Vegetarian House

January 13, 2011 by 2 Comments

One of F’s favorite places and conveniently located by his work is Vegetarian House. Actually, the restaurant is vegan, with all their dishes, which are Chinese style, using substitute meat products for the chicken, ham, beef, fish, shrimp, even squid. F usually goes for the lunch buffet, but recently we stopped by for a dinner on our way back from the convention center.

We started off by sharing the veggie chicken salad. It smells great when it arrived at the table, and the warm chicken was a nice contrast to the cool crisp salad that was dressed in a light tangy oil based dressing

His choice of entree was the veggie sesame chicken. The veggie chicken tastes just as good as it looks, though it was done extra spicy here, with the simplicity of the steamed broccoli giving you a break from the well sauced fake chicken which was cooked perfectly just like meat- it had the same texture with the crisp deep fried outside but moist inside.

Meanwhile, I went with the house special pan fried noodle. Look at that closer shot of some of the ingredients with the noodles- broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, fake chicken, fake shrimp in all its detail. Not shown- the fake ham (its the perfectly box shaped piece of meat in the previous picture of the dish). When the dish comes, it is presented on a sizzling plate with the noodles very crispy before the sauce begins to race you in absorbing the noodles, and then making this dish soggy. This probably would have been better if there had been more people sharing it to scoop out their crispy noodles immediately- and this platter is truly enough to feed a family. The fake chicken didn’t fare as well in the pan fried noodle dish as it did crisped up in the other two dishes. I couldn’t stop admiring the fake shrimp. The chef works pretty hard to make that fake shrimp look as shrimpy as it does… and it has the exact right texture, I actually was digging around looking for all the shrimp.

The interior of this place may not look like much, as the atmosphere is functional and simple. You may have mixed feelings about what is playing on the large screen TV against one wall of the room with its peace/vegetarian/Buddhist propaganda agenda. Do the vegan takes of the standard dishes stand up in terms of the flavors of an actual meat dish? Not from a good authentic restaurant, but from the average takeout place in the neighborhood when you have that craving for somewhat Americanized Chinese, yes it does, minus the grease and MSG and meat from who knows where from who knows when. A lot is depending on the dish- from my few visits, I thought the gluten fake meat works better in some preparations more than others. Crispy preparations of the fake meat in a dish generally fare better. Also, some dishes are better fresh from the kitchen because of the sauce ruining the texture or the steam in the box softening the dish. Although we made the mistake of taking the salt and pepper faux shrimp home so it was no longer fresh in terms of the breading, the taste itself was spot on.

Mostly, I admire this small business’s ethic and effort. The chef there really is a hard worker- they are open 365 days a year, 11-9, working through all holidays. The waitress even admired it- said they have only closed when the chef wanted to take off to see his daughter graduate. Same thing with the guy who usually runs the front of the house- everyday but Sunday, year round. Otherwise there they are, every day, all day, passionate about providing a full Chinese menu of all the expected options, but in an vegetarian way to save animals and encourage good health, making what difference he can in this lifetime, one dish at a time. When I first enter and leave, Vegetarian House is right next door (even sharing the same stairs) to another Chinese hole in the wall Good Taste- but this one is the type that has the Chinese duck hanging on a hook right in the front window, and maybe a crispy roast pork and bbq pork hanging right behind it… the type that in Asia would be an open air restaurant along the street…and I admit my steps slow down a bit as I feast with the eyes.

But every time I keep on walking into Vegetarian House. If you’re going to have Chinese, Vegetarian House offers the typical dishes but with extra care and concern- it’s better for your heart in more ways than one.

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Metrovino NYE Dinner Recap

January 1, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Ringing in 2011! Here’s a recap of our dinner on 12/31/2010 at Metrovino. After being seated promptly on arrival and being given the time to peruse and then taking our beverage order, we started with the Amuse bouche at Metrovino’s NYE Tasting 2010 dinner. It was  a spoonful of tomato and basil and perhaps also tuna tartare if you are an omnivore, along with a little container of Jerusulum artichoke soup. The soup was very nice and creamy and we both really enjoyed it, the spoons were ok- I was expecting more perky brightness in the flavor. As we would soon find out, that was the theme of the dinner- richness with an attempt at a bit of acid on the side.

First Course. For the vegetarian, it was an Alba White Truffle Blintz with house made ricotta cheese, alba white truffles, chives, celery-lemon vinaigrette. He found this too creamy for his liking, and passed the plate over for me to ensure bread mopped off every last bit of truffle (which he didn’t notice!!).

For the omnivore, it was Caviar Blintz: california sturgeon caviar served over a warm blintz stuffed with dungeness crab, house made ricotta, chives, lemon zest. Spreading the caviar over the blintz to even out the saltiness balanced out the creaminess of the inside along with the soft but crisp crepe outside. Along with our dinner, he had a “Syrah Smackdown” flight that consisted of wines from Washington (Tyrus Evan), Oregon (Cristom), and Australia (Mitolo “Jester”). I had a “Sparkling Smackdown” wine flight of Italy (Dama del Rovere Durello Brut) vs Oregon (J Albin Brut Rosé) vs France (Huber-Verdereau Crémant de Bourgogne). Washington won in the Syrah, but France won in the sparkling.

Alba White Truffle Blintz with house made ricotta cheese, alba white truffles, chives, celery-lemon vinaigrette >Caviar Blintz: california sturgeon caviar served over a warm blintz stuffed with dungeness crab, house made ricotta, chives, lemon zest

Second Course. For the vegetarian, this course was a Warm Winter Squash & Belgian Endive Salad with goat cheese croquette, lentil & leek vinaigrette, toasted walnut. He didn’t care for his cheese croquette, so I got to spread 3/4 of it on bread to enjoy. And admittedly the cheese was only so-so, croquette form did not improve it- whatever breading was around it was more like soft breadcrumb then crunch. The cheese inside the breading was sticky creamy rather then light fluffy and no additional flavor from a nice culture, now that I recognize the difference in making goat cheese myself at home.

For the omnivore, this course was Lobster, Avocado & Green Apple Salad with Braised Pork Belly, Crispy Potato & Alba White Truffles poached lobster salad with crème fraîche, fines herbes, avocado, celery vinaigrette. I liked the flavor from the pork belly along with the lobster and green apple, but I thought they could have dialed back the creaminess from the avocado a bit and instead added more green apple for more balance against so much savory. The crispy potato also was not very crispy. For a “salad” course, this was a terrible salad, it’s better as a starter, unless they add in more greens as this was so creamy.

Warm Winter Squash & Belgian Endive Salad with goat cheese croquette, lentil & leek vinaigrette, toasted walnut Lobster, Avocado & Green Apple Salad with Braised Pork Belly, Crispy Potato & Alba White Truffles poached lobster salad with crème fraîche, fines herbes, avocado, celery vinaigrette

As a special additional course for the omnivore, there was Cold-Smoked Foie Gras “Pastrami” with red cabbage marmalade, blood orange & caraway gastrique, dark bread and duck rillettes. This was incredibly rich and like thick tablespoons of Irish butter- I wish there had been more of everything else= be it marmalade, blood orange, or bread to spread that meat butter around. The quotes around the pastrami came from the fact that rillette was coated on the outside with the typical seasoning for pastrami- garlic, coriander, pepper, etc- and when presented at the table a glass container was upside down on it, and when lifted smoke steam wafted up. F also extracted a promise that I would never have foie gras again based on the principle that it is a cruel and unnecessary item to produce and eat.

Cold-Smoked Foie Gras Pastrami with red cabbage marmalade, blood orange & caraway gastrique, dark bread and duck rillettes Cold-Smoked Foie Gras Pastrami with red cabbage marmalade, blood orange & caraway gastrique, dark bread and duck rillettes

Course 3, Mains. For the vegetarian, this was Napoleon of Wild Mushroom & Perigord Truffle and sautéed spinach, cauliflower, grilled quince and truffled pine nut anglaise. This was F’s favorite dish, the spinach was tender and cauliflower were seared so had a bit of crisp burnt part to it.

For the omnivore, the main course was Grilled Cattail Creek Lamb Loin,Foie Gras Wellington with Perigord Black Truffles, sautéed spinach and black trumpet mushrooms, grilled quince, sauce perigourdine. The lamb loin was perfectly cooked, and the sauteed spinach still juicy, and man that perigourdine sauce really rocked. The Foie Gras Wellington seemed extraneous to me.

Napoleon of Wild Mushroom & Perigord Truffle and sautéed spinach, cauliflower, grilled quince and truffled pine nut anglaise Grilled Cattail Creek Lamb Loin,Foie Gras Wellington with Perigord Black Truffles, sautéed spinach and black trumpet mushrooms, grilled quince, sauce perigourdine

Course 4, Dessert. For the vegetarian, Bosc Pear Crème Caramel chocolate hazelnut crumble, pear salad, nutella semifreddo, and the omnivore a similar set, Bosc Pear and Triple Cream Cheesecake with chocolate hazelnut cookie crust, pear salad, nutella semifreddo. The semifreddo was really thick and chocolate-y- we both had problems finishing it. The crumble, being less creamy and rich then the cheesecake, was the winner between the two. The pear salad was not full of enough juice from a fresh pear to balance out the other two rich components. We were both also pretty full from this very reasonably priced tasting course dinner, the mains really packed a punch in terms of both flavor and being fulfilling as a course, so something more light and palate-cleansing at the end would have been more what we were looking for. However, both of us are not into desserts normally anyway.

Bosc Pear Crème Caramel chocolate hazelnut crumble, pear salad, nutella semifreddo Bosc Pear and Triple Cream Cheesecake with chocolate hazelnut cookie crust, pear salad, nutella semifreddo

Overall, this was a wonderful dinner, despite the critiques you saw above. F’s taste doesn’t like creaminess, but I found the blitz to be great. The salad courses they served didn’t work as traditional salads, but could definitely stand as first course starters on their own. The main courses we both really enjoyed in flavor and texture as it balanced many profiles in every bite and combined the various ingredients well. And, although the dessert was a bit too heavy for us,  we admit we generally lean towards lighter palate cleansing desserts, and especially after such richness in the previous courses it seemed like a bit of overload. Similar to the salads though, if those desserts were paired with a different type of dinner, could work well on its own. The main flaw was the progression of the courses put together in a sequence, not the concepts of the dishes- at least on this visit. I’m all for luxury on New Year’s Eve, but the richness here was even a bit much for a butter, bacon, duck fat lover like myself.

The atmosphere was modern but still warm, with the wait staff continually keeping our water glasses filled (F was very thirsty) and checking in on us but still being unobtrusive so we could have our private conversations. We sat by the window but never felt cold, and got to enjoy the view as the evening went on of people travelling to their New  Year’s Eve countdown destination with potluck dishes or beverages.

Their wine menu is huge, with tastings (1/2 glass )  and a glass available on most of their wine options rather then the normal only a dozen glasses of wine to choose from. They also had 2 dozen wine flights to choose from if you wanted their suggestions that would be a “smackdown” of various wine regions, definitely an interesting take- but you could have easily made your own wine flight as well with all those tasting options. This would be a great place to explore wine, and since it’s right across the street from the streetcar stop, you could even do so with public transit as your safe option home so you can enjoy all you wanted. Metrovino also was rated “best burger” in Portland, and based on this dinner, has culinary strength to match its impressive wine list.

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Welcoming 1-1-11: New Year’s Eve

December 31, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Last Year's NYE resulted in a mess as my coat got stolen because the coat check at the party at Urban Studio (in the Pearl by Liquid Productions) became a free for all while I attempted to stop F from hailing a streetcar as a cab after too many Long Island Iced Teas to try to get into the dancing mood (which never occured- he didn't even make it to midnight countdown!). So in 2010, we are going for a more sophisticated evening, starting with a 4 course dinner at Metrovino, which offers both a vegetarian and an omnivore special tasting menu for tonight.

For him:

  • Alba White Truffle Blintz with house made ricotta cheese, alba white truffles, chives, celery-lemon vinaigrette
  • Warm Winter Squash and Belgian Endive Salad with goat cheese croquette, lentil & leek vinaigrette, toasted walnut
  • Napoleon of Wild Mushroom and Perigord Truffle with sautéed spinach, cauliflower, grilled quince and truffled pine nut anglaise
  • Bosc Pear Crème Caramel with chocolate hazelnut crumble, pear salad, nutella semifreddo

For me:

  • Caviar Blintz: california sturgeon caviar served over a warm blintz stuffed with dungeness crab, house made ricotta, chives, lemon zest
  • Lobster and Avocado Salad with braised pork belly and alba white truffles: poached lobster salad with crème fraîche, fines herbes, avocado, celery vinaigrette/li>
  • Grilled Cattail Creek Lamb Loin and Fois Gras "Wellington" with sautéed spinach and black trumpet mushrooms, grilled quince, sauce perigourdine
  • Bosc Pear and Triple Cream Cheesecake with chocolate hazelnut cookie crust, pear salad, nutella semifreddo

Similar to last year though, we will be welcoming 2011 with Reboot which was purchased purely because of the label.

Based on last year's bottle (I bought 2 bottles) and the taste profile of it being apple-like to start but mineral-y at the finish, this time we are having Happy New Year and Happy Cheese along with it. We have a lavendar anise aged chevre from Rollingstone, which perhaps I have already nibbled on to do a quality control check. Also on the cheese board will be a wonderful cheese I was introduced to by Steve at his 101 cheese filled Cheese Bar Spectacular event - called "Up In Smoke" by River's Edge Chevre, it is a smoked fresh chèvre wrapped in smoked maple leaves and then spritzed with bourbon for extra smoky flavor. Rounding up the celebratory toast to 2010 and welcome 2011 bites are extra sharp cheddar and walnuts and crackers to balance out the other 2 cheeses' creaminess and overall both even out the bottle and settle our tummies.  After all, I'll be up to watch the Rose Parade and get a glimpse of Heather/Todd's handiwork on the Sierra Madre float, as well as admire the other floats like this year's NAMCO float and one with surfing dogs for Natural Balance. This year I plan to switch from watching it on major network TV and watch it on HGTV to get more insight from behind the scenes. Having a lazy New Year's day that starts with the Rose Parade is a new tradition for me ever since I went with my mom and sisters to attend the actual parade on New Year's Day of 2009.

Other highlights for 2010 for me besides the Steve's Cheese Spectacular include my research trip into Asia;  wandering the night markets in Taiwan; the visits to flower farms to see peonies, irises, lavendar and dalias; wine-tasting with friends in the Umpqua and Willamette valley;  hearing the ocean play the rocks (instead of sand it was all rocks) at the beach by Yaquina Lighthouse; kayaking among mangroves and swimming in clear waters of Gold Rock Beach in the Bahamas;  and attending the Rally to Restore Sanity. Thank you for the memories 2010, and here's hoping 2011 is even better.

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Dinner: Wild Mushroom Stroganoff

December 25, 2010 by Leave a Comment

The bourbon chicken and most of the Thanksgiving dishes were new dishes for me. This mushroom stroganoff is one of my safe, tried and true dishes. Living in Portland, with so many mushrooms available, this is an easy regional staple, it’s hearty while being meat-free. Everytime I make mushroom stroganoff, it’s a little bit different based on what mushrooms are fresh at the market – although in Chicago, sometimes to be interesting I ended up using dried mushrooms along with the fresh (generally only portabella and white button were at the grocery store anyway) and it was still tasty. There is really no way to go wrong here with whatever mushrooms you use and whatever combination you put in, and it gives it a slightly different flavor and texture every time.

For this dinner, I used a cup of Oyster mushrooms (one of my favorite mushrooms for its rich taste), a cup of Alba and Brown Clamshell, and cup that was a mix of a few Trumpet Royale (a meatier texture mushroom). I also added an extra 1/4 a cup of shitake to make the sauce more meaty and less creamy. I left out the shallot/onion to also give more spotlight to the mushrooms when I prepared it.

The base recipe yields 4 servings and takes about an hour to cook with a mere 10 min prep:

Wild Mushroom Stroganoff (serves 4)
Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons butter, and
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 large shallot, minced (or you can use an onion)
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic or a crushed garlic clove
  • 3 cups mushrooms (the original calls for portabella or cremini cubed)- you can slice instead of cube the mushrooms depending on the size/texture you want
  • 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
  • 1/4 cup white wine
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
  • 1/8 cup of thyme (original recipe calls for 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped- I am not a fan of parsley though so I used thyme)
  • salt and pepper  to taste

Directions:

    1. Melt the first amount of butter over medium heat and add the shallot, cook until tender.
    2. Add the garlic and mushrooms to the pot and cook until tender.
    3. Add the broth, wine, and salt and pepper if desired. Bring to a boil and then turn down heat and simmer for about ten minutes.

Before adding the roux:
Wild Mushroom Stroganoff

    1. While the sauce is simmering, in a separate pot melt the second amount of butter over medium heat.
    2. Stir the flour into the butter until absorbed to make a roux.
    3. Pour the mushroom mixture into the roux and bring to a boil, turn down the heat and stir until thickened.
    4. Stir in the cream and parmesan cheese, and stir in the thyme/parsley to taste.

Wild Mushroom Stroganoff

You can choose to serve this over pasta- I always pick an egg noodle- or over rice, or by as a thick broth of its own in a bread bowl (with the former insides of the bowl for you to dunk in).

Wild Mushroom Stroganoff

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Dinner: Bourbon Chicken Recipe

December 22, 2010 by 1 Comment

I have very good memories of discovering bourbon chicken when the mall in our area finally updated itself from an outdoor to an indoor mall, so suddenly we had access to a food court. Similar to when we discovered Auntie Anne’s (the first food establishment to open in this mall), my family went a little overboard, perhaps eating it weekly.

Sometimes, I still get tempted when I smell the aromas as someone generally is offering a sample from a plate. But, you don’t have to go all the way to a food court to get bourbon chicken if you ever have a craving! Here is a copycat recipe, but I happened to use vegetarian chicken to substitute for real meat chicken.

Bourbon Chicken

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb boneless chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces – in this case I used vegetarian chik’n tenders from Quorn
  • 2 -4 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 crushed garlic clove or 1/2 teaspoon of  crushed garlic from jar
  • 1/4 teaspoon ginger
  • 3/4-1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (to taste depending on how spicy you want it)
  • 1/4 cup apple juice
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup water 
  • 1/3 cup light sodium soy sauce
  • Rice

Directions:

  1. Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet.
  2. Cook the chicken until lightly browned. When finished, remove the chicken to a plate for now.
  3. In the skillet, put in 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil and heat the crushed garlic until it sizzles to release the flavor
  4. Next, lower to medium heat. Add the apple juice, cider vinegar, soy sauce, and water first, and then the ginger, sugar, ketchup, and red pepper until well mixed and dissolved
  5. Add the chicken and bring to a hard boil. Then lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes at the lowest heat setting so the chicken can absorb the juices and sauce can reduce, but watch carefully so chicken does not dry

Just added chicken to sauce:
Bourbon Chicken Recipe
Then letting it marinate…the black flecks are a mix of red pepper flakes and perhaps I burned the crushed garlic slightly because the pan was still hot from warming the chicken and I put in the new oil/garlic right after I removed the chicken, so as soon as I tossed in the garlic it got dark real fast. Oops. Next time, turn down the heat and check the oil before adding garlic.
Bourbon Chicken Recipe
In 20 minutes, there will be less liquid as the chicken soaks it all in like a sponge
Bourbon Chicken Recipe

Serve over hot rice

Bourbon Chicken Recipe

Optional Notes on this Recipe

  1. You can also saute onions with the chicken, or add other ingredients (carrots, broccoli, etc).
  2. Using chicken with the skin tastes better, but I made this with fake chicken (that is what is pictured above)- which you can simmer longer to get soft as you don’t have to worry as much about it drying out
  3. The sauce is really made separately, so before adding the chicken make sure to season to taste. I like mine a little spicier, and less vinegary, so I ended up adding more red pepper and a little extra water to dilute the vinegar a bit more. Some people substituted orange juice for the apple juice, and used balsamic vinegar instead of the cider vinegar, so you have to make it your own.
  4. If you want the sauce to be thicker, add a tablespoon of cornstarch (optional).

If you are looking for the bourbon part… it’s not in the recipe. This is totally mall food court style, not the authentic southern+chinese cajun bourbon chicken style, you don’t think they use bourbon just to let it evaporate away in those chafing dishes do you? This copycat recipe is pretty distributed on the internets, it is not invented by me; the key is just in making the sauce to keep tasting to season it to what you personally would enjoy.

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