How to put together a Food Crawl

April 2, 2014 by 10 Comments

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

I was lucky enough to be invited to an awesome food crawl that was being organized by Little Green Pickle. For $40, the Little Green Pickle food crawl (heretofore dubbed LGP Food Crawl) included 4 stops of small plates and cocktails, and a karaoke bus to transport us between those 4 destinations!

I was actually a bit pleased to see that this was something with a ticket price- so although LGP organized and sponsored this event, it felt more like being with peers with the LGP ladies because I was a contributing party and not being fully hosted. If you do the math it’s only $10 a stop that includes food and a beverage at each stop, so still a real steal and still sponsored, thus still needing disclosures.

#LGPFoodCrawl Levant stop #LGPFoodCrawl The Bent Brick experience

I took this as a great opportunity to be able to try new food, be it at new restaurants that I hadn’t made it to yet, or even ones I had visited but perhaps with new dishes to sample. I was not disappointed.

There were 12 of us on this little journey, with 9 of us being food bloggers, several who have already covered with fantastic photos the food we enjoyed at each of our destinations at their blogs, and I think everyone has stuff posted on Twitter and Instagram under the hashtag #LGPFoodCrawl.

So I wanted to focus more on is how YOU can put together one of these events!

Guest List

You want to have enough people so that you can share several dishes and get 3-4 bites. At the same time, you don’t want so large of a group that the various restaurants cannot easily accommodate you.  I would recommend 6, 8, at the max 12.

The larger the group, the sooner you want to get this on everyone’s calendar and the RSVPs set so you can plan knowing how many you have on board. LGP signed us up 3 weeks ahead of the food crawl date!

Ask those signing up to tell you food restrictions because of allergies or preferences upfront now so they can be accounted for in the planning stage.

Remember- you only need a few bites of each dish- otherwise you won’t have the capacity to keep eating for the full Food Crawl! One alcoholic drink per place is probably best too- you don’t want to ruin your palate before you’ve gotten to all the stops. What you do at the last stop is up to you.
"It's You can only have a few bites of every dish on a Food Crawl, or your stomach won't last the Food Crawl!

Don’t feel like everyone has to already know each other- one of the great aspects of a food crawl like this is that you will not be seated in place for the entire meal. You will be moving from place to place, which provides an opportunity to change up who is sitting with who, so you can rotate through multiple conversations with guests.

And, because each location is a short stop, and everyone is trying out new food, you already have something in common to start the conversation and you will surely not run out of conversational material before the next rotation! Probably similar to me, you may feel that you wish you had MORE time to chat with the various other guests even though you just spend 4 hours at this event together!

Logistics

You want to select 3 or 4 restaurants. You don’t want to do more than 4 because you will get pretty full even on sampling over the evening.

The first restaurant is for appetizers.

If you pick 4 restaurants then the second location is for small plates, if you pick 3 restaurants then this location is for mains (if you pick 4 restaurants, then the next location is mains instead).

Finally, the last restaurant is is for dessert.

#LGPFoodCrawl Dessert Extravagance at Urban Farmer

Ideally, the restaurants would be in walking distance of each other- so pick a neighborhood. You can do this with restaurants that are farther away if you have set transportation.

For instance, for the LGP Food Crawl, we utilized the excellent karaoke bus Old School PDX, which gamely chauffeured us to our destinations while also providing us the opportunity to sing along our merry way! As a plus, with a designated driver, we were able to also enjoy Hawks View Cellars Wine as we were singing!
 

You want to spend about 45 minutes at each restaurant, giving you 10-15 minutes in between to travel to the next (thus the desire to make restaurants either walkable or use designated driver transport so you don’t have to sweat over finding parking spots!). So as you can see, this is a 3-4 hour party!

Make reservations for your party based on this schedule. Weeknights or a Sunday are clearly better because the restaurants can be more accommodating in quickly getting you in and out with your food if they aren’t in the weeds.

Let them know what you are doing as well- being upfront means they can plan and execute accordingly. You might choose to pre-select all your food ahead of time- or work with the restaurants to figure out a budget for the number of people/course you’ll be having there and let them surprise you.

You need to make sure the following roles are taken care of by someone in your Food Crawl party- it can be 1 person, or taken care of by 3 lovely LGP ladies extraordinaire as well…

  1. One person who is the people wrangler- getting all the people committed to the date and time and location. They will need to have everyone’s contact information to make sure everyone is reachable in case someone gets stuck in traffic or gets lost between restaurants (thankfully this did not happen to us on our food crawl, but I was very aware there was someone taking care of counting us to make sure we were all there, no one is left behind!)
  2. One person should also have the address/directions and phone number of each destination to help navigate the party to each stop, and if things are running 5-10 minutes late give the next destination a heads up with a phone call. This person is likely the restaurant wrangler- the one who helps each restaurant know what the plan for the Food Crawl is and which course they are to make sure seating and food will be ready for the stop.One thing that could entice restaurants to help you is if you provide an opportunity for them to market themselves- be it examples of the menu, having a manager or chef talk about what they are trying to do, or giving a cheat sheet of all the social media tags!
  3. One person needs to be the official timekeeper, to make sure that everyone sticks to this schedule by watching the time and giving the 10 and 5 minute warning and ushering everyone out to the next destination. This person will likely be the one making sure the check is paid- and make sure to include tax (although this isn’t applicable here in Portland, yay) and TIP!

Now in our Food Crawl, the drinks were included. But, I’ve also heard of ones where all the food is pre-selected and included, but drinks are on your own. In that case, you have to make sure the restaurant knows ahead of time and see if they would agree to separate checks… or perhaps everyone can agree to split evenly and 1 drink each.

Try to not get caught in the nightmare of trying to calculate each person’s portion individually from a group check! I know there are check splitting apps out there Billr.me and Clever Bill Splitter on Android, maybe there are better out there), but it interrupts the fun when you have to do it several times because you are going to multiple destinations. The easiest, fastest options are separate checks are even split.

Now let’s see the stops that were put together for the LGP Food Crawl…

Stop 1: Oso Market + Bar

Oso Market + Bar, Stop 1 on the #LGPFoodCrawl Oso Market + Bar, Stop 1 on the #LGPFoodCrawl
We started out with Stop #1, Oso Market + Bar at 726 SE Grand. This was the only destination I knew of ahead of time, and was only told 1 week ahead of time! The other 3 stops, LGP kept secret as a surprise until we met up at that first location! This seems like an optional step in planning your Food Crawl- it was certainly fun to be surprised with where we were going! And, by not knowing ahead of time there was no peeking ahead at the menus to guess what we might have- instead we just enjoyed what we received.


We were greeted with a glass of bubbly cava. I heartily recommend this as a festive way to kick off the food crawl- a little sparkling always feels special and celebratory.

I was excited to finally step foot into Oso, as I had passed by it many times and adored the big bear but never been in. I’ll definitely be back to try more here. Oso is a mixed-use space that is bottle shop, specialty market with some enticing grocery selections, and neighborhood bar (they have sustainable and biodynamic wines and well as handcrafted beer and ciders that represent local and international breweries). They had pushed together two long tables for us so that we could all sit in a big square table all facing each other, though that meant we had to really reach across the tablespace to pass the platters around.

Here, we had the perfect example of just small appetizer nibbles to get us started as we were doing our introductions to each other and meeting the Food Crawl crew for the evening. We had

  • Tails & Trotters Chorizo Stuffed Dates wrapped in bacon with cumin honey and sage oil. Seriously I could have eaten that whole plate by myself, and I’ll definitely make sure that is on the table for every future visit.
    Oso Market + Bar appetizer of Tails & Trotters Chorizo-Stuffed Dates Wrapped in Bacon w/ Cumin Honey & Sage Oil Oso Market + Bar appetizer of Tails & Trotters Chorizo-Stuffed Dates Wrapped in Bacon w/ Cumin Honey & Sage Oil
  • Baked Mortadella Montadito with tarragon mustard, peperoncini, and micro greens served on Little T focaccia
  • Bresaola Montadito with tomato-mint jam, Parmesan and basil served on Little T focaccia
  • Cremeux Montadito with fig, honey, arugula and balsamic reduction served on Little T focaccia
  • Ratatouille atop crispy polenta
    Oso Market + Bar appetizer of Baked Mortadella Montadito with tarragon mustard, peperoncini, and micro greens served on Little T focaccia and Bresaola Montadito with tomato-mint jam, Parmesan and basil served on Little T focaccia Oso Market + Bar appetizer of Cremeux Montadito with fig, honey, arugula and balsamic reduction served on Little T focaccia and Ratatouille atop crispy polenta

Notice how each of these are very small bites just to whet your appetite.

At the same time, I think this showcases some of the best of what Oso has to offer, which is great small plates to nibble on that take inspiration from local and global foods as you taste their excellent selection of wines by the glass. They also have sandwiches, salads, and charcuterie and some heartier dinner plates like wild boar bratwurst or steamed mussels with chorizo or bison shepherd’s pie, but this small sample captures their use of quality local purveyors to put together what is a simple appetizer concept (bacon wrapped dates, montadito/yummy stuff on bread) but yet create complex flavors. I can easily imagine how fun this would be to try with different wines to see how they compliment and contrast with different profiles in the wine.

Stop 2: Levant

Stop #2 Levant as part of #LGPFoodCrawl Stop #2 Levant as part of #LGPFoodCrawl Stop #2 Levant as part of #LGPFoodCrawl
Stop #2 was Levant, which offers French-Arabesque Mediterranean food. and located at 2448 E Burnside St that has an open kitchen with open hearth and a floor to ceiling L shaped bar with a library ladder. This is another restaurant that has been on my wishlist, but I had not made it to yet. We started out with being able to select one cocktail from their menu- any cocktail we wanted! I don’t know how the bartender whipped these up so quickly for us, hope his elbow is ok!

I went with the Cocktail of Root Down Daisy– Cognac, Ginger Liqueur, Carrot Reduction, Lemon, Egg White, Vanilla Salt. They had really cool individual kinds of glasses depending on what kind of cocktail you ordered. A couple others also ordered the same thing, and a few had a glass that looked like mine, others had a glass that was the same shape but had gold wheat etched instead.
Stop #2 Levant as part of #LGPFoodCrawl Stop #2 Levant as part of #LGPFoodCrawl, Cocktail of Root Down Daisy- Cognac, Ginger Liqueur, Carrot Reduction, Lemon, Egg White, Vanilla Salt

We were all in the private back room, which usually seats 8 while being surrounded by racks of cabinets of wine, but in a pinch was an easy cocktail location for our group standing up. This can work out well if it is for small plates only, and since the stop is only 45 minutes- something to consider when thinking about whether a restaurant you are thinking of can accommodate you.

Even on a weekday night Levant was hopping with diners and it would have been difficult to talk with the noise level in the main dining room, so it was nice that we had a space to just our group for this stop. Since this was a longer rectangular table, the group essentially split up into conversations based on the half of the room.

Here, we shared 3 items from their Sharing Plates section and 1 item from their Hot Starters section of their menu, almost buffet style since we each got one piece of everything from a serving platter. My photos from my phone do not do justice to how beautifully plated these dishes are- several of my bloggers were carrying the heavy artillery of DSLRs and got closeups with better lighting that will make you want to eat your screen.

  • Fried Halloumi with honey and walnuts. I think I actually said “get out of my way, there’s cheese here!”
  • Fava Bean Falafel with zhoug (a hot chili paste- though I didn’t detect any fire but maybe that’s just me) and tahini
    Stop #2 at Levant on #LGPFoodCrawl, a shared dish of Fried Halloumi, Honey, Walnuts Stop #2 Levant as part of #LGPFoodCrawl, a shared dish of Falafel, Zhoug (a hot chili paste) Tahini
  • Feta and Armenian Cheese ‘Cigars’ with dried mint, garlic, lemon zest and Aleppo chili – again, I don’t remember it being spicy so no worries for you there if you are worried
  • Grilled Beef Kofta with barberries, pine nuts, herb relish and Sumac yogurt… wait, now that I think about it, I don’t remember getting a sample of this. Which one of you ate two?!
    Stop #2 was Levant #LGPFoodCrawl, a shared dish of Feta 'Cigars,' Harissa Yogurt Stop #2 was Levant #LGPFoodCrawl, a hot dish of Grilled Beef Kofta with barberries, pine nuts, herb relish and Sumac yogurt

So win with two cheese dishes! My cheese loving soul thanks you so much Levant. I think this is a perfect example of how with just a couple dishes, you can get an idea of a restaurant’s perspective, and I left still curious and wanting to know more.

Stop 3: Bent Brick

Bent Brick, a German style tavern with an American twist at 1639 NW Marshall St was where we had the main portion of our dinner. I had been here before, but only 1 dish was repeated so I was still able to experience Bent Brick in a new way.

We each ordered a cocktail off the menu- and the Bent Brick has fabulous cocktails it was hard for all of us to choose just one! The Fall Back cocktail sounded very alluring with its butternut squash whiskey, root, herbal liquor, and spiced syrup combination. That’s right, butternut squash whiskey. There was also a cocktail called l.g.p. with lettuce, ebb & flow gin, parsley oil- how curious?!

Then there is this lovely cocktail below on the right, the Smoke n’ Herb with rosemary, tito’s vokda, lavender, lemon, smoked Jacobsen’s sea salt. The one on the left wasn’t mine, but notice the cool herb ice there too: it’s the Bucket List cocktail, with vodka, cranberry-thyme shrub, and soda.
Cocktail at the Bent Brick, stop 3 on the #LGPFoodCrawl, Smoke N' Herb with tito's vodka, rosemary, lavendar, lemon, smoked sea salt Cocktail at the Bent Brick, stop 3 on the #LGPFoodCrawl, Smoke N' Herb with tito's vodka, rosemary, lavendar, lemon, smoked sea salt

We sat at two different rectangular tables here, essentially two groups of six. We dined family style here where 3 dishes were shared among every 3-4 people.

  • Meat Board featuring house made country pate, house made coppa rillette, wigwam and Finchville country ham with pickled vegetables
  • Deep Fried Beef Cheek with fried egg aioli
  • Rye Sourdough Spaetzle pan fried with mushrooms and caramelized onion, topped with Tabasco pickled shallots.
    At The Bent Brick, Stop #3 on #LGPFoodCrawl: >Meat Board featuring house made country pate, house made coppa rillette, wigwam and Finchville country ham with pickled vegetables At The Bent Brick, Stop #3 on #LGPFoodCrawl: Deep Fried Beef Cheek with fried egg aioli The Bent Brick, stop 3 on the #LGPFoodCrawl, Rye Sourdough Spaetzle pan fried with mushrooms and caramelized onion, topped with Tabasco pickled shallots

You may be intimidated by the sound of deep fried beef cheek, but let me assure you that it was tasty and rich. This was a case that I’m not sure anyone in the party would have ordered it off the menu, but because Bent Brick sent out what they wished (I assume for let’s say a set price limit), it pushed us to explore outside our regular boundaries. This item isn’t normally on their menu, but they do have a braised beef cheek in horseradish cream with sauerkraut and beets. This is typical of the Bent Brick, which celebrates locally raised meats and seafood served in unconventional ways.

It does bring up a good question though- should you order ahead of time specific dishes? Or, when you let the restaurant know ahead of time with reservations, and that you are doing a food crawl, if they could recommend/pick for you what to serve your group of xx people that fit within your visit time frame?

Ordering when you get there probably works ok for small dishes like appetizers that are usually fast anyway if the restaurant isn’t swamped, but when it comes to dishes that take longer to fire like mains it’s definitely something to consider.

Stop 4: Urban Farmer

We finished with amazing desserts at the modern steakhouse Urban Farmer. I’ve been to Urban Farmer before, but always filled up on starters, mains, and sides. It wasn’t until this visit with the Food Crawl that I tried dessert. I had no idea Urban Farmer and Pastry Chef Carrie Merrill were producing such exquisite desserts- I have already been back to Urban Farmer since this Food Crawl in fact to have dinner and a dessert experience where I didn’t have to share!

I also didn’t know until this visit that Urban Farmer has a barrel aged cocktail program, where their mixologists are continually barrel aging and creating new limited edition signature cocktails.
Urban Farmer has a barrel aged cocktail program, where their mixologists are continually barrel aging and creating new limited edition signature cocktails

At the other locations, you probably noticed there was a main serving platter that everyone then served themselves a portion onto a small plate. For dessert, hopefully you have all become good friends with everyone as you will probably be digging into the same plate with your spoons!

We ended with a cocktail here as well, but you might also consider ordering coffee, tea, maybe Irish Coffee…

  • Elixir Bianco cocktail, concocted with Pinnacle vodka, Calisaya, Cocchi Americano aged thirty days in oak barrels at/by Urban Farmer, and served up with a lemon twist. The Calisaya may look and taste like an imported Italian liquor, but is actually Oregon-made from Eugene although it is based on cinchona calisaya, a tree bark that actually made its way from Peru to Italy.
    Dessert Extravagance thanks to Urban Farmer, stop 4 on the #LGPFoodCrawl. Elixir Bianco, vodka, Calisaya, Cocchi Americano aged thirty days in oak barrels and served up with a lemon twist The Calisaya may look and taste like an imported Italian liquor, but is actually Oregon-made from Eugene
  • Butterscotch Sundae with warm brown butter blondie, cherries, praline and toffee chip ice cream. This alone already had me planning to return before I even left Urban Farmer that evening.
    "Dessert
  • Honeycrisp Apple Doughnuts with apple butter and rosemary ice cream
  • Woodblock Chocolate Pate with dried fruit compote and olive oil ice cream
    Honeycrisp Apple Doughnuts, with apple butter, rosemary ice cream. Dessert Extravagance thanks to Urban Farmer, stop 4 on the #LGPFoodCrawl Woodblock Chocolate Pate with dried fruit compote, olive oil ice cream, Jacobsen sea salt. Dessert Extravagance thanks to Urban Farmer, stop 4 on the #LGPFoodCrawl
  • Seville Orange Souffle for Two with creme fraîche chocolate sauce. I didn’t catch the dramatic pouring of the chocolate sauce onto the souffle, but Erin from Bakery Bingo did!
  • Candy Cap Crème Caramel with citrus, tamarind with candied candy cap mushrooms
  • Carmella Affogato with cremeux and Hairbender Stumptown espresso
    Seville Orange Souffle for Two with creme fraîche chocolate sauce. Dessert Extravagance thanks to Urban Farmer, stop 4 on the #LGPFoodCrawl Candy Cap Crème Caramel citrus, tamarind with candy cap mushrooms: Dessert Extravagance thanks to Urban Farmer, stop 4 on the #LGPFoodCrawl Carmella Affogato with cremeux and Hairbender Stumptown espresso: Dessert Extravagance thanks to Urban Farmer, stop 4 on the #LGPFoodCrawl

Want more?

Here are links to the other bloggers that were part of this adventure and that you should check out their recaps and their lovely photos!

Also, special applause, shoutout, hugs, and love to our LGP hostesses of Chloe (@ChloeHighberger), Brooke (@brookeadamspdx), Frances (@frances_pdx)!

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

 

What neighborhood or what restaurants do you want to see put in a food crawl that you would participate in?

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Filed Under: Cocktails, Festival Event, Food and Drink, Restaurant Review, Sponsored Post, Weblogs Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Bouchon Bakery Rockefeller

March 26, 2014 by 2 Comments

As I started telling you in my previous post, I was recently in New York for a conference/training for 6 days. The first day, Saturday, was essentially a travel day. Then, Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, I was at the conference from 9-5, with a 1 hour lunch break from 12:20-1:30. That limited my comfort level of where I would be able to go to lunch and return in time to not miss anything at the session.

So how did I find lunches in Midtown Manhattan?

One way to do this is to first, search your current location on Google Maps. In my example below, my conference was at the Sofitel New  York (I stayed at a separate hotel to save money for my company). Then, when you click on the location, click the link for Search Nearby, which will expand this menu to include a field to use.
First, search for your location (in this case, Sofitel was my conference hotel). Then I clicked on Search Nearby link, which opened a section below for me to use keywords to search around the area

You can use this field to search for what you need- happy hour, lunch, pizza, bagel, tacos, etc.

This usually is what I do when I travel for work, but since I was in Manhattan there are lots of little dots that pop up of places to eat (this isn’t true of many other places I ended up going). So what now?
Searching for restaurant lunch options by Midtown Manhattan from my Sofitel Hotel in New York City

Fortunately, because New York is such a foodie town, I did a search of “Best lunch in Midtown Manhattan” and got several website articles to peruse. Usually, in smaller towns, I might only find a link to some old Chowhound board discussions, but that has also paid off to read and pick something out that sounds appealing. I picked the Serious Eats guide of “Where to Eat Near Rockefeller Center” as a reliable source, and combined this with other things I remember reading or being recommended.

For instance, that Bouchon Bakery has been on several lists for their grilled cheese sandwich- I had once upon a time pinned the list from Food and Wine for Best Grilled Cheese in the US and Bouchon’s was on it, as was it on the Serious Eats New York 17 Great Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. The name Thomas Keller also means something to me- the lunch I had at French Laundry quite a few years ago is still very memorable to me.
Bouchon Bakery in New York City, right by Rockefeller Plaza Bouchon Bakery in New York City, right by Rockefeller Plaza Bouchon Bakery in New York City, right by Rockefeller Plaza

So this was my first lunch for the trip. It was so crowded at Bouchon Bakery Rockefeller that a group of ladies was braving sitting outside on their patio, but the crowd comes and goes. I awkwardly put my bag and coat down by a stool I saw by the corner between 2 groups after putting in my order, but when the order actually came up, there was a huge section of countertop that had opened up with seats. People here tend not to linger long.

Bouchon Bakery in New York City, right by Rockefeller Plaza Bouchon Bakery- example of offerings

The Bouchon Baker Rockefeller menu (which is annoyingly not on their site but you can get a gist at UrbanSpoon or the New York Mag for a menu) are light lunches of sandwiches, salads, cheese plates, soup, and of course their fabulous baked goods of macaroons and cookies as well as others like croissants, scones, etc. Below, the Smoked Salmon with herbed cream cheese, pickled red onion, and peppercress on brioche and the Roasted Sweet Potato on almond focaccia with brown butter aioli sounded tempting too.

Not so much the dog biscuits admittedly, which by the way are enriched with foie gras and chicken stock. One story goes that the dog treats came about because the Bouchon Kitchen in Yountville always had leftover random pieces of fois gras scraps so they used it this way so they wouldn’t go to waste and were still enjoyed.
Bouchon Bakery- example of offerings Bouchon Bakery- example of offerings Bouchon Bakery- example of offerings

I came to Bouchon Bakery twice. The first time was exactly for that grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup. It is not just a plain grilled cheese or plain tomato soup, of course- it’s a san marzano tomato soup that is tangy and intensely tomato-y, perfect for a dip here or there with the gooey fontina & gruyère cheese sandwich whose thick pain au lait (milk bread) manages to be both crusty on the outside but soft and doughy buttery richness inside.
Bouchon Bakery San Marzano Tomato Soup, perfect with their pain au lait grilled fontina and gruyere cheese sandwich Bouchon Bakerypain au lait grilled fontina and gruyere cheese sandwich is perfectly crispy on the outside but soft doughy rich butteryness on the inside Bouchon Bakerypain au lait grilled fontina and gruyere cheese sandwich is perfectly crispy on the outside but soft doughy rich butteryness on the inside Bouchon Bakerypain au lait grilled fontina and gruyere cheese sandwich is perfectly crispy on the outside but soft doughy rich butteryness on the inside

On my second visit, I had decided to eat leftovers from previous meals, and brought that from the hotel. However, I still used my lunch stipend to get a few treats to keep me sugared up on the plane (this would pay off since my flight would be delayed and I wouldn’t reach home until 4am NY time or 1am PDX time!). These treats kept me in a good mood, instead of a bad hungry mood. These included a croissant, the Tko Thomas Keller Oreo, the Nutter Butter cookie, and the TLC (The Laura Cunningham) Oatmeal Cookie. She didn’t like dried fruits and picked them out of typical oatmeal raisin cookies, which I totally agree with, so this cookie substitutes pecans for raisins! After the Nutter Butter the TLC was my favorite cookie.

Bouchon Bakery croissant Bouchon Bakery Tko Thomas Keller Oreo Bouchon Bakery Tko Thomas Keller Oreo Bouchon Bakery Pistachio Macaroon Bouchon Bakery Pistachio Macaroon Bouchon Bakery Nutter Butter cookie Bouchon Bakery Nutter Butter cookie Bouchon Bakery Oatmeal cookie

Which treat would you have gotten from Bouchon Bakery Rockefeller?

Other New York highlights from this trip that I have blogged about:

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Momofuku Noodle and Momofuku Milk Bar

March 24, 2014 by 10 Comments

When a work conference I was attending sent me to New York City for 6 days,  I was super excited. Although the conference started on Sunday and was 9-5 every day so I would lose the weekend (Saturday was almost all travel to you know, cross to the other side of the country and absorb the 3 hour time difference and 1 additional hour lost because of Daylight Savings time),  I was determined to make the most of my time in checking things off my wishlist.

After all,  NYC is one of the major food capitals of the world. And I Love Food. If a foodie will plan trips by first researching and planning what to eat,  and if a foodie wins the lottery would plan an eating adventure around the world, then I more than qualify.

I’ll have another post or two to share about how I used Custom Google Maps to show me where everything on my wishlist was located, along with logistics like hours and tips for each location and how I gathered that info.
Creating a Custom Google Map to help your Vacation Planning

But for now,  I’ll share the first meal I had when I arrived that Saturday evening. After the long flight from PDX to San Francisco to JFK, I craved comfort but also Saturday vibrancy and energy. And, I would wind up with my first bites in New York being Momofuku Noodle Bar, and just for convenience for me I’m also going to cover my stop at Momofuku Milk Bar even though it was a few days later.

The United flight had been fantastic in being on time and with an individual TV for each seat from San Fran to New York. The seats I had passed up in business class were those kind that fold into beds,  but even in coach I was OK in comfort.

Usually I don’t experience those kind of nicer planes unless it’s an international flight, but apparently they also use the United p.s. Premium Service Boeing 757-200 aircraft for this leg. There was an outlet in front in between the seats (I was in an aisle) for power cords, but since they also had a USB plug right by the personal monitor I used to to keep my phone charged up. I appreciated that even in coach, I was given some amenities like access to chargers, every seat had a pillow and blanket, and all complimentary movies and TV shows.

I never thought I’d write on this blog about an airplane experience, but since it was so good I wanted to share it. This was so worth flying SFO to JFK rather than to EWR/Newark because of this plane (looks like it also works a LAX-JFK route).

I had felt empowered during my flight by watching Frozen and laughed outloud several times (than remembered to keep it down unlike the two college gals 3 rows diagonally from me that chatted loudly enough for the whole back section to hear,  despite my headphones,  on the whole 5 am flight!) and rewound scenes with Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2. There were actually a lot of movies I wanted to watch from their complimentary selection like Gravity, or Ender’s Game, or Hunger Games 2, but since I was planning on watching these with F anyway I tried to pick ones he would probably roll his eyes at. It’s definitely something when you wish the flight was a little longer so you could finish watching a third movie (I ended up watching White House Down because there were parts I could easily forward through and still follow).
Frozen Movie Poster Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 Movie Poster

But then there was the long ride to my Midtown hotel a few blocks from Times Square. I walked around Times Square after checking in to try to absorb the energy and excitement. But being alone I was a literal small face in a crowd and felt unimportant and lost and annoyed as people around me shared their sightseeing with their companions and caused me many times to walk around as they would suddenly stop short or walk 3 or 4 people across on the sidewalk, really really really slowly.
New York City in March 2014- Times Square on a Saturday night New York City in March 2014- Times Square on a Saturday night New York City in March 2014- Times Square on a Saturday night New York City in March 2014- Times Square on a Saturday night New York City in March 2014- Times Square on a Saturday night New York City in March 2014- Times Square on a Saturday night New York City in March 2014- Times Square on a Saturday night

I decided I would go with some bao and a tummy full of ramen. I didn’t grow up with chicken soup as a comfort food when ill. It was Thai rice porridge or Mama Noodles (you can get them in Portland at Sen Yai as I wrote about here). I also remember when on family trips we touched down in Bangkok from a grueling long flight (back when smoking was still allowed and we always flew through Japan… I remember a haze sometimes above my child size head) this was part of our first meal as we got off the plane, often close to midnight there. I remember the flavors and smells meaning “welcome, you’re here, relax, rest from your trip but also be nourished, get ready to go out and explore”.
8th St / NYU Stop 8th St / NYU Stop 8th St / NYU Stop

If you get off at the 8 St/NYU stop and walk on 8th street towards 1st, keep your eye out for a little red bunny (I mistakenly labeled it a dog in my Instagram) in the window of the 51 Astor Place building. Red Rabbit by Jeff Koons, the father of shiny balloon dog sculptures (he does them in 5 Colors- Blue, Magenta, Yellow, Orange, Red) is a 4 feet tall, 6,600 pound mirror-polished stainless steel sculpture. It has. four siblings (Magenta, Blue, Yellow, Violet) also out there somewhere.
Red Rabbit by Jeff Koons, the father of shiny balloon dog sculptures (he does them in 5 Colors- Blue, Magenta, Yellow, Orange, Red) at 51 Astor Place. It is a 4 feet tall, 6,600 pound mirror-polished stainless steel sculpture. There are four (Magenta, Blue, Yellow, Violet) others in the world Red Rabbit by Jeff Koons, the father of shiny balloon dog sculptures (he does them in 5 Colors- Blue, Magenta, Yellow, Orange, Red) at 51 Astor Place. It is a 4 feet tall, 6,600 pound mirror-polished stainless steel sculpture. There are four (Magenta, Blue, Yellow, Violet) others in the world

I don’t usually mind solo dining. It lets me enjoy food and atmosphere without the distraction of conversation. I can devote my whole attention to the experience. Every bite and sip can be slowly unfolded uninterrupted, and my thoughts allowed to chase impressions into forming into something more solid rather than temporary emotional responses.

Also, it usually means I can easily get  a seat. I walked into Momofuku Noodle Bar past a few groups and was immediately seated at the bar in the middle of the room- I hadn’t eaten since breakfast or I would might have waited for a counter seat by the kitchen, but this was fine.
Momofuku Noodle Bar Momofuku Noodle Bar

I had seen earlier than I had a refrigerator and microwave in my room, so I didn’t hold back on ordering knowing I could take back leftovers. I started with 2 orders of buns- which come 2 buns each to an order, the Shrimp Bao with spicy mayo, pickled red onion, iceberg and the special on the board the Pork Belly Bun with soft white steamed bun folded around pickled cucumbers and green onions, sweet hoisin and roasted pork belly. I washed this down with a local beer, the Keegan Ales Mother’s Milk stout. This is pretty typical- I’m always asking what local beer, wine, or alcohol a place has.
Momofuku Noodle Bar- Shrimp Buns with spicy mayo, pickled red onion, iceburg Momofuku Noodle Bar- Shrimp Buns with spicy mayo, pickled red onion, iceburg

If it’s one thing that Momofuku is famous for, it is these pork buns. When I bit into one, any annoyance, irritation, or tiredness faded away into the juicy tender melt in your mouth pillowy soft bun. I was only supposed to eat one each of the buns, but there was no way I wasn’t going to eat both these, and I even thought about ordering another but reminded myself there was a lot to eat in New York. I would totally come back here my next visit for these buns.

Man, I really wish I had some RIGHT NOW. They were so so so good. It sounds simple,  but that’s like calling your favorite family dish just home cooking – embedded in these Buns is both nourishment and nurturing.
Momofuku Pork Bao- Pork Belly Bun with soft white steamed bun folded around pickled cucumbers and scallions, sweet hoisin and roasted pork belly Momofuku Pork Bao- Pork Belly Bun with soft white steamed bun folded around pickled cucumbers and scallions, sweet hoisin and roasted pork belly

Eventually, new people were seated next to my left, and as they pondered aloud what buns to order, I turned and demanded that they had to order the pork buns. I tried hard to then return to my solitude and not listen too much to how the man was trying to set up the woman with various friends, and the woman complaining how hard it was to find someone in New York and dish on a recent date. I guess I wasn’t totally successful there huh.

It’s hard to not absorb some of the conversations around you since it is a crowded, loud restaurant that is popular and the communal seats so close you will probably exchange an elbow or two at one point. I’m not sure if it was me that changed, or the feeling of the crowd, but unlike the isolation I felt earlier at Times Square, here I felt camaraderie in everyone was seeking comfort, like I was. When I walked back to the station to return to the hotel, I no longer felt rushed, or irritated, or lost. I had transitioned into being relaxed, patient curious observer, and I was sorry for all the unkind thoughts I had when I was hungry (thinking back, I only had a breakfast sandwich I grabbed to eat on the plane in SFO and nothing else until this meal). I was back to smiling at strangers, the Portland me.

For ramen I went with the classic, Momofuku ramen, with pork belly, pork shoulder, poached egg. It’s homey, and made me regret having the beer because I had wasted previous stomach space that could have been used for all of the broth- I had to leave some behind. Don’t worry, only broth and maybe some green onion was left, nothing else.
Momofuku Noodle bar, classic Momofuku ramen, with pork belly, pork shoulder, poached egg

If I returned, I would definitely try the Spicy Miso Ramen with smoked chicken and swiss chard or the Chilled Spicy Noodles with Sichuan sausage, spinach and cashews. This is the biggest negative of dining alone- if I had been with others I could have tried a bit of those all on this visit. I also would have had room for dessert… but not for this meal.

Instead, it wasn’t until a couple days later, on Tuesday, when I was able to try a Momofuku dessert at Momofuku Milk Bar, this was the East Village location. I made myself work for this dessert by walking here from Chelsea Market, and totally spacing on the fact that I had thought I would walk and visit The High Line Park first and then come for dessert. I would pay for this later because when I did return to The High Line another day it was raining hard. But that’s another post.

For now, be jealous of my Oatmeal Creme Pie flavored soft serve (this is specific to this particular Milk Bar location) with crunchies AND I got a slice of Crack Pie. FTW. The woman behind the counter even teased me that as I was ordering the slice that I had a really guilty look on my face, which may have had something to do with progressive eating for 6 hours and it wasn’t even dinnertime yet. I promise you that’s another post too! These desserts are all that they promise. The crack pie is very sweet and buttery but with a bit of saltiness, and the texture of that oat meal cookie crust gives it a bit of crunchyness while the filling is barely in solid form as its silkiness melts on your tongue.
Momofuku Milk Bar in NYC, East Village Momofuku Milk Bar in NYC, East Village Oatmeal Creme Pie flavored soft serve (this is specific to this particular Milk Bar location) with crunchies AND I got a slice of crack pie (not pictured) Momofuku Milk Bar- buy the Crack Pie by the slice!

Which Momofuku would you choose to go to, and what would you get!?

Other New York highlights from this trip that I have blogged about:

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Snacks at Castagna

March 20, 2014 by 7 Comments

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

I was thrilled when Watershed Communications reached out to me to ask if I would be interested in Snacks, Desserts, and the Unveiling of Big News at Castagna Restaurant. I have heard for a while that Castagna is among the top 3 restaurants in Portland, and it has been my list but I had yet to visit. So I jumped at the chance immediately (literally I jumped up and down) to attend this event with some other esteemed bloggers and try some of the delicious creations of Chef Justin Woodward.
Front of Castagna, one of the top 3 restaurants in Portland Front of Castagna, one of the top 3 restaurants in Portland Inside (just when the restaurant opened) of Castagna, one of the top 3 restaurants in Portland

Chef Justin has been the executive chef at Castagna since 2011, when he took over from Matt Lightner. Karen Brooks called Justin “the best chef you’ve never heard of” and “He’s the only Portland chef creating Michelin-level food.” (full Portland Monthly article here). Justin was nominated and was a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation’s Rising Star Chef award in 2013, and was a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef: Northwest 2014.

Even under Matt, Justin had already been pushing the envelope by embracing local ingredients with modern avant-garde techniques and visual presentations. An example walkthrough of one of his snacks at Eater demonstrated what looks like just a couple bites and deceptively simple is a precise science merged intricate execution and thoughtful art, showing the influence his time at Wylie Dufresne’s wd~50 is bringing to his current perspective and culinary work.
Chef Justin Woodward at Castagna

As part of the evening, Chef Justin came out for a little bit to talk to the table, and I was struck how he seems the opposite of most chefs I’ve met or seen on TV. Rather than an extroverted, energetic, leader overflowing with drive and passion with a hint hard edge for the stamina and endurance that this kind of industry demands in terms of demeanor for most chefs, Justin seemed quiet, introspective, thoughtful, humble, with a slight awkwardness you would expect from someone who’s gifted… he’s an introvert? I love him more. I think I even said that aloud when I had that realization (I’m introverted and awkward too).

As it turned out, it was too early for the big unveiling of the news… so I’ve been waiting patiently, continually checking because I was wondering what this big news would be, but still no clue!  Chef Justin Woodward was nominated for Food & Wine’s The People’s Best New Chef!

Fabulously though, Watershed and Chef Justin and Castagna still generously hosted the snacks and desserts meal anyway.

To say I was impressed with this meal would be an understatement. In my experience with the plates I had that night, it was natural for me to put him in the same league as the meals I have had at French Laundry, at Trio while chef Grant Achatz was there before he left to found Alinea, and Homaru Canto’s Moto, but without the formality, intensity, and the way those restaurants take great lengths to control and orchestrate a certain kind of dining experience. Here, Castagna and Justin are more guides taking you on an experience that is artistic, thought provoking, and inventive that marries challenging your original notions but also keeps you comfortable.

What Castagna and Justin are doing is not only amongst the best in Portland, but is among the echelon of top restaurants in the world. I don’t say this lightly.

Here’s a look at some of what I was so fortunate to sample. I don’t say that lightly either- I feel truly blessed and lucky to be able to enjoy the kind of food and drink I have had so far in my life. It really is one of life’s greatest pleasures.

1 Beet with tartare black truffle
Castagna Snax: beet with tartare black truffle from Castagna Restaurant Castagna Snax: beet with tartare black truffle from Castagna Restaurant

2 Buckwheat Crisp with avocado and sprouts
Castagna Snax: Buckwheat with avocado and sprouts from Castagna Restaurant Castagna Snax: Buckwheat with avocado and sprouts from Castagna Restaurant Castagna Snax: Buckwheat with avocado and sprouts from Castagna Restaurant Castagna Snax: Buckwheat with avocado and sprouts from Castagna Restaurant

Extra: Bread service with dinner rolls and house-made butter and lardo
Castagna Snax: Bread service with house-made butter and lardo from Castagna Restaurant Castagna Snax: Bread service with house-made butter and lardo from Castagna Restaurant

On the left side is where I spread the lardo, the right side the butter.

Castagna Snax: Bread service with house-made butter and lardo from Castagna Restaurant

3 Puff with egg salad and trout roe
Castagna Snax: Puff with egg salad and trout roe from Castagna Restaurant Castagna Snax: Puff with egg salad and trout roe from Castagna Restaurant

Sorry, one more photo. This one just is so adorable, and I loved the way it was served on a rock and its luminescent pearl-like sheen and shape like an egg while also being egg salad and trout roe. Hee.

Castagna Snax: Puff with egg salad and trout roe from Castagna Restaurant

4 Onion Terrarium pea vines sunflower sprouts winter cress
Castagna Snax: Onion Terrarium pea vines sunflower sprouts winter cress from Castagna Restaurant Castagna Snax: Onion Terrarium pea vines sunflower sprouts winter cress from Castagna Restaurant

If you look carefully at the very bottom, you can see there is a white onion custard at the bottom which is then topped with the green puree before being topped with the peas, vines, and drops of oil.

Castagna Snax: Onion Terrarium pea vines sunflower sprouts winter cress from Castagna Restaurant Castagna Snax: Onion Terrarium pea vines sunflower sprouts winter cress from Castagna Restaurant

5 Cranberry leather with sheep cheese and shiso
Castagna Snax: Cranberry leather with sheep cheese and shiso from Castagna Restaurant Castagna Snax: Cranberry leather with sheep cheese and shiso from Castagna Restaurant Castagna Snax: Cranberry leather with sheep cheese and shiso from Castagna Restaurant

6 Satsuma with espelette
Castagna Snax: Satsuma with espelette from Castagna Restaurant

7 Oyster with chorizo char roe
Castagna Snax: Oyster with chorizo char roe from Castagna Restaurant Castagna Snax: Oyster with chorizo char roe from Castagna Restaurant

8 Smoked salmon wild ginger green apple horseradish lime ice horseradish snow
Castagna Snax: Smoked salmon wild ginger green apple horseradish lime ice horseradish snow from Castagna Restaurant

9 Beef culotte with broccoli and miner’s lettuce
Castagna Snax: Beef culotte with broccoli and miner's lettuce from Castagna Restaurant

I was sad to leave – in fact, I had to leave before dessert portion of this so I missed 2-3 additional courses! I vowed to return for my birthday, doing what I need to re-prioritize my dining budget (it shouldn’t surprise you that after the expenses for housing, food is the #1 category even more than vacations, given how much dining out and cooking I share here on this blog, almost all as part of my personal passion and wallet, and there’s more I don’t share). That’s right, I want to return so much I actually sat down on a Saturday at my computer to juggle and plan and readjust my budget,

I do realize that the restaurant was totally aware that we were a table of food bloggers so maybe we were receiving the best of the best… when I return I will be on my own dime and I’ll let you know how that experience is.

For the rest of the meal, including the Huckleberry chamomile financier and Meyer lemon brown butter ice and pine, and Mignardise, please visit the blogs, Twitter and/or Instagram of some of the other attendees of this incredible experience. I’ll be linking to directly them here (I’ll put the name of the blog post as part of the link) as I see the blog posts go up. In particular. I’m very excited to see the food pornesque photos of Aubrie LeGault Photography, her post is called Castagna Photos & Giveaway and includes a giveaway! Check it out now! Other bloggers in attendance included

Chef Justin Woodward at Castagna and other Portland bloggers and Watershed Communications Chef Justin Woodward at Castagna and other Portland bloggers and Watershed Communications

With Chef Justin, not only can his cuisine bring people together such as at this gathering, and comfort, and nourish, but it can really take you on an unexpected adventurous journey. Every course was serious art for the eyes and tongue, but also had a bit of whimsy and wonder as well.

I have made the mistake of putting Castagna on the backburner for too long simply because Portland seems to focus on more rustic approachable cuisine (even if there might be some modernist techniques behind it) and casual dining over experiential avant-garde fine dining. Price-wise you can usually get 2-3 meals for the price of 1 at Castagna, which is how it kept being passed over by me.

But, after my dinner, I now realize that the exquisite experience at Castagna is more than worth that price, in fact it is a bargain compared to trying to have a similar experience in San Francisco, New York, or Chicago. Castagna is worth it, and you are worth it. Don’t make the mistake I have and wait so long to treat yourself.

Castagna accepts reservations, including via OpenTable.

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

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Kenny and Zuke’s Pastrami Brunch – Perfect for St Patrick’s

March 7, 2014 by 2 Comments

It started with a craving for pastrami. So what else could I do but head towards the Kenny and Zuke’s Delicatessen in order to have a Kenny and Zuke’s Pastrami Brunch? I think a pastrami brunch sounds pretty good any time of year, but particularly in March, with St Patrick’s day looming, perhaps you will be even more persuaded. I’m not Irish at all, or into green beer, but with luck literally part of my name I thought this year it would be fun to do a few posts for the lucky holiday.

I don’t know if I have to really provide more than pictures here- the pastrami speaks for itself. I’ve sometime wished it could be a just a bit fattier, but it seems that is already underway per this Oregonian article. The pastrami is cured for 7 days, smoked 10 hours, steamed for 3 hours & hand-sliced to order.

Here’s a bit more on the pastrami by America’s Best Bites (and showcasing some of the wry humor of Ken, who also has taken a healthy turn and still loves food and writes about it in the Oregonian under >Diary of a Formerly Diabetic Chef).

By the way, this bagel sandwich, with or without the pastrami, is excellent. They also have a version of this in classic Reuben form of course, and also a breakfast version  that is on rye and with Swiss cheese  that even made the Portland Monthly list of best breakfast sandwiches in Portland. I bet looking at that article- and it’s multiple lists of breakfast sandwiches and photos- will make you crave a breakfast sandwich immediately. I still stand by ordering it in breakfast form with their really good bagels.

Kenny and Zuke Deli's delicious pastrami brunch with an Everything Bagel and Egg and Cheese (cheddar) with addition of Pastrami Kenny and Zuke Deli's delicious pastrami brunch with an Everything Bagel and Egg and Cheese (cheddar) with addition of Pastrami

I happened to have possibly over-ordered since that Bagel and Egg and Cheese with Pastrami bagel (I picked an Everything bagel) is more than filling, but I was more than happy to be eating some more Pastrami Cheese fries reheated the next day. So go ahead and order it anyway no matter what else you are ordering!

Kenny and Zuke Deli, Delicious pastrami brunch with pastrami cheese fries Kenny and Zuke Deli, Delicious pastrami brunch with pastrami cheese fries

Besides the Kenny and Zuke Deli downtown, there are two other locations, the Deli Bar in North Portland and Bagelworks in Northwest Portland. You can get the bagels and pastrami at all 3 locations, but I don’t believe Bagelworks offers the fries.

Have you had the signature Kenny and Zuke pastrami before? Do you like pastrami? Have you had other deli items at Kenny and Zuke’s- such as their bagels?

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