First August Weekend… Bailey’s Taproom and Meriwethers

August is a busy month in terms of eventful weeks and weekends, so I think I may be very brief in my blog writings and rely on photos to give you glimpses of what I am up to.

This past weekend was Bailey’s Taproom fourth Anniversary Festival. As a gift to themselves for their fouth year of successful beertending, they installed a new electronic tap list sign. It so happened I was there to see the sign’s grand opening on Monday when the shot taken shows me foursquare checked in. Below is a photo of the munchies to go along with the beers: various cheeses from Spain, Ireland, Beecher’s Flagship and Marco Polo… and Saucisson D’Alsace from Olympic Provisions

Meriwether’s Restaurant for a lovely brunch in the garden… look at those super fluffy blueberry pancakes! I had an omelette stuffed to brimming with lots of dungeness crab folded with a light sweet herb crema. There must have been at least 2 crabs worth of meat in there.  It came with potato au gratin, of which the redeemable and best part was the top with the burnt crunchy cheese, and also two pieces of almost crouton-state toasts with strawberry jam. I did appreciate that they were dishing out potato au gratin instead of the normal breakfast potato most brunches use.

I didn’t take a photo of the beverages- it seemed a bit pricey for the mimosas though it was nice that they provided choices of orange, pineapple, grapefruit or pomegranate juice which is a great idea and was gorgeous looking on the table. These Meri Mimosas come in a champagne glass though unlike the Grand Mimosa (with Grand Marnier) with comes in a  pint glass. I went with my usual bloody mary (“Bloody Meri”) which of course also comes in a pint glass and was peppery but nothing out of the ordinary.

The garden was wonderfully cultivated with flowers and greenery and little birdhouses and wrought iron furniture so it felt like an oasis. The only drama was in a friend’s tales during conversation, and not during any overwrought wait as you would typically expect at brunches (you can even make a reservation via OpenTable and they have their own parking lot), so it was a calming escape and a peaceful and positive start to Sunday.

I think this is my new favorite brunch place in terms of atmosphere usurping Mother’s… although food-wise I am still really blown away by Screendoor and Pine State Biscuit. The prices here are also slightly higher then many other brunch options, though they also are supporting the farm to table with their direct connection to Skyline Farm, which I support.  Ultimately I prefer my mornings to be more slow starting rather then feeling competitive or rushed and then feeling time slow down because we’re waiting for a table, so having brunch in the courtyard here is much preferred as I can feel time slow down because I can relax.

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Sunday Snackies at my house

Putting together a cheese plate- not pictured is the Brillat Savarin (but you saw a photo of it in an earlier post in the box), and also a guest brought a Fra Roussel Cantalet, the ancestor of British cheddars and one of the oldest cheese in France. The cheese in the back is a mixed goat/sheep cheese Causse Noir from the Portland Farmers Market vendor Monteillet Fromagerie which I can remember the location at the market and their cheese and what the guy looks like… but I always seem to mess up their name and substitute other random syllables after “Mont”.

These are also all from the Portland Farmers Market: the seedy bread from Fressen, specifically Vollkornbrot, made of Dark Rye and Whole Wheat flours with cracked rye, Sunflower, Flax and Sesame Seeds; a duck truffle pate from Chop; and kielbasa from Olympic Provisions. I often cut up bread into cracker size pieces rather then serve crackers (although a guest also brought a nice baguette from Grand Central)

I prepared the kielbasa two ways. First I sliced them. Then, on the left I just put it on a pan and let it cook in its own juices til it got a bit crispy on the edges. On the right, I simmered a bottle of beer with I think 1/3 cup of brown sugar until it was bubbly, added the kielbasa and simmered for 30 minutes with an additional 4-6 teaspoons of bbq sauce I think- I did it mostly to taste, and depending on what beer profile you use it will vary. The simmer mixture adds a bit of sweetness to the outside of the sausage- you can add cornstarch to make the sauce stick to the meat like a glaze, but I didn’t want to cover up the already well smoked and flavorful meat too much.

I can never get tired of having cheese, bread, and a little meat with wine. It’s nicer to throw in a little pickled something and fruit as well to round out casual snacks- but since the day before I had gone to the market on my own and brought back several bottles of beverages, there’s only so much I can carry on my own, and uphill to boot. Someone needs to buy me a little cart- not so big that it gets in the way of others at the market, but that way I don’t have to have all the weight in my arms and shoulders. On the other hand, knowing I need to carry everything does keep me in check as I walk around the market on how much I get as well- sometimes I get a little overexcited about what I see without thinking about how quickly I need to eat it to really enjoy it at its peak and take advantage of freshness.  Next Saturday is a special “Bacon Time” edition where I’ll be fancying snacks up with a bacon theme, hopefully the bacon tart will be photogenic.

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Portland Farmers Market at PSU, 2011; Meats and Seafood Edition

At last weekend’s Portland Farmers Market, they had its grand opening for 2011, kicking off its 20th season. I visited my regular vendors to see what they had, as well as saw a few new faces. This post covers those vendor booths at the market that I was checking out/usually stop for reviewing meats and seafood offerings.

I always like to walk slowly to gaze at the offerings of Chop, but I try to walk away without pate since my arteries would suffer if I patronized them often. But, that richness tempts me every time. I always feel both bad and good about seeing Chop overwhelmed by visitors trying their various pates and salami, all these hands with toothpicks grabbing crowding around while more people are on the outer circle waiting to do the same thing… It looks like Paul brought Erica as backup help too on opening day (they are the co-owners); when he first started it was just him manning the booth. They really do have excellent pates at a reasonable $5 for most of them, a few at $6-7 and they also have duck confit. Wonderfully (for them) they sell out by the end of the market- sometimes even by just after lunchtime, so if you want pate, make this an early stop. I can’t really fault the people for wanting to crowd his booth though- look at his beautiful boards!

Portland Farmers Market PSU Chop pates salami

All the pates are good in different ways, depending on what you want to have with them. As you can see, he also has salamis. Chop is responsible for totally raising my standard for pates now that I’ve had theirs fresh takes using meats varying (and combining) from pork, chicken, duck, venison… The fact they source locally and know the story of their product also demonstrates the respect they have for their product. Bah, after passing it a few times, I ended up buying their duck and truffle pate. Resistance was futile. Well, it’s been several months right?

Portland Farmers Market PSU Chop pates

As I was circling around and heading towards the end that has the hot food booths, I was surprised to run into Olympic Provisions. I’ve heard of them before already in the foodie circuit, but I hadn’t seen that as the PSU market before. But I suppose it’s fair to have a booth to compete with Chop. Well, compete in terms of salami and sausage anyway- Chop has pate while Olympic Provisions does not. They had the same experience of quite a group of people in front of their boards, sampling each of their offerings. They too sold out before the end of the market- just shows you Portland peoples love their meats. In fact, in the second picture you can see a father holding his toddler daughter encouraging her to reach over and take a sample.

Because of the crowd I only tried the chorizo, and when I heard that they had kielbasa snapped that up and went on my way. I hope they expand their offerings at the market to beyond the salamis as time goes on. I’m a big fan of Mortadella (when I have a week where I bring sandwiches to lunch, that’s the “lunchmeat” I prefer), and sometimes you want fresh meat, not the dry kind (even though they are both tasty). On the other hand, the dry salamis are sort of an investment as they keep longer then any fresh sausage- and a little can go a long way.

Portland Farmers Market PSU Olympic Provisions Portland Farmers Market PSU Olympic Provisions

I don’t purchase this often, but once in a while I want Italian Sausage. You may not have noticed on a market visit, but the same Salumeria di Carlo stall that is grilling those bell peppers and onions and sausages into a bun with honey or yellow mustard for you to enjoy as an Italian Sausage Sandwich, tempting down the market from north to south with those aromas, are more then a hot food vendor. They also sell those sausages in packages for you to take home and do what you will. My choice is to break apart to use it in breakfast scrambles. They have Southern Italian style that is spicier and seasoned with fennel garlic and chilies, and also a Northern Italian style that is sweeter with coriander nutmeg and white wine. I like them both

Portland Farmers Market PSU Salumeria di Carlo Italian Sausage Portland Farmers Market PSU Salumeria di Carlo Italian Sausage

In terms of seafood, I don’t get it too often as F complains it stinks up the garbage can (and the house if I cook it). But, I can’t resist 100% of the time, and crab and shrimp and lobster aren’t as bad as fish, so there is that. That’s when I look to admire Linda Brand Crab’s offerings. They have fish, crab, oysters and clams. Most importantly to me, they offer some of their crab already removed from that dangerous sharp shell so that you can get right into the enjoyment with less pre-work. You can buy lemons and cocktail sauce right there if you want to just rip into it and eat right there.

Portland Farmers Market PSU Linda Brand Crab seafood Portland Farmers Market PSU Linda Brand Crab seafood Portland Farmers Market PSU Linda Brand Crab seafood

Usually the “booth” (more like a simple set up of a giant cooler and then some guys sitting behind a folding table and handmade signs) with the Native Americans selling salmon from the Columbia always has an impressive fish on display, and it makes me a little nostalgic for how it probably was back 100 or so years ago with probably a parallel setup to sell the fish from their tribe by the still being established Portland. This year at the opening they brought a few of the tribespeople to sing and chant which I could hear all the way on the other side of the market, so I promised myself to get some salmon or something from them this year- they almost always have beautiful fish.

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There are several other meat vendors at the market that sell the larger “entree” size cuts of meat like steaks and rack of lamb from the ranch or fish steaks or oysters- their booths are full of coolers of meat or catches fresh that will blow your mind if you are already impressed with the offering of Whole Foods and New Seasons (ok… well some of them do sell to local grocery stores here sometimes. But this is direct!). Since the meat eaters of my household are mainly me and Lobo the cat though, I haven’t explored this side of the market yet and stick to meat offerings that can be portioned into smaller servings. But, if you’re normal household that has meat and seafood being prepared in your kitchen regularly, there is a whole other branch of meats and seafoods at the market that I haven’t covered and you should definitely see for yourself.

Living this close to the market, I can’t imagine buying meat from a store when you can get it here during the Farmer’s Market season. Support the local economy and sustainability and know you’re not keeping a factory farm in business. Even though I do eat meat (and love it), I try to do so sparingly, and thoughtfully, and respectfully. I think it’s more then a seasoning of good conscience that makes these offerings taste better – but it sure doesn’t hurt either.

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