Skillet Corn Cake at dinner.
Tasty and Alder's buttery skillet corn cake side at dinner

6. It is listed as a starter on the dinner menu, but I also like eating the Goat Cheese Dumplings Arrabiata as a side with the meats here.
Tasty N Alder Goat Cheese Dumplings Arrabiata

7. The best option to eat on the Mid Day Menu between 2-5:30 (aka brunch and dinner) besides the already raved about Radicchio salad, is the Buttermilk Fried Chicken
at Tasty and Alder, the best option to eat on the Mid Day Menu between 2-5:30 (aka brunch and dinner) besides the already raved about Radicchio salad, is the Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Last year, after surprising Portland residents with listing the Oregonion 2014 Restaurant of the Year as no restaurant at all but the concept of restaurant pop-ups, the next article of dining note was the list of five best new burgers in Portland. I guess they define “new” pretty broadly since the Number 1 burger from Tasty and Alder, has-been open and offering that burger for a year and a half almost at the time of the article.
Tasty N Alder burger, composed of Cascade Natural Chubut cheese and bacon, with a hazelnut romesco sauce and housemade pickles. alt=

But, I can’t say the burger isn’t tasty. The Tasty N Alder burger is composed of Cascade Natural Chubut cheese and bacon, with a hazelnut romesco sauce and housemade pickles.
Tasty N Alder burger, composed of Cascade Natural Chubut cheese and bacon, with a hazelnut romesco sauce and housemade pickles

I don’t think it ascends to the height of the Toro Bravo burger, whose burger also boasts romesco and bacon, and I personally like the Manchego cheese better than the Chubut. Not sure how much it matters, as both are the creations of the Gorham empire of restaurants though. The Tasty and Alder burger is available at both brunch and dinner, but not mid-day – which is fine, because if you really want a sandwich get the Steakhouse Sandwich with Cascade Natural smoked coppa steak with fried onions & horseradish instead.
Tasty N Alder Steakhouse Sandwich with Cascade Natural smoked coppa steak with fried onions & horseradish

At just 2 years old, Tasty and Alder has settled into executing good dishes without the mad rush of people and lines that it had during its first few months. The only time I’ve seen a line now is on brunch on the weekends, but that’s easily avoidable since they serve that brunch menu everyday they are open.

Meanwhile, I continue to jealously look at the recaps of other Portland Food Adventures that I don’t get to attend, even though I just went to one (and recapped) a few weeks ago featuring Chef Ben Bettinger at Simpatica. Chris is expanding his Portland Food Adventures to now go abroad with the Ataula Chef Jose Chesa. I love and fully support the idea of a food vacation I don’t have to plan! If you get a chance I highly recommend trying a PFA experience to see the fun of these food parties yourself, and the maybe new regular stops you may learn about from the food adventures.

Have you been to Tasty n Alder yet, or any o the Gorham restaurants? What are your favorite dishes at them?

Filed Under: Cocktails, Food and Drink, Restaurant Review Tagged With: #foodiefriday, Blaze's Chicken Wings, Blaze's Smoked Wings, bloody mary, brunch, buttermilk fried chicken, cuate mary, Dockside Bloody Mary, Duck Duck Steak, Goat Cheese Dumplings Arrabiata, Grown Ass Milkshakes, Portland brunch, radicchio salad, Skillet corn Cake, Steakhouse Sandwich, Tasty & Alder, Tasty and Alder, Tasty and Alder burger, tasty n alder

Breakfast at Della’s Kitchen in the Delano

February 10, 2015 by Pechluck 19 Comments

In my last Travel Tuesday post, I started taking you on my stroll on Las Vegas Boulevard on the South end of the strip. Before I started my multiple miles of strolling up and down the street gazing at the themes and decorative elements and the people in all the casinos, I fueled up of course.

My pick was in the Delano, which is attached to the Mandalay Bay, for a breakfast. Della’s Kitchen had only been open a few months when I visited, which was partially my motivation. The theme for the kitchen is to use farm to table and local ingredients, and includes an offering of all the classic breakfast standards as well as a handful of really good healthy options and some luxurious options. I have no idea what grows well locally in the heat and sand of Las Vegas, but I’m always happy to support highlighting and buying direct from farms (I am a Portland Oregon citizen now after all), and it was nice to see specific farm names called out on the menu.

Healthy options? Think a really good Granola with sun dried fruit, candied mixed nuts, strawberries, local honey and lemon yogurt. That and a Breakfast Burrito with vegetables, egg white scramble, wheat tortilla and California avocado are highlighted as the the lower calorie “Smart Plates” that promise to be 700 calories or less. Yeah, that’s Vegas for you.

Other “healthy” options include a Market Fruit options served with lemongrass-ginger syrup, or Fresh Berries from the Farm with vanilla bean whipped cream. F and I loved all their made to order hand crafted juices, particularly the one called Mojave Burn juice with orange, carrot, cucumber, lemon, ginger and cayenne.

Luxurious options? If you feel like splurging, how about, among their multiple Benedict options, a Blue Crab Benedict with artisan brie, spinach, roasted tomatoes and Mornay sauce? Sure, they have Chicken and Waffles, and Steak and Eggs, but what about a Lobster Scramble or a Portuguese Sausage and Pastrami Hash?

I woke up in a good mood when with my coffee I was able to enjoy a doughssant, a cross between doughnut and croissant. The server was great at keeping that mug filled, checking often and cheerful but without being intrusive or annoying to those of us (ME) who are not morning people and don’t like to talk very much the first two hours of being forced to leave a comfy bed and warm sheets and fluffy pillows.
A doughssant, a mashup between a donut and a croissant, from Della's Kitchen in the Delano, Las Vegas

Then while enjoying more coffee and some of that Mojave Burn juice I nibbled on Buttermilk Biscuits with local aged cheddar and smoked bacon served with regular and pumpkin whipped butter to settle my stomach from the cocktails I had after arriving the night before. I wish the biscuits had just been warmer, and more buttery soft and flaky.

F made me eat a few bites of his insanely large platter of the Pecan Raisin French Toast with Granello’s cinnamon raisin brioche, caramelized banana, and coconut butter.
Insanely large platters in Vegas! This is the Pecan Raisin French Toast with Granello's cinnamon raisin brioche, caramelized banana, and coconut butter, from Della's Kitchen in the Delano, Las Vegas

Della’s Kitchen is only open for breakfast and lunch, from 6:30 AM – 2 PM. What I liked the most was that the menu offers those fresh juices and you can get a small plate of a side if you are not a huge breakfast person/do not want those multiple servings on a plate like that French Toast (though really really good) right away in the morning. There are detailed touches, such as the seasonal pumpkin butter for my biscuits, the coconut butter with the French Toast, or the lemongrass ginger syrup with the fresh fruit, which make Della’s offerings stand out from a regular breakfast dish.

My Guide to the Free and the Food on the Las Vegas Strip

Las Vegas Hotels at the South End of Strip: Mandalay Bay, Delano, Luxor, Excalibur, New York New York, and MGM Grand and what each offers in terms of feel
A look at some of the breakfast options at Della’s Kitchen in the Delano, including juice, Doughssant, bacon cheddar biscuits, and Pecan Raisin French Toast
Take a little trip to Europe with the offerings and recommendations for free stops in the Middle of the Las Vegas Strip like Paris, Caesar’s, and the Bellagio properties. Did I mention they are all free, and include the World’s Largest Chocolate Fountain?
Photos recapping my lunch at Giada Las Vegas inside the Cromwell, including the G signature cocktail, flatbread with pesto, burrata, grilled cheese, gelato
Art Walking Tour at The Shops at Crystals and Aria, Las Vegas, including Gallery Row with Richard MacDonald and Dale Chihuly to the various art in Crystals and Aria
The garnishes of the Bloody Marys at Todd English PUB in Las Vegas are outrageous, ranging from bacon, onions rings, sliders and corn dogs to chicken wing!
My tour of The Wynn in Las Vegas, including details on The Lake of Dreams, Parasol Down, the Conservatory, Jeff Koons sculptures, and Le Reve The Dream show
Lunch at Beijing Noodle No 9, Caesar’s Las Vegas of Shanghai Wave cocktail, Sichuan Dan Dan Mein Spring Noodles, Shanghai Soup Dumplings, and Lamb Pancakes
Steampunk restaurant of Rx Boiler Room by Mandalay Bay brings an opportunity for a cocktail from a crystal skull

Filed Under: Food and Drink, Restaurant Review Tagged With: #traveltuesday, Breakfast in Las Vegas, Breakfast on the Strip, Delano, Della's Kitchen, Donut and Croissant mashup, Donut and Croissant mix, Doughssant, Fresh Juices Vegas, healthy breakfast Las Vegas, Pecan Raisin French Toast, The Delano

Portland Food Adventures Ben Bettinger at Simpatica

February 8, 2015 by Pechluck 3 Comments

If you have never heard of it, Portland Food Adventures is this amazing concept. The organizer of the events, Chris Angelus, founded PFA with the idea that for one price, you can have multiple food adventures.

The kickoff food adventure is a multiple course dinner at a restaurant in which every course is paired with a beverage, and the chef will come out to chat with the group about the menu, his restaurant, and possibly more. It is meant as a much more interactive experience to learn about the people and philosophy behind the food then just dining at the restaurant. Then, the food adventures continue when you are given an envelope of gift certificates to try some of that particular chef’s favorite and recommended places to eat and drink in Portland!

Last week on February 5 I attended the latest in the series, A Portland Food Adventures wiith Chef Ben Bettinger , who currently has the role of Executive Chef at Laurelhurst Market. Along with Chef Ben’s move (he was previously at Imperial) comes craft cocktail man Kevin Ludwig, who provided pairings for the food that included cocktails as well as wine for the evening’s PFA.

From left to right, Chef Ben Bettinger, cocktail man Kevin Ludwig, and Portland Food Adventure/PFA founder Chris Angelus

The move to Laurelhurst Market is a reunion for Ben and Kevin as they had worked together to found Beaker and Flask and earned Willamette Week’s 2009 Restaurant of the Year a mere few months after opening. Laurelhurst Market is actually also now a Paley’s reunion special because not only have Ben and Kevin done stints at Paley’s Place, but so has the recently announced Patrick McKee who has joined in as sous chef. The news of Kevin and Patrick joining Ben’s party have only come out in the past 2 months, so many guests of the PFA including myself were looking to see a preview and insight on where these gentlemen think they will go with Laurelhurst Market.
From left to right, cocktail man Kevin Ludwig, Chef Ben Bettinger

The PFA event was held at Simpatica Dining Hall, which is co-owned by Laurelhurst Market’s David Kreifels. The benefit of this is that we had a private space all to ourselves.
Simpatica Dining Hall, set up for the Portland Food Adventure February 5, 2015 featuring Chef Ben Bettinger and Kevin Ludwig dinner

Chris very carefully sets the table seating chart and labors over making sure everyone will enjoy their tablemates’ company as if each of these PFA events was a Rehearsal Dinner for a wedding and you are a dear friend that he wants to make sure meets other cool people.

Demonstrating more organization then some dinner events I have attended in Portland, the PFA events always have a printed menu. It’s great as it is a listing of all the courses and pairings so you know everything you are about to enjoy and can look forward to for the evening, you can take the menu back as a keepsake so you can remember all the deliciousness you just had, and possibly look for certain items if you choose to dine again at the chef’s restaurant.
Menu for the Portland Food Adventures February 5, 2015 featuring Chef Ben Bettinger and Kevin Ludwig at Simpatica Dining Hall

Thanks to our private dining room, we started out with a 30 minute cocktail hour where everyone got to mingle and meet other PFA dinner guests. Smoked Salmon Rillette with Fennel and Citrus on Crostini were passed as a welcoming first bite.
Portland Food Adventures February 5, 2015 featuring Chef Ben Bettinger and Kevin Ludwig at Simpatica Dining Hall, started off with a little cocktail mingling with Grounded For Life by Kevin Ludwig and a smoked salmon rillette on crostini

Kevin Ludwig served up the cocktail Grounded For Life composed of Crater Lake Pepper Vodka (this vodka is infused with 5 different sweet and hot peppers), Cointreau, Fresh Celery Juice, Lime in a glass with a salted rim. I thought this drink was incredibly refreshing – it’s not spicy, more a balance of sweet and sour. I’ll also pretend with all its vegetables that it’s healthy and I don’t want to hear anything to the contrary.
Kevin Ludwig served up Grounded For Life composed of Crater Lake Pepper Vodka (this vodka is infused with 5 different sweet and hot peppers), Cointreau, Fresh Celery Juice, Lime in a glass with a salted rim

Eventually, we sat down in our assigned places and were treated to a Coffee Rubbed Beef Carpaccio with Oregon truffles, Grana Padano, and Pickled Onions, which were paired with 2013 Schloss Gobelsbuerg Gruner Veltliner from Austria.
Portland Food Adventures dinner with Chef Ben Bettinger 2/05/2015, Coffee Rubbed Beef Carpaccio with Oregon truffles, Grana Padano, and pickled onions, which were paired with 2013 Schloss Gobelsbuerg Gruner Veltliner from Austria

Chef Ben Bettinger and Kevin Ludwig as well as Chris Angelus welcomed us with a little introduction to themselves, with how the menu we were reading came about as a demonstration of the celebration of meat they are doing with Laurelhurst Market as well as influences from the past Beaker and Flask. They promised to overwhelm us.
Portland Food Adventures February 5, 2015 featuring Chef Ben Bettinger and Kevin Ludwig at Simpatica Dining Hall

We were then treated to the incredible dish of Pan-seared Veal Sweetbread, Creamed Kale, Pickled Yellow Foot Chanterelles, and Sweet Onion Agrodolce which were a fun study in really different flavors from each individual component on the dish and trying to combine them together. This was paired with Kevin’s Norwegian Negroni cocktail with Krogstad Aquavit, Cynar, Sweet Vermouth, and Orange Oil.
Portland Food Adventures February 5, 2015 featuring Chef Ben Bettinger and Kevin Ludwig at Simpatica Dining Hall Pan-seared Veal Sweetbread, creamed kale, pickled Yellow Foot Chanterelles, and Sweet Onion Agrodolce course at Portland Food Adventures February 5, 2015 featuring Chef Ben Bettinger and Kevin Ludwig at Simpatica Dining Hall

You can see what good spirits everyone was in already as we were poured bubbly in the form of Cantinae Di Clari C Sparkling Rose from Italy. This was to be paired with Grilled Pork Cheeks with Pickled Octopus, Braised Peppers and Onions, and Grilled Bread and Aioli. We’re not even at the main course yet.
Portland Food Adventures February 5, 2015 featuring Chef Ben Bettinger and Kevin Ludwig at Simpatica Dining Hall

The main course was humongous, and was both impressive and intimidating to many but we were excited for the challenge. We worked together to pass the giant family style platters of the vegetables of Grilled Romaine with Salsa Verde and Feta and the meat that had Smoked Eye of Rib, Grilled Spinella, Braised Rib Tip Marmalade, and Roasted Bone Marrow. We were all feeling like family and friends as a group at this point. The wine pairing of Vina Olabarri Rioja Reserva 2005 was outstanding.
Grilled Romaine with Salsa Verde and Feta vegetable side at the main course for Portland Food Adventures February 5, 2015 featuring Chef Ben Bettinger and Kevin Ludwig at Simpatica Dining Hall Smoked Eye of Rib, Grilled Spinella, Braised Rib Tip Marmalade, and Roasted Bone Marrow as part of main course at Portland Food Adventures February 5, 2015 featuring Chef Ben Bettinger and Kevin Ludwig at Simpatica Dining Hall

One of the things that was pretty fun was seeing people try new meats that they never had. We were exploring and learning something new this evening. Some guests were trying carpaccio, or sweetbread, or pork cheeks, for the very first time. All of us wondered together what was Cynar in the Norwegian Negroni or what is Spinella on the meat platter. Ben and Kevin came and helped us out.
Kevin Ludwig explains Cynar at Portland Food Adventures February 5, 2015 featuring Chef Ben Bettinger and Kevin Ludwig at Simpatica Dining Hall

Cynar it turns out is an Italian bitter liqueur which has artichoke as a key ingredient, but doesn’t just take like artichoke – in fact it has an herbal slightly bitter sweet taste that is often mixed with orange juice – which is why it’s not a far step to put it in a Negroni with fresh orange oil. Also, it’s pronounced “Chigh-nar”.

Meanwhile, spinella is part of a ribeye cap that is a rare cut as it’s not often butchered into that piece, and combines the best of the fat of a ribeye with the tenderness of the tenderloin… sooo good.
Smoked Eye of Rib, Grilled Spinella, Braised Rib Tip Marmalade, and Roasted Bone Marrow as part of main course at Portland Food Adventures February 5, 2015 featuring Chef Ben Bettinger and Kevin Ludwig at Simpatica Dining Hall

We were all super full at this point, and some of us said we would just take a few bites of the dessert, an Olive Oil Pound Cake with Orange Marmalade, Creme Fraiche, and Toasted Almonds. Oops, it turns out most of us at the whole thing it was so good that a few spoonfuls was not enough. This was paired with Coltibuono Vin Santo from Italy for a sweet ending.

And of course, don’t forget the promise of more food adventures with the gift certificates envelope! This PFA, guests were encouraged to try out Reverend’s BBQ, Raven and Rose, and Lardo. Ben raved about the Reverend’s BBQ burger, and the atmosphere and great drinks by David Shenaut at Raven and Rose.
The adventures continue with gift certificates to chef recommended spots at Portland Food Adventures February 5, 2015 featuring Chef Ben Bettinger and Kevin Ludwig at Simpatica Dining Hall

You can check here for upcoming events with Portland Food Adventures, and you can also get some insight into people and events in the Portland Food Scene by listening to the Portland’s Right at the Fork podcast which he helps host. You can also follow PFA at the Portland Food Adventures Facebook, or the Twitter handle @PortlandFoodAdv or Instagram @PortlandFoodAdv

The price of the tickets to a PFA dinner experience always include all food, drink, gratuity, and are inclusive of the value of the gift certificates you will receive to continue your adventures. The ability to interact with the chefs, as well as to meet and enjoy a meal with many other fellow food adventurers and all the fun conversations you have throughout dinner – completely unique and priceless.

Filed Under: Cocktails, Festival Event, Food and Drink, Portland Highlights, Sponsored Post Tagged With: Braised Rib Tip Marmalade, Chef Ben Bettinger, Coffee Rubbed Beef Carpaccio with Oregon truffles, creamed kale, Grana Padano, Grilled Pork Cheeks with pickled octopus, Grilled Romaine with Salsa Verde and Feta, Grilled Spinella, Grounded for Life Cocktail, Kevin Ludwig, Norwegian Negroni, Olive Oil Pound Cake with orange marmalade creme fraiche and toasted almonds, Pan-seared Veal Sweetbread, pickled Yellow Foot Chanterelles, portland food adventures, Right at the Fork podcast, Roasted Bone Marrow, Smoked Eye of Rib, Smoked Salmon Rillette with fennel and citrus on crostini, Sweet Onion Agrodolce, Vina Olabarri Rioja Reserva 2005

Archives for February 2015

TOAST 2015 Ticket Giveaway – The Original Artisan Spirits Tasting

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About the Oregon Distillery Guild

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Tasty and Alder Highlights

Breakfast at Della’s Kitchen in the Delano

Portland Food Adventures Ben Bettinger at Simpatica

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