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Feast PDX 2016 Night Market

September 27, 2016 by Pechluck 4 Comments

I regret I can only bring you some example sights of the Feast 2016 Night Market, and not more like the sounds of the amazing Latin music that kept me dancing a little bit even in line (and the way they placed the DJ overhead in a little overhead bridge was very cool, especially loved the visual of watching the full moon rise behind her at one point during the night), the aromas of paella, the feel of trying to balance some of these messy bites and using multiple napkins because of juicy drippings down your arm but you can’t stop and won’t stop even though you’re already full.
Feast PDX 2016 Night Market Feast PDX 2016 Night Market DJ above the people and the moon rising behind her

Not counting beverages (a dozen wineries and additional dozen beverage partners who are distilleries, breweries and cideries) and other food sponsors, there were almost twenty participating chefs alone with dishes at booths – there’s just no way to have it all. But I invite you to purchase tickets for the 2017 Night Market next year when they go on sale and come over next year and try.

Bites from Chefs

Maylin Chavez from Olympia Oyster Bar (Portland, OR): Oysters on the half Shell with Agua Chile Rojo, Pickled Cactus Leaves, Avocado, and Micro Cilantro
Benjamin Gonzales from Nuestra Cocina (Portland, OR): Tacos de Cecina Adobada – Smoked marinated Snake River Farms pork loin with salsa verde
Scott Ketterman from Crown Paella (Portland, OR): Playa Paella with dungeness crab and fried calamari. You can tell that I am so desperately trying to rationalize throwing a paella party I am so in love with that huge pan…
Kelly Myers from Xico (Portland, OR): Totopos, a perfect balance of crisp vehicle and topping of chile de arbol salsa, topped with cotija cheese, crema, lime, cilantro and onion that you can also find on Xico’s happy hour menu.
Dustin Koerner from Andina (Portland, OR): Rillettes Anticuchera de Conejo, love the color highlight from the purple potato
Alex Barkley from Manolin (Seattle, WA): Watermelon, Albacore, Quinoa
Tony Maws from Craigie on Main (Cambridge, MA): Green Chile Chicken Wings, messy to eat but so good!
Paul Kahan from Dove’s Luncheonette (Chicago, IL): Pozole Rojo, a pork hominy stew with fried clams
Alvin Cailan from Eggslut (Los Angeles, CA): Chicharrónes de Harina with Snow Crab Ceviche
José Chesa from Chesa (Portland, OR) made Cono, an Escabeche style duck, avocado, orange-sweet potato, crispy plantain, pimenton-garlic salt in (duh) a cone
BJ Smith from Smokehouse Tavern (Portland, OR): Smoked Snake River Farms vaca frita and pickled alliums
Rene Ortiz from Launderette (Austin, TX): Chifa, well loved by me and most of the crowd for being so refreshing
Billy Schumaker from Taqueria Nueve (Portland, OR): Surtido de res, Oaxacan black bean puree, spiced Mexican crema, tostada
Erik Van Kley from Taylor Railworks (Portland, OR): Arancini Ranchero with delicious burrata inside whose creaminess was a perfect foil for that spicy ranchero sauce! You can find this delectable item also on the Taylor Railworks dinner menu.
Rodney Muirhead from Podnah’s Barbecue (Portland, OR): Snake River Farms Beef Rib Taco smothered in burn so good hatch chili cheese sauce was my favorite representive bite of Night market this year
Rick Gencarelli from Lardo (Portland, OR): Denver lamb ribs barbacoa. The line was too long and I got too tuckered out to try these, but I did visit to watch the magic of the always cheerful and energetic Rick who always brings crowd pleasing food
Jami Curl from QUIN (Portland, OR): Fresh and fruity spiced lime candy you can see them diligently rolling onto the stick all night
Feast PDX 2016 Night Market from Tyler Malek from Salt & Straw (Portland, OR): Sweet corn copo with lime zest shaved ice, Oregon sweet corn ice cream, cilantro kola syrup, more shaved ice, black raspberry sweetened condensed milk, and fresh candied marionberry especially. This was most surprising combination and dish for me of the night, with every bite being different depending on which parts of the many layers made it on the spoon.

A Few Night Market Drinks

La Vaquera Descarada cocktail featuring New Deal Distillery Cascadia d’Amore American Bitter Liqueur along with Portland 88 Vodka, Paul Cheneau Lady of Spain Cava Brut, The Bitter Housewife Grapefruit Bitters, demerara simply syrup and grapefruit twist, recipe by Sierra Kirk
I kept going back over and over to the Goose Island booth with their 3 beer cocktails with flavor profiles of Smoke (La Senorita Ahumada with Goose Island’s Sofie Ale with Mezcal), Spice (Sofie Picante with Sofie Ale and Tequila and Jalapeno),, and Citrus (Sofie Gin Spritzer with Sofie Ale with Curacao Orange Peel, Citrus Gin, and Orange). They went with everything – and are also good if you mix any two of these cocktails together
Ransom Spirits (probably currently most known for their gin) booth with a chance to taste a their new whiskey and their potent punch (with Old Tom Gin, Pinot Gris, citrus, sweet, Reverend Nat’s Tepache, and Fizz) was popular with many as I gingerly balanced my plate and the cup with whiskey and cup of punch after reaching the front of the line! Both were very easy to drink and too dangerous for me to return because I thought I might get myself into trouble…
Jacobsen Salt put together a bite and a drink by partnering with Bull In China to offer the messiest bite of the night, Elote that you could wash down with Tijuana Thunder, a cocktail with Hornitas Tequila, Anchos Reyes Chile Liqueur, Peach, Lime, Rainier Tall Boys and Bee Local Honey Water with a Jacobsen’s Salt Habanero salt rim.

I made a call to focus more on food so that I could at least visit almost all the Chefs on the Feast PDX 2016 Night Market lineup, at the expense of not being able to also get to all the beverage and other sponsor booths. So there at least 20 more beverage possibilities I didn’t cover here… Other glimpses I noticed are

USA Pears was packing goodie bags of pears,
Whole Foods offered a healthy fruit plate with salt, sugar, and chili dip,
Milagro Tequila had options of Agua Frescas and Horchata to combine (or not) with their tequila tastings,
Tillamook Dairy ice cream brought their Tillabar with DeGarde Brewing for beer floats,
Talenti Gelato truck dishing scoops on cones of Caramel Cookie Crunch, Coconut Almond Chocolate, and Key Lime Pie…
I think I saw Beau Carr of Ringside and Tom Douglas of the Tom Douglas restaurant empire in Seattle in cordoned areas for special members (I think Chase Bank and Alaska Air).
And more that I missed I’m sure!

If you’re reading this wondering if attending one of these walk-around marquee events of Feast is worth it, I hope you can see from my example of all that Night Market can offer that it really is all that the name promises, truly a Feast and the atmosphere of a festive Night Market with quite a range of options to explore as a food traveler. This is my second time attending the Feast night market – this year the theme was Latin, but you can also see my recap of Night Market from 2015 when the theme was Asian.

Disclosure: I was granted a Blogger Pass for Feast Portland 2016 for blog post and social media coverage but I am not otherwise being compensated. Even before I was given the Blogger Pass I already had tickets for some Feast events that I paid for myself. 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.

Filed Under: Festival Event, Food and Drink, Portland Highlights, Sponsored Post Tagged With: #feastpdx, #feastportland, Alvin Cailan from Eggslut, Arancini Ranchero, Beer Cocktails, Benjamin Gonzales from Nuestra Cocina, Billy Schumaker from Taqueria Nueve, Chesa, Chicharrónes de Harina with Snow Crab Ceviche, Chifa, Crown Paella, Denver lamb ribs barbacoa, Dustin Koerner from Andina, Escabeche style duck, Feast 2016, Feast Night Market, feast pdx, Feast PDX 2016, Feast PDX Night Market, Feast Portland, Feast Portland 2016, Feast Portland 2016 Night Market, Goose Island Beer Cocktails, Goose Island's Sofie Ale with Mezcal, Green Chile Chicken Wings, José Chesa from Chesa, Kelly Myers from Xico, La Senorita Ahumada beer cocktail, La Vaquera Descarada cocktail, Latin themed Night Market, Maylin Chavez of Olympia Oyster Bar, New Deal Distillery Cascadia d'Amore American Bitter Liqueur, Night Market 2016, Nuestra Cocina, Olympia Oyster Bar, Oysters on the half Shell with Agua Chile Rojo, Paul Kahan of Dove's Luncheonette, Playa Paella with dungeness crab and fried calamari, Pozole Rojo, QUIN candy on a stick, Ransom Spirits, Rene Ortiz from Launderette, Rick Gencarelli from Lardo, Rillettes Anticuchera de Conejo, Rodney Muirhead from Podnah's Barbecue, Salt & Straw, Salt & Straw Sweet Corn Copo, Scott Ketterman of Crown Paella, Smoked marinated Snake River Farms pork loin with salsa verde, Smokehouse Tavern, Snake River Farms Beef Rib Taco, Sofie Ale, Sofie Ale and Tequila and Jalapeno, Sofie Ale with Curacao Orange Peel and Citrus Gin and and Orange, Sofie Gin Spritzer, Sofie Picante cocktail, Surtido de res, Sweet Corn Copo, Tacos de cecina adobada, Taylor Railworks, Tony Maws from Craigie on Main, Totopos, TRW, Tyler Malek Sweet Corn Copo, Zidell Farms

Feast PDX Twisted Filipino Dinner

September 21, 2016 by Pechluck 3 Comments

For Feast Portland 2016, which just occurred last week, I was really pleased to see several different ethnic cuisines being highlighted as part of the Dinner Series. The one I attended offered me a chance to try Filipino food, which usually I don’t have much access to in Portland and even when I do get it it’s generally limited to lumpia, adobo, pancit and longanisa (and wishful thinking for me on lechón. Come on Carlo, throw together a pop up event!). This Feast PDX Twisted Filipino Dinner photo recap shows how these star chefs not only shared Filipino food with us, but took it up another level thanks to their restaurant perspective to upgrade it from the traditional family kitchen.

The chefs for the dinner included Portland’s Clyde Common Carlo Lamagna, and his LA Filipino friends Alvin Cailan of Eggslut, Chad and Chase Valencia of pop-up restaurant LASA, Charles Olalia of RiceBar, and Isa Fabro of Unit 120.

As we checked in, we were greeted by a welcome cocktail Bamboo of vermouth, sherry, organic bitters and twist of lime oil. Through the evening, beverage wise there were 3 wine pours, 2 beer bottles, and 3 cocktails by Banjo Amberg offerings for this six course dinner.
Feast PDX Twisted Filipino Dinner, welcome cocktail

More scenes of the dinner overall to set the stage… These 4 photos are not mine (the rest of the post photos are though) and if you look carefully I’m in the background of two of the photos wearing black and white!

Feast Isa Fabro of Unit 120 at the Feast PDX Twisted Filipino Dinner, photo credits Kimberley Hasselbrink Portland Clyde Common Carlo Lamagna plating at the Feast PDX Twisted Filipino Dinner, photo credits Kimberley Hasselbrink
Feast PDX Twisted Filipino Dinner, photo credits for the above 4 photos from Kimberley Hasselbrink

Bread Rolls for the Table

Pan de Sal, Filipino Bread Rolls with Ube Latik butter (purple yam and caramelized coconut milk with palm sugar) by Isa Fabro of Unit 120
Feast Portland 2016 Twisted Filipino Dinner: Pan de Sal

First Course

Mais Con Hielo: corn textures (a dairy free corn mousse with crab fat), finger lime, puffed rice, seawater (specifically, liquids from crab and shellfish) paired with 2014 Columbia Winery Ancient Lakes Riesling. Dish by Charles Olalia of RiceBar.
Feast Portland 2016 Twisted Filipino Dinner Mais Con Hielo: corn textures, finger lime, puffed rice, seawater paired with 2014 Columbia Winery Ancient Lakes Riesling

Second Course

Kinilaw: red snapper, nectarine, lemon cucumber, fermented fresno chili, sugar cane vinegar, shiso, fried shallot paired with 2013 Columbia Winery Chardonnay. Dish by Chad Valencia of pop-up restaurant LASA.
Feast Portland 2016 Twisted Filipino Dinner Kinilaw: red snapper, nectarine, lemon cucumber, fermented fresno chili, sugar cane vinegar paired with 2013 Columbia Winery Chardonnay

Third Course

Abobong Pato: duck adobo croquette (the duck was braised then he reduced the liquid and made into a cake that he deep fried, yay), roasted eggplant custerd, pickled ramps, chicharron paired with Lagunitas Pils.Dish by Carlo Lamagna of Clyde Common.
Feast Portland 2016 Twisted Filipino Dinner Abobong Pato: duck adobo croquette, roasted eggplant custard, pickled ramps, chicharron paired with Lagunitas Pils

Fourth Course

Nilagang Baka: beef brisket, napa cabbage, jasmine rice paired with Lagunitas IPA. Dish by Alvin Cailan of Eggslut. Of all the pairings this was the most transformative with the way the IPA brought out new flavors in the food.
Feast Portland 2016 Twisted Filipino Dinner: Chef Alvin Cailan made Nilagang Baka with beef brisket, napa cabbage, jasmine rice paired with Lagunitas IPA

Fifth Course

Family Style dishes:
Feast PDX Twisted Filipino Dinner: Family Style dishes for the fifth course
Kalderetang Kambing with goat, olives, Jimmy Nardello peppers; by Carlo
Feast Portland 2016 Twisted Filipino Dinner Fifth Course Family Style dishes: Kalderetang Kambing with goat, olives, Jimmy Nardello peppers
Bringhe with heirloom rice, summer vegetables, coconut cream; by Charles

Gailan of Chinese broccoli and Bagoong XO; by Isa

Kare-Kare with lentils, cannellini beans, shitake dashi, peanut butter; by Chase
Feast Portland 2016 Twisted Filipino Dinner Fifth Course Family Style dishes: Kare-Kare with lentils, cannellini beans, shitake dashi, peanut butter
All paired with Mojo Filter cocktail of aged rum, coconut rum, lime, and pineapple gomme or a 2013 Columbia Winery Cabernet Sauvignon

Sixth Course

Coconut Sage Tart with dulcey mousse with coconut tapioca, passion fruit curd, pineapple, and basil and basil blossoms paired with Palmetto cocktail of aged rums, Italian vermouth, Demerara, bitters, lemon and orange oils. Plus an Extra dessert surprise of a mini-Blondie Dish by Isa Fabro of Unit 120.
Feast Portland 2016 Twisted Filipino Dinner: Sixth Course Coconut Sage Course wtih dulcey mousse, passion fruit curd, pineapple, and basil paired with Palmetto cocktail of aged rums, Italian vermouth, Demerara, bitters, lemon and orange oils

Thank you to all the chefs for all the welcoming grins; everyone patiently autographing my menu; the fun atmosphere where they were so proud and enthused to tell us the traditional inspiration for their dish and what they did to add their twist; so many drinks (with a side of swearing starting from the opening speech to cement that we were being treated more like close friends and family rather than just paying customers); and the fact they were laughing and having a good time made sure everyone at the tables eating and drinking (SOOO much food, soooo full) also absorbed that positive energy too. Come back next year!!
The chefs of the Feast PDX Twisted Filipino dinner for 2016
Disclosure: I was granted a Blogger Pass for Feast Portland 2016 for blog post and social media coverage but I am not otherwise being compensated. Even before I was given the Blogger Pass I already had tickets for some Feast events that I paid for myself, and this event is one out of my own pocket ($125 all inclusive). 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.

Filed Under: Festival Event, Food and Drink, Sponsored Post Tagged With: #feastpdx, #feastportland, Abobong Pato, Alvin Cailan, Banjo Amberg, Bringhe, Carlo Lamagna, Chad Valencia, Charles Olalia, Chase Valencia, Coconut Sage Tart with dulcey mousse with coconut tapioca, Feast 2016, Feast 2016 Dinner Recap, Feast 2016 Filipino Dinner, Feast 2016 Twisted Filipino Dinner, Feast Filipino Dinner, feast pdx, Feast PDX 2016, Feast Portland, Feast Portland 2016, Filipino Cuisine, Filipino Food, Filipino food movement, Gailan, Isa Fabro, Kalderetang Kambing, Kare-Kare, Kinilaw, Mais Con Hielo, Nilagang Baka, Pan de Sal, Twisted Filipino Dinner recap

Tips for Feast PDX 2016

September 8, 2016 by Pechluck 7 Comments

It’s one week until it’s here! The food holiday time of year in Portland – Feast week. It’s all starting Thursday September 15 and goes through Sunday September 18 2016. This will be my fourth year attending Feast, and here are my top tips for Feast PDX, ranging from what to wear to how to proceed through a food event and make the most of it.

Feast promises 4 days of belly busting events showcasing delicious eats and drinks. This is Feast’s 5th year, not only celebrating the bounty of the Oregon and the Northwest in food and drink, but also since its inception Feast has donated more than $230,000 to charity. Feast Portland’s charitable partner in 2016 is Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon.

The main event kick off starts with Thursday, with the Sandwich Invitational (Sold Out) and multiple Dinner Series events (also Sold Out). Then, Friday is your best bet if you don’t already have tickets, as there are tickets still for the Friday version of the Grand Tasting ($60, which are the biggest value for your eating and drinking buck events – $12 an hour progressive sampling of all you can eat and drink for 5 hours!) and several Drink Tank events: see the full Feast schedule here. You can also check the Feast official Facebook page to see if there are any giveaways still open to win tickets.

Beans & Booze panel at Feast 2014 Feast 2015: Oregon Bounty, Kimberly Hoang of Magenta Restaurant in Corvallis Oregon presented Hot Chicks! Dough filled with savory chicken and spicy tamarind creme Brunch Village at Feast 2015, USA Pears, one of the participating sponsors, really brought their A game with their Creamy Coconut and Star Anise Poached Pears and a Pear Shrub wtih Sparkling Prosecco or Soda Water

I also wrote a previous post listing some of the Fab Five food that celebrates Feast but you can get even if you are not at any of the Feast events, and a portion of proceeds still goes to fighting childhood hunger. If you are attending a Feast event, here are my top tips for Feast PDX!

Tip 1: Dress Comfortably & have Easy Pockets or a Tote Bag

For all the main events, you will be visiting a lot of different booths as you are progressive eating through a food market. That means you will be on your feet a lot of the time. In some cases, you will be walking on grass (Smoked) or gravel (Night Market – make sure you have good padding in your shoes). So wear comfy shoes every time.

You will also be eating for several hours – so dress like this is Thanksgiving. This is not the time for your form-fitting dresses and skinny jeans. You want to dress in clothes that have a little tummy give.

Friends - Joey - gif of These are my Thanksgiving Pants

If you are going to an evening event, think about layers as the weather will get cooler later. If you’ve got tickets Smoked, be prepared that the cooking aromas can permeate the air and your clothes will absorb it. In general you don’t want anything requiring dry cleaning!

I highly recommend wearing something with easy accessible pockets or have a tote bag. That way you can store your napkins or utensils or camera or phone while leaving your hands free to hold and eat food and drink, but also get to those objects easily. I don’t like to create a lot of waste at these events, so I will try as much as possible to use every last corner of my napkin and reuse my utensils.

Official Feast Tote bags at Feast 2015

If the weather says it may be rainy and you are attending one of the outdoor events, I recommend wearing weatherproof hooded jacket instead of an umbrella so you don’t have to juggle a food sample, drink glass, AND your umbrella. Plus, your jacket should then come with pockets!

Specifically for the Sandwich Invitational, it is easy to get really, really full on all those 15 or so sandwiches. My secret trick for big multiple station food events like this is that I only take a couple bites of each dish. But since I feel bad throwing the rest away when it’s so delicious I store it away in a few ziploc bags I have in my tote bag and eat it for lunch the next week! This doesn’t mean to go grabbing multiples of a dish unless it’s the very end of the event: have respect for letting all your fellow guests get a chance to try the dish too.

Limiting yourself to only a couple bites, or sharing with a friend, is pretty much the only way to try everything because there is too much for a normal appetite. Don’t feel like you have to eat and drink everything either.

By the end at all the events, don’t be surprised if some of the booths may have already served up all their plates either so make sure you go in the order of chefs or dishes you want to see the most so you won’t be disappointed you missed someone you really wanted to see. I particular like visiting the out of town chefs first rather then the hometown favorites (though I visit them too) since it’s a unique chance to try their food without having to fly to their city.

At Grand Tasting, one of my favorite booths, and which always has a line, is the USA Pears booth which the previous years have featured multiple special dishes and a different chef each day, so if you are attending go look for their booth to see how they have highlighted pears this year. Last year it was Chef Vitaly Paley and then Chef Brian Clevenger. A little birdie told me this year you may find Top Chef finalist and local PDX Chef Doug Adams sharing nibbles featuring USA Pears paired with sips from Chateau Ste. Michelle! Saturday will be Chef Brian again- you can get a peek at what he served last year below. Also, don’t miss out on the Travel Oregon section (for the past few years it has been towards the weather machine) which features various chefs from Oregon.
USA Pears Pop up featuring Vitaly Paley Feast 2015: Oregon Bounty featuring Brian Clevenger with Bartlett Pear Bourbon cocktail, Sikoku oyster with pickled Anjou Pear, Foie Gras with Seckel Pear Mostarda on crostini, and Roasted rabbit loin with Bosc pear puree and brown butter

Tip 2: Use your Phone or Camera to take Photos for Notes

One of the best things about Feast is being introduced to so much new deliciousness. To help remember what you ate or drank, take a photo of them. The visual cue of seeing the descriptions (particularly wine bottle labels) when I look on my phone is so helpful later!
Feast Portland 2014, Oregon Bounty Grand Tasting Elizabeth Chambers wine Feast Portland 2015 Night Market, Mei Lin was hyperfocused and zen as she carefully plated her Pork Belly Pâté Egg Rolls, Nước chấm, Fragrant Herbs

Don’t forget to bring a charger because all those photos (and if you are recording any notes on your phone) will eat up your battery. I have a portable external battery phone charger I always keep in my bag, as well as the wall charger attachment and if you are driving, for your car as well.

In order to see what is happening and hot everyday at Feast, you can check the hashtag #feastpdx and for handles see on Twitter @FeastPDX and follow on Instagram Feast Portland to also see what everyone is talking about. Maybe that’s how you’ll know to hurry and get into a particular line for a food dish before it runs out. If you yourself do share, make sure you tag #FeastPDX too!

I’ll be on Twitter and Instagram myself covering Feast, so I hope we are already friends on Twitter @pechluck and on Instagram @pechluck .

Having cell phone juice is particularly important if you want to make sure you have enough for your phone to ride Trimet with their online app or be able to call a cab or Uber or Lyft for a ride.

Portland Transportation Options

You can use Google Maps to help find your transportation options (they are hooked up pretty well, and you can also use trimet.org’s Transit Tracker to look up the stop # and see how long until the bus/Max appears – it’s only $5 for an all day pass). You can purchase a pass using cash or credit card at the Max stops, cash only on the buses, or on your phone using credit card via the Trimet Tickets app (iPhone and Android). You flash your ticket to the bus driver, but for the Max you only have to show it to the fare inspector.

It is very difficult to wave down a taxi – you are better calling one if you aren’t convenient to major streets like Broadway or Burnside near downtown where there are lots of hotels that have taxi stations that they might be heading towards.

Uber or Lyft: Use UBER app (iPhone, Android, Windows phones) or LYFT app (iPhone, Android)
Portland Taxi Cab Company: 503-256-5400
Radio Cab: 503-227-1212
Broadway Cab: 503-333-3333
Green Cab & Green Shuttle: 503-234-1414
Union Cab PDX: 503-222-2222

Tip 3: Talk to Strangers, and Smile!

Since everyone around you is a food and drink lover like you and me, we can ALL surely be friends. Start conversations with strangers! Something as simple as “What are you having? Where did you get that?” or “Did you have a favorite sandwich/sample/wine/etc” is a great conversation opener. This can help give you a heads up on something you try that you didn’t know about. There is a lot going on at each event, so to make sure you see everything so talking to people in line or while by a cocktail table eating is fun and a way to get the scoop of what’s hot.

When you’re at a booth, make sure you flash a smile to whoever is working to show your appreciation for them being on their feet prepping and serving food and drink samples to the crowds. Ask all the questions you’d like with the various vendors (stepping to the side so others can still get to samples), and thank everyone you see working hard to keep the event clean and running smoothly and your plates and cups full!

Sammich of Ashland, OR brought House-Cured Pastrami wtih Double R Brisket on Light Rye with Swiss, Slaw, and Housemade Russian dressing at Brunch Village, Feast 2015 One of my favorite dishes of the Night Market during Feast 2015 was the rich dish of Beef Tongue, Roasted Bone Marrow Aioli, Crispy Rice, Pickles by Carlo Lamagna of Clyde Common

If you really like their food or product, make sure you give them that feedback, ask where you can find their product. If you have a social media account, let them know how much you enjoyed it on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. Doesn’t everyone like hearing a compliment and validation that their hard work was enjoyed?

Tip 4: Go with Friends, go Alone, just GO!

Being at Feast is sort of like being able to talk to anyone and everyone rooting for your same sports team at a game – but here the game is FOOD.

That means you also don’t worry about going to any event alone. I have gone to food festivals alone and with friends – and both have their pros and cons. Of course, going with friends means you can share the excitement before, the experience during, and the memories after. In some cases, you might even strategize with friends by waiting in different lines and coming together to share samples.
At Brunch Village for Feast 2015 Simpatica pleased the crowd with their Fried Chicken and Waffles with Green Tomato Syrup Feast 2015 Oregon Bounty: Face Rock Cheese Ricotta on Brioche with Honey with Face Rock Whipped Ricotta, Handmade Brioche Toast, Honey Drizzle, and Toasted Honey Almonds Bonnie Morales of Kachka was adored for her plates at Night Market 2015 of Lamb Pelmeni with Adjika Butter and Pickled Pears

Going alone also has its pros in that you are much more likely to meet new people, and you are able to move faster through food stations. You will naturally get full over time, so the faster you can eat the more you can try before getting to the uncomfortably stuffed point. On your own, you can make your own calls about how you want to proceed through the food areas based on your preferences at your pace.

Sunny Jin of JORY, at The Allison presented Goat Tartare - Charred Green Tomato, Frozen Egg, Panisse Croutons for Night Market 2015 Feast 2015, Oregon Bounty Grand Tasting

I hope my Top Tips for Feast and links to previews to get you in the feasting mood are helpful to you. Here are links to my previous posts from Feast 2015 and 2014 for an idea of the incredible bites of previous years:

Brunch Village 2015 Recap
Aaron Franklin’s Stumptown Coffee Cookout 2015
Recap of Night Market 2015
Recap of Brunch Village 2014
Feast 2014 Dinner Series: Recap of State of the Art Dinner
Feast Sandwich Invitational 2014 Recap
Oregon Bounty Grand Tasting at Feast 2014 recap and guide from my Fri visit:

For more Feast tips, check out the perspectives of my blogger friends like

Martha Chartreuse post on What’s In My Bag and her lovely ideas for what to wear via an outfit for Night Market, outfit for OMG Smoked, and an outfit for Brunch Village
Urban Bliss Life Feast 2015 Recaps
Platings and Pairings Feast Portland 2016: Newbies Guide
Rachel Jane Lloyd on Feast Portland Tips and Tricks: 2015
Salt.Water.Coffee. post How to Take Care of Yourself Before, During, and After and her latest 2016 Pre Feast Guide

Maybe I’ll see you at Feast? Don’t be shy about coming to say hi!

Filed Under: Festival Event, Food and Drink, Portland Highlights, Sponsored Post Tagged With: #feast2016, #feastpdx, #feastportland, Advice for Feast Portland, feast, feast pdx, Feast Portland, Food Festival PDX Food Festival, PDX Events, Portland Food Festival, Tips for Feast, Tips for Feast PDX

Feast 2016 Tickets Still Available: Get Some

August 15, 2016 by Pechluck 6 Comments

EeeeeEEeeeeEEEEeee I can’t wait! It’s only one month until Foodie Christmas, otherwise known as the biggest and greatest food festival Portland offers, Feast Portland! Many events sold out in the first day (especially the smaller events), but I snagged tickets to the Filipino Twist dinner using my Feast Ticket Purchase Tips and Strategy which I shared a few days before tickets went on sale. I’ll also be at Night Market, the Grand Tasting, and the Go Get You Some Picnic. Not to worry: there are still some events that you can get into!
Feast Portland

Feast 2016 Tickets still available

It’s not too late! Check out Feast official social media accounts like the Feast Portland Facebok page to enter some of the various giveaways that can yield you some tickets. Some Feast 2016 Tickets still available for purchase also include

~~The Sandwich Invitational~~ on Thursday September 15th is the kickoff event for Feast, and this year if you buy 2 tickets or more you will get a free one year subscription to Portland Monthly. Update: Now Sold Out This event conflicts with my Filipino Twist dinner so I won’t be attending, but I always have thought this was a huge value of an event because for $85 you get 14 sandwiches (or more, if you can get through the 14 first…), so you will be completely stuffed. And as with all the Feast events, all the liquid libations are included. This year they have moved the venue to the Rose Quarter Commons for more space.

Photo by Aubrie LeGault for Feast Portland Widmer Sandwich Invitational 2015, All rights reserved
If this is your first time at Feast, I always recommend the Grand Tasting at Pioneer Courthouse Square. You can still get tickets still to the Friday (the Saturday event is already sold out!), and it offers four hours of all you can sample of Oregon food and drink from various local producers for only $60. Each booth’s representatives are incredibly knowledgable about explaining how they make what they do and giving you more back story on the process and food/drink item.

During your sampling you can watch shows on the stage like a mini live Food Network channel! Sampling for hours, talking to the vendors, a mini food show- what a bargain!
A newly added event for Saturday September 16 is a drink crawl! Cocktail Crawl: Drink Like a Pro offers a progressive drinking journey from 1-4 PM visiting cocktail havens well respected by those in the food and drink industry for $75 while being schooled on bartender secrets for all the drinks.
The Drink Tank events I think are one of the hidden secrets of Feast. I have always enjoyed them – for the price you get multiple glasses of the drink being highlighted, be it beer or wine or whiskey or whatever – as well as a great mini-class learning more about that beverage while sitting al fresco in the Portland Art Museum’s Sculpture Hall.

Here are a few photos to give you an idea what the Drink Tank events were like last year that were similar to ones this year… have you had your continuing education yet this year? This qualifies right?

And, the cost of the Drink Tank event is a bargain- ranging from $35 – $55. The drinks came with snacks you share with your tablemates to cleanse your palate as well between sips. Each seat has a flight of what seemed to always be five drinks.

The tickets for Drink Tank events still available for Feast 2016 include
- Meet The Press, Friday September 15 12-1 PM is $35 and highlights cider
- Washington Wines on The Rise on Friday September 15 from 2-3 PM is $55 and highlights the variety of red wines coming from our neighbor state to the north.
- Aperitifs Ascendant: Understanding Vermouth, Quinquinas and Aperitif Wines, Friday September 15 from 4-5 PM is $45 to learn about various aperitifs
- Wines Vs. Beer: This Time It’s Personal Saturday September 16 4-5 PM pairs beer and wine with cheese from Steve Jones of The Cheese Bar to see who will make the better pairing for mere $45

As always, remember that the reason why we feast is to fight against childhood hunger, specifically raising money for Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon with a concentrated effort on their campaign to raise awareness around school breakfast participation in Oregon schools. Over the last four years, Feast has raised over $230,000 to help end childhood hunger. You can help support by purchasing a ticket to Feast Portland, and you can also make an additional donation on their ticket check out page.

Feast Items Outside Feast Events

If you can’t attend Feast, there are still other ways you can feast and help this worthy cause. Since this is Feast’s Fifth year, they are upping the efforts and the feasting with #FeastFab5 Collaborations where they partner a few local chefs and producers to create special items. Plus, the makers will be donating 10% of net sales to Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon.

These items will be available from August 1^st – September 18th, 2016 online and in select retail locations. The yummies for a good cause include

Xocolatl de Davíd – Chocolate collaborations with:
- Elias Cairo from Olympia Provisions (Portland) – “Swiss Picnic”
- Aaron Franklin of Franklin Barbecue (Austin) – “Texas Barbecue”
- Jessica Koslow of Sqirl (LA) – “Slice Crispies”
QUIN – Oregon Cherry Sparkling Candy, little pillows of candy that kind of sparkles with a tiny effervescence. It’s cherry flavored and contains Oregon cherries, to be more purely Oregon, cherry flavored and a bit fizzy and sparkling but not a sour candy. Available at their Union Way shop and also online.
Pok Pok Som – featuring Oregon Strawberry and Thai Basil Som. The Strawberry one is featured in this cocktail I enjoyed recently Strawberry Fields cocktail featuring Pok Pok Som Strawberry Drinking Vinegar with some Aviation Gin, Aperol, Fresh Lemon, and Mint created by Lindsay Druhot
Olympia Provisions and Pok Pok – featuring a special sausage collaboration between Elias Cairo and Andy Ricker a spicy Nothern Thai (of course) Sai Ua that you can purchase at this link.

All types of yum! @eliascairo of @oppdx and @pawkhrua of @pokpokpdx teamed up to create this flavor-filled, traditional Thai grilling sausage for #FeastFab5‬! Deeply rooted in the culture of Northern Thailand, this amazing new product features lemongrass, galangal, and a unique blend of spices. Big thanks for making this delicious item to celebrate our fifth birthday! ‪#FeastPDX‬ The #Feastfab5 makers will be donating 10% of net sales to @hunger_free_or! Click our bio link for more deetz.

A photo posted by Feast Portland (@feastportland) on Aug 6, 2016 at 6:21pm PDT

Then, during actual Feast week, two additional makers get in with their products and donating to fight childhood hunger:

Wiz Bang Bar from Salt & Straw – featuring a special flavor during the week of Feast at their retail location.
Stumptown Coffee Roasters – featuring a special cold brew soda made in-house during the week of Feast in Portland retail cafes, except the Annex.

Are you excited for Feast? What events are you going to or wish you were going to? Which of the special #FeastFab5 items do you think you might look for?

Disclosure: I was granted a Bloggers Pass for Feast Portland 2016, and asked to help promote Feast but I am not otherwise being compensated. I also purchased my own tickets to some Feast events in addition to be given access to a select few events with the Bloggers Pass. 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.

Filed Under: Festival Event, Food and Drink, Sponsored Post Tagged With: #feast2016, #feastfab5, #feastpdx, #feastportland, buy Feast 2016 tickets, Drink Tank, Feast 2015 Tickets, Feast 2016, Feast 2016 Tickets Still Available, Feast collaborations 2016, Feast Drink events, Feast Drink Tank, Feast Events, Feast Fab 5, Feast food festival, feast pdx, Feast PDX 2016, Feast Portland, Feast Tickets still available, Portland Food Festival

Tips For Feast Portland 2016 Tickets Sale

May 19, 2016 by Pechluck 3 Comments

Today at 9 AM PST the Feast 2016 schedule is going live. Then tomorrow, May 20 2016 at 9 AM the website will start selling tickets for the various food and drink events that make up the best food festival in the Northwest. This year, Feast 2016 is scheduled for Thursday September 15th – Sunday 18th, 2016. I would consider myself a huge Feast fan and supporter. I’ve even shared my tips for attending Feast from my previous experiences in the past few years. This time, here are my tips on getting yourself ready for the Feast 2016 Tickets Sale based on the past several years where I have purchased tickets for a couple events.

Feast Portland

Use Multiple Browser Tabs and Calendar the Events

When shopping through the possible events, I like to open tabs for each event on the Feast schedule, and arrange them chronologically Thursday – Sunday. Some of the events will after all be on the same day, and even conflict with each other. I close the tabs for events I don’t want to attend, so I’m left with the ones I have interest in.

Then, I use Google Calendar to set up a calendar hit for each event. I do this to see how long each event is because sometimes I will go to multiple the same day, and seeing them on the calendar helps me see where there is overlap or travel / digestion time and make the hard decisions if some conflict. Inside each event I copy and paste the URL for that specific event page so I can easily get to it – any events I decide against I can easily delete from the calendar later.

Remember the Cost Is More Than Food

Keep in mind that when you see the prices of the events, that it is inclusive of food and drink. Some of the chefs are traveling from other cities so it’s saving you the money of having to travel to experience that food there – and in many cases, you will get to meet that chef. There will be names you recognize. In previous Feasts, I got to exchange words with Hugh Acheson, Aaron Franklin, Mei Lin. I had one last chance to eat food from Homaru Cantu in 2014, and try for the first time some of the unique creations from Dominique Crenn. I took a picture with Ruth Reichl, and Tom Douglas, Stephanie Izard, and Michael Voltaggio.

And, the entire four days is for an important cause as Feast’s mission is to fight hunger in Oregon, so Feast festival net proceeds go towards ending childhood hunger through Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon and Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry.

Feast Portland 2014, Oregon Bounty Grand Tasting

Research Chefs or Events

If you are wondering about what kind of specific experiences in terms of eat and drink some of these events offer, I’ve covered several years of Feast events on the blog before that you can browse to read through. This varies from recapping marquee events like Night Market 2015, Brunch Village 2015, Brunch Village 2014, and Sandwich Invitational 2014 and the Sandwich Invitational in 2013. There’s plenty of recaps of other awesome events like Smoked and dinners series events and hands on classes you should also search and read to get your FOMO in gear…

Note that this year the Night Market is switching up themes from an Asian night market to Latin – should be fun!

If you’re looking for an overview of what it’s like to attend the Oregon Bounty Grand Tasting on Friday or Saturday, I covered it in 2014 and also in 2013. I didn’t write a specific post, but you can find photos I took from the Oregon Bounty in 2015 and also Drink Tank Events 2015 here.

Feast Portland Drink Tank Old MacDonald Had a Brewery Feast Portland Drink Tank Bourbon and Beyond: The New World of American Whiskey

Make sure you read through the names of the chefs participating in an event for favorites. I’ve also sometimes searched the names of chefs if I wasn’t familiar with them already (generally chefs from another city) to see what kind of food viewpoint they represent since it’s an opportunity to meet them and try their food without the cost of traveling to that city! For instance, at Brunch Village in 2014 was when I first learned the name Alvin Cailin, and as soon as I saw he owned something called Egg Slut I knew he’d be among my top few booths I’d visit right away, and I’m thrilled he’ll be back this year to Feast for 2016! I mean, look at his brunch offering from last time…

Coordinate With Friends / Go Alone

Browse and talk among those you care about which events you are interested in and want to purchase tickets, and give them a specific deadline of when you want to hear back from them and it needs to be a definite yes or no. Feast isn’t until September, so hopefully it’s just confirming there isn’t a wedding or vacation during that time. If you are mainly looking at the marquee events, since those number many hundreds of guests you will have longer to coordinate since they have a larger number of tickets available. The smaller events obviously have less tickets, so can sell within the day, or hours, sometimes even minutes. Events do and will sell out.

I believe it’s easier to have a specific person be in charge of buying the tickets for the small events (specifically dinner series and hands on events) and then decide how you will exchange money/tickets afterward. Obviously pick the one who will be most responsible AND is sure to be free at 9 AM in case some of the events sell out quickly. I know I’m in charge already of tickets for the Japanese dinner. If there are multiple events, consider have different people in charge of each event purchase.

Once the ticket is confirmed tomorrow, send the calendar invite to your dining companions so that you already have on your calendar so it is definitely blocked and won’t be forgotten or double booked later a few months from now!

Alternatively, just buy the ticket for yourself and worry about coordinating later! Everyone at these events is extremely friendly and loves food and drink – and it is easy to start a conversation with strangers about what they have enjoyed so far at the event. Being at Feast is sort of like being able to talk to anyone and everyone rooting for your same sports team at a game – but here the game is FOOD.

Prioritize Deciding on the Smaller Events

You have less than 24 hours before the tickets go on sale. Some of them will sell quickly. The fastest thing to sell out are the dinner series events and the smaller events like “fun size events”. These are both smaller affairs then the big marquee events, so that is the first thing you should look at and discuss which one(s) you want to splurge on. Last year, I jumped immediately at the chance to not have to wait hours in line in Austin to get Aaron Franklin’s BBQ and see the legend himself. Last year that sold out in 15 minutes or so and let me emphasize it’s totally worth it. You can see my recap of the Aaron Franklin Stumptown Coffee Cookout event from Feast 2015 here.

The year before I was a little classier attending a modernist cuisine dinner with a star studded list of chefs for a State of the Art dinner. These are more towards the fine dining than the casual small events, and you could even dress up for them.

Buy Tickets in Priority Order Event by Event, Small Ones First

I set up a calendar reminder 15 minutes before 9 AM on Friday to prepare to buy the tickets, and I have it blocked so I don’t have anyone setting up a meeting during that time – I’ll even go hide in a conference room. No one is going to interrupt me or get in my way.

I do not buy all my events at once. I immediately purchase each small event immediately. I don’t want to spend time filling up my entire shopping cart and then checking out – so I will check out multiple times.

Multiple tabs are also your friend here – I have them queued up and ready at 9 AM for each event!

I also figure by being prepared to check out as soon as the sales start, and with multiple tabs to try, I have better chances of completing everything before the site traffic gets slammed with everyone else.

At least, the above is what has worked for me.

What events are you looking at attending?

Disclosure: I was granted a Blogger Pass for Feast Portland 2013-5 for blog post and social media coverage but I am not otherwise being compensated. I also purchased my own Feast event tickets each year for additional events. 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

Filed Under: Festival Event, Food and Drink Tagged With: #feastpdx, #feastportland, Feast 2016, feast pdx, Feast Portland, tips for buying feast tickets