Boke Bloody Mary Archives - Pechluck's Food Adventures

Here’s a look at the Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2016 brunch bites and bloody mary contenders for the Bloody Mary Smackdown. I have previously recapped the Portland Monthly Country Brunch when I attended last year in 2015, the year before in 2014, and then in 2013. If you haven’t heard of this event before, it’s an annual event, now in it’s fifth year, that benefits Zenger Farm.

Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2016

This year was the first one where the event setup did not have tables and chairs, which left people trying to find room to stand at the hightop cocktail tables or a few stone counters that were placed on top of garbage cans (so you throw your garbage into the center of it where the hole is). Of you were very lucky you might sit really low at a handful of round ottomans with a few end tables. It was that or awkwardly balancing their food and drink standing. The comfortable seating for everyone at previous events was specifically one of the pros for me, and now that advantage is gone. I was lucky in that since I had a VIP ticket that let me an hour before regular tickets, I was the first to grab a chair and part of a small low end table in a corner by the entrance, farthest away from all food and which I shared with a family that included 3 generations. The event is family friendly since you can buy tickets for food only, and those under 3 years old are free, but it’s hard to agree it’s comfortable for a family with next to no seating.

The lines for some of the food participants snaked through an entire section of the outdoor area – I’m not sure why they thought to put 5 of the 6 food participants all in one place as they tried to cook and plate dishes while the beverage booths and high tables but otherwise empty space took up the largest area, inside Castaway. Without seats, people tended to go as soon as they were done eating and drinking, so no more feel to relax and listen to the live music (this year by June Bugs) or a little dancing in front of the stage like in previous years. The June Bugs were fun, performing some folk rock interpretations of some modern pop songs now and then.
Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2016, live music provided by the June Bugs

The main positive is as always that the bloody marys were carefully crafted and were done quickly with a lot if prep work done before. There was never a line of more than a half dozen people in the way to get a Bloody Mary. And, the photo booth station this year by BedMart and Phototainment did inspire some hilarious poses
Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2016 Photo Booth sponsored by BedMart

The six restaurants and food carts offering brunch bites include

Screen Door offered my favorite of the brunch bites, Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2016 – Brunch Bite by Screen Door of Shrimp & Grits, wild caught gulf shrimp sauteed with country ham, garlic, tomato, and white wine over parmesan spoon bread
Broder always does a nice tablescape presentation whenever they are at these food events, which I appreciate. They brought warm fresh aebelskivers with lingonberry which you can watch them making right behind the table. Definitely my second favorite of the brunch bites.
The Dump Truck had the longest line of all the food vendors where you had a choice of 2 dumplings from the menu of Mr Ma’s Special (a pork with green onion and ginger), Bacon Cheeseburger, Down2Earth (vegetarian with portabella and rice noodles with ginger), Potato Curry (vegetarian malaysian style with yellow curry), or the Dump Truck Breakfast with egg, jack cheese, seasoned sausage, red pepper and chive which is what I got to go with the breakfast theme, and since I’ve already tried the others at their usual truck location by SW 12th and Alder.
Pip’s Original Doughnuts offered a sample of two of their mini doughnuts, a Raw Honey and Sea Salt doughnut and a Meyer Lemon and Pear Butter doughnut, a sample of either their Smoky Robinson Chai or Heart of Gold Chai
Milk Glass Mrkt offered a nice break from the mostly sweet brunch bites with the Spring Kale Salad from Milk Glass Mrkt with Farm Kale Mix, French Lentils, Garlic Dates Pickled Red Onions, and Savory Granola Tossed in a Creamy Sunflower Dressing that was vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free
Batter PDX Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2016 Brunch Bite of Maple Bacon Pancakes (although this is clearly a waffle…) from Batter Griddle & Drinkery

Meanwhile, the seven competitors for the Bloody Mary Smackdown (the vodka is from Crater Lake Spirits) include

Raven & Rose (2015’s Judges’ Choice Winner) returns with the Full Bloody Irish that includes a Bloody Mary topped with Oregon made (Agrarian Ales) Irish Stout AND bites of a Irish Breakfast for garnish

Once again they won Judge’s Choice, and they were the People’s Choice winner too for 2016.
Pizza Jerk just a stack of pizzas ready to be warmed in the oven and then serve as garnish for their Pizza Mary that has a slice of pizza chilling in a sauced up bloody mary that took cues from pizza tomato sauce.
Grain & Gristle Bloody Mary Smackdown entry of the Beet’n to a Bloody Pulp with Pureed Beets, Tomato Juice, OJ, Old Bay, Portland Ketchup Company Vegan Worcestershire Sauce, Tabasco Horseradish Pepper, Bacon Rim and Pickles Spear
Besaw’s Maria en Verde, with under ripened green tomatoes used to make a green bloody mary garnished with a smoked oyster
Boke Bowl presented the Boke Bloody Mary that feature stheir Hot Boke Sauce, Fish Sauce, Housemade Pickles, and Boke’s Buttermilk Fried Chicken (available spicy or extra spicy). I’ve been to Boke Bowl brunch before, and the one at the actual restaurant is pretty impressive in terms of garnish
My Father’s Place Blood Sucker, a housemade bloody mary mix infused with cilantro and garlic and with lots of aleppo pepper for smokiness in the garnish
Woodsman Tavern wins for most impressive display with their many many bottles of Bottle Conditioned Bloody Mary with Potato Vodka, Amontillado Shery, Tomato Juice, and Woodsman Secret Bloody Mix with a pepperoni stick

For dessert, or to relieve your palate from the spicy bloody marys, Crispin Cider offered Honey Crisp Floats with Crispin Cider’s Honey Crisp Cider and ice cream
Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2016 - Honey Crisp Floats with Crispin Cider's Honey Crisp Cider and ice cream

To sober up, Coava Coffee was present with David Mancia coffee sourced from Honduras
Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2016 Coava Coffee

Additionally, a booth from New Seasons Market sponsor offered Mimosa Gummies, made of orange juice, cava, and grassfed beef gelatin and non alcoholic beverage options of Urban Moonshine Digestive Bitters + Owls Brew Pink and Black Tea Minxer + La Croix Sparkling Water + Lime, and also an option of Urban Moonshine Energy Tonic + Hot Lips Ginger Soda
Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2016 Mimosa Gummies presented by New Seasons, made of orange juice, cava, and grassfed beef gelatin

Sunshine Dairy also offered two extra beverages, chocolate martinis using Sunshine Dairy and Moon struck Chocolate collaboration full milk Drinking Chocolate.
Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2016 - Sunshine Dairy booth offering two chocolate beverages, this one is the Moonstruck Chocolate Martini with chilled drinking chocolate

Most importantly, Sunshine Dairy brought Sandy, Sunshine Dairy’s newest fuzzy friend at only six weeks old and 90 pounds from an organic dairy farm.
Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2016 - Sandy, Sunshine Dairy's newest fuzzy friend

If some of these bloody marys got you excited and thirsty, there is a new event this year, the Kachka Bloody Mary Bloc Party, that is happening this Sunday May 1, 2016 from 11 AM – 3 PM that also includes brunch bites and housemade bloody marys from

Kachka (hosting Bull in China)
Oso Market + Bar
Dig A Pony
Bit House Saloon
Slow Bar

The cost is $30 ticket (buy your tickets here) and is good for a shot of Kachka Horseradish Vodka when you first check in to get your passport in your souvenir shot class. Then the passport is good for one mini bloody mary and one brunch bite at each of the five location with a closing rally at Bit House Saloon from 2 – 3 PM for your vote (votes must be in by 2:30 PM) to hear the winner of the “Best Bloody Mary on Grand.” The first 75 people to purchase a ticket, like myself, also get a Kachka Trucker Hat. I can’t wait to model mine during the event.

I’ll be there!

Do you enjoy bloody marys, and if so what is your favorite bloody mary joint in Portland? If bloody mary is not your brunch beverage of choice, what is?

I only visited once so I don’t think I’m ready to really review the new Boke Bowl dim sum service, which is only a month or so old at this point. However, I thought I’d share a few photos of what some of the possible offerings you would see. Dim Sum is only available at the Boke Bowl West location, which is at 1200 NW 18th (cross street is Northrup, right along the trolley line), and is only served from 11 AM – 3 PM on Saturday and Sundays.

Although dim sum is available, you can also still choose to order from their regular ramen menu and such as well. For a winter special they are offering a duck ramen (which you see here with the add in of fried chicken and their orange dot sauce, a pickled mustard seed in aioli base) and they have a vegetarian ramen option with Caramelized fennel dashi and add in of brined smoked tofu).
Boke BowlDuck ramen which is a winter special ramen, seasonal veggies are the Brussels sprouts and butternut squash. I upgraded the ramen with the add in of fried chicken with their orange dot sauce, pickled mustard seeds in an aioli base sauce . Boke Bowl vegetarians ramen bowl with Caramelized fennel dashi and add in of brined and smoked tofu Boke Bowl Duck ramen which is a winter special ramen, seasonal veggies are the Brussels sprouts and butternut squash. I upgraded the ramen with the add in of fried chicken with their orange dot sauce, pickled mustard seeds in an aioli base sauce

If you haven’t experienced Boke ramen yet, I think it is very tasty especially if you want to take a vegetarian and if you are ok and even want to try a fusion style that is not traditional ramen in any way and set your expectations accordingly. For instance, I always always get the fried chicken add in, not just for the chicken protein but to add the ODS sauce flavor to the bowl.

Reservations and take out are not available for dim sum- and just like most dim sum service, there are carts (two that I saw) that are wheeled around the dining space and as you select from what they have, there may be more replenished into the cart at any time.
Boke Bowl dim sum at Boke Bowl West, only on Sat and Sun 11 - 2, this cart is being pushed and serviced by Boke man Brannon Riceci himself The steamed dim sum cart at Boke Bowl dim sum at Boke Bowl West

The food plates are simply priced by the size of Small, Medium, and Large, and so a stamp on a dim sum card is how they count and calculate the price of what you have eaten. There is a whole page of cocktails as well.
Menu at Boke Bowl dim sum at Boke Bowl West, only on Sat and Sun 11 - 2

And that cocktail list includes this amazing Boke Bloody Mary, which includes Baiju, fennel dashi, fish sauce, lime, tomato, and Boke fried chicken
Boke Bloody Mary with Baiju, fennel dashi, fish sauce, lime, tomato, fried chicken at Boke Bowl dim sum

For a simpler cocktail option, you might consider the refreshing Boke Buzz, house bottled and carbonated highballs. There are a few to choose from- this is the Whiskey Coco with bourbon, coconut, lime, and palm sugar
Boke Buzz, house bottled and carbonated highballs, this is the Whiskey Coco with bourbon, coconut, lime, and palm sugar from Boke Bowl

Unlike many dim sum restaurants though, I was really pleased to see there were several dim sum options that are marked as being vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free, which you will not always see! I can never get F to dim sum because there are literally only a handful of options for him usually at a traditional dim sum, but at Boke Bowl Dim Sum half the options are fair game for a vegetarian. Many popular dishes, such as hum bao, lotus wraps, sui mai etc. have both a meat version and a veggie version so your vegetarian can also have a full dim sum experience.

As they wheel the carts around and tell you their options, remember that not all the options may be at one of the carts at once so you probably want to check out the carts more than once to see what is new. You can also ask if there are certain dishes you are looking for and if they are not too in the weeds they may be able to bring it directly to you.

Their take on Chicken and Waffle (gluten free) with yeast rice cake and Boke fried chicken, these disappear quickly from the carts!
Their take on Chicken and Waffle (gluten free) with yeast rice cake and Boke fried chicken at the Boke Bowl dim sum at Boke Bowl West, only on Sat and Sun 11 - 2

Super chubby sui mai dumplings, these are with pork and shrimp, but there is also a vegan vegetable version
Super chubby sui mai Dumplings at Boke Bowl dim sum at Boke Bowl West, only on Sat and Sun 11 - 2

Turnip cakes can either be vegan and gluten free, or get it with ham like this version
Turnip cakes with ham at Boke Bowl dim sum at Boke Bowl West, only on Sat and Sun 11 - 2

Shrimp rice noodles, there are also options of pork or gluten free vegetarian for the filling. On my visit the rice noodles were thick and still tough like they hadn’t been fully cooked, but it was their first weekend of service so I would try it again. There is a tray of various sauces you can add to your food- make sure you are not shy about using it.
Shrimp Rice noodles at Boke Bowl dim sum at Boke Bowl West, only on Sat and Sun 11 - 2

Lotus Wraps that are streamed and inside have rice and spicy pork, there is also an option with squash that is vegan and gluten free, with mushroom and black bean sauce. They come in square bundles of leaf and string that you unwrap to see this rice and protein mixture inside. The version I had with spicy pork really had a nice kick of heat and I enjoyed it.
Lotus Wrap with spicy pork at Boke Bowl dim sum at Boke Bowl West, only on Sat and Sun 11 - 2

Fried potstickers of pork, cabbage, and ginger

What do you think of having a dim sum brunch instead of a western brunch – do you do it? What sort of dim sum items do you like to look for? And would you believe I was so into dim sum that I made a photo checklist once (including Cantonese syllables for saying them and a picture from Google images so I could ask for it in case the server didn’t know the English description of it?) here in this a google doc? Food dork alert…

Portland Monthly Country Brunch 2016

Boke Bowl Dim Sum

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