Disclosure: I was granted a Bloggers Pass for Feast Portland 2013, and asked to help promote Feast but they did not require that I write this post and I am not otherwise being compensated. I paid for my own ticket to the Sandwich Invitational.

Feast Portland 2013 Day 1 Recap, September 19, 2013

Paley Pre Funk at Imperial

It started with Paley Pre Funk at Imperial, featuring wine by Hawks View Cellars, Beer by Breakside Brewing, and Appetizers by Chef Ben. I felt like a superstar celebrity, surrounded by beautiful people who were fashionable and gourmet, gorgeous foods and wines that made me roll my eyes back as I sipped them. I felt like I had snuck onto one of those episodes of Top Chef Masters where they prepare an incredible meal of little bites.

I was really impressed by the food, which included

• Beets, White Chocolate, and Rosemary Lardo
• Albacore Tuna, Padrons, Pistachio Romesco
• Smoked Pork Shoulder, Salsa, Crispy Potatoes
• Fall Vegetable and Ricotta Terrine
• Smoked Trout Salad, Horseradish, Apple Chip
• Fire Roasted Gazpacho, Herbs, Brioche Croutons
• Blood Sausage, Apple Sauce, Crispy Speck
• Mackerel Escabeche, Crispy Pork Belly, Aioli

Hawks View Cellars poured their White Pinot Noir, Skin-Fermented Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir Reserve.  These were very limited production wines that the general public would probably never see as it get snapped up by their wine members. Well, that last one, the Pinot Noir Reserve, is enough reason to join their wine club, I took a sip and the world stopped for a second and it unfolded on my palate. SO GOOD. Of all the amazing things I had during my visit at Paley Pre Funk, the taste of that Pinot Noir Reserve is the one I am STILL THINKING ABOUT.

Sandwich Invitational 2013

Next, the Sandwich Invitational. I had never heard of Reyka Vodka, but I was impressed by their booth as I watched the ice bar get smaller over time. I also loved their blood orange vodka beverage. Meanwhile, Tillamook was sampling 3 dessert grilled cheeses to put to a twitter vote to see which would make it to their Comfort Call menu, as previously posted (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).

• Paul Qui’s Widmer Sandwich Invitational entry of Rabbit 7 ways
• Gabrielle Denton handing out Ox’s Duck confit sandwich on cheddar jalapeno waffle with maple mustard and dill pickled peach

• Sean Brock of McCrady’s (Charleston) entry of Hillbilly Fried Bologna Sandwich
• Stuart Biroza and Nicole Krasinski of State Bird Provisions (SF) open-Faced Sweet Corn and Pork Belly ‘Panwich’
• Joshua McFadden of Roman Candle Baking Company offered a Sloppy Giueppe with this clever container, and also a Chocolate Brioche with Peanut Gelato

• Woodsman Tavern Smoked Lamb Gyro wtih yogurt sauce, pickled onion and zhoug on a roman candle bakery flatbread
• Elephants Deli Roast Hoison Pork Belly
• Duff Goldman of Charm City Cakes offered Peanut Butter Jelly and Bacon Sandwich
• David Kreifels’ Smoked Beef Tongue Sandwich with Padron Peppers from Laurelhurst Market
• Bunk Sandwiches Holy food porn! Pork Belly Torta w Pickled Pineapple Jalapeno Slaw. Holy food porn!
• Lardo, you had me at truffles (on their Spit Roasted Porchetta)

Perhaps the photos gave away which sandwiches I liked the most. I voted for Bunk, but Judge’s choice went to David Kreifels/Laurelhurst Market for the smoked beef tongue with padron peppers. People’s Choice went to Adam Sappington/Country Cat for the juicy lamb cheeseburgers sliders. Unfortunately, my photo of the people’s choice winner was too blurry to share. Using my trick of carrying lil ziplocs in my bag so the food would not go to waste after 1-2 bites (not all sandwiches made it to the bag though- hey, I needed dinner!), I did manage to get to everyone except for Roman Candle Bakery where the sloppy giuseppe was procured by a friend but I was too full to sample but I got their leftovers after their bites, the Ruby Jewel sandwiches (3 dessert grilled cheeses from Tillamook was enough, especially adding in the extra Chocolate Brioche with Gelato from Roman Candle!) and also I missed the Clyde Common sandwich, a seafood sandwich I heard.

I leave you with some “fancy dancing” I happened to see. I also give you Francis Lam rocking orange pants and checked jacket while standing next to Naomi that I quickly paparazzi’d as I was in line waiting to get in. The line went around the block, but moved quickly as it seemed to be just a matter of scanning tickets and putting on wristbands.

More Food Porn:

• Photos from Bon Appetit’s coverage of the Sandwich Invitational
• The blogger Eat the Love recaps his Day 1 (seriously, you had this post up this morning?? Impressive!). T
• A slideshow at Zagat’s coverage that includes more photos of the chefs
• Similar to my coverage, Serious Eats made sure to capture lots of photos of the Sandwiches at Feast Sandwich Invitational
• Portland Monthly’s Slide Show: Feast Portland 2013 Sandwich Invitational

Disclosure: I was granted a Bloggers Pass for Feast Portland 2013, and asked to help promote Feast but they did not require that I write this post and I am not otherwise being compensated. I paid for my own ticket to the Sandwich Invitational.

Also check out my recap of Day 3 High Comfort and Day 2 Oregon Bounty Grand Tasting