Drina Daisy at Astoria, Oregon

October 27, 2015 by Leave a Comment

When you need a break from eating seafood while exploring the Oregon coast, how about a visit over to an entirely different country with Bosnian food? There isn’t much Bosnian food to be found in Portland, so I was surprised when I saw that Drina Daisy in Astoria not only specializes only in Bosnian cuisine, but got consistently high ratings on Yelp, Tripadvisor, and Zomato. In fact, on Tripadvisor it was ranked the second highest restaurant in Astoria (with understandably Bowpicker Fish & Chips taking the #1 spot).

When I read the description, I couldn’t help but be a bit charmed by it’s sincere heart:

Drina Daisy strives to offer uncommon food that is approachable & satisfying. Our food is prepared & presented with a respect that comes from its ancient roots. We labor to celebrate the dignity of hard work & meaningful service. Drina Daisy is a place to relax with good food & good hearts. Drina Daisy seeks to bridge both time & place.

How fun to go on a little adventure to the coast, and then embedded in that adventure have a mini adventure that takes us to another place in the world. As soon as we stepped into the restaurant, we could immediately feel a different vibe from the rest of the Coast, almost as if we had stepped into a portal that had transported us into a little family restaurant in some street in Sarajevo.
Signage identifing the location of Drina Daisy, a Bosnian Restaurant in Astoria, OR Signage identifing the location of Drina Daisy, a Bosnian Restaurant in Astoria, OR

The Ajvar that we started out with (a traditional condiment and spread made from pureed fire roasted sweet red bell peppers, here served with bread) is the consistentcy of how I model the adjika sauce that I made previously with burek (though thanks to the use of red chili peppers, adjika is much spicier).

Meanwhile, the Bosanski Sudzuk (a Bosnian Smoked Beef sausage with light garlic and other light spicing) sliced and decoratively arranged with pickled vegetables and Sopska (a tomato and cucumber salad with diced tomato, cucumber, green pepper, and cheese in light sour cream dressing) served as a second shared appetizer for us.

What you see is pretty representative of the starters that Drina Daisy offers, they only have 3 starters (2 meat, and the other is the Ajvar) and they only have 3 salads. The arrangement on the plates was simple and functional – the menu promises that “presentation varies by availability and mood”.
Bread with Ajvar, a traditional condiment and spread made from pureed fire roasted sweet red bell peppers at Drina Daisy, a Bosnian Restaurant in Astoria, OR Bread with Ajvar, a traditional condiment and spread made from pureed fire roasted sweet red bell peppers at Drina Daisy, a Bosnian Restaurant in Astoria, OR Bosanski Sudzuk (a Bosnian Smoked Beef sausage with light garlic and other light spicing) sliced and decoratively arranged with pickled vegetables and Sopska (a tomato and cucumber salad with diced tomato, cucumber, green pepper, and cheese in light sour cream dressing) served cold at Drina Daisy, a Bosnian Restaurant in Astoria, OR

Then our main dishes came in huge platters for the four of us- we had ordered 3 mains. The major types of entrees they have fall into a beef stew (the only type we didn’t get), stuffed cabbage leaves (either with beef or vegetarian), handmade pitas/pies with jufka (filo pastry), and a lamb platter.

Here, you can see the vegetarian entrees were placed together along with some green salads and various fruits: it was so old school style.
Jagnjetina Na Rostilju, Zeljanica and Sarma Sa Povrcem at Drina Daisy, a Bosnian Restaurant in Astoria, OR Zeljanica and Sarma Sa Povrcem at Drina Daisy, a Bosnian Restaurant in Astoria, OR

Zeljanica is a cheese pita of Jufka folded and baked around spinach, farm cheese mixed with eggs. They had a version without spinach (listed as Sirnica) and a version that included ground beef and onion (Burek).
Zeljanica, a cheese pita of Jufka folded and baked around spinach, farm cheese mixed with eggs at Drina Daisy, a Bosnian Restaurant in Astoria, OR Zeljanica, a cheese pita of Jufka folded and baked around spinach, farm cheese mixed with eggs at Drina Daisy, a Bosnian Restaurant in Astoria, OR

The favorite of the 2 vegetarian options was the Sarma Sa Povrcem, Stuffed Cabbage Leaves with Italian arborio rice and Vegetables and spiced with Mediterranean spices.
Sarma Sa Povrcem, Stuffed Cabbage Leaves with Italian arborio rice and Vegetables and spiced with Mediterranean spices at Drina Daisy, a Bosnian Restaurant in Astoria, OR

Three of us also shared the Jagnjetina Na Rostilju, a Rotisserie flamed roasted whole fresh young lamb rubbed with Mediterranean spices and roasted in their special large rotisserie. These are a Mediterranean style cut aka mixed pieces cut from the whole lamb, for a platter for two.
Jagnjetina Na Rostilju, a Rotisserie flamed roasted whole fresh young lamb rubbed with Mediterranean spices and roasted in their special large rotisserie. These are a Mediterranean style cut aka mixed pieces cut from the whole lamb, for a platter for two. At Drina Daisy, a Bosnian Restaurant in Astoria, OR Jagnjetina Na Rostilju, a Rotisserie flamed roasted whole fresh young lamb rubbed with Mediterranean spices and roasted in their special large rotisserie. These are a Mediterranean style cut aka mixed pieces cut from the whole lamb, for a platter for two. At Drina Daisy, a Bosnian Restaurant in Astoria, OR

Finish off with Kafa, a Sarajevo style Minas coffee. Made and served as it was when Sarajevo introduced coffee to Europe in the 1500s. Made and served in traditional dzezva, includes mineral water, sugar cubes and lokum (a cookie). They also Baklava if you want an actual dessert option.

Kafa, a Sarajevo style Minas coffee. Made and served as it was when Sarajevo introduced coffee to Europe in the 1500s. Made and served in traditional dzezva, includes mineral water, sugar cubes and lokum (a cookie). At Drina Daisy, a Bosnian Restaurant in Astoria, OR

Other unique  beverage options include Cockta (a Yugoslavian soft drink produced in Slovenia flavored with 11 different herbs with dog-rose berry, vitamin C and caramelized sugar providing much of the flavor. No caffeine, no corn sweeteners or phosphoric acid) and Kiseljia, Bosnian Mineral water that can be mixed with their fruit syrups including strawberry, blueberry, and rose petal. A dozen Eastern and Central European beers and spirits and wines of Yugoslavia rounds out the beverage menu along with the regular teas and American sodas.

Drina Daisy Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Have you been to Astoria? What was your favorite eats there?

Have you been to Drina Daisy, or had Bosnian food before?

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My Trip to GABF 2015

October 20, 2015 by 6 Comments

On September 23-27, I traveled to Denver, Colorado with F and 3 friends to experience the Great American Beer Festival. This annual festival at the Colorado Convention Center is the largest public tasting event of American beer, and also is a competition where breweries big and small compete to win medals. If you are an enthusiast of beer, this is probably on your bucket list.
Other brewery booths of GABF 2015 - Fate Other brewery booths of GABF 2015 - Left Hand Brewing
There are multiple sessions during the 3 day festival, and we had tickets to the Saturday session. However, even before entering the convention hall, my friends and I had an incredible time visiting and sampling various breweries of Denver, as well as bars of Denver many of who were having adjacent special beer tappings in honor of GABF. Even without a ticket to GABF itself, you can have a great experience just with all the events around it.

I have several blog Travel Tuesday posts planned about this beer vacation aka beercation. I will start with this post of my thoughts first on the session of GABF 2015 I attended and what my experience was like as a first-timer and as a girl who enjoys beer, but by no means is a beer expert.

  1. Control Yourself. Since this festival offers more than 3,500 beers, there is no way you can taste everything, even while sharing your sample pours and pouring some tastes out after a few small sips during your few hours of your session if it’s not above a certain “good” threshold. Otherwise, you will lose your palate and your sobriety.
    Some beer booths poured from kegs, other from cans or bottles like here where we tried Elevation Beer Co's Oil Man, an Imperial Stout aged in Bourbon Barrels, and Senorita a Horchata Imperial Porter, both of which are seasonal releases A taste from Flossmoor Station Brewing
    Some beer booths poured from kegs, other from cans or bottles like here where we tried Elevation Beer Co‘s Oil Man, an Imperial Stout aged in Bourbon Barrels, and Senorita a Horchata Imperial Porter, both of which are seasonal releases. We also had tastes from Flossmoor Station Brewing Co of their Barrel Aged Shadow of the Moon Imperial Stout, Barrel Aged Pullman Reserve, and Electric Line saison with caramelized lemon peel and rosemary
  2. Making  a sampling plan gives you focus. Before the day of our session, I had already glanced at the list of beers and decided that I wanted to focus on 2 of my favorite types of beers- barrel aged beers and sour beers. After coming in one hour early to wait in line, I had a paper copy of the book and the map now too of the individual locations of the breweries and their booth number. I then went in and started circling specific booth numbers on the map. This was better than the GABF app which only showed me areas to help me really located where to go.
    No one is behind us as we get in line 1 hour before the doors open for GABF Saturday session 45 minutes later, 15 minutes until the doors open, and we have a queue of rows behind waiting to join us for GABF 2015 45 minutes later, 15 minutes until the doors open, and we have a queue of rows behind waiting to join us for GABF 2015 The music of the Centennial State Pipes and Drums that are playing to greet the GABF attendees as they enter
    We got in line at 11ish am, 1 hour before the doors would open for our Saturday session. This is what it looked like at that time (we were in row 2)… and 45 minutes later. It was pretty exciting when we could go (we were let in one row at a time) as the music of the Centennial State Pipes and Drums played to greet us GABF attendees as we enterMarking the booths we wanted to visit specifically by number helped us

    1. Narrow down and set priority order of the areas we would go to based on how many beers in that location we had marked as interesting, but
    2. Gave us better focus in finding the breweries since I knew the booth numbers to go directly to them in the last hour when we realized we were in the final countdown and couldn’t meander down area aisles anymore.
    3. If there are certain breweries and beers you really really want to try, mark them so you know exactly where they are and you can get to them. We knew from our markings that we would spend a lot of time in the Brewer’s Hall, and that our first stop was going to be for Samuel Adams Utopias.
      First drink of GABF 2015 - we head towards the Samuel Adams booth to try Utopias
  3. Have a set meeting spot. Even though we came as a group of 5, we broke up into smaller groups based on our interests – and we knew ahead of time that we would meet by the Big Blue Bear (aka I See What You Mean). Within my smaller group of F and I, we would agree on a specific spot to stand in an aisle to meet back and, we would divide up temporarily to get our individual beers, and then meet back at that same spot to share our beers. We never left each other without an agreed verbal “meet back here.” Sure, you could say you have phones and texting, but you never know what your battery life, or the signal, may be like.
    I See What You Mean - a 40-foot blue bear art sculpture at the Colorado Convention Center I See What You Mean - a 40-foot blue bear art sculpture at the Colorado Convention Center I See What You Mean - a 40-foot blue bear art sculpture at the Colorado Convention Center
  4. Bring an external battery for your phone. I got a dual external battery charger so that both of us could charge our phones whenever, wherever so never had to worry that we wouldn’t be able to use maps, Uber, whatever. I got a RAV Power specifically because it had dual ports for 2 phones so we wouldn’t have to compare who had the least battery power and needed it most, it has simultaneous 4.5A Output for fast charge, and 16000mAh because there would be days it would charge the phones of every single person in our group!
  5. Now that battery isn’t an issue, it was a matter of conserving time that instead of checking in beers in Untappd, I took a photo of every beer name + brewery I stopped at. This helped jog my memory of what I had but saved time so I could taste, share, finish/dump the beer and get another one with our precious set time period of the session. The beers I thought were 4 or higher (on a 1-5 scale) I always had several pictures of often to get additional pictures of the label to add to my Untappd checkin 🙂
     Great sours from Captain Lawrence Brewing Company such as this Rosso e Marron Tip for remembering beers you tried - take a photo! Here a taste of Berger Cookie Chocolate Stout Tip for remembering beers you tried - take a photo! Here the Kitka Coconut Chocolate Milk Stout from The Brew Kettle Dirty Deeds Russian Imperial Stout A taste of Wick for Brains Pumpkin Ale from Nebraska
    Great sours from Captain Lawrence Brewing Company such as this Rosso e Marron and also a Cuvee de Castleton; Berger Cookie Chocolate Stout; Kitka Coconut Chocolate Milk Stout from The Brew Kettle; Dirty Deeds Russian Imperial Stout; A taste of Wick for Brains Pumpkin Ale from Nebraska
  6. Spend your time in areas other than your home region. GABF has brought the entire US down to a convention center – still huge, but better than travelling thousands of miles. In the first few hours, we meandered a little more in reading what each row had, but by the last hour we began to focus on getting ones we had marked on our map in step 2.
  7. It’s not just about the beer. I talked to the people serving beers to get the story behind a beer or a brewery or the booth decor.
    Other brewery booths of GABF 2015 - The Bruery booth decor Other brewery booths of GABF 2015 - The Bruery booth decor Other brewery booths of GABF 2015 - Deep Ellum Brewing
    Some of my favorite booth decor at GABF 2015 included the whimsical aquatic pool friends of The Bruery which fans enthusiastically helped take down after the last session; Deep Ellum Brewing had one where that smiley/bottle mouth face kept rotating and had a cool engineering vibe.
    I talked to people in line about what beers at GABF were their favorite so far which helped point me towards new beer, but also chatted about where we were from, and in one case as one woman made fun of her boyfriend for liking “apple juice/cider” more than beer, I told them about the Cider Summit held in Portland and Seattle every year and how they should visit. Connect with others – we are all fans together.
    Other brewery booths of GABF 2015 - Copper Kettle A taste of Denver Beer Co Coconut Chocolate Graham Cracker Porter A taste of Fremont Brewing's Coffee Cinnamon Abominable Barrel Aged Winter Ale
    Other brewery booths of GABF 2015 and their people- Copper Kettle pouring Basil Cherry, Denver Beer pouring Coconut Chocolate Graham Cracker Porter, Fremont Brewing with Coffee Cinnamon Abominable Barrel Aged Winter Ale
    I had some delicious cheese (and talked to others about cheese) at the American Cheese Society table buffet of cheese. I watched people groove at the Oskar Blues silent disco.
    Thanks for the cheese American Cheese Society! The Oskar Blues Silent Disco - everyone has headphones where they can hear the music by the DJ but no one else can
    Thanks for the great sampling of cheese, American Cheese Society! // The Oskar Blues Silent Disco – everyone has headphones where they can hear the music by the DJ but no one else can
    We took photos at various set up photo ops. All of those are part of the full GABF experience. It’s not just about drinking beer.
    Laughs at Horse and Dragon Brewing Company Fun times at Horse & Dragon with their Cucumber Cricket beer, a cucumber basil kolsch style ale and a Bad Panda coffee stout
    Laughs at Horse and Dragon Brewing Company… where we then pulled the horse head mask out of my bag and had to take a photo. Fun times at Horse & Dragon with their Cucumber Cricket beer, a cucumber basil kolsch style ale and a Bad Panda coffee stout

Was this a memorable, fun trip that was worthwhile? Yes.
Beer Scouts with their badges Horse meets Yeti of Great Divide and whispers secrets to him #FCBMonsters
Beer Scouts with their badges // Horse meets Yeti of Great Divide and whispers secrets to him / #FCBMonsters (FCB from Fort Collins Brewing)

Some of highlights of GABF for me include

    • Discovering the incredible beers of Destihl Brewery, located in central Illinois. They don’t distribute apparently to Oregon, so the closest to go to find them for us would be to go to Seattle, WA. They had lots of spectacular sour beers, and were sampling from a staff of 4 pourers an impressive 10 of their beers. It was great to see these beers even come in can form to make it travel-friendly and accessible!
      Destihl Brewery booth at GABF 2015 Destihl Brewery booth at GABF 2015
    • My biggest discovery besides Destihl Brewery was Short’s Brewing from Bellaire, Michigan where we found really unique, risky beers and fun labels like Bucktricutioner Berliner Weisse with lime and strawberry; Bloody Beer with a bloody mary influence as it is fermented with Roma tomatoes, and spiced with dill, horseradish, peppercorns and celery seed; and one of my favorites of GABF that I tried, Strawberry Short’s Cake a golden ale with strawberries and milk sugar that really made it sweet and I swear I could taste the seeds.
      Other brewery booths of GABF 2015 - Short's Brewing Co with pretty fun labels for their beers The unique taps of Short's Brewing
    • One of my favorite beers I had at GABF was Funky Buddha Brewery’s Morning Wood, a Imperial Bourbon barrel aged Maple Bacon Coffee Porter. It was so good with depths of flavor of coffee and roast and some smoke and sweetnes… So good I was able to get over slight embarrassment when I realized when I got up that I was going to say “I would like a taste of Morning Wood” to the man.
      Presenting Morning Wood, a Imperial Bourbon barrel aged Maple Bacon Coffee Porter
    • I saw a lot of chocolate and peanut butter porters. I also noticed a lot more distribution of beer in cans, not just bottles, as some breweries were pouring from the cans they distribute with like here from Denver Beer Co and Destihl above.
      Denver Beer Co Princess Yum Yum Raspberry Kolsch Denver Beer Co Graham Cracker Porter - they had a chocolate as well as a coconut chocolate they were pouring Denver Beer Co Hey Pumpkin, an ale brewed with pumpkin and spices
      Denver Beer Co Princess Yum Yum Raspberry Kolsch, Graham Cracker Porter(they also the chocolate as well as a coconut chocolate they were pouring – I preferred the coconut), and Hey Pumpkin, an ale brewed with pumpkin and spices. Yes they come in cans!

Other Misc. Photos
Art created with beer A tip for tracking what beers you've sampled at GABF - take photos! Other brewery booths of GABF 2015 Other brewery booths of GABF 2015 Tip for remembering beers you tried - take a photo! Here Atwater Beer promoting beer lovers and chocolate lovers unite Other brewery booths of GABF 2015 - Wolfe A tip for remembering what beers you sampled at GABF - take photos! Kentucky Bourbon Barrel ales and stouts Other brewery booths of GABF 2015 - Dad & Dudes Brewing A little bit of nature offered by G B with the yellow aspens at their GABF booth More booths at GABF 2015 Other brewery booths of GABF 2015 - Brooklyn Brewery Other brewery booths of GABF 2015 - Odd 13 Brewing with their superhero theme Unusual beer from Odd 13 Brewing

In next Travel Tuesday posts, I’ll start posting about the other days before GABF and the breweries we visited and other beer events in the nearby area to give you an idea how even without a GABF ticket, you can easily celebrate beer in many ways during the annual fall Great American Beer festival week.
#FCBMonsters

What do you think of the various beers I tried, would you have tried any of them?

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Visiting Denver for Beer Vacation / Beercation and GABF in September 2015

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Beer Travel: Visiting Ommegang Brewery

October 13, 2015 by 4 Comments

After attending a wedding, F and I drove from the Finger Lakes area to Cooperstown in New  York State. After a morning where we visited the Baseball Hall of Fame, we drove to the other big attraction (well, to us… and it was the one I was certainly more interested in) of Cooperstown, the Ommegang Brewery. The time of year we were visiting Ommegang Brewery was in September, so the foliage was gorgeous on the short 6 mile drive south from Cooperstown.

To park, yes you get to drive through that arch to get to the parking lot.
First seeing the entrance for visiting Ommegang Brewery for a tour, tasting, and late lunch

The entrance to the tasting room/restaurant, as well as the shop and where you can sign up for a tasting, a tour, or both (like we did – both are offered every 30 minutes), is also back there. You can make reservations for Cafe Ommegang for dinner, but it’s first come first serve to get your name on the list for tours and lunch. You must be at least 5 years old to take the tour and 21 years old to participate in a tasting.
Entrance to the Ommegang Visitor's Center, which includes the shop, where you can start tours, and Cafe Ommegang for lunch or dinner dining Entrance to the Ommegang Visitor's Center, which includes the shop, where you can start tours, and Cafe Ommegang for lunch or dinner dining

There were nice details of their iconic lion logo as part of the landscaping, and the doors promoted their enthusiasm for their product proclaiming

“You cannot be a real country unles you have Beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer” – Frank Zappa.

Ommegang Logo as part of the landscaping at Ommegang Brewery in Cooperstown, New York The doors to the Ommegang Brewery Visitor's Center reads You cannot be a real country unles you have Beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer - Frank Zappa.

Another door offered more quotes-

  • “The problem with the world is that everyone is always a few drinks behind” – Humphrey Bogart
  • “When a glass sits on a table here, people don’t wonder if it’s half filled or half empty. They just hope it’s good beer.” – Sherman Alexie
  • “I would rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy” – Tom Waits
  • “What contemptible scoundrel has stolen the cork to my lunch?” – W.C. Fields
  • “He was a wise man who invented beer.” Plato

You may be wondering what a famous brewery like this is doing out in this village of around 2000 people and area of 1.5 square miles, Cooperstown. Well, it turns out that in the 19th century, Cooperstown was the center of the legendary upstate New York hops industry. Almost every farm in the county Cooperstown is located, Otsego County, grew some hops, and the Otsego County hops were considered the best in the America.

Then, early in the 20th century a series of blights – mold, aphids, Prohibition, caused the fall of the region’s hops industry. When Ommegang Brewery built its location in 1997, it did so on what used to be a hop farm, and with a goal of cooperation between farmers and brewers as the area tries to re-explore a revival of the hops industry. On the land of Ommegang Brewery, we were able to even tour some new strains of hops that are being grown here in order to experiment working with Cornell University.

As part of our tour, we also saw beermaking in the works as liquid drained to the floor while steam made it seem magical, and we watched the bottling line – I’ve seen the machines off but never working before this brewery tour.
Water drains into the floor while steam makes the brewing process seem magical at Ommegang Brewery Ommegang Brewery bottling line

Of course the best thing is the tasting portion!
Ommegang Brewery offers tours as well as tastings (separately, but you can buy both) every 30 minutes or 1 hour depending on the season. Ommegang Brewery offers tours as well as tastings (separately, but you can buy both) every 30 minutes depending on the season.

For a $5 fee per person, we tasted 6 beers, and we each got to keep the tasting glass so it’s so well worth it.
For $5 we tasted 6 beers at Ommegang Brewery, and we got to keep the tasting glass so it's so well worth it. For $5 we tasted 6 beers at Ommegang Brewery

The tasting was very educational in that they are prepared to also help you smell individual ingredients to help you learn to appreciate the various kinds of special ingredients they use in the brewing process in creating their beers.
A tasting of 6 beers and also learning to appreciate the various ingredients in beer at Ommegang Brewery A tasting of 6 beers and also learning to appreciate the various ingredients in beer at Ommegang Brewery

Ommegang beer tasting for us included
Tasting beer at Ommegang Brewery included this Hennepin

  • Witte Wheat Ale brewed with Sweet Orange Peel and Coriander
    Ommegang Brewery, tasting of Witte Wheat Ale brewed with Sweet Orange Peel and Coriander
  • Scythe and Sickle, a Bière de Garde style beer that was a Harvest Ale brewed with barley, wheat, oats and rye as a nod to the harvest of upstate New  York grains.
    Ommegang Brewery tasting of Scythe and Sickle, a Bière de Garde style beer that was a Harvest Ale brewed with barley, wheat, oats and rye as a nod to the harvest of upstate New  York grains.
  • Rare Vos Belgian Amber Ale brewed with Sweet Orange Peel, Grains of Paradise, Coriander
    Rare Vos Belgian Amber Ale brewed with Sweet Orange Peel, Grains of Paradise, Coriander
  • Hennepin Farmhouse Saison brewed with Grains of Paradise, Coriander, Ginger, and Sweet Orange Peel. I found it refreshing and bubbly like a sparkling wine!
    Hennepin Farmhouse Saison, Refreshing and bubbly like a sparkling
  • Abbey Ale  Dubbel Ale brewed with Licorice Root, Star Anise, Sweet Orange Peel, Coriander and Cumin
  • Three Philosophers Quadruple Ale with Cherries via blend of Ommegang Quadruple Ale and Liefmans Kriek
    Three Philosophers Quadruple Ale with Cherries via blend of Ommegang Quadruple Ale and Liefmans Kriek

They offered us a couple little snacks as we were tasting including their own Abbey Ale and Rare VO5 beer cheeses, their horseradish mustard, and some Saratoga Garlic wasabi and horseradish aioli with pretzels, among several jars of stuff to share amont the group. The beer cheese is the bomb.
Tasting of Ommegang beers comes with snacks like Abbey Ale and Rare Vos beer cheeses, their horseradish mustard, and some Saratoga Garlic wasabi and horseradish aioli with pretzels, among several jars of stuff to share amont the group! Tasting of Ommegang beers comes with snacks like these beer cheese spreads!

We finished up by having our late lunch at their cafe, if by lunch you mean frites and a flight of Duvel Belgian beers and their Wild At Heart brewed with wild Brett. They change the food and beer menu seasonally, and they are well known for promoting beer and food pairings, even offering beer food recipes on their website.
Beer sampler tray at Ommegang Brewery, this is a flight in their restaurant of Duvel Belgian beers

You can pick up shirts, bottles, and the beer cheese at the store on the way out.
Bottles of Ommegang at the Ommegang Brewery store Grab some beer cheese made with the beers of Ommegang at the Ommegang Brewery store

I’ll be off to Sante Fe next week, which naturally will incorporate more beer travel as we visit some Sante Fe breweries, so you’ll see some more beercation Travel Tuesday posts in a bit. I also have on my queue posts from Denver while I was at the Great American Beer Festival!

Have you had Ommegang beer before? Which of the beers in the tasting sounds most delicious to you?

Have you been to Sante Fe and have any recommendations of sights, eats, or drinks?

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Visiting the Oregon Dunes

June 2, 2015 by 13 Comments

Did you know that there are sand dunes in Oregon, only 3 hours away? And that in fact, the sand dunes are part of a National Park that is protected? The 182 acres of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area is part of Siuslaw National Forest extends for 40 miles along the Oregon Coast from Florence to Coos Bay. In places, the dunes extend 2.5 miles inland, and some of the dunes reach as high as 500 feet. It’s breathtaking – it’s land, but ripples and moves like water.

I wish I could say that I was very clever and decided to go drive down the Oregon Coast and visit the Oregon Dunes in preparation for watching the new Mad Max: Fury Road movie and this was all part of a planned theme for this Travel Tuesday post. I admit, it’s merely coincidence: I was actually looking to see Velella velella in person (those blue wind sailor jellyfish that have been washing ashore by the thousands. On my coastal weekend though they were all going to California, figures).

From Portland, to drive here it’s possible to simply take I-5 down and then go west on OR-38W, but we decided to take a really scenic route. I recommend taking OR-99W S to OR-18 W instead. This means you get a chance to drive past the wineries through McMinnville and lovely forest roads, so it is a lovely drive that gives you a chance to admire the bounty of Oregon even though you’re on the road, rather than just the usual speeding down the interstate. It adds 45 minutes rather than going more directly, but I think it is completely worth it.

You could stay at many places in reach of the Dunes, and for this trip we chose to stay in Florence. It’s a coastal town where we were able to find an affordable room in walking distance of their Historic Old Town that offered close to a dozen options of eateries and places to have a libation, and only a short walk to admire the Suislaw River Bridge. After several hours of driving I like staying someplace where we can walk around to areas instead of more driving in town. If you are looking to eat with a view of the river and bridge in a elegant setting, I would recommend Waterfront Depot, which is a small intimate restaurant (reservations recommended). There are plenty of other restaurants you can see walking down Bay Street, varying from the eclectic Spice or Bridgewater Ocean Fresh Fish House and Zebra Bar to Seafood,  casual bar and grill, pub burgers and beer, family-friendly Pizza or Firehouse themed and more.

Suislaw River Bridge, view from Historic Old Town Florence Suislaw River Bridge, view from Historic Old Town Florence Suislaw River Bridge, view from Historic Old Town Florence Suislaw River Bridge, view from Historic Old Town Florence Suislaw River Bridge, view from Historic Old Town Florence Suislaw River Bridge, view from Historic Old Town Florence Fun painting outside in Old Town Florence, Oregon in front of Bay Street Grille

There are also many options for camping, but I’m not a camping girl so can’t help you there. I can point out as a reference though this video from Grant’s Getaway. He mentions campgrounds like Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State Park with its 80 years of history as a family vacation spot.

But back to visiting the Oregon Dunes. There are two kinds of experiences you can have at the Dunes. First, you can just walk. It can be serene and peaceful to just see the undulating waves and hills of sand. The area you walk may just be all desert like you’re in Lawrence of Arabia, or Armour of God II: Operation Condor or Raiders of the Lost Ark. Or there may be shrubberies, or even oceanside. It was mesmerizing for me just listening to the waves and watching the waves of grasses in the wind.
Oregon Dunes area by Florence, South Jetty area Oregon Dunes area by Florence, South Jetty area Oregon Dunes area by Florence, South Jetty area Oregon Dunes area by Florence, South Jetty area

If you are looking for more beachside walking with some dunes thrown in, you might want to consider the South Jetty, as you only have to clamber over the dune by the parking lot to get to the beach and there are many parking lots. If you want to see more rolling hills but still reach beach, the Umpqua Dunes may be what you’re looking for. If you want parking lot to sandscape to forest (a beach is possible too but it’s several miles further) then try the John Dellenback Dunes Trail.

These areas do require a National Park day use pass (you can get one when you enter by putting $5 in an envelope at any of the locations and tearing the other part to display in your car) or alternatively a National Park recreation pass. Exceptions include special free days, including the upcoming National Trails Day – June 6, 2015 or National Get Outdoors Day – June 13, 2015.

The other kind of experience is fast – riding in ATVs or buggies. You can rent an ATV and drive yourself, with rental vehicles that can fit 1, 2 or 4 depending on your choice/party, they have mini individual ones for the kids to drive (must be aged 12-15). Alternately, you can be driven and go on tours with experienced drivers in buggies who can be a lot more daring speeding up/down the dunes and drifting down the side of hundreds of feet than you probably will be. That’s what we rationalized.

Definitely have a hair tie if you have long hair. And even though you’re having fun, make sure you keep smiling with your mouth closed. Haha. No really. There was also a surprising amount of sand in our hair, ears, and down our shirts.
Taking a ride on a Dune Buggy for an Oregon Dunes tour with Sand Dunes Frontier just a little south of Florence, Oregon Taking a ride on a Dune Buggy for an Oregon Dunes tour with Sand Dunes Frontier just a little south of Florence, Oregon

Seriously though, it is not as fast as a roller coaster and you just don’t know where to look- ahead of you as you accelerate down a dune (especially fun as you are pausing at the top and you cannot see any of the dune ground below you at all it’s so steep…), or gaze sideways at the dune wall as you traverse down, or behind you… You can watch other RV riders ranging from other buggies to bikes or people with their trucks and jeeps… And then there’s the beauty of the dunes around you also.
Taking a ride on a Dune Buggy for an Oregon Dunes tour with Sand Dunes Frontier just a little south of Florence, Oregon Taking a ride on a Dune Buggy for an Oregon Dunes tour with Sand Dunes Frontier just a little south of Florence, Oregon Taking a ride on a Dune Buggy for an Oregon Dunes tour with Sand Dunes Frontier just a little south of Florence, Oregon Taking a ride on a Dune Buggy for an Oregon Dunes tour with Sand Dunes Frontier just a little south of Florence, Oregon

Two major operators, Sand Dunes Frontier (who we used) and SandLand Adventures. They both end up touring the same Sand Dunes recreational area. SandLand Adventures has more ways to earn your money with go carts and bumper boats and train rides, while Sand Dunes Frontier if you are craving more you can then rent your own ATV (at another business, but at the same location- Torex ATV Rentals) to try out now that the SandLand tour has helped you scope out the lay of the lands and who is out there and what you might want to do.

For an alternate “fast” way to see the dunes, consider visiting Sand Master Park and trying to sandboard (similar to snowboarding but with sand), or use surfboards and boogie boards (like with water… but with sand). Who knew?

One last bit of trivia – if you’ve ever read Frank Herbert’s Dune book science fiction/space series, or watched the movies (old 1984 movie or the new Sci Fi channel series), it was the Oregon Dunes that helped inspire him!

And, if you are looking for some additional motivation to visit the area, there’s also this… the Great Florence Duck Race with lots of rubber duckies which benefits the community of Florence.
Great Florence Duck Race

Also just a dozen miles north of Florence is the Sea Lion Caves, America’s largest sea cave at two acres and 12 stories.
The Sea Lion Caves, the World's Largest Sea Cave located 11 miles north of Florence, Oregon The Sea Lion Caves, the World's Largest Sea Cave located 11 miles north of Florence, Oregon The Sea Lion Caves, the World's Largest Sea Cave located 11 miles north of Florence, Oregon The Sea Lion Caves, the World's Largest Sea Cave located 11 miles north of Florence, Oregon The Sea Lion Caves, the World's Largest Sea Cave located 11 miles north of Florence, Oregon The Sea Lion Caves, the World's Largest Sea Cave located 11 miles north of Florence, Oregon

When we visited the sea lions were soaking up the sun outside and only two were inside the caves – but that meant the caves area smelled better than it normally would, and we still enjoyed marveling at the caverns. One of the informational panels talks about various formations you look for in the walk wall like a Native American Princess and Brave, or Goddess of Liberty, or Abraham Lincoln’s profile and decide for yourself how much of a stretch it is. It’s probably just a 45 minute stop, but can still be fun. If you want to really make sure there are sea lions present, the Sea Lion Caves has 3 webcams you can check on your tentative visit day.
The Sea Lion Caves, the World's Largest Sea Cave located 11 miles north of Florence, Oregon The Sea Lion Caves, the World's Largest Sea Cave located 11 miles north of Florence, Oregon The Sea Lion Caves, the World's Largest Sea Cave located 11 miles north of Florence, Oregon The Sea Lion Caves, the World's Largest Sea Cave located 11 miles north of Florence, Oregon The Sea Lion Caves, the World's Largest Sea Cave located 11 miles north of Florence, Oregon The Sea Lion Caves, the World's Largest Sea Cave located 11 miles north of Florence, Oregon

Another mile or so north of the Sea Lion Caves is Heceta Head Lighthouse. The Cape Creek Bridge is only a dozen or so yards from the parking lot and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It uses a design that is similar to Roman stone aqueduct design (notice the two levels of arches and columns), but using modern materials. Combined with the tunnel that US 101, which runs on the bridge and then through a tunnel that goes through Hecate Head, was a huge headache for engineers to construct and is part of the “million-dollar mile” part of this highway.
At Heceta Head Lighthous Viewpoint, the view of Cape Creek Bridge. It uses a design that is similar to Roman stone aqueduct design (notice the two levels of arches and columns), but using modern materials. At Heceta Head Lighthous Viewpoint, the view of Cape Creek Bridge. It uses a design that is similar to Roman stone aqueduct design (notice the two levels of arches and columns), but using modern materials.

You can walk up to the lighthouse in a 1/2 mile walk on gravel to admire the view of Cape Creek Cove and Cape Creek Bridge below among the cliffs. Here are photos taken while heading up to the lighthouse.
At Heceta Head Lighthous Viewpoint, the view of Cape Creek Cove At Heceta Head Lighthous Viewpoint, the view of Cape Creek Cove At Heceta Head Lighthous Viewpoint, the view of Cape Creek Cove At Heceta Head Lighthous Viewpoint, the view of Cape Creek Cove At Heceta Head Lighthous Viewpoint, the view of Cape Creek Cove At Heceta Head Lighthous Viewpoint, the view of Cape Creek Cove At Heceta Head Lighthous Viewpoint, the view of Cape Creek Cove At Heceta Head Lighthous Viewpoint, the view of Cape Creek Cove At Heceta Head Lighthous Viewpoint, the view of Cape Creek Cove and Cape Creek Bridge At Heceta Head Lighthous Viewpoint, the view of Cape Creek Cove and Cape Creek Bridge At Heceta Head Lighthous Viewpoint, the view of Cape Creek Cove At Heceta Head Lighthous Viewpoint, the view of Cape Creek Cove Heceta Head Lighthouse

This cove is lovely to watch the sunset and even on cloudy days like when we visited (the sun and clouds kept taking turns) too for the play of shadows here. This is why Pacific Northwest beaches are the best – even when it’s cool and windy and cloudy the beaches are never boring, just beautiful in a different way.
At Heceta Head Lighthous Viewpoint, the view of Cape Creek Cove At Heceta Head Lighthous Viewpoint, the view of Cape Creek Cove At Heceta Head Lighthous Viewpoint, the view of Cape Creek Cove At Heceta Head Lighthous Viewpoint, the view of Cape Creek Cove

If you are looking for really unique experiences and places to stay, Hecata Head’s Lighthouse Keeper’s cottage is a Bed and Breakfast, and they encourage you to use flashlights to go up and visit the lighthouse at night. You can see the cottage just to the right of the lighthouse below from this photo I took at a scenic viewpoint between the lighthouse and Sea Lion Caves.
A look at Heceta Head Lighthous from a Scenic Viewpoint further south on 101 between the lighthouse and Sea Lion Caves A look at Heceta Head Lighthous from a Scenic Viewpoint further south on 101 between the lighthouse and Sea Lion Caves

Also nearby is Darlingtonia State Natural Site and you can see an interesting plant at this little garden: cobra lilies, a native carnivorous pitcher plant that are 1.5 – 2 feet tall! Don’t worry – they only eat insects, not humans. Sand, swimming, sea lions, carnivorous plants – this seems to be a fun place to take the whole family.

Did you know about the Oregon Sand Dunes? Have you ever been? How would you like to visit the dunes – walking or driving – or will you both like we did (which would you do first)? Have you ever been to this area by Florence, Oregon – and if not, do any of these attractions make you want to visit?

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Ivan Ramen

May 26, 2015 by 12 Comments

For today’s Travel Tuesday, I am taking you to New York City and Ivan Ramen. Located at Gotham West Market, which is like a food court but with eight really really nice food booth restaurants, in Hell’s Kitchen, Ivan Ramen is the brainchild of Tokyo Ramen Master Ivan Orkin. If you’re thinking that does not sound Japanese at all, you’re right. He’s an American, but lives in Japan (it seems he fell in love with Japan when he went there to teach English in the 80s and has never looked back). He even has a ramen joint there in Japan- and the only place to get his ramen outside Tokyo is in New York, at one of two locations. One of them is the Slurp Shop here at Gotham West Market.

Gotham West Market, New York

I was fascinated by the idea of a foreigner being able to break into the food scene in Tokyo, particularly with something as beloved as ramen. Ramen can differ by region – and in fact there are even Ramen Museums. Yes, entire museums… and more than one museum. You can also take a bath in ramen. I don’t really have anything to say about that, if only you could see my face when reading that article though… anyway.

So in New York, off I went to Ivan Ramen. I had been eating a progressive meal every day I was in New York, and honestly was about to go to dinner at Todd English Food Hall after this stop (and I had eaten earlier at Chelsea Market), so I told myself I would only eat half the bowl. But… yeah I ate the whole thing. The kitchen was pretty busy when I arrived, with most of the seats taken at the tables and bar countertop. Thankfully, shortly after I ordered at the register, some bar seats opened and I had a chance to carefully study the Art of the Slurp illustrated at the countertop of Ivan Ramen.
The bustling kitchen of Ivan Ramen at Gotham West Market Instructions of The Art of the Slurp from Ivan Ramen in Gotham West Market

This is the famous Spicy Red Chili Ramen with minced pork, scallions, smashed egg, fully loaded with egg, extra pork and roast tomato.
Spicy Red Chili Ramen with minced pork, scallions, smashed egg, fully loaded with egg, extra pork and roast tomato. Ivan Ramen, Gotham West Market, New York

I was not shy about adding all the garlic oil in the container. Look at how beautifully cut those scallions are. What makes Ivan’s ramen different than most you might try in the US is that he does a double soup, where they combine two broths to create a balance of flavors in the ramen bowl.
Spicy Red Chili Ramen with minced pork, scallions, smashed egg, fully loaded with egg, extra pork and roast tomato. Ivan Ramen, Gotham West Market, New York Spicy Red Chili Ramen with minced pork, scallions, smashed egg, fully loaded with egg, extra pork and roast tomato. Ivan Ramen, Gotham West Market, New York

If you visit Ivan Ramen, rest assured that he has vegetarian ramen available from his menu of about half a dozen noodle options. The only thing you should definitely be aware of is that the ramen is not cheap – it starts at $13, not counting any add ons or making it fully loaded like I did. As with all ramen, it’s always good to eat it relatively quickly because you don’t want the noodles to get too soggy as it absorbs the broth. I also recommend grabbing a glass of water for yourself – often just drinking the broth is enough for me, but it was a bit on the salty side for me so I needed the water as well.

Besides ramen, there are also rice bowls at Ivan Ramen NYC Slurp Shop, and most intriguing, a breakfast menu and a brunch menu involving scrambled eggs and breakfast buns (Japanese breakfast sausage, scallion omelet, yuzu hollandaise) or sweet silken tofu and more! Check out the Slurp Shop menu!

I leave this Travel Tuesday post with some great advice from Gotham West Market:
Gotham West Market advice: Sleep Til You're Hungry, Eat Til You're Sleepy

If you wish you could taste the creations of Ivan… there actually is an opportunity coming up in Portland on Saturday, June 13. As part of the Salt Fire Water series presented by Williams-Sonoma Open Kitchen, with Ingredient Sponsor New Seasons Market at the Jacobsen Salt Co.’s headquarters and event space, Chef Earl Ninsom of Lang Baan and Chef Ivan Orkin of Ivan Ramen are working together to create a special dinner. The cost of the dinner is $135 ticket and includes five courses, four glasses of the featured wines, producer/chef discussions, and the ability to purchase special product, books, etc. at event.

Only 50 seats are available…. and I am going to be in one of those seats! Of course I’ll share the recap after the dinner if you want to vicariously live through me. The IVAN RAMEN + LANG BAAN – Jacobsen Salt Co.’s SALT FIRE WATER tickets seem to be sold out (no surprise here since Earl Ninsom’s Lang Baan is basically sold out until November, and Ivan Orkin usually spends his time either in Tokyo or New York where his restaurants are so it’s a big deal for him to be in Portland cooking for us), but you can check out more SALT FIRE WATER events here at Eventbrite.

Are you a big fan of ramen? Would you go to a Ramen Museum (I am contemplating visiting one on a future visit to Japan)? What food would you like to see be a museum here in the US?
Have you seen the movie that celebrates the artistry and deliciousness of ramen, Tampopo? It’s one of my top food movies!

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