Food and Drink Archives - Page 134 of 214 - Pechluck's Food Adventures

Lardo Chefwich with Country Cat Lamb Burger

January 9, 2014 by Pechluck 4 Comments

Until the middle of this month, at both Lardo locations you can experience the sandwich that won the People’s Choice at Feast 2013 Sandwich Invitational in September (previously recapped by yours truly here)!
Lardo Chefwich with Adam Sappington of Country Cat's Lava Lake Lamb Burger. It is dressed with smoked tomato jam, fennel slaw, and havarti cheese.

Among all the dozen sandwiches that evening, Adam Sappington of Country Cat offered the award winning (and now #2 in the current Chefwich Series) Lava Lake Lamb Burger. It is dressed with smoked tomato jam, fennel slaw, and havarti cheese. Part of the proceeds of this sandwich benefit the Humane Society.
Lardo Chefwich with Adam Sappington of Country Cat's Lava Lake Lamb Burger. The Country Cat Lamb Burger is dressed with smoked tomato jam, fennel slaw, and havarti cheese

Again, the Country Cat Lamb Burger is available only until the middle of January!

Filed Under: Food and Drink Tagged With: Adam Sappington, chef collaboration sandwich, chefwich, country cat, lamb burger, Lardo

Chicago French Market

January 8, 2014 by Pechluck 5 Comments

After I moved to Portland from Chicago, in an area downtown close to Oglivie and Metra stations they opened up an indoor marketplace, called the Chicago French Market. Inside you can basically eat around the world- there are more than 30 food vendors all in various aisles.

You could start with kosher lox on a bagel, go on to French crepes to a raw food stand, sushi and sashimi, sandwiches from Stephanie Izard’s Little Goat Bread or a cheese plate from Pastoral Artisan Cheeses. Order steaming bowls of pho or banh mi from Saigon Sisters, check out which gourmet lasagna that combines home grown with exoctic flavors is available today, or try ceviche from the Mexican vendor, wash it down with fresh smoothies/juices, and then finish off with beautiful little cakes and macaroons (such as below from Vanille Patisserie).

Chicago French Market Beavers Coffee + Donuts, coffee and fresh donuts at Chicago French Market Vanille Patisserie macaroons, at the Chicago French Market Vanille Patisserie at the Chicago French Market

During my lunch visit during Christmas week, I made the Chicago French Market one of my stops while we were staying downtown our first 36 hours. As I was reading about the Chicago French market online, my eyes immediately zoomed in on this vendor and it was happening. Portland is a crab city, so being able to get my lobster fix, especially in a buttery lobster roll, was enough enticement that I even told F that if he wanted to meet his friend elsewhere for lunch, he could go ahead- I was coming here alone if I had to.

I was able to try clam chowder, and of course the lobster roll sandwich from Da Lobsta. And, boy did it happen.
Da Lobsta stand at the Chicago French Market

I also tried Belgian frites with Belgian beers rom Frietkoten Belgian Fries and Beer. The frites are hand peeled, cut, and washed and double-fried in vegetable oil to ensure perfect crispyness. The beer selection is pretty impressive as a stop in the mid-afternoon before you return to the suburbs, or if you are coming from the suburbs on the Metra trains for an evening in the city. I tried 3 sauces from their selection of 12- Truffle Mayo, Blue Cheese Mayo, and Wasabi Mayo.

Of the two sizes the regular is more than enough for 2, and the large enough for 4 or more for just a $1 extra. They also offer hand pressed burgers, but with the lobster roll I had to defer the burger for a future Chicago visit in 2014. F’s friend testified to how good they are, and considering how great his recommendation was of the next item I’m covering, I believe that the cheeseburgers are excellent. The frites were all crispy- usually I pick around, looking for the crispy ones. They fry them fresh to order, and there is no need to pick around here- all the fries were perfect, every one.
Frietkoten Belgian Fries, Sauces, Beers, at Chicago French Market

Later, there was bonus sample round of what F’s friend shared with me, the best pastrami ever, a Montreal-style smoked meat sandwich from Fumare Meats. Their meat always includes fatty as well as crispy end bits, which makes it a perfect package of a sandwich. Poor guy, he gave me his leftover half of a sandwich before we bade farewell to our respective trains, and later I found out he forgot his keys to his home which left him in the cold December freezing weather and sandwich-less.

So when I had this later, I made sure to take a few extra shots of the sandwich to show my appreciation of his generosity and sacrifice. Thanks Smitty!
Montreal-style smoked meat sandwich from Fumare Meats, in the Chicago French Market

If you are ever in Chicago, definitely consider visiting. It is very reminiscent of a street market- but thankfully housed indoors, since it get can pretty cold in Chicago winters. Each vendor is an independent business- but they all seemed to accept credit card via Square, so it was also reminding me of food cart pods here in Portland but with the benefit of being indoors, access to more room and display cases etc. There is a main area for dining (in better weather there are also seats outdoors for al fresco dining).

They offer free 1 hour parking as long as you spend $20, and several of the vendors you can call or go online to order ahead of time!

Filed Under: Food and Drink, Restaurant Review, Travel Tagged With: Belgian Frites, chicago, Chicago French Market, Da Lobsta, Frietkoten Belgian Fries and Beer, Fumare Meats, lobster roll, Lobster Sandwich, Montreal-style smoked meat, pastrami sandwich

Cauliflower with Manchego and Almond Sauce

January 6, 2014 by Pechluck 4 Comments

For a New Year’s Eve dinner, we kept it low key and visited a friend for dinner. I was pretty excited since they mentioned they were making steak. I know they get shares (and also distribute) locally grass fed and grass finished beef from Joseph Creek Cattle Company.

I’m always over the moon whenever they have any meat on the table as appetizers during their various cocktail parties. In this case, we were going to do a full on dinner, and when she texted me that she was making steak I totally did a little “Woop!”. When you look at the rib-eyes below, you can see why I am always looking to go straight for any meat plate at their home.
Joseph Creek Cattle Company. Those ribeyes are grass fed, grass finished!

Since they were also taking care of dessert, and F was going to bring something from his beer collection, I decided to also bring two sides. One was a vegetarian version of chicken fricassee, which I have made before– I asked F at the grocery store what he would like me to make to make sure he would also be satiated, and this was the dish he picked. This time instead of using Quorn chick’n, I just kept it to plain vegetables of mushrooms, edamame, green beans, . I did not serve it with biscuits this time, just plain since I recalled he was just eating it from the pan last time.

Vegetarian Fricassee

The other vegetarian dish was one I adapted from something I had pinned from Food and Wine, a Cauliflower with Manchego and Almond Sauce recipe. The recipe says it serves 6, but I think a 2 pound cauliflower head, once you trim it into florets, only serves 4 people as a side dish unless you have 3 side dishes like we did at this dinner.

Still, the description alone made it seemed like the perfect fit for a New Year’s eve side to accompany a steak before returning to normal scheduled more healthy post-holiday programming menus: “This outrageously rich sauce, flavored with salty, nutty Manchego, gets poured on sautéed cauliflower and baked until it’s golden and bubbling.”

Cauliflower with Manchego and Almond Sauce Recipe - outrageously rich sauce, flavored with salty, nutty Manchego, gets poured on sautéed cauliflower and baked until it's golden and bubbling

Ingredients:
Ingredients for a recipe of Cauliflower with Manchego and Almond Sauce

1/2 cup whole unsalted almonds, plus 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped almonds
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided in half
1 2-3 pound head of cauliflower, cut into 1 1/2-inch florets. As you can see from my photos, with a 2 pound cauliflower the sauce smothers the cauliflower, if you want it to be less sauce increase the cauliflower amount
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3/4 cup half and half
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk – the recipe calls for whole but to make up for the half and half, I used skim
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons finely shredded Manchego (about 1/2 pound hunk of Manchego). You can also use other mildly nutty cheese, such as Gouda
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon Spanish smoked paprika – either “sweet” (dulce) or “hot” (picante) works

Directions:

First, roast the almonds. You can buy them already roasted, but it’s so ridiculously easy to roast them in the oven at home too. F loves almonds as a snack, but prefers them raw, so that’s the kind we like to buy. To roast the almonds, lay them flat on a baking pan and put them in the oven at 350 degrees F for 10-15 minutes until you can smell the deliciousness wafting from them. Let them cool until you can handle them. Remember to set aside 2 tablespoons of the almonds which you are going to coarsely chop and use as topping later.
In a large skillet, bring 1/2 inch of salted water to a boil. Add the cauliflower florets, cover and cook over high heat until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Drain the cauliflower in a colander and set it aside.
Then, in the same skillet that you have now removed all the water, add 2 tablespoons of butter, on medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook over medium heat, stirring until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Increase the heat to high, and add the cauliflower. Stir to mix, and then let it sit there for a few minutes to grown, and then stir to flip the cauliflowers to brown a bit on the other side. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Transfer the cauliflower to a 7-by-10-inch glass or ceramic baking dish.
Now to make the sauce. In a small saucepan, heat the half and half until steaming (stop it before it begins to boil), then transfer it to a food processor or blender. Add the 1/2 cup of whole almonds and process until finely ground. Let stand for 10 minutes. The original recipe instructions are to strain the half and half through a fine sieve set over a bowl, pressing on the almonds to extract as much liquid as possible and then discard the ground almonds. I saw no reason to discard them- I liked the fact they gave a little bit of coarseness to the sauce and made it very thick- so I left the nut half and half mixture alone.
Back to that same small saucepan which you had used to heat the half and half before. Melt the other 2 tablespoons of butter you have left in that pot. Add in the 2 tablespoons of flour and whisk over moderately high heat for 1 minute until it is browned and cooked. Add the milk and the almond half and half mixture and whisking constantly until everything thickens, 5-7 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Add 1 cup of the Manchego and whisk until melted. Whisk in the nutmeg; season with salt and pepper. Now top the cauliflower in the baking dish with this manchego and almond sauce. If you’d like to stop now and refrigerate it overnight you can… just bring it to room temperature before baking.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Sprinkle the cauliflower topped with the Manchego and almond sauce with the remaining Manchego cheese, the 2 tablespoons of chopped almonds and the smoked paprika. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 minutes, or until bubbling and browned on top. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Make sure you let it stand for 10 minutes before serving, it will be extremely tongue-burning hot!
Cauliflower with Manchego and Almond Sauce Recipe - outrageously rich sauce, flavored with salty, nutty Manchego, gets poured on sautéed cauliflower and baked until it's golden and bubbling

And here is the final product, our New Year’s Eve dinner at a friend’s home, after a lovely salad with mustard garlic vinaigrette and prosecco, we plated our dinner entree of butternut squash fettuccine (vegetarian), part of a juicy Joseph Creek rib-eye pan-fried in butter (not vegetarian), vegetarian fricassee, and this cauliflower with manchego almond sauce.
New Year's Eve Dinner with butternut squash fettuccine, part of a Joseph Creek Cattle Company rib-eye, a vegetarian fricassee, and cauliflower gratin with manchego almond sauce

And mad props for the wonderful dessert she served an hour before it was countdown time, this awesome hazelnut panna cotta with Pinot Noir strawberries (the vegetarian got chocolate cake with the strawberries don’t worry- since panna cotta has gelatin, it may not be vegetarian safe, depending on your local vegetarian’s rules). She also served a great sparkling wine that after our New Year’s kisses and selfies, we tried with a little drop of her aunt’s raspberry wine, which I was having too much fun to recall to photograph.
Hazelnut Panna Cotta with Pinot Noir Strawberries

They didn’t ask me to plug Joseph Creek Cattle, but if you are interested, feel free to contact Hal at josephcreekcattlecompany dot com. This is not the first time I’ve had that delicious beef (and yes, you can detect a grassier flavor to it)- and hopefully not the last time I am invited over to enjoy it. I totally went for seconds on the rib-eye. You may have heard that grass fed beef is healthier for you- but not only is it lower in calories and fat that its regular beef counterpart, but it is rich in omega 3s and there is ongoing research to see if it can reduce cancer risk. Although the beef is leaner, I still saw some great marbling, and there was definitely some juicyness to that steak as you saw on my dinner plate.

Which of the dishes of my New Year’s Eve dinner sounds most appealing to you? Have you had grass fed, grass finished steak before, and did you notice a difference? Do you think it’s spelled rib eye or rib-eye?

Filed Under: Cooking, Food and Drink, Weblogs Tagged With: Almond Cheese Sauce, Cauliflower Gratin with Manchego and Almond Sauce, grass fed and grass finished rib eye, holiday dish, Joseph Creek Cattle, Manchego and Almond Sauce, New Year's Eve, rib-eye, rich cauiflower side, Ringing in 2014, vegetable side dish, vegetarian dish

Brie and Blue Cheese Fondue Recipe

January 2, 2014 by Pechluck 4 Comments

I thought I would kick off the New 2014 year by sharing a recipe for one of my favorite things – cheese! In this case, fondue via a Brie and Blue Cheese Fondue Recipe, because melted gooey cheese is wonderful!

Also, if for some reason you have any leftover white wine or sparkling/champagne, you can totally use it in this recipe! I never pour wine out unless it tastes bad- I can just cook with it.
Brie and Blue Cheese Fondue Recipe

Fondue doesn’t just have to be for a romantic party of two (or one… I totally did this on New Year’s day, just fondue and sparkling wine and the Rose Parade on the DVR). A fondue party, whether or not you use this Brie and Blue Cheese Fondue Recipe, is a great party concept. It is a great way to make conversation as everyone was gathered around that table for hours, chatting as you dip each mouthful individually. As we moved around to get access to various fondue pots on the large table, this helped us switch conversation partners.

In this case, there were 5 people responsible for fondue pots, everyone else was asked to bring cut up things to dip (ranging from crusty bread or shrimp or jars of dipping sauces for the broth cooked meat like green goddess sauce or horseradish!) or a bottle of wine to share so it was potluck style. The variety of wine meant everyone got to try different kinds of wines from different vineyards.

It’s just a more naturally active get together than a dinner party. It’s a fun, interactive way to dine together that I always look forward to every December.

fondue party photo- cheese, chocolate and broth fondue

For my contribution, this Brie and Blue Cheese Fondue Recipe was bookmarked by me from the blog Geez Louise, who suggested this was a wonderful fondue to pair with Korean Pears. I am a big fan of blue cheese, but I know not everyone is. So when I decided to make a new kind of fondue for the annual fondue/wine party (previous fondue combinations included Irish beer and cheddar, and a smoked gouda), I wanted one that had a hint of blue but not overwhelmingly so.

That’s where the brie comes in, adding buttery creaminess and a nuttiness that relaxes the funk and saltiness of the blue. It’s more brie than blue.

If you think you don’t like blue cheese, I promise you, you will barely detect it here except that there is a bit more complexity to the flavors than just plain melted brie fondue, give it a try! Not all blue cheese is strong- there are milder kinds. I used to think I didn’t like blue cheese either. I have also tricked F into eating blue cheese by cutting out the blue portions so he can enjoy a smoked blue cheese without seeing the “moldy gross” part (just remember it’s not like regular mold- it’s a cousin to Penicillin antibiotic, totally edible! Well, unless you are allergic to Penicillin)- you can also get blue cheese that has less blue.

The softer and creamer, the more mild, versus the more crumbly potent kind. In this case, I used Stella Cheese for the blue cheese, and Alouette Baby Brie. See look, barely any blue!
crumbled Treasure Cave Reduced Fat Blue cheese

I doubled this recipe because I served 15 people, which it did handily (there was also a broth fondue, another cheese, and 2 chocolate fondues present). The original portions below should be good for 6-10, depending on what else is on the table.
Brie and blue cheese fondue recipe ingredients- cheese, wine, tarragon to add to shallots

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons organic unbleached flour
12 ounces chilled Brie cheese, rind removed. This is basically one of the 13.2 oz or whatever wheels you can get at the store- after you remove the rind it will reduce the weight. To remove the rind, cut the brie while it is still pretty cold, and wet your knife so the cheese doesn’t stick. Cut as close as you can so you don’t lose a lot of the precious creamy brie- if your knife is sharp enough, you may be able to do just a few scrapes on each side after cutting the brie in fourths. The rind is actually edible so if there is a tiny bit left it’s fine. Then cut up the brie into little cubes about 1/2 thick or so.
5 ounces chilled crumbled blue cheese (essentially a whole package of the blue cheese in the tub- it may be 4 or 5 ounces, mine was 5 ounces)– divided in half
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, roughly chopped
fresh cracked black pepper
Serve with bread, precooked fingerling potatoes, veggies like broccoli or cauliflower (I like steaming or roasting it in the oven just a bit to bring out the color but raw is fine too), cut fruit like apples, pears (especially Korean pears), sliced cooked sausages, anything you are willing to dip in cheese cut into slices or wedges

Directions:

Heat a medium sauce pot over medium heat. Add in the olive oil and once hot, add in the shallots. Stir to combine and sweat the shallots until soft and translucent – about 2 minutes.
Add the white wine to the shallots and stir to combine. You can use any white wine you want- I used a sweet and fruity Risata Moscato d’Asti, and thank drank the rest of the bottle before the first handful of guests filled my house! I made up for it later by opening a bottle of Iron Horse sparkling wine for the group, don’t worry.
In a mixing bowl bowl toss the cut up brie and half the blue cheese with the flour. Reduce the heat to low and add the flour cheese mixture and chopped thyme into the simmering shallot and wine in batches. Whisk to combine until smooth – about 5-6 minutes.
Turn off the heat and stir in the remaining blue cheese and black pepper to taste.
Serve warm with your chosen cheese dipping items

You can see a hint of the finished dish in the red fondue pot above. I prepped this an hour beforehand, including already sweating the shallots and adding the wine, and then took it off the heat before adding the cheese (though it was already mixed with flour in the mixing bowl) so that I could quickly heat and melt this together when the party started.

Preparing it on the stove is better than on the fondue pot as you can control the heat more, and once it was ready I poured it into my nonstick (so important!) electric fondue pot just to keep it warm for the next few hours- a slow cooker could work just as handily. And of course, you could just eat by dipping into the pot too, no specialized kitchen equipment necessary!

In the close up shots, it was a test version of the recipe and I happened to have had some tarragon left from another recipe- so you will see a bit of those in the photos, even though the recipe only calls for thyme.

Meanwhile, rather than go out and buy lots of small plates in order to make it easy for cleanup later after the wine and fondue party, I used these beautiful Ver Terra ware appetizer plates, specifically their 4″x4″ square plates. They look sophisticated with their wooden plate look, rather than using paper or plastic. Besides being convenient so I only had to worry about hand washing all the glasses and servingware and fondue pot, I also was able to rest easy about the environmental impact.

First, these plates are made out of only 2 things: gathered fallen palm leaves (so already putting what would be waste into a second use!) and water.

Second, they are chemical free, non-toxic, biodegradable and compostable (they biodegrade in about 2 months after disposal).

Third, the plates are durable if someone decided to pile on several snacks, but are light to carry and don’t transfer heat or bend, which is a plus when you are pulling out hot fondue items or in one hand holding this plate and a stem of a wine glass!

I saw them being utilized during the Feast Portland festival this year, and also at a wedding I attended in September in New York. I was lucky enough to win a sample of VerTerra dinnerware which I used for this event, but I was not asked to write this blog post or advertise for them- I just endorse their product and am always happy to see their dinnerware being used.
Brie and Blue Cheese Fondue Recipe

What are your thoughts on blue cheese? Love it or leave it?

Happy 2014 to everyone!

Filed Under: Cheese, Cooking, Food and Drink Tagged With: Alouette Baby Brie, brie and blue cheese fondue, brie fondue, cheese, cheese fondue, Fallen Leaves plates, fondue recipe, Risata Moscato d'Asti, Stella Cheeses, tarragon fondue, unique fondue recipe, Ver Terra

Menu Guide to Ava Gene’s

December 30, 2013 by Pechluck Leave a Comment

Ava Gene’s is a pretty hot restaurant currently- being crowned #5 Best New Restaurant of 2013 by Bon Appétit, recently named by several food experts as one of the top newcomers of 2013 in the Eater article The Experts Name Their Top Newcomers of 2013, and Portland Monthly’s Restaurant of the Year. It’s a very intimate but very boisterous restaurant with dim lighting and tables close together, with lots of 2-tops, prime viewing of the open kitchen at a dozen counter seats, and only a handful of larger 4-top tables, with a capacity of only 50 some guests overall in the restaurant. You can see more of the interior at this Portland Monthly Ava Gene slideshow.
Ava Gene's, Portland Ava Gene's bar Ava Gene's dining room Ava Gene's open kitchen

Thankfully Ava Gene’s does accept reservations, though you have to plan ahead of time if you don’t want to be dining after 9pm. I also recommend going with several friends- 4 is best so that you can try lots of dishes from their small plates menu which changes seasonally, as you would expect from a restaurant who has a a “Giardini” section of 9 items, aka items from the garden. Go very very hungry.

The menu may appear confusing at first because of the usage of Italian. Let me break it down for you and offer my opinion of how to order at Ava Gene’s. Here is my Guide to Ava Gene’s menu.

First, props to Ava Gene’s for continually updating their menu on their website, so you can look ahead before you go (it is a pdf). On the very left side are all the small plates for sharing, all enclosed in a box border. Within this box border are 4 main sections. The first 2 sections include a Salumi section that are all various sliced meats sourced locally and from Italy of course, and the Formaggi is the cheese section (all Italian when I looked, with one notable exception- the burrata from Los Angeles).

You are certainly welcome to try out some meats and cheeses, from what I saw at other tables they look incredible. I have to note but with the exception of burrata with is a fresh cheese that is harder to find, unless you have a group of 4 or more I don’t think it’s worth it. Not to say the salumi and cheese are not tasty, but they aren’t uniquely Ava Gene’s, and it is possible to to get amazing charcuterie and cheese plates at several Portland restaurants, unlike some other items on the menu here that are uniquely Ava Gene’s. On the other hand, if your group is starving, these plates come out very quickly and might be an option to order immediately with a drink while you peruse the rest of the menu.

But as I said, the burrata is the exception. Get it. Get the burrata. It is reminiscent of a mozzarella (it originates from it) but creamier, softer, more melt in your mouth. Too often fresh cheeses like mozzarella, ricotta, and burrata are not enjoyed as they should be- fresh, without having ever seen more than a few days before it is devoured. Burrata is harder to find because it’s lifespan is the fastest. We started with burrata, which in the winter season we are now in was served with chestnuts, chestnut infused honey, and homemade foccacia breadsticks. By we, I actually only mean me because I totally did not share this dish with F at all.
burrata, chestnuts

Sort of in no man’s land after the Salumi and Formaggi section are options for other small snackitys- olives, and a bread. But if you are going to get bread, I direct you to the Pane section, which offer half a dozen more unique open faced topped breads to try, ranging from those with beans and rosemary to those with wild mushrooms or with pork liver, mustard and chocolate. I went with pane with squash, mint, ricotta salata, barrel aged colatura (a fish sauce), carta di musica (a crisp, cracker thin flatbread). If this sounds unique, you’re right- you should probably get at least one pane.
Ava Gene's Pane of squash, mint, ricotta salata, barrel aged colatura, carta di musica

There is one last appetizer section here in the box- Fritti, with their three dishes of Fritti (fried stuff): fritti of beet arancini, humboldt fog, a fritti of cauliflower, brussels sprouts, lemon, chiles, tonnato (tuna sauce), and finally fritto misto, bee pollen, carrot honey, sarvecchio. We went with all three during our dinner because I really wanted to try the arancini and I’m a sucker for brussels sprouts, and F surprised me by ordering the third dish. The arancini is a lot more beet than humboldt fog if you are worried about how tangy and funky it would be inside with that soft ripened cheese (an unusual option for an arancini), and I’m a fan of beets. You can see 2 of the 3 came with a fistful of freshly grated asiago. Unlike us, you probably don’t need this many fried dishes on your table, and the arancini is the winner in my opinion here.
Ava Gene's fritti of beet arancini, humboldt fog Ava Gene's Fritti with cauliflower, brussels sprouts, lemon, chiles, tonnato Ava Gene's fritto misto, bee pollen, carrot honey, sarvecchio

I direct you to basically the star section of the menu– the Giardini section (Garden). If I came back again, I would probably order much more from this section than any other. As it is, we only tried one as we both had our eyes on the fresh pasta this visit, so we went with a dish of beets, celeriac, pistachios, golden raisins. This was the best dish of the evening, really unique in its raw but bold flavors.
Ava Gene's Giardini plate of beets, celeriac, pistachios, golden raisins

We only had room for primi (first courses, aka pasta) left: a fusilloni with nut ragù and a Ricotta cavatelli with lamb neck ragù in bianco. Expect the pasta to be pretty toothsome- when I make mine at home F sometimes complains they needed a minute or so more to really reach al dente, but I like my pasta firmer– and that’s what both these dishes were like from Ava Gene’s.

That meant we skipped the large secondi section with its big protein dishes- of the 6 they offer, half the dishes are large enough that they specify “for two” or “for the family to share” and range in price from $30-$75/market. See why you need a nice party of friends to divvy up all the various dishes with? Dining with vegetarian F I didn’t consider it an option to order from this section since we couldn’t share, so make sure you invite meat eating friends.

That’s not even counting the last section on the right hand side besides the primi and secondi- the contorni vegetable sides to accompany the secondi! If you get a table at Ava Gene’s, shore up and save your appetite to get through this side of the menu if you also want to dine from the left side! We didn’t even look at the separate dessert menu with its more than half a dozen offerings, or the excellent wine list of solid Italian wines.
Ava Gene's fusilloni, nut ragù Ava Gene's Ricotta cavatelli, lamb neck ragù in bianco

As you can see, this is not your typical Italian restaurant- and you should be prepared for that mentally in what you plan to order and the portions/price. You aren’t going to find meatballs, lasagna, or anything parmigiana here or in a sea of sauce or garlic. I’ve heard Ava Gene’s described as rustic and Old World, and by that they mean eating the whole animal and any animal and whatever is seasonal- you will see beef tongue, pork and chicken livers, goose and fish in roe form and in sauces. It seems each dish has only a literal handful of ingredients, but they are the best ingredients.

This is also not a place you should expect to be in and out within 30-45 minutes. Our dinner reservation at 7:45 on a Wednesday night ended with us leaving 2 hours later, and it was just two of us. Dishes came as they were ready- the pane I ordered actually came to our table at the same time as our pastas.

I hope this is helpful in giving you a little idea of what you’re in for. F, as a vegetarian, had several options, but not as much as a meat eater. Even the Pane and Giardini sections had lots of hidden meats in the sauces, and a vegetarian should be prepared to order a lot from the Giardini section. Our server was very considerate and aware- when I ordered the pane he immediately pointed out the colatura is a fish sauce so it wasn’t vegetarian, and one of the fritti sauces also was not vegetarian. They do offer a glossary at the bottom right corner because of all the Italian terms, which unfortunately are not in alphabetical order but based on reading the sections left to right, top to bottom. Do not be too intimidated to ask your server for help and guidance.

It will be unfamiliar- just like I would imagine my or your first day or so if you were to visit Italy for the first time, and you sit down to your first dinner on your own. You should do what I do whenever I am traveling and dine- soak up that foreign atmosphere, looking all around at everyone’s dishes to get some bearings of what looks appealing. You are not the first and not the last to be confused. Of course, let me point out, everyone here speaks perfect English when you ask for help in translation or for their recommendations. And all without the costly airfare and hotel logistics of traveling to Italy since you can return to the comfort of your own home after your adventure, carrying maybe a few boxes of leftovers that you are really looking forward to.

Filed Under: Food and Drink, Restaurant Review Tagged With: arancini, Ava Gene's, burrata, fritti, fusilloni with nut ragu, giardini, lamb neck ragu in bianco, pane, portland restaurant, ricotta cavatelli

Lardo Chefwich with Country Cat Lamb Burger

Chicago French Market

Cauliflower with Manchego and Almond Sauce

Brie and Blue Cheese Fondue Recipe

Menu Guide to Ava Gene’s

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