Gado Gado Pop up presents food of Bali

August 8, 2018 by Leave a Comment

One of my favorite things about food is how when you want to travel and have a new experience but don’t have the time or funds to get on a plane or train or other kind of transportation to go afar, you can still travel with the cuisine. Gado gado is a popular street food Indonesian salad, and also the name of an Indonesian food inspired pop up here in Portland by Thomas and Mariah Pisha-Duffly. Today, I am sharing a recent meal I went to where Gado Gado pop up presented the food of Bali. They collaborated with Shipwreck at this particular dinner to also provide some cocktails, but I am currently on a schedule where I have to take evening work calls, so I had to hold back (in fact I took the early seating specifically to make my work call!). Unlike other times it was also a cash bar that pretty much was also a hard cut off for me.
Gado Gado pop up presents food from Bali: Split pea tempeh with sweet soy and corn Gado Gado pop up presents food from Bali: halibut cheek bumbu Bali with padrons and herbs

In this case, they went full traditional for the dishes, and even though it’s still on my bucket list to one day get to beautiful Bali, for now I also hope you might consider donating to help since the devastating earthquakes in Indonesia, of which the aftershocks were also felt in Bali, a few days ago. As for Gado Gado, they have another upcoming pop up event already on the calendar: a brunch pop up at Guilder Coffee (2393 NE Fremont) on Tuesday, August 14th from 9am-2pm that will pair coffee from Sumatra, Indonesia with food that Gado Gado has described as including “shaved ice drinks, kaya toast, congee, rujak, Chinese sausage and more!! We are very pleased that this menu will have plenty of options for folks who are gluten free and vegetarian.” No tickets are needed for this event, just walk in.

Gado Gado pop up presents food from Bali

My dinner celebrating Bali did have a shaved ice dessert – lets’ take a look at my meal, which was all served family style with dishes arriving as they were ready, just like food often comes in Southeast Asia. Most of the people in Bali are Hindu, so you won’t see beef – and you will probably notice some Indian influences in some of the dishes. Also, like foods of Southeast Asia in general, you will find flavors that are spicy, a depth of umami with use of fish sauce, and seasonings that take advantage of chilis, spices, leaves, and coconut milk.
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Quaintrelle Happy Hour

August 3, 2018 by 1 Comment

I’ve always been a fan of Quaintrelle, and only regret that they are in a part of town I do not visit very often so I don’t go often enough. When I have some girlfriends looking to meet up, Quaintrelle is always one of the first that comes to mind that I recommend, thanks to the lovely beverages from Bar Manager Camille Cavan, and how the menu descriptions always include an experience descriptions of the flavors, not just a list of ingredients. Recently a chef shakeup replaced Chef Bill Wallender with previous DOC chef Chef Ryley Eckersley, and an update to the Quaintrelle Happy Hour menu. Now I think Quaintrelle’s happy hour may be among the most beautifully plated and fresh in showcasing Northwest products in Portland. Even if you don’t come to happy hour, you will be pleased to experience beautifully plated dishes showcasing the best of current seasonal ingredients at their peak.
Quaintrelle Happy Hour, Prohibition Punch, an ever changing daily punch inspired by a prohibition cocktail, for $6Quaintrelle Tomatoes, basils, ricotta, quinoa

You will find Quaintrelle happy hour runs every day from 5 – 6:30 PM, and on Sundays the entire evening (5-9 PM). If for some reason you are looking for wine instead of cocktails, consider coming on their Wine Wednesdays when they additionally offer 50% off bottles from a hand selected list (available all evening on Wednesdays). On offer for Happy Hour is always a Prohibition Punch, an ever changing daily punch inspired by a prohibition cocktail, for $6. If you don’t drink, ask for her seasonal mocktail – one visit this was concocted of cherry, mint shrub, lemon, lime, and ginger ale.
Quaintrelle Happy Hour, Prohibition Punch, an ever changing daily punch inspired by a prohibition cocktail, for $6

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Ox Box, a summer pop up

July 30, 2018 by 6 Comments

Last summer and this summer, from the chefs behind Ox Restaurant, is a special pop up called Ox Box. Ox Box is only open during lunch, 11 AM – 2 PM daily seven days a week, just in the summer until Labor Day. You can relax in the outdoor seating in the Ox Restaurant parking lot (covered with umbrellas), or inside Whey (where you can also order drinks including cocktails and beer or glasses of cava or rosé if you’re not on the work clock) while a grill man fires up choripan sandwiches over a wood fire. If you think it’s hot now, you gotta feel for this guy behind the grill – come show him some love and treat yourself to some Argentinean lunch! And, they are perfectly happy to wrap all your stuff to go so you can take it home or to the river to eat – just bring lots of napkins. Here’s a look at the Ox Box pop up from my visit.
Ox Box, a summer pop up from Ox Restaurant only during the summer for lunch offering choripan sandwiches, a popular sandwich with lots of chimichurri from Argentina) Ox Box, a summer pop up from Ox Restaurant only during the summer for lunch offering choripan sandwiches, a popular sandwich with lots of chimichurri from Argentina)

Choripan sandwiches are chimichurri drenched grilled sandwiches which are very popular in Argentina as street food. Here at Ox Box, you can choose from a menu that includes their housemade chorizo sausage, house morcilla blood sausage with hot peppers and onions, chorizo-spiced Pacific Northwest albacore, or provolone and chorizo spiced eggplant if you are vegetarian – or do a combo like I did (I got both eggplant and chorizo).
Ox Box, a summer pop up from Ox Restaurant only during the summer for lunch offering choripan sandwiches, a popular sandwich with lots of chimichurri from Argentina. Choose from a menu that includes their housemade chorizo sausage, house morcilla blood sausage with hot peppers and onions, chorizo-spiced Pacific Northwest albacore, or provolone and chorizo spiced eggplant if you are vegetarian - or do a combo like I did (I got both eggplant and chorizo)

All sandwiches come with a Grandma Agnes Dill Pickle Spear, and Ensalada Rusa (a potato salad), but I also highly recommend trying out their empanadas. There are two available – one stuffed with beef, olive and raisin, and the other with grilled poblano, sweet potato, gruyere and fontina (the latter shown below).
Ox Box, a summer pop up from Ox Restaurant only during the summer for lunch offering choripan sandwiches. All sandwiches come with a pickle spear and potato salad, but I also highly recommend trying out their empanadas. There are two available - one stuffed with beef, olive and raisin, and the other with grilled poblano, sweet potato, gruyere and fontina (the latter shown here) Ox Box, a summer pop up from Ox Restaurant only during the summer for lunch offering choripan sandwiches. All sandwiches come with a pickle spear and potato salad, but I also highly recommend trying out their empanadas. There are two available - one stuffed with beef, olive and raisin, and the other with grilled poblano, sweet potato, gruyere and fontina (the latter shown here)

New to this year’s edition of the Ox Box pop up is a Halibut Chowder with Jalapeño, Green Onion, and Smoked Marrow Croutons – a riff on the famous Ox clam chowder for dinner only. There is also an Oregon Bay shrimp Ceviche with Citrus, Chiles, Cucumber, Cilantro, and Popcorn if you want something cold and it’s still a day of a heat wave week like today. But, when we get back to those cooler summer days below 90, you do NOT want to miss out on this amazing rich chowder.
Ox Box, a summer pop up from Ox Restaurant only during the summer for lunch offering choripan sandwiches. New to this year's edition of the Ox Box pop up is a Halibut Chowder with Jalapeño, Green Onion, and Smoked Marrow Croutons - a riff on the famous Ox clam chowder for dinner only Ox Box, a summer pop up from Ox Restaurant only during the summer for lunch offering choripan sandwiches. New to this year's edition of the Ox Box pop up is a Halibut Chowder with Jalapeño, Green Onion, and Smoked Marrow Croutons - a riff on the famous Ox clam chowder for dinner only

This is the Argentinean equivalent to an American hot dog, and with its limited time offering until Labor Day, you should make sure you put a day on your calendar to grab some to try before its gone! They are really generous with the chimichurri sauce – I did not need it for the empanada at all, but was happy to have the container to take home to punch up some grilled meat at home too!

Are you a fan of chimichurri sauce? What kind of choripan sandwich would you try?

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A recap of Desayuno PDX popup

July 25, 2018 by 4 Comments

Last week, I braved the heat to attend a special pop up at St Jack’s by Desayuno, Mexico City-inspired brunch pop-up with food by Ben Morris and cocktails by Justin Garcidiaz (both employees of St Jack’s). All proceeds at this Desayuno PDX popup benefited Pueblo Unido PDX, which whose mission is to empower and provide resources to Latinxs with vulnerable immigration status, including assisting those in need to hire attorneys to fight deportation, get released from detention, and return to their families, as well as organizing and rallying community engagement.

The word desayuno means breakfast in Spanish, although really this was more of a brunch pop up. The menu for this first event boasted an impressive five savory dishes, two desserts, and seven original craft cocktails including ones that featured mole spices, or masa, or mezcal worm!
Desayuno PDX pop up inspired by the cuisine of Mexico City to benefit Pueblo Unido PDX Desayuno PDX pop up inspired by the cuisine of Mexico City to benefit Pueblo Unido PDX

Ok, so I wasn’t brave enough for the beverage with the mezcal worm, but I went for the beauty (I think everyone at the bar had this gorgeous cocktail – once you saw it you couldn’t resist getting it yourself) of the Polanco Margarita featuring pueblo viejo blanco, lime, cointreau, st. germain, rainbows, pink salt. Does it look like two different glasses? That’s because I totally had two of these.
Desayuno PDX pop up inspired by the cuisine of Mexico City to benefit Pueblo Unido PDX, cocktail of Polanco Margarita featuring pueblo viejo blanco, lime, cointreau, st. germain, rainbows, pink salt Desayuno PDX pop up inspired by the cuisine of Mexico City to benefit Pueblo Unido PDX, cocktail of Polanco Margarita featuring pueblo viejo blanco, lime, cointreau, st. germain, rainbows, pink salt

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Nicky USA’s Wild About Game – recap of 2017

July 20, 2018 by 5 Comments

Nicky USA is a butchery and meat distributor for the Portland area and Pacific Northwest for the past 28 years – and most major restaurants in town that are fine dining establishments procure meat from Nicky USA. If you want sustainably raised game meat, Nicky USA is the one you go to. Every year for the past 18 years now, they have hosted an incredible event Nicky USA’s Wild About Game, (often nicknamed “WAG”) which they call “The Meatiest Celebration in the Northwest”. As you could guess from the name, Nicky USA’s Wild About Game is all about the high quality meat. Besides more then 40 tables of food and drink industry vendors showcasing their products, many partnering with chefs from amazing local restaurants to highligh their product, Wild About Game is also a food and cocktail competition!

Nicky USA's Wild About Game, 2017 Artisan Marketplace vendor samples Nicky USA's Wild About Game, 2017 Artisan Marketplace vendor samples Nicky USA's Wild About Game Nicky USA's Wild About Game

Besides the Maker’s Mark Cocktail Competition, there is the Carter Cutlery Game Cooking Competition. A chef from Seattle and a chef from Portland compete using the same assigned game meat. The winners of each face off are decided by a panel of judges and also by the attendees who get a chance to vote for People’s Choice overall. The overall winners by the judges and people enter the WAG Hall of Fame.
Nicky USA's Wild About Game - Hall of Fame as of 2017 competition listing the previous 16 years of winners for judges choice and people's choice

As an attendee of Wild About Game you will get to taste the head to head dishes that come from Chefs. There will be a schedule of each face off when a chef from Seattle is paired against a chef from Portland, using the same game meat. They will both offer their samples one after the other at that scheduled time so you can compare and contrast them. This then repeats for four categories during the event, with you snacking at the Artisan Marketplace in between when the chefs dishes are ready. For the 2018 Nicky’s USA Wild About Game, the competitors include

Tickets just went on sale via Mercury Tickets. The cost to attend the event this year is $75, and keep in mind it is all inclusive of all the food and libations you can fit during the 11 AM – 4:30 PM event duration – do not surprised that you will be seriously full. Please note that event only admits those 21+.

To give you better insight of the event, here are the details from the 2017 event so you know exactly how you are really get above and beyond your $75 worth.

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