Bunk Bar at Water Ave By Night

April 19, 2019 by Leave a Comment

If you are looking for a family friendly place in the evening, or to watch the game on a gigantic projection screen instead of just your regular sports bar TV, and a place that easily accommodates family with kids and/or a group of friends, you should consider Bunk Bar at Water Ave. They still have live music shows (one of the few in town with actually good food to go with the music), but also are now showing the big games too. They also have recently added to their already pretty comforting menu of solid sandwiches and drinking food favorites of mole tots and loaded fries with even more tasty food available only on the Bunk By Night menu.

For instance, new to the menu are these new perfectly crunchy on the outside, moist on the inside, gigantic sized to make a kid or adult happy Buttermilk Fried Chicken Strips, boneless breast strips served up with ranch and remoulade sauces

Bunk Bar at Water Ave, Buttermilk Fried Chicken Strips, boneless breast strips served up with ranch and remoulade sauces Bunk Bar at Water Ave, Buttermilk Fried Chicken Strips, boneless breast strips served up with ranch and remoulade sauces

You can sauce it up with the Buffalo Chicken Wings and Wedge, a generous serving of 6 wings with Franks Red Hot, and instead of boring celery sticks you get a whole wedge salad of romaine, blue cheese dressing & bacon.

Bunk Bar at Water Ave, Buffalo Chicken Wings and Wedge, a generous serving of 6 wings with Franks Red Hot, and instead of boring celery sticks you get a whole wedge salad of romaine, blue cheese dressing & bacon Bunk Bar at Water Ave, Buffalo Chicken Wings and Wedge, a generous serving of 6 wings with Franks Red Hot, and instead of boring celery sticks you get a whole wedge salad of romaine, blue cheese dressing & bacon

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Of Roots and Blooms Vegan Food

August 7, 2017 by 2 Comments

Of Roots and Blooms recently made an announcement that they are working on two cookbooks and unspecified future projects TBD so if you haven’t been before, it’s only a few weeks before they are changing their schedule. Up until end of September they will pop up every Wednesday at Bottles on Fremont, and up to end of August they will finish popping up Sundays at Culmination Brewing offering rotating vegan delights. After that, who knows what will happen: apparently not even owners Nick and Carina, who only share that they don’t have anything solid except knowing “this while operation is about to morph into a new incarnation and life phase”

So hurry in now to try some of the best vegan food I’ve ever had! Here’s a look at some example greatness Of Roots and Blooms vegan food I’ve been able to enjoy to entice you to try it, and that vegan food isn’t all raw or dry food – it can be luxuriously rich too in the right hands.

This grilled cheese with cashew fromage fort, cheddar, spinach, toasted levain and side of chips reminds me when I first fell in love with them as a Cheese Plate cart.
Of Roots and Blooms pops up every Wednesday at Bottles on Fremont and Sundays at Culmination Brewing offering rotating vegan delights. This grilled cheese with cashew fromage fort, cheddar, spinach, toasted levain and side of chips reminds me when I first fell in love with them as a Cheese Plate cart. Of Roots and Blooms pops up every Wednesday at Bottles on Fremont and Sundays at Culmination Brewing offering rotating vegan delights. This Of Roots and Blooms vegan food example is their grilled cheese with cashew fromage fort, cheddar, spinach, toasted levain and side of chips reminds me when I first fell in love with them as a Cheese Plate cart.

I’m also a fan of their Brussels Sprout Grilled Cheese with butternut squash butter, sage aioli, and melty cheddar
Of Roots and Blooms Brussels Sprout Grilled Cheese with butternut squash butter, sage aioli, and melty cheddar - completely vegan

And just as you would expect, this mac and cheese is so rich and creamy that you can barely tell it’s not real cheese but vegan cheese. This is their IPA Mac and Cheese, made with Culmination’s Phaedrus IPA and topped with rushed pretzels and chives.
Of Roots and Blooms pops up every Wednesday at Bottles on Fremont and Sundays at Culmination Brewing offering rotating vegan delights. This Of Roots and Blooms vegan food example is their IPA Mac and Cheese, made with Culmination's Phaedrus IPA and topped with rushed pretzels and chives Of Roots and Blooms pops up every Wednesday at Bottles on Fremont and Sundays at Culmination Brewing offering rotating vegan delights. This Of Roots and Blooms vegan food example is their IPA Mac and Cheese, made with Culmination's Phaedrus IPA and topped with rushed pretzels and chives

Here’s a closeup of their vegan Lobster Mac and Cheese with sharp cheese sauce with seaweed “lobster” stock, chopped vegan lobster meat, chives buttered Old Bay breadcrumbs baby spinach.
This Of Roots and Blooms vegan food example is their Lobster Mac and Cheese with sharp cheese sauce with seaweed

One of the things that really impresses me though beyond that is how incredible and inventive they are at creating vegan adoptions of East Coast seafood, like New England clam chowder, shrimp scampi, clammy linguine, meatball or cheesesteak sandwiches. This is their surprisingly evocative of the sea but vegan and so velvety Vegan Oyster Stew with cashew potato cream and oyster mushrooms, served with oyster crackers
Of Roots and Blooms pops up every Wednesday at Bottles on Fremont and Sundays at Culmination Brewing offering rotating vegan delights. This Of Roots and Blooms vegan food example is their Vegan Oyster Stew with cashew potato cream and oyster mushrooms, served with oyster crackers Of Roots and Blooms pops up every Wednesday at Bottles on Fremont and Sundays at Culmination Brewing offering rotating vegan delights. This Of Roots and Blooms vegan food example is their Vegan Oyster Stew with cashew potato cream and oyster mushrooms, served with oyster crackers

Or how about when they made Vegan Lobster Ravioli with vegan lobster meat, chives and almond ricotta stuffed into red bell pepper pasta with tomato saffron cream sauce with Calabrian chilies and almond ricotta topped with arugula and peas.
Of Roots and Blooms pops up every Wednesday at Bottles on Fremont and Sundays at Culmination Brewing offering rotating vegan delights. This Of Roots and Blooms vegan food example is their Vegan Lobster Ravioli with vegan lobster meat, chives and almond ricotta stuffed into red bell pepper pasta with tomato saffron cream sauce with Calabrian chilies and almond ricotta topped with arugula and peas Of Roots and Blooms pops up every Wednesday at Bottles on Fremont and Sundays at Culmination Brewing offering rotating vegan delights. This Of Roots and Blooms vegan food example is their Vegan Lobster Ravioli with vegan lobster meat, chives and almond ricotta stuffed into red bell pepper pasta with tomato saffron cream sauce with Calabrian chilies and almond ricotta topped with arugula and peas

Don’t miss out on desserts either – which can vary to mousse to cheesecake and more. This is the Vegan Strawberry Cheesecake with rhubarb sauce, and their vegan Pecan Bar.
Of Roots and Blooms pops up every Wednesday at Bottles on Fremont and Sundays at Culmination Brewing offering rotating vegan delights. This Of Roots and Blooms vegan food example is their Vegan Strawberry Cheesecake with rhubarb sauce Of Roots and Blooms pops up every Wednesday at Bottles on Fremont and Sundays at Culmination Brewing offering rotating vegan delights. This Of Roots and Blooms vegan food example is their Vegan Strawberry Cheesecake with rhubarb sauce Of Roots and Blooms pops up every Wednesday at Bottles on Fremont and Sundays at Culmination Brewing offering rotating vegan delights. This Of Roots and Blooms vegan food example is their Vegan Pecan Bar

You can follow OfRootsandBlooms on Instagram to see what will be their menu of the week – they change every week. As mentioned, they are at noon to 8 pm at Culmination Brewery (2117 NE Oregon) until end of August and Wednesday at 3-10 PM at Bottles (5015 NE Fremont) until end of September and after that it’s unclear.

Have you heard of Of Roots and Blooms vegan food before, what do you think of some of the dishes they offer, what would you try?

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The Eastburn’s 2nd Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational 2015

September 7, 2015 by 4 Comments

Last week, I attended The Eastburn‘s Grilled Cheese Invitational 2015. The 2nd Annual event capped off a great fundraising effort as Eastburn was offering $5 grilled cheese all August, with proceeds donated to the Portland Women’s Crisis Line. The Grilled Cheese Invitational, with it’s $20 for multiple grilled cheese samples as multiple establishments threw down for the people to judge, also had all proceeds go towards the worthy cause.

The Eastburn's Grilled Cheese Invitational 2015

I wanted to recap and highlight all the wonderful grilled cheeses I was able to enjoy from the restaurants participating as I feel they deserve some extra recognition, even if they didn’t win. Everyone brought a very special grilled cheese they invented just for the event. Thank you for manning the grill for those hours and helping this great cause! And, of course thank you for the delicious combination of grilled cheese.

The Eastburn’s Grilled Cheese Invitational course was set up like golf, with various stations where you would drop a token to receive your grilled cheese. You would rank the grilled cheeses by Taste, Originality, Presentation for a total, and at the end the results would be for Best In Taste, Best In Originality, Best Presentation, and Best Overall.
The people got to vote for The Eastburn's 2nd Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational where the results would be for Best In Taste, Best In Originality, Best Presentation, and Best Overall Map of the stations for The Eastburn's 2nd Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational 2015

Big Ass Sandwiches

Big Ass Sandwiches impressed with their special one off grilled cheese take that had Panko crusted brioche, pancetta, cambozola cheese and raspberry compote. This former food cart now has a brick and mortar in NE 55 and Glisan which has allowed them to offer even more sandwiches and Brian’s Meaty Balls. You should investigate this stop yourself. Meanwhile, I’m going to remember that clever use of panko for a future grilled cheese of my own.
Big Ass Sandwiches impressed with their grilled cheese take that had Panko crusted brioche, pancetta, cambozola cheese and raspberry compote Big Ass Sandwiches impressed with their grilled cheese take that had Panko crusted brioche, pancetta, cambozola cheese and raspberry compote Big Ass Sandwiches impressed with their grilled cheese take that had Panko crusted brioche, pancetta, cambozola cheese and raspberry compote Big Ass Sandwiches impressed with their grilled cheese take that had Panko crusted brioche, pancetta, cambozola cheese and raspberry compote

Zeek’s Cheese Grill

Also formerly a food cart in Cartlandia but now located in Hillsdale Food Park and as a micro restaurant in Bethany Village, Zeek’s Cheese Grill concocted his own version of a Cubano. The Cubano grilled cheese sandwich take was served with tomato basil cream soup and included Slow Roasted Pork and Bacon, Dill Havarti cheese with Housemade Pickles and Banana Pepper Mustard Relish. Both of these are available on their regular menu.
The Zeek's Cheese Grill cubano grilled cheese sandwich take was served with tomato basil cream soup and included Slow Roasted Pork and Bacon, Dill Havarti cheese with Housemade Pickles and Banana Pepper Mustard Relish The Zeek's Cheese Grill cubano grilled cheese sandwich take was served with tomato basil cream soup and included Slow Roasted Pork and Bacon, Dill Havarti cheese with Housemade Pickles and Banana Pepper Mustard Relish The Zeek's Cheese Grill cubano grilled cheese sandwich take was served with tomato basil cream soup and included Slow Roasted Pork and Bacon, Dill Havarti cheese with Housemade Pickles and Banana Pepper Mustard Relish

Blue Plate Diner

There was quite the line for the Blue Plate Diner’s version of grilled cheese of Texas toast with Jack Cheese plus Rogue Creamery bleu cheese and house braised pot roast with beef jus dipping broth

Brunch Box

Brunch Box brought the heat in a good way with their Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese with Habanero Pepperjack, Jalapeno Cream Cheese, and French’s Fried Onions on Texas Toast
Brunch Box brought the heat in a good way with their Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese with Habanero Pepperjack, Jalapeno Cream Cheese, and French's Fried Onions on Texas Toast Brunch Box brought the heat in a good way with their Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese with Habanero Pepperjack, Jalapeno Cream Cheese, and French's Fried Onions on Texas Toast Brunch Box brought the heat in a good way with their Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese with Habanero Pepperjack, Jalapeno Cream Cheese, and French's Fried Onions on Texas Toast

Gigi’s Cafe (formerly Gaufre Gourmet)

Gaufre Gourmet food cart recently closed so they could focus on the brick and mortar of Gigi’s Cafe. They swept the categories, winning the people’s vote for Best In Taste, Best In Originality, Best Presentation, and Best Overall! They offered up The Spicy Goat, their own country white bread waffle with a mixture of mozzarella, extra sharp white cheddar, and chevre paired with pistachios, arugula, peppered salami and local habanero jelly.
Gigi's Cafe The Spicy Goat, their own country white bread waffle with a mixture of mozzarella, extra sharp white cheddar, and chevre paired with pistachios, arugula, peppered salami and local habanero jelly Gigi's Cafe The Spicy Goat, their own country white bread waffle with a mixture of mozzarella, extra sharp white cheddar, and chevre paired with pistachios, arugula, peppered salami and local habanero jelly Gigi's Cafe The Spicy Goat, their own country white bread waffle with a mixture of mozzarella, extra sharp white cheddar, and chevre paired with pistachios, arugula, peppered salami and local habanero jelly

Gil’s Speakeasy Tavern

Tillamook cheddar, tomato, house smoked bacon and béchamel cheese spread on Portland City sourdough from Gil’s Speakeasy Tavern who have the tag line “The Nicest Assholes in Town” and are describe themselves as “a bitchin’ neighborhood dive underneath an apartment building. We have no sign other than the neons in the windows, so you may not know you are here until you ask”.
Tillamook cheddar, tomato, house smoked bacon and béchamel cheese spread on Portland City sourdough from Gil's Speakeasy Tillamook cheddar, tomato, house smoked bacon and béchamel cheese spread on Portland City sourdough from Gil's Speakeasy Tillamook cheddar, tomato, house smoked bacon and béchamel cheese spread on Portland City sourdough from Gil's Speakeasy

Meat Cheese Bread Portland

Next was Pimento cheese, pulled pork and pickled collards grilled cheese from Meat Cheese Bread Portland
Pimento cheese, pulled pork and pickled collards grilled cheese from Meat Cheese Bread Portland Pimento cheese, pulled pork and pickled collards grilled cheese from Meat Cheese Bread Portland

Bazi Bierbrasserie

Bazi Brasserie offered a grilled cheese using Pullman loaf, spinach dip, manchego cheese, bleu cheese, cream cheese, bacon and Delirium Tremens red pepper coulis that was quite photogenic. Although it sounds simple, the pleasure of that combination was quite a wow.
Bazi Brasserie offered a grilled cheese using Pullman loaf, spinach dip, manchego cheese, bleu cheese, cream cheese, bacon and Delirium Tremens red pepper coulis Bazi Brasserie offered a grilled cheese using Pullman loaf, spinach dip, manchego cheese, bleu cheese, cream cheese, bacon and Delirium Tremens red pepper coulis Bazi Brasserie offered a grilled cheese using Pullman loaf, spinach dip, manchego cheese, bleu cheese, cream cheese, bacon and Delirium Tremens red pepper coulis Bazi Brasserie offered a grilled cheese using Pullman loaf, spinach dip, manchego cheese, bleu cheese, cream cheese, bacon and Delirium Tremens red pepper coulis Bazi Brasserie offered a grilled cheese using Pullman loaf, spinach dip, manchego cheese, bleu cheese, cream cheese, bacon and Delirium Tremens red pepper coulis

If eating a progressive dinner of multiple sandwiches sounds awesome to you, you can wait until next year for the 3rd Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational (stay informed by following The Eastburn as they offer a lot of events on their calendar by liking their Facebook the EastBurn or Instagram @theeastburn)

For something sooner, next week Thursday will be The Feast 2015 Sandwich Invitational where I got all this practice for eating multiple sandwiches and documenting sandwiches with my cameraphone. The Sandwich Invitational boasts FIFTEEN sandwiches from chefs in Portland as well as around the US such as Alvin Cailan of Eggslut in LA and Aaron Franklin of Franklin BBQ in Austin and more. The ticket price there also goes towards a great cause, as net proceeds are towards ending childhood hunger in Oregon and around the country through Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon and Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign. Unlike the $20 at the Grilled Cheese Invitational, the Sandwich Invitational entrance is all inclusive of all drinks which includes several wineries, breweries and distillery.

For a recap of previous Sandwich Invitationals, see my recap of 2014 and my recap of 2013. I won’t be attending this year, but I definitely plan to be following the hashtags to live vicariously through other’s social media.

Which of the grilled cheeses would you have voted for Most Original or Best In Presentation, or sounds like would be Best In Taste for you?

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Franz Bakery Grilled Cheese Throwdown

April 20, 2015 by 12 Comments

Apparently April 12 is National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day.  So on Sunday April 12, 2015, this resulted in that I had the delicious pleasure of sampling 4 grilled cheeses created using Franz Bakery bread. The four grilled cheeses were submissions by local grilled cheese lovers to Franz Bakery as part of a Grilled Cheese contest in which the grand prize included a year’s supply of Franz bread and an All-Clad barbecue tool set. Franz selected the four finalists, who then at Migration Brewing on Sunday from 11 AM – 2 PM cooked their grilled cheese sandwich entry for the public and for the Judges. This was a free family friendly event, and it was a lot of fun!

Each grilled cheese recipe had to use a Franz bread product and 5 ingredients to keep it simple. If you want to see all the entries, they were on social media using the hashtag #franzgrilledcheezeday on the Franz Bakery Facebook wall or on Twitter and Instagram. But let’s take a look at the finalists, shall we? These were all really great sandwiches and I think I have ideas for future grilled cheese parties…

Lindsay Strannigan who also writes the blog RoseMarried presented The Kimcheeze, with Franz Texas Toast with bacon, Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Choi’s Spicy Kimchi and Green Onions. You can see her pro tip is putting a cover while grilling.
Lindsay Strannigan of RoseMarried.com (along with her mom here) presented The Kimcheeze, with Franz Texas Toast with bacon, Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Choi's Spicy Kimchi and Green Onions. #franzgrilledcheezeday Lindsay Strannigan of RoseMarried.com presented The Kimcheeze, with Franz Texas Toast with bacon, Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Choi's Spicy Kimchi and Green Onions. #franzgrilledcheezeday Lindsay Strannigan of RoseMarried.com presented The Kimcheeze, with Franz Texas Toast with bacon, Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Choi's Spicy Kimchi and Green Onions. #franzgrilledcheezedayLindsay Strannigan of RoseMarried.com presented The Kimcheeze, with Franz Texas Toast with bacon, Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Choi's Spicy Kimchi and Green Onions. #franzgrilledcheezeday

Rebekah Hubbard of PDXFoodLove (along with her husband Dave here) presented Curd is the Word, with the ingredients of Franz San Juan Nine Grain, ‘Nduja, Cheddar Cheese Curds, Arugula, and Mayonnaise. Her pro tip here as demonstrated by her husband Dave is putting the mayo on the outside when grilling! Although she used San Juan Nine Grain on the first sandwich you see, I also tried one on the Franz Gluten Free bread of Great Seed which I had never had before and I will definitely seek out again (it also comes in a regular gluten version).
Rebekah Hubbard of PDXFoodLove (along with her husband Dave here) presented Curd is the Word, with Franz San Juan Island Nine Grain Bread, 'Nduja, Cheddar Cheese Curds, Arugula, and Mayonnaise #franzgrilledcheezeday Rebekah Hubbard of PDXFoodLove (along with her husband Dave here) presented Curd is the Word, with Franz San Juan Island Nine Grain Bread, 'Nduja, Cheddar Cheese Curds, Arugula, and Mayonnaise #franzgrilledcheezeday Rebekah Hubbard of PDXFoodLove (along with her husband Dave here) presented Curd is the Word, with Franz San Juan Island Nine Grain Bread, 'Nduja, Cheddar Cheese Curds, Arugula, and Mayonnaise #franzgrilledcheezeday Rebekah Hubbard of PDXFoodLove (along with her husband Dave here) presented Curd is the Word, with Franz Gluten Free Great Seed Bread, 'Nduja, Cheddar Cheese Curds, Arugula, and Mayonnaise #franzgrilledcheezeday

Christina Johnson created The Chicken Cheese Overseas with Seattle Sourdough Baking Company Garlic Sourdough, Chicken Breast, Tillamook Swiss Cheese, Sun Dried Tomato Pesto, and Greek Cream Cheese Spread.
Christina Johnson created The Chicken Cheese Overseas with Seattle Sourdough Baking Company Garlic Sourdough, Chicken Breast, Tillamook Swiss Cheese, Sun Dried Tomato Pesto, and Greek Cream Cheese Spread #franzgrilledcheezeday Christina Johnson created The Chicken Cheese Overseas with Seattle Sourdough Baking Company Garlic Sourdough, Chicken Breast, Tillamook Swiss Cheese, Sun Dried Tomato Pesto, and Greek Cream Cheese Spread #franzgrilledcheezeday Christina Johnson created The Chicken Cheese Overseas with Seattle Sourdough Baking Company Garlic Sourdough, Chicken Breast, Tillamook Swiss Cheese, Sun Dried Tomato Pesto, and Greek Cream Cheese Spread #franzgrilledcheezeday Christina Johnson created The Chicken Cheese Overseas with Seattle Sourdough Baking Company Garlic Sourdough, Chicken Breast, Tillamook Swiss Cheese, Sun Dried Tomato Pesto, and Greek Cream Cheese Spread #franzgrilledcheezeday

Christina’s pro technique in grilling was making sure the grill was hot and then rubbing a stick of butter (making sure it sizzles of course) for each side of the grilled cheese. I had never heard of the garlic sourdough bread she used her from Franz, and I’ll be keeping an eye out for it as well as it looks like it’s perfect for making great paninis.
"Christina

Ultimately, Renee Butcher of The Good Hearted Woman took home the prize with her Irish Apple Pie Twice Grilled Cheese, with the ingredients of Franz Bainbridge Island Cinnamon Swirl Bread, Kerrygold Dubliner Cheese, Granny Smith Apples and Apple Butter.
Renee Butcher of The Good Hearted Woman took home the prize with her Irish Apple Pie Twice Grilled Cheese, with the ingredients of Franz Bainbridge Island Cinnamon Swirl Bread, Kerrygold Dubliner Cheese, Granny Smith Apples and Apple Butter #franzgrilledcheezeday Renee Butcher of The Good Hearted Woman took home the prize with her Irish Apple Pie Twice Grilled Cheese, with the ingredients of Franz Bainbridge Island Cinnamon Swirl Bread, Kerrygold Dubliner Cheese, Granny Smith Apples and Apple Butter #franzgrilledcheezeday

I loved how Renee made this a combination of both savory and sweet, and the extra special touch of an extra cheese crisps she also grilled! You can find her award winning take on the grilled cheese on her blog!
Renee Butcher of The Good Hearted Woman took home the prize with her Irish Apple Pie Twice Grilled Cheese, with the ingredients of Franz Bainbridge Island Cinnamon Swirl Bread, Kerrygold Dubliner Cheese, Granny Smith Apples and Apple Butter #franzgrilledcheezeday Renee Butcher of The Good Hearted Woman took home the prize with her Irish Apple Pie Twice Grilled Cheese, with the ingredients of Franz Bainbridge Island Cinnamon Swirl Bread, Kerrygold Dubliner Cheese, Granny Smith Apples and Apple Butter #franzgrilledcheezeday

I was impressed by all the ladies slinging those hundreds of grilled cheeses for the crowds. It was a really fun, family friendly event with lots of little knee-high and less kiddies. I loved seeing new generations being exposed to more than just white Wonder bread and American cheese.

Did you know that Franz Bakery has been operating for more than 100 years (thanks to two brothers from Austria who founded their small independent bakery in Portland in 1906) and continues to be family owned (fourth generation) and operate at that same address (NE 11th and Flanders) although it has since expanded to grow into one of the largest bakeries in the West Coast? I know because I love sniffing the air around there if I’m fortunate to be there when it smells like fresh baked bread. Oh, what I would do to be able to sneak in and grab a loaf and stick of butter and just that would be enough during those tantalizing aroma times…

I really enjoy that besides being local, the Franz Bakery bread portfolio comes in a great variety of different options, my favorite including the Potato Hamburger buns for burgers, and for regular sandwich needs I like the Lake Washington Honey Oat & Nut or Cannon Beach Milk & Honey or Oregon Hazelnut Bread. Though clearly I need to expand and try more great bread since I tried new ones at this event! All in all, there are more than 100 kinds of baked good products they make, ranging from sandwich bread to sliders to bagels, dinner rolls, croutons and cakes, and donuts and english muffins, and cookies and bear claws and cinnamon rolls and more… I want some just writing this list! There is No High Fructose Corn Syrup used, you should check out the Franz bakery product list to see all they have to offer. I had no idea they had so many – and now I know to keep my eye out for some new kinds!

Have you tried Franz bakery bread, and if you have, what did you end up trying? Do you have a favorite? Which bread would you use for your version of Franz Bakery Grilled Cheese? In general what’s your favorite recipe for grilled cheese?

Also important- where can I get a calendar of all these food holidays…

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Feast Portland: Late Night Tillamook Comfort Call

September 18, 2013 by 7 Comments

Feastivus is almost here! Feast Portland is only a day away! Eeeeeeee!!!!! It’s Feast Eve!!!

Feast, of course, is amulti-day food festival raising money for Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Campaign and Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon September 19-22. 2013.

I just found out about some great stuff Tillamook Cheese has planned for Feast, and wanted to share with all my other cheese lover readers. In fact, I mean this literally- find me during Feast and let’s have some TIllamook cheese together! Here are the deets about the cheese:

Last year and this year, Tillamook is one of the sponsors of Feast. As they explained here in their blog post Loaf Life: Comfort Call: “Tillamook, being the cheese-nerds that we are, couldn’t just hand out samples. Yes, we wanted to hand out samples, but we couldn’t just stop there. The next logical choice was, of course, grilled cheese sandwiches.”

Yes, of course Tillamook. That is the next logical choice. Hot melty cheese a la Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Tillamook Cheese.

The concept of the Tillamook Comfort Call is that Tillamook plans to hand out a certain number of special phones (“Tillaphones”) for Feast which are a direct line to calling in a grilled cheese emergency and ordering a grilled cheese delivered to you (assuming you are in the appropriate radius of the Feast festival) during the late night hours (11pm-3am) on Friday and Saturday of Feast.

Tillamook handed out special flip-phones at Feast Portland whose sole purpose was ordering a grilled cheese sandwich from Tillamook between midnight and 3am – just when you need it most!

LOVE. LOVE.

I hope to see if I can acquire a Tillaphone, and make a Tillamook Comfort Call! Then you should look for me at the ChefStable after party and Portland Penny Diner Popup party on Fri and Sat late night so I can “Share the Loaf”- i.e. share the Tillaphone so other Feast attendees can enjoy Comfort Call too. Just let me take a photo of the deliciousness, ok? If I can’t acquire a Tillaphone, I am so stalking Urban Bliss Life- check out her informative post on Tillamook and Feast too! She is sweet, smart, and will surely be enjoyable company while enjoying melty cheese.

So what’s on the Tillaphone menu?

  • The Triple Threat Grilled Cheese – Tillamook Colby Jack, Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar and Sharp Cheddar Cheeses
  • Sweet & Spicy BBQ Grilled Cheese – Tillamook Sharp Cheddar and Pepper Jack cheese with caramelized onions, BBQ sauce and bacon
  • Dessert Grilled Cheese?

That’s right, a Dessert Grilled Cheese!

Tillamook will be sampling three dessert grilled cheeses at the Widmer Brothers Brewing Sandwich Invitational Presented by Lincoln Motor Co (tickets sold out). Attendees will get to sample and vote for their favorite at the event through social media, and the fan favorite will be featured on the Comfort Call menu. The contenders for the dessert grilled cheese are:

  • The Dark Chocolate Ginger – Tillamook Extra Sharp Cheddar with dark chocolate and candied ginger
  • The Ooey-Gooey – Chocolate covered pretzels with bananas, peanut butter and Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Cheese
  • The Marionberry Waffle – Tillamook Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese and Marionberry compote on Ego waffles

Tillamook Cheese logo, Tillamook County Creamery Assn, Farmer owned since 1909
Thankfully, I also already bought myself a ticket to the Sandwich Invitatational (which I blogged about here), so I will report back on on these sandwiches, and will stalk around looking for a Tillaphone, hopefully to participate in a Tillamook Comfort Call! I hope to sample all these sandwiches. I am a dedicated reviewer of cheese.

Besides the Sandwich Invitational, Tillamook will also be present at the Oregon Bounty Grand Tasting on Friday and Saturday September 20, 21, offering cheese samples of the Tillamook Sharp Cheddar and Monterey Jack. Keep in mind that Tillamook’s Sharp Cheddar won “America’s Best” at the 2013 United States Championship Cheese Contest (as did their Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar and Colby Jack). The Monterey Jack won “America’s Best” at the 2011 United States Championship Cheese Contest.

Make sure you keep apprised on Twitter by following @TillamookCheese! The Tillamook County Creamery Association is a cooperative of 110 dairy farming families since 1909, and their products are made with only the highest quality milk from cows not treated with artificial growth hormones. You can feel good about supporting local as you eat their delicious products.

You know what else you could do when you visit Tillamook at the Grand Tasting? Get this… they are offering the ability to grill your face onto a grilled cheese sandwich. Ok, grill your face digitally, but still!

If you are looking for me at Feast, my current Feast schedule includes the Widmer Sandwich Invitational (sold out), both days of the Oregon Bounty Grand Tasting presented by Alaska Airlines (tickets still available for Friday and for Saturday!), the Cookbook Social (free/$5 donation) on Friday- for a list of the various authors attending and what they wrote, check out my cookbook lineup homework here.

For Saturday, besides the Grand Tasting I will also be at the Whole Foods Best Butcher Contest and Fishmonger Faceoff (free!) and High Comfort at the Nines by Portland Monthly (tickets sold out). Both Fri and Sat I will be at most of the various Speaker Series events (tickets available, $10 each), and also the ChefStable after party and Portland Penny Diner Popup party. The Portland Penny Diner Popup mentioned is not a ticketed event: you can read more about them and other unofficial Feast events here at Eater Where to Eat During Feast Portland 2013. And I might be at more! Check out where I am on foursquare or @pechluck on Twitter!

What do you think of the 5 Tillamook grilled cheese creations above? Which would you pick to try for your Tillamook booty call?

Update! Recap:

Trying a the Sandwich Invitational the 3 Tillamook cheese sandwiches! Tillaphone- time for a late night grilled cheese call! It's a Tillamook delivery!

Disclosure: I was granted a Bloggers Pass for Feast Portland 2013 which grants me access to the Media Lounge and Grand Tastings and Speaker Series. I was asked to help promote Feast but they did not require that I write this post and I am not otherwise being compensated.

The tickets to the Sandwich Invitational and High Comfort at the Nines were purchased out of my own pocket. I have no affiliation with Tillamook except that I love their products, and they make cheese, I love cheese, and so I wanted to promote what they are doing at Feast. 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. 

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