This weekend is Mother’s Day, which for many people means enjoying brunch. For me, it makes me think of the annual best brunch event ever in Portland, the brunch at Feast Brunch Village. In a mere 2 weeks the schedule for Feast Portland 2016 will go live on May 19 9 AM PST, and I hope Brunch Village makes its 2016 return as a marquee event. If you’re not sure whether Brunch Village is for you, here’s a Feast 2015 Brunch Village Recap so you know how the deliciousness went down last year.
As always, for one price all your food and drink are covered essentially for all you can eat during the time of the event. Last year, this included
Chef Offerings
Whenever I see Rick Gencarelli of Lardo and Grassa at an event I make a beeline because he always has a crowd pleaser dish. This time was no different, delivering with Brisket Benedict with Sunny Quail Eggs and Smoked Hollandaise on a House English Muffin. I mean how adorable is that with the little egg, and how Rick makes sure to lovingly plate each one for you.
Andrew Carmellini of Locanda Verde from New York offered Lemon Ricotta Pancakes and showed how chefs have no feeling in their fingers anymore and can cook with their bare hands, ha ha.
Fingers that feel no pain are demonstrated also by the team lead by Daniel N Oseas of Broder as they turned fresh made Aebleskiver with Lingonberry Jam
Patrick Fleming of Boke Bowl prepared Spicy Black Bean Pork, Turnip Cake, Small Egg, Berry Bean Bao which delivered on a lot of flavor.
Also representing Portland chefs at Brunch Village was Jason French of Ned Ludd who created Pork Tenderloin Ham on a Cheesy Corn Cake with Fermented Green Tomato and Cured Egg Yolk.
Longest line of the Brunch Village 2015 was for Brad Farmerie of Saxon + Parole from New York who impressed (and so did his heroic sous, crackin how many hundreds of eggs the entire event) to offer the adoring crowds Turkish Eggs served with bread to dip. I mean look how many eggs are in that circulator! This was my favorite dish for 2015 Brunch Village.
I also loved the freshly fried chicken by Simpatica who was rocking it like a well oiled (stainleess steel) machine making their Fried Chicken and Waffles with Green Tomato Syrup. As you can sorta see I went back maybe a couple times… they ran out of waffles but not fried chicken and I can’t complain about a little tray of multiple morsels of fried chicken.
Ben Ford of Ford’s Filling Station from Los Angeles offered Lamb Rillettes, goat cheese, chile, mint
Sarah Schafer of Irving Street Kitchen, always a big supporter of the fight against hunger, made Smoked Bison Brisket Tamales
Alissa Frice of Frice Pastry brought various kind of Madeleines, including these Biscuits & Gravy Madeleines, Steak and Egg Madeleines, and also Banana Chocolate Chip Pancake Madeleines.
Nate Snell of Pip’s Original Doughnuts brought his mobile cart to hand out Raw Honey & Sea Salt and Blackberry Lavender mini doughnuts along with Handcrafted Chai. Meanwhile, Jackie Ellis of Beaucoup Bakery from Vancouver BC, Canada offered Petit Chocolate Almond Croissants.
More Bites and Sips by Participating Sponsors
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 with Sparkling Prosecco or Soda Water
Titled sponsor of Brunch Village Tillamook brought what they dubbed Pine State’s Tillatart A La Mode with bourbon apple butter and Tillamook Smoked Cheddar
Participating Sponsor Whole Foods Market gave us a bit of health with a Balancing Act Smoothie
Travel Oregon had a booth area where during Feast they had visiting restaurants from Oregon show off dishes from all over the state. This included Novak’s Hungarian Restaurant from Albany, OR who offered Hungarian Meatballs and Red Cabbage for another ethnic take on brunchy food while Sammich of Ashland, OR brought House-Cured Pastrami with Double R Brisket on Light Rye with Swiss, Slaw, and Housemade Russian dressing.
I was also super pumped to see a Nuvrei booth at Brunch Village I adore their croissants and macaroons. Particularly I go for the savory Sesame Thyme or Ham and Cheese croissants instead of the chocolate ones – I always have passed them up for the macaroons but this was my chance to get them! They generously gave each guest a choice a little bagged to take home Matcha Chocolate Crosisant, Chewy Chocolate Cookie, Mini-Canele, Chocolate Croissant, or Matcha Chocolate Almond Croissant. I picked the Matcha Chocolate Almond Croissant.
What is your favorite brunch place in Portland? What of these brunch bites sounds good to you? Are you doing a Mother’s Day brunch?
Are you thinking of going to Feast Portland this year? Will you be with me at 9 AM on May 19 carefully reading the schedule and prioritizing which events you want to go to, and buying tickets on May 20?
Disclosure: I was granted a Blogger Pass for Feast Portland 2015 for blog post and social media coverage but I am not otherwise being compensated. I also purchased my own Feast event ticket to the Aaron Franklin Stumptown Coffee Cookout. 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
