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A Visit to Cheese & Crack, Portland

March 27, 2015 by 11 Comments

I still remember my first meeting with Cheese & Crack in Portland, which was then a fledgling food cart a few years ago. Besides delicious offerings of cheese plates and also homemade crackers, the cart owner William Steuernagel really showcased a sense of presentation and style that helped them really stand out on the food cart scene.
Cheese & Crack's food cart offers cheese plates and homemade crackers Eat Mobile 2013: Cheese & Crack's map of their taste Eat Mobile 2013: Cheese & Crack's map of their taste

In 2012 he launched a successful Kickstarter which ended up with twice what he was asking for to start that little cart (and proving that the demand for cheese and the number of cheese addicts in Portland is real), and then grew up into a store on SE 28th by Burnside that opened around this time last year, though that also meant he sadly closed his cute cart. The snack shop is charmingly adorable.
Cheese & Crack Snack Shop in Portland, on SE 28th just a few steps south of Burnside Cheese & Crack Snack Shop in Portland, on SE 28th just a few steps south of Burnside Cheese & Crack Snack Shop in Portland, on SE 28th just a few steps south of Burnside

Their regular menu has about half a dozen cheese plates, and there may be a special cheese plate or special sundae or special snack on their Specials Board, so make sure you check it out. This is the only part about Cheese & Crack that I don’t like – in the multiple times I have visited, people assume that the only offerings are what is on the board, not realizing there is a printed menu once they reach the register that has a listing of more cheese plates and snacks. I wish they would make a large sign with their regular menu offerings for the wall as well. The service works in that you go up to the register to order and pay, and then they prepare your order and bring it to you, and then you bus it to some shelves with dish-bins.
Cheese & Crack Snack Shop in Portland, on SE 28th just a few steps south of Burnside. This is their specials board, they also have a printed menu with more cheese delights Cheese & Crack Snack Shop in Portland, on SE 28th just a few steps south of Burnside. This is their specials board, they also have a printed menu with more cheese delights

It’s hard to believe he was inspired by simple Lunchables and their little boxes of cheese and crackers into this.
Cheese and Crack plate of Shaft's Bleu and Cypress Grove Fromage Blanc with Marionberry Jam, plus an additional side of cheese I requested of the brie brulee on the right hand side

As you can see, there are quite an assortment on your cheese plate: rustic butter crackers they make in house, homemade savory oatmeal cookie, baguette slices, olives, cornichons, dijon mustard, honey, and even a dessert teaspoon of chocolate ganache. My favorite plate is to put together the Shaft’s Bleu and Cypress Grove Fromage Blanc with Marionberry Jam, plus an additional side of cheese. Below, I requested of the brie brulee on the right hand side, but I change out that cheese – I like the blue and the fresh cheese as a base. Make you you sip the blue cheese in the honey! Be careful with the dijon mustard, it is quite pungent – and make use of the olives and cornichons acidity to balance out your little bites.
Cheese and Crack plate of Shaft's Bleu and Cypress Grove Fromage Blanc with Marionberry Jam Cheese and Crack additional side of cheese I requested, the brie brulee

If you are looking for more to fulfill your appetite, get their Seasonal Sandwich. When I visited below it was a Coppa Sandwich with Alps Provisions Dry Cured Pork Collar, Swiss Cheese, Apple Butter, and Greens all on a Grand Central Baguette.
Cheese & Crack Portland's Seasonal Sandwich, a Coppa Sandwich with Alps Provisions Dry Cured Pork Collar, Swiss Cheese, Apple Butter, and Greens all on a Grand Central Baguette Cheese & Crack Portland's Seasonal Sandwich, a Coppa Sandwich with Alps Provisions Dry Cured Pork Collar, Swiss Cheese, Apple Butter, and Greens all on a Grand Central Baguette Cheese & Crack Portland's Seasonal Sandwich, a Coppa Sandwich with Alps Provisions Dry Cured Pork Collar, Swiss Cheese, Apple Butter, and Greens all on a Grand Central Baguette

Add a side salad for $2 or Mornay sauce for $2 – but I think you should add the Macaroni and Mornay instead of putting the Mornay on your sandwich. Go ahead and get the salad so you get some veggies in with the large amount of cheese you are eating.
Cheese & Crack Portland's Seasonal Sandwich, a Coppa Sandwich with Alps Provisions Dry Cured Pork Collar, Swiss Cheese, Apple Butter, and Greens all on a Grand Central Baguette. Add Mornay sauce to your sandwich for $2, but I recommend adding the Macaroni and Mornay instead! You can also add a side salad for $2 Side Salad at Crack and Cheese comes with pickled lentils for fun texture

For the Macaroni and Mornay, they make it with Trofie Pasta to make it even more melt in your mouth, along with Sauce Mornay made with Gruyere & Beecher’s Flagship White Cheddar and then topped with a touch of garlic, herbs, and olive oil.
Cheese & Crack's Macaroni and Mornay, with Trofie Pasta to make it even more melt in your mouth along with Sauce Mornay made with Gruyere & Beecher's Flagship White Cheddar and topped with a touch of garlic, herbs, and olive oil

Alternatively, get your Mornay fix on in the form of “Nachos”, that is Potato Chip Nachos with Sauce Mornay and Pickled Lentils
Cheese & Crack Portland's Snack of Potato Chip Nachos with Sauce Mornay and Pickled Lentils Cheese & Crack Portland's Snack of Potato Chip Nachos with Sauce Mornay and Pickled Lentils

Another visit, they had a Special Snack of Grilled Halloumi with seared halloumi cheese, toast, honey, lemon and greens. I thought it was well worth the price as I assembled by little bites with bread, arugula, warm seared halloumi, a tiny squeeze of lemon and smear of honey.
Cheese & Crack Snack Special of Grilled Halloumi with seared halloumi cheese, toast, honey, lemon and greens. Cheese & Crack Snack Special of Grilled Halloumi with seared halloumi cheese, toast, honey, lemon and greens.

Perhaps you even have room for dessert? I tried the seasonal dessert of a Port Wine Cheese Sundae with Vanilla Soft Serve layered with Ruby Port Wine Reduction and Hazelnut Granola, and then there’s the grated Beecher’s Flagship Cheddar.
Cheese & Crack dessert of a Port Wine Cheese Sundae with Vanilla Soft Serve layered with Ruby Port Wine Reduction and Hazelnut Granola, and then there's the grated Beecher's Flagship Cheddar Cheese & Crack dessert of a Port Wine Cheese Sundae with Vanilla Soft Serve layered with Ruby Port Wine Reduction and Hazelnut Granola, and then there's the grated Beecher's Flagship Cheddar

For their 1 year birthday recently they had a Birthday Sundae with vanilla soft serve, cake mix dusting, sprinkles, and almond whipped cream. This month, I believe it’s a new sundae called Ten Dollar Banana Split boasting Brûléed Bananas, Buttered Chocolate Sauce, Freddy Guys Hazelnuts, Sea Salt, Brown Sugar Whipped Cream and Local Bordeaux Maraschino Cherries. Yep, they are pretty fun with their sundae of the month. This is dangerous to have on your Instagram feed.

 

A photo posted by Cheese & Crack (@cheeseandcrack) on

Their usual Cheese & Crack sundae boasts their vanilla soft serve with torched marshmallow, cracker crumb crumble, and chocolate ganache. Their regular soft serve, a steal at $3, was very popular in the recent wonderful spring weather with the vanilla soft serve with the cone bottom filled with chocolate ganache and optional espresso dust sprinkle on top.

I enjoy following their Instagram @CheeseandCrack which continues the charm pictorially even when I’m not at the shop, and the Cheese & Crack Facebook page is usually the one updated with specials (and food porn images of those specials).

Cheese & Crack Snack Shop on Urbanspoon

 

Have you been to Cheese & Crack? Have you heard of it? What do you think you would try if you visited?

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Mama Chow’s Kitchen

July 23, 2014 by 8 Comments

One of the reasons I always am very excited for the Eat Mobile food cart festival in April every year is that it is an opportunity for me to discover new food carts. Since I work in Beaverton, I miss out on a lot of the food carts that are open for lunch downtown on the weekdays. I also don’t tend to be out eating at the “late night pods” that start from 11pm on on the weekend nights. Usually one of the main reasons I get to enjoy a food cart is if I happen to have an appointment so I am working a half day. Of course, that’s still no excuse completely since even though not all of them are open, there are some open at other hours and on the weekend, and at other cart pods besides downtown.

A couple weeks ago after a dentist appointment, I took the opportunity to go grab lunch at one of the food carts that really impressed me at Eat Mobile 2014 this year (as I recapped previously). This was the Mama Chow’s Kitchen food cart, which had provided a sample of fried chicken wing with honey soy glaze, garlic noodles… YUM. Also, their cart is adorable!
Eat Mobile 2014 My vote for best food cart sample was Mama Chow's Kitchen with their sample of fried chicken wings with honey soy glaze, garlic noodles... YUM. Also, their cart is adorable! Eat Mobile 2014 My vote for best food cart sample was Mama Chow's Kitchen with their sample of fried chicken wings with honey soy glaze, garlic noodles... YUM.

My stop around lunchtime at 12 was very fortunate, because I got the second to last chicken order at the cart! The cart is located at SW 2nd and Stark, just a half block away from Mother’s Bistro. There, Jeff Chow, transplant from Oakland and trained chef is bearing his Mama’s recipes, offering choices such as or his mom’s Wontons in wonton soup, lollipop wings, kalua pork, or garlic noodles.
Jeff Chow, proprietar of Mama Chow's Kitchen, taking orders at Mama Chow's Kitchen for his mom's Wontons in wonton soup (pork, shrimp or chicken wontons in house broth with baby bok choy), lollipop wings (honey soy garlic glaze with jasmine rice and baby bok chow), kalua pork with garlic noodles and cayote squash, or garlic noodles that are fresh made local noodles with chayote squash and onion relish

There are a generous number of wontons in that Wonton Soup, with his mom’s wontons full of flavorful pork, shrimp or chicken in the house broth with baby bok choy. It’s the best wonton soup I’ve ever had. I took the photos below before adding anything extra, but there are lots of various condiments, including spicy hot sauce to amp up this soup even more.
Mama Chow's Kitchen, taking orders at Mama Chow's Kitchen for his mom's Wontons in wonton soup (pork, shrimp or chicken wontons in house broth with baby bok choy) Mama Chow's Kitchen, taking orders at Mama Chow's Kitchen for his mom's Wontons in wonton soup (pork, shrimp or chicken wontons in house broth with baby bok choy)

The garlic noodles are amazing, fresh made with chayote squash and onion relish. It sounds simple, but it is so good you will gobble it all up faster than you think. Yes, you can get them with the other dishes probably on his menu, but you want a whole order of these noodles.
Mama Chow's Kitchen: Garlic noodles and cayote squash, or garlic noodles that are fresh made local noodles with chayote squash and onion relish Mama Chow's Kitchen: Garlic noodles and cayote squash, or garlic noodles that are fresh made local noodles with chayote squash and onion relish

From my second try of these chickens, let me confirm that these are justifiably raved about lollipop chickens that come in a honey soy garlic glaze with jasmine rice and baby bok choy. You can see the lollipop name comes from the fact that the meat is pushed up slightly to expose a bone handle. The chicken is juicy inside, but the skin is crisped up from the glaze. The only improvement or recommendation I have for you when you order is to switch out the rice with those excellent garlic noodles.
Mama Chow's Kitchen justifiably raved about lollipop wings with honey soy garlic glaze with jasmine rice and baby bok choy

He makes everything fresh so there may be a 5-7 minute wait, but it’s worth it.

You can find/follow more of the deliciousness of Mama Chow’s Kitchen at their Facebook page, or on their Instagram @MamaChowsKitchen or on their Twitter @MamaCsKitchen

As a side note, because of the timing of this post… I just want to point out that if you are going to OBF, Mama Chow’s is open from 11-3 so you could bring it as your lunch, and they are also open 12-5 on Saturdays if you attend OBF that day. The cart is only a few blocks away (1/2 block North of the Mother’s Bistro on SW 2nd)

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Fruit Beer and Cheese

April 23, 2014 by 2 Comments

I attend lots of different beer events all throughout the year, but don’t usually post about them- most of the time I might do a promotion post just to get the word out for an event I think needs to be shared, but not a recap. Untappd is my main beer outlet.

I also have been purposely avoiding writing about my favorite beer bar, which is like F and my Cheers, because we don’t want it to get too crowded. However, I really enjoyed a recent event at The Upper Lip, and thought I would share anyway to give props to what an amazing beer event it was and to encourage more like this from them or from anyone!
Breakside Brewing / 10 Barrel Brewing Fruit Beer event at The Upper Lip with cheese pairings by the awesome Steve of Cheese Bar

Perhaps when you think about fruit beer, you think of just a bunch of girly beer that tastes sweet and like juice and not much like beer at all. I hope not- and I think that the Portland Fruit Beer Festival, now returning for its 4th year, has helped a lot with that misconception.

I thought I would write this post about the beers at this event I just attended, just to reinforce that fruit beer is awesome, and what it can entail.

This event was a Breakside Brewing / 10 Barrel Brewing Fruit Beer event at The Upper Lip with cheese pairings by the awesome Steve of Cheese Bar. I have enjoyed many a Breakside beer and been to a few of their events since they are here in Portland, but 10 Barrel Brewing is harder to get as they are based in Bend and their fruit beers don’t usually make it here to Portland. Even better, with the price of admission, besides getting tasters of 8 beers we would also get 4 cheeses that were specially paired!
Breakside Brewing / 10 Barrel Brewing Fruit Beer event at The Upper Lip with cheese pairings by the awesome Steve of Cheese Bar

The first pairing was Fresh Ladysmith a cow cheese from Samish Bay, WA. I’ve had this cheese several times- not just because Steve seems to love pairing it, but because it just goes well with so many beers. During Thanksgiving I saw it at a co-op in San Juan WA and bought a 1/2 pound that was gone by the Sunday we were heading back. I also really enjoyed many of their other cheeses while at the The Wedge Cheese festival.

The Fresh Ladysmith was paired with the Breakside Gooseberry Wheat and the Breakside Peach Pale.  The Gooseberry Wheat was a wheat ale with pureed Oregon gooseberries from Oregon Fruit Products and had a subtle tartness to the wheat beer. Meanwhile, the Peach Pale offered a lot of hop flavor (specifically Citra and Amarillo) and had a nice peach nose but I didn’t detect much peach flavor.
Upper Lip Fruit Beer with Cheese Bar beer and cheese pairing, Breakside Gooseberry Wheat was a wheat ale with pureed Oregon gooseberries from Oregon Fruit Products and had a subtle tartness to the wheat beer. Paired with Fresh Ladysmith a cow cheese from Samish Bay, WA Upper Lip Fruit Beer with Cheese Bar beer and cheese pairing, Breakside Peach Pale offered a lot of hop flavor (specifically Citra and Amarillo) and had a nice peach nose but I didn't detect much peach flavor. Paired with Fresh Ladysmith a cow cheese from Samish Bay, WA

Next was the pairing of Pastorale from Sartori of WI, a sheep and cow milk cheese with the Breakside Kriek with Brett and the 10 Barrel Strawberry Crush. In this berry face-off, the 10 Barrel was the winner with its strong fresh strawberry puree flavor and it is so sad that this was a one-off keg made exclusively for this event. I hope they made more of it. A lot more. This was my favorite beer of the event.
Upper Lip Fruit Beer with Cheese Bar beer and cheese pairing, Breakside Kriek with Brett, pairing of Pastorale from Sartori of WI, a sheep and cow milk cheese Upper Lip Fruit Beer with Cheese Bar beer and cheese pairing, 10 Barrel Strawberry Crush with its strong fresh strawberry puree flavor and it is so sad that this was a one-off keg made exclusively for this event. I hope they made more of it. A lot more. This was my favorite beer of the event. Paired with Pastorale from Sartori of WI, a sheep and cow milk cheese

The next cheese pairing was Adnatou from Black Sheep, a WA sheep and cow cheese. This was paired with the Breakside Beaujolais Avec Brett and the 10 Barrel Apricot Crush. Both of these beers were amazing- the Beaujolais Avec Brett is a strong ale with a bit of sourness thanks to being fermented wild yeast  and bacteria and use of Oregon grown Gamay grapes. It was really enjoyed by some at my table, while I was hoping for a bit more sourness. Meanwhile, the 10 Barrel Apricot Crush was my second favorite beer of the event with its complexity of flavors.
Upper Lip Fruit Beer with Cheese Bar beer and cheese pairing, Breakside Beaujolais Avec Brett is a strong ale with a bit of sourness thanks to being fermented wild yeast  and bacteria and use of Oregon grown Gamay grapes. Paired with Adnatou from Black Sheep, a WA sheep and cow cheese Upper Lip Fruit Beer with Cheese Bar beer and cheese pairing, 10 Barrel Apricot Crush. Paired with Adnatou from Black Sheep, a WA sheep and cow cheese

The last pairing was the Smokey Blue cow cheese from Rogue Creamery OR. I admit I actually started with this cheese and its beers because I had really been curious about these two beers the most. The beers here were the Breakside Smoked Apple Ale and the 10 Barrel Cucumber Crush. The Smoked Apple Ale was a mix of smoked malt, freshly pressed apple juice, and apple pie spices but I guess I built it too much in my head as I was disappointed by how subtle the flavors were.
Upper Lip Fruit Beer with Cheese Bar beer and cheese pairing, Breakside Smoked Apple Ale was a mix of smoked malt, freshly pressed apple juice, and apple pie spices
On the other hand, the Cucumber Crush was all you would expect it to be in terms of being super light and refreshing, like cucumber water but so much better because it’s a BerlinerWeiss beer (all 3 10 Barrel fruit beers here, and all the beers of their Crush series, are Berliner Weiss style which then have various fruits added). I would drink this all summer long if I could get it.
Upper Lip Fruit Beer with Cheese Bar beer and cheese pairing, 10 Cucumber Crush was all you would expect it to be in terms of being super light and refreshing, like cucumber water but so much better because it's a BerlinerWeiss beer (all 3 10 Barrel fruit beers here, and all the beers of their Crush series, are Berliner Weiss style which then have various fruits added). Paired with Smokey Blue cow cheese from Rogue Creamery OR.

This was a fantastic event- I loved that it offered tastings of beer with cheese pairings, and it was incredible to be able to get access to 10 Barrel Crush series beers. The event was ticketed and sold out, which allowed us plenty of room up stairs to enjoy sitting at a table and chatting with other beer and cheese aficionados in a relaxing atmosphere without the usual loud “wooooos” or lines of a normal beer fest. No worrying about balancing a drink and cheese here!

There is a confirmed rumor first published by Brewpublic and then confirmed by Eater that 10 Barrel will be opening a pub here in Portland in the former Mellow Mushroom space by mid-summer, and I eagerly hope that the rumors turn out to be true!Of course depending on what they do with the space whether it’s mid-summer or end of this year or who knows when we’ll have to see.

I should also let you know that this coming Saturday the 26th that Bailey’s Taproom is holding their annual Germanfest– check out the beer list and see if you are interested! Usually I am torn between attending Germanfest and the Eat Mobile food cart festival, but this year they moved Eat Mobile to Sunday the 27th, so I will be at Germanfest this year. This 4th annual GermanFest will feature German style beers brewed by Oregon breweries as the name suggests (including 10 Barrel German Sparkle Party Berlinerweiss and Breakside Ice Smoked Eisbock) with general admission beginning at 2 PM and until close (you purchase beers as you order them, no admission fee).

There are a few advance entry VIP tickets for $20 (which is what I got). These tickets include five tastes but also allow entrance two hours earlier from 12-2 PM, providing a less frenzied experience as well as guaranteeing a seat somewhere in a far less crowded bar. I also like to bring a cheese plate with me to enjoy the beers, but as Baileys doesn’t serve food you can also feel free to order Santeria Mexican food from next door.

If you are interested in trying some fruit beer, also check out the taps at Breakside Brewing as some of these beers are available (check out the video below that highlights how they made the fruit beer in partnership with Oregon Fruit Products).

Finally, be sure to look forward to the Portland Fruit Beer Festival– tickets for this June 7 – 8 event are already on sale at $20 general admission Saturday 11am-9pm or Sunday 11am-6pm, or go for $30 VIP admission on Friday June 6 4-9pm and limited to 400 VIP guests + supposedly a few special tappings.

The festival will be held Burnside Brewing at 701 SE Burnside again. Burnside Brewing will be open, so you can still get a cheese plate to compliment your beers, or my personal favorite their cohiba cigar and/or beer cheese curds on their menu!

Aren’t you inspired to have some cheese and beer now? I am just writing this post! If you would like some tips on pairing beer and cheese, check out this great post “Cheese and Beer Pairing Tips From Steve Jones of Portland’s Cheese Bar” from Serious Eats with pointers from Steve while at this event himself (and also photos from this event!)

What kind of fruit beer would you want to try?

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Fifty Licks Sorbet Cocktails and more!

November 8, 2013 by 1 Comment

Disclosure: I attended an event where tasting samples of these ice creams, sorbets, and cocktails 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’m trying to remember how long I have been loving Fifty Licks ice cream. I think it might have been when they first opened, since I have a photo in 2010 of their Red Bull Cola Ice Cream.  In other photos I wrote in the captions that the Stumptown Coffee and Tahitian Vanilla were excellent, and was particularly loving the bacon bit parts of their Maple Bacon.

I called it then “wonderful shake-ups to normal ice cream.” Even though coffee and vanilla sound plain, they were bursting with flavor, and you could notice and appreciate the high quality ingredients. I like how the French custard style makes their product so creamy and soft.

Since then, I’ve visited their adorable, nostalgic light blue truck at the Good Foods Here food cart pod at SE Belmont and 43rd  (at least until that food pod closes), as well as when I run across their other truck (locations vary). The last delicious flavor I remember is from a few months ago a Toasted Milk ice cream, and before that was Passionfruit Szechuan Peppercorn sorbet (tart with a kick!), so clearly they are still bringing it, combining classic with creative.
Eat Mobile 2013: Toasted Milk ice cream from Fifty Licks Fifty Licks ice cream truck at the Good Food Here food cart pod Fifty Licks ice cream truck at the Good Food Here food cart pod Fifty Licks Ice Cream, My passionfruit szechuan peppercorn sorbet

I also remember saying that Chad Draizin, owner, is the best dressed, most stylish ice cream man I have ever seen.
The best dressed ice cream man I've ever seen... Chad Draizin of Fifty Licks and his ice cream truck The best dressed ice cream man I've ever seen... Chad Draizin of Fifty Licks and his ice cream truck

Recently (this past August), they opened up a brick and mortar location at 2021 SE Clinton at 21st, just down a door from St. Jack, and also easily walkable from SE Division or Powell if the other offerings on SE Clinton aren’t enough options.  This sounds like a PERFECT end of a dinner for me. They are just a cute, clean crisp little bright spot.

Fifty Licks ice cream shop at SE Clinton Fifty Licks ice cream shop at SE Clinton Fifty Licks ice cream shop at SE Clinton Fifty Licks ice cream shop at SE Clinton

Actually, it’s even better than I thought. It turns out the Fifty Licks is more than just an Ice Cream Parlor. Besides offering  ice cream flavors and sorbets you can also get Fifty Licks sorbet cocktails and Cafe Cubano. So it can be your stop before and after dinner!

Chad has brought Cafe Cubano in case you want a little pick me up to warm you up from your walk. The little pot serves four, and it is extremely strong so the key is in beating the crap to cream that generous helping of sugar, as he demonstrated for us. Thanks for bringing this from Miami for us Chad.

Fifty Licks Cafe Cubano Fifty Licks Cafe Cubano Fifty Licks Cafe Cubano Fifty Licks Cafe Cubano Fifty Licks Cafe Cubano Fifty Licks Cafe Cubano Fifty Licks Cafe Cubano Fifty Licks Cafe Cubano Fifty Licks Cafe Cubano

They have twelve rotating flavors of scooped ice creams and sorbets. The flavors will continually be updated/rotated, based on what mad genius comes to fruition for the Fifty Licks imagination + execution testing! All you need to know is that Chad is a mad genius, and you cannot go wrong with any flavor you pick.

Ok, I guess I can elaborate. Chad is a perfectionist in terms of making sure any new flavor is the best it can be, often developing flavors for weeks and paying attention to details like how purely the original high quality ingredient comes through in the final ice cream/sorbet, how the texture feels, and even (and particularly for Chad) the aromatics … Even the pint packaging he thinks about the way it sounds and feels to close the lid. He cares about every detail of your entire experience.

And, even though he humbly shrugs that everything he knows is just stuff he picked up along the way, don’t be surprised if he is suddenly channeling a sweet young version of Alton Brown as he begins to explain how he can make caramel out of anything (such as for his Caramelized Apple flavor, he made the caramel directly out of apples! And is there a way to do that from sweet potatoes he wonders…) or talks about using the pressure cooker one second and food chemistry and reactions of ingredients at a molecular level a few seconds later.

It’s addicting to watch and listen to this combination of food purist (he wants flavors to be singular and appreciated, not muddled in complexity) and science nerd and creativity explain how his flavors are crafted. For instance, the Toasted Milk flavor came to him in a dream- he didn’t know how he was going to make it happen, but he knew what it would end up as, and so began his quest… And the result is a treasure, sounding strange but then after one taste you feel nostalgic and homey and comforted and loved like a young toddler with a milk bottle, but so much better.

He mentioned lots of intriguing ideas he has (I think there was at least 5 different flavor combinations just with chocolate!), but I don’t want to spoil it so you’ll just have to follow Fifty Licks on Facebook, Twitter handle @FiftyLicks, and feast with your eyes on their Instagram feed FiftyLicks.

Since I was with a group, we got little sampler tastings (obviously these sake cup portions are not the size you would get if you order), but I wanted to show some of the photos so you can see the detail even in these sample scoops. Don’t you just want to sip your spoon into that soft creamy ice cream?

Fifty Licks, some ice cream samples for our group in little sake cup tasters Fifty Licks, some ice cream samples for our group in little sake cup tasters Fifty Licks, some ice cream samples for our group in little sake cup tasters Fifty Licks, some ice cream samples for our group in little sake cup tasters Fifty Licks, some ice cream samples for our group in little sake cup tasters

Example ice cream flavors for instance might include (remember these will rotate based on seasonal ingredients/new ideas!):

  • Stumptown Coffee
  • Tahitian Vanilla
  • Toasted Milk
  • Jasmine Tea with Apricot
  • Caramelized Apple
  • Cherry Bourbon
  • Jasmine Rice with Fragrant Pandan
  • Raspberry
  • Blood Orange Screamscle
  • Maple with Bacon
  • Single Malt Scotch

Sorbet flavors for instance might include:

  • Coconut Lemon Saffron
  • Passionfruit with Sichuan Peppercorns
  • Grapefruit with Rosewater
  • Rhode Island Style Frozen Lemonade
  • Chocolate with Toasted Oat Milk

You can select a gluten-free waffle cone instead of a cup if you’d like, as well as select from toppings such as Ghost Pepper salt, bee pollen, sweet corn dust, potato chips, Ovaltine, who knows what they might have! For instance,  below, this one on the left is Jasmine Tea with Apricot ice cream with bee pollen topping, and the other is Passionfruit with Sichuan Peppercorns sorbet topped with Ghost Pepper Salt, tart and spicy!

Fifty Licks, ice cream samples for our group in little sake cup tasters, this one is Jasmine Tea with Apricot with bee pollen topping Fifty Licks Passionfruit with Sichuan Peppercorns sorbet topped with Ghost Pepper Salt, tart and spicy!

Unique Alert: Fifty Licks Sorbet Cocktails

Meanwhile, for their sorbet cocktails, look at these awesome concoctions! This alone is worth making a stop at Fifty Licks, if the above isn’t enough to persuade you. Now, they do not have a liquor license  (since that would require them serving food, which is more than this little ice cream parlor can handle in their space), but the few cocktails they do offer are so exquisite and I’m not sure why you would want anything else. These are so sophisticated I don’t know why they aren’t currently on a Bon Appétit or Saveur cover, they are so beautiful. On the other hand, maybe by June of next year, they will be…

  • The Furacão – Passion fruit with Sichuan Peppercorn Sorbet, Cossart Gordan Bual Madeira, Byrrh bitters.
    Fifty Licks Sorbet Cocktails of The Furacão – Passion fruit with Sichuan Peppercorn Sorbet, Cossart Gordan Bual Madeira, Byrrh bitters. Fifty Licks Sorbet Cocktails of The Furacão – Passion fruit with Sichuan Peppercorn Sorbet, Cossart Gordan Bual Madeira, Byrrh bitters.
  • The Bitter Rose: scoop of Grapefruit and Rosewater sorbet with orange bitters and Cocchi Americano Rosa.
  • The Nordic Palmer: scoop of Rhode Island Style Frozen Lemonade sorbet with Sparking Iced Tea from Main Mead Works.
    Fifty Licks Sorbet Cocktails of The Nordic Palmer: scoop of Rhode Island Style Frozen Lemonade with Sparking Iced Tea from Main Mead Works. Fifty Licks Sorbet Cocktails of The Nordic Palmer: scoop of Rhode Island Style Frozen Lemonade with Sparking Iced Tea from Main Mead Works.
  • The Velvet Shiso: fresh Shiso leaf and a scoop of Coconut Lemon Saffron Sorbet floating in a pond of Umeshu plum wine and sparkling AlexEli Riesling.
    Fifty Licks Sorbet Cocktails of The Velvet Shiso: fresh Shiso leaf and a scoop of Coconut Lemon Saffron Sorbet floating in a pond of Umeshu plum wine and sparkling AlexEli Riesling Fifty Licks Sorbet Cocktails of The Velvet Shiso: fresh Shiso leaf and a scoop of Coconut Lemon Saffron Sorbet floating in a pond of Umeshu plum wine and sparkling AlexEli Riesling

Only my good manners kept me from drinking one of these shared tastes by myself… and perhaps I may have finished the last leftovers of one of the Furacao and Velvet Shiso which offered a beguiling experience of flavors, and the tart refreshment of the Nordic Palmer is also delightful.

Fifty Licks winter hours now, so is open 4pm-10pm and 12-11p on Fri and Sat, and offers a Happy Hour on our sorbet cocktails every day, 4-6. You can also buy these adorable little pints to take home.

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Disclosure: I attended an event where tasting samples of these ice creams, sorbets, and cocktails 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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Feast Portland 2013 Day 3: High Comfort Recap

September 23, 2013 by 6 Comments

Disclosure: I was granted a Bloggers Pass for Feast Portland 2013, and asked to help promote Feast but they did not require that I write this post and I am not otherwise being compensated. I paid for my own ticket to the High Comfort event.

I was excited for this event, High Comfort at The Nines, presented by Portland Monthly Magazine.  Tickets were a splurge for me (but I plunged forward anyway- this as not covered by my Bloggers Pass) at $175 and were sold out by Labor Day weekend of September. The event of course took place as part of Feast Portland on Saturday, Sept 21st 6:00pm – 9:00pm at the Nines Hotel to help raise money for Feast Portland charity partners: Share Our Strength and Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon.

As I wrote about in my countdown post to this event previously, reviewing some of the level of creativity and quality of food from the Feast 2012 event convinced me this was worth the price tag. Now I return the favor to all of you out there wondering if you may want to attend High Comfort 2014 with the details of this year. Although I still wonder how to get the lifestyle that I loved to watch on Gossip Girl (how was there a fancy party every other episode, always with new dresses?), for a few hours on this evening, I loved that I was able to have an excuse to wear a long gown when it wasn’t a wedding and be fancy and glamorous.

I was so dedicated to trying to get to all the food stations that I totally do not have a single photo of myself or the dress that I trekked to get to this fabulous party (yes, I walked 1.3 miles from home to the Nines! Don’t worry- I took a Pacific Foods sponsored pedicab to the After Party, and then a taxi home because my feet were just killing me, so I couldn’t go on). But I went all out wearing a floor length gown, thanks to everyone who came up to compliment my multicolor dress and made me feel like Cinderella at some sort of food Oscars- the dress was by Muse Apparel.

And now, I present to you my High Comfort Recap.

Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort

All was well when I arrived as even before they put my Feast wristband on, they offered me a glass of champagne. Yes, let the VIP treatment, even if only for a few hours, start! The theme was that of a diner, starting with “The Peach Pit After Dark” which had more classic lounge music in a darkened, elegant setting with a few lights. You then would move down the hallway past Olympic Provisions, OSU’s Artisan Cheese Showcase, and Widmer Brothers Brewing to the Comfort Lounge which included Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Hendrick’s Gin, and two dessert station you’ll see at the end of this post.
Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort

Finally, there was a large ballroom which was the High Diner, where most of the chefs stations were, with a few wineries having stations on each side of the wall, and one large center area where four different wineries were pouring.
Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort

But for now, let’s admire the beautiful comfort food from my view! Especially, because my memory can only last me so long in remembering everything!

The Peach Pit After Dark

  • Thomas McNaughton of flour + water (San Francisco, CA) – Fermented Grain Porridge with mushrooms, Red Hawk cheese and duck crackling. It probably doesn’t look like much to you, but I liked the textures and I thought this was a perfect representation of taking a comfort food to another level, but it still had its simple, and sincere, heart.
    Thomas McNaughton of flour + water (San Francisco, CA) - Fermented Grain Porridge with mushrooms, Red Hawk cheese and duck crackling at Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort
  • Aaron Barnett of St. Jack (Portland, OR) – “Mom’s Spaghetti” wild boar, sweetbread and pig trotter bolognese. This was tasty but a pain to eat- too short to wrap around the Verterra fork like real spagetti, but couldn’t just scoop up like a tortellini or rotini.
    Aaron Barnett of St. Jack (Portland, OR) - Mom's Spaghetti with wild boar, sweetbread and pig trotter bolognese at Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort
  • April Bloomfield of the Breslin Bar & Dining Room and The Spotted Pig (New York, NY)- Seafood Sausage. One of only 3 lines I stood in the entire evening for a chef’s station. This one almost went to the door of the Peach Pit!
    April Bloomfield of the Breslin Bar & Dining Room and The Spotted Pig (New York, NY)- Seafood Sausage at Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort
  • Jenn Louis of Lincoln Restaurant and Sunshine Tavern (Portland, OR) –  Lamb Tartare wtih salsa verde and cured egg yolk. My favorite bite of the Peach Pit, and among my top 3 for all of High Comfort. Maybe I did go back and get a second chip.
    Jenn Louis of Lincoln Restaurant and Sunshine Tavern (Portland, OR) - Lamb Tartare wtih salsa verde and cured egg yolk at Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort
  • Jason French of Ned Ludd (Portland, OR)- Creamed chipped smoked salmon, brioche soldiers
    Jason French of Ned Ludd (Portland, OR)- Creamed chipped smoked salmon, brioche soldiersat Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort

High Diner

  • Justin Wills of Restaurant Beck (Depoe Bay, OR) – Water Buffalo Bratwurst
    Justin Wills of Restaurant Beck (Depoe Bay, OR) - Water Buffalo Bratwurst at Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort
  • Justin Woodward of Castagna (Portland, OR) – Smoked Black Cod Nasturtium Cream
    Justin Woodward of Castagna (Portland, OR) - Smoked Black Cod Nasturtium Cream at Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort
  • Tom Douglas repping from his Tom Douglas Restaurants empire, Tanaka San (Seattle, WA) – Dungeness Crab, Peanut and Pork Sausage with Kimchee Fried Rice. This was the second line I stood in during the evening, but Tom Douglas is the king of Seattle, and having already loved multiple of his restaurants I was speechless in his presence as he handed me my tasting portion.
    Tom Douglas repping from his Tom Douglas Restaurants empire, Tanaka San (Seattle, WA) - Dungeness Crab, Peanut and Pork Sausage with Kimchee Fried Rice at Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort Tom Douglas repping from his Tom Douglas Restaurants empire, Tanaka San (Seattle, WA) - Dungeness Crab, Peanut and Pork Sausage with Kimchee Fried Rice at Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort Tom Douglas repping from his Tom Douglas Restaurants empire, Tanaka San (Seattle, WA) - Dungeness Crab, Peanut and Pork Sausage with Kimchee Fried Rice at Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort Tom Douglas repping from his Tom Douglas Restaurants empire, Tanaka San (Seattle, WA) - Dungeness Crab, Peanut and Pork Sausage with Kimchee Fried Rice at Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort
  • Philippe Boulot of the Multnomah Athletic Club (Portland, OR)- Dartois of sweetbread, foie gras and lobster
    Philippe Boulot of the Multnomah Athletic Club (Portland, OR)- Dartois of sweetbread, foie gras and lobster at Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort
  • Jason Stoller Smith of Timberline Lodge (Portland, OR)- baked potato fram, smoked pork cheeks, truffled yougurt powder. I could have had a whole bowl of these.
    Jason Stoller Smith of Timberline Lodge (Portland, OR)- baked potato fram, smoked pork cheeks, truffled yougurt powder at Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort
  • Renee Erickson of The Whale Wins (Seattle, WA)- Herring Rillette, Preserved Peppers in oil, Rye Toast
    Renee Erickson of The Whale Wins (Seattle, WA)- Herring Rillette, Preserved Peppers in oil, Rye Toast at Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort
  • Vitaly Paley of Imperial and Paley’s Place (Portland, OR) – “Steak and Eggs” Smoked Elk Tongue, Duck Egg Yolk, Crispy Potatoes. Winner of best plating of the dish of all of High Comfort, don’t you think?
    Vitaly Paley of Imperial and Paley's Place (Portland, OR) - Steak and Eggs with Smoked Elk Tongue, Duck Egg Yolk, Crispy Potatoes at Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort
  • Matt Christianson of Urban Farmer (Portland, OR)- Oregon Elk, Offal Aioli, Semolina Pita, Pickled Vegetables snuggled in the “grass”… I would give them award for best booth presentation.
    Matt Christianson of Urban Farmer (Portland, OR)- Oregon Elk, Offal Aioli, Semolina Pita, Pickled Vegetables at Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort Matt Christianson of Urban Farmer (Portland, OR)- Oregon Elk, Offal Aioli, Semolina Pita, Pickled Vegetables at Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort Matt Christianson of Urban Farmer (Portland, OR)- Oregon Elk, Offal Aioli, Semolina Pita, Pickled Vegetables at Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort
  • Stephanie Izard of The Girl and The Goat (Chicago, IL)- Goat Chilli with Pizza Poufs. I only secretly squeed as she presented me with my sample.
    Stephanie Izard of The Girl and The Goat (Chicago, IL)- Goat Chilli with Pizza Poufs at Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort Stephanie Izard of The Girl and The Goat (Chicago, IL)- Goat Chilli with Pizza Poufs at Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort Stephanie Izard of The Girl and The Goat (Chicago, IL)- Goat Chilli with Pizza Poufs at Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort
  • Andrew Carmellini of The Dutch (New York, NY) – Foie Gras Hot Dogs
    Andrew Carmellini of The Dutch (New York, NY) - Foie Gras Hot Dog at Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort
  • Erik Van Kley of Little Bird (Portland, OR) – Lamb Belly BLT
    Erik Van Kley of Little Bird (Portland, OR) - Lamb Belly BLT at Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort
  • Michael Voltaggio of ink (Los Angeles, CA)- Pho. The longest line of all the chef specials being offered, because they were plating to order, first with a container of just the radish noodles, then Michael himself slicing and personally serving your beef, and then a cutie delicately but deftly garnishing and finishing the plating with a pair of chopsticks! Totally worth the wait. Maybe I had two bowls of these. I mean seriously, here is my attempt to capture the experience to share with you. Look at that meat. Everything was good- even just the broth I would have been so happy with by itself, it was so flavorful.

Michael Voltaggio of ink (Los Angeles, CA)- Pho at Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort Michael Voltaggio of ink (Los Angeles, CA)- Pho at Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort Michael Voltaggio of ink (Los Angeles, CA)- Pho at Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort Michael Voltaggio of ink (Los Angeles, CA)- Pho Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort Michael Voltaggio of ink (Los Angeles, CA)- Pho at Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort Michael Voltaggio of ink (Los Angeles, CA)- Pho at Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort Michael Voltaggio of ink (Los Angeles, CA)- Pho at Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort Michael Voltaggio of ink (Los Angeles, CA)- Pho at Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort Michael Voltaggio of ink (Los Angeles, CA)- Pho at Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort

Somehow, I missed Michael Lightner from Atera’s dish, who did a country fried beef. Sad. I wish the maps (which I scanned after someone discarded and left it behind, they were laminated but never saw where they came from) had actually been helpful in listing who was where: even Eat Mobile seems to be able to get that together.

Comfort Lounge

for Dessert too!

  • Tyler Malek of Salt & Straw (Portland, OR) – Raspberry Dipped Cone of Oregon Black Raspberries and Smoked Ham ice cream
  • Kristen Murray of Maurice (Portland, OR) – Oregon Berry & Sweet corn Pavlova, Jacobsen Sea Salt Honey Popcorn Candy

Tyler Malek of Salt & Straw (Portland, OR) - Raspberry Dipped Cone of Oregon Black Raspberries and Smoked Ham ice cream at Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort Kristen Murray of Maurice (Portland, OR) - Oregon Berry & Sweet corn Pavlova, Jacobsen Sea Salt Honey Popcorn Candy at Feast Portland 2013 High Comfort

The one criticism I have was that there was absolutely no place to put down anything you were holding, and jugging a glass of champagne or wine and/or your food sample and possibly a utensil needed to eat with, and in my case a phone to boot, was a nightmare. I saw many others in cocktail attire basically left to sit in the hallways, trying to find a wall space.

This was a surprise to me logistically because I have been to many Portland Monthly sponsored events which have always been a great experience and have included seating (usually tables that also have their magazines fanned on them), even if they were holding it in a paved parking lot or empty art gallery loft. Well, I did like that when I first entered, there was a chalkboard with the twitter handle and hashtags- that seemed a familiar touch from Portland Monthly’s event planner, thanks!

I also don’t know what I was thinking in using this event to break in/learn the camera on my new phone (a Samsung Galaxy 4). This might be if you are a regular reader, why my photo thumbnails (as usuals, you can click on them to see a larger version) are more narrow than from my usual point and shoot camera. I learned the Samsung cameraphone lets me choose where to auto focus with a tap… except at this event, that means I needed a finger to tap that focus spot while holding everything else too! I kept going back and forth from the rooms with the stations to the hallway to eat in order to get the lighting you see. I can’t wait to see some of professional camera pictures and will update this post with links to the inevitable slideshows as I discover them, so come back and visit this post again in a week!

Disclosure: I was granted a Bloggers Pass for Feast Portland 2013, and asked to help promote Feast but they did not require that I write this post and I am not otherwise being compensated. The ticket to this High Comfort event was paid from my own pocket. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own, and I will always provide my honest opinion and assessment of all products and experiences regardless of whether they were complimentary or not. 

Also check out my recap of Day 1 Sandwich Invitational and Day 2 Oregon Bounty Grand Tasting

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