Winston’s Fish N Chips

May 8, 2023 by Leave a Comment

Feeling like a little bit of a taste of England after seeing all the coronation photos and gossip this past weekend? Check out Winston’s British Fish N Chips, the first food truck of many to come – they are looking to open more in the US. The truck and fish and chips are named for Winston the Royal Corgi of Chef Darren McGrady’s YouTube channel.
Winston's Fish N Chips food truck - Fish N Chips with Mushy Peas Winston's Fish N Chips food truck - The Royal Sampler

Chef McGrady prepared fish and British chips as Personal Chef to Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Diana, Princes William and Harry, and others at Buckingham Palace including five US Presidents and now brings these recipes to US, and serving them through mobile restaurants, at the insistence of Winston! Also Winston is adorable – you can find his friendly face on the food truck and if you bring a lil one, acquire a mini-Winston.
Winston's Fish N Chips food truck Winston's Fish N Chips food truck Winston's Fish N Chips food truck Winston's Fish N Chips food truck

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Tournant Cold Moon Crab Feast

February 24, 2022 by Leave a Comment

In mid-December 2021, I and food friend (and incredible eye for photos) @trinnadeleon on Instagram and libation friend Niki Sudssuster on Instagram snagged tickets to the Tournant Cold Moon Crab Feast. It took place at new location in wine country Dayton at Brick Hall, an 1886 brick church. You say dungeness crab, plus oysters, caviar, cocktails by Merit Badge and more? So in.
Tournant Cold Moon Crab Feast Tournant Cold Moon Crab Feast

I have been a fan of Tournant for many years and enjoyed their seafood spreads at events and and oyster socials and marveled at their outdoor farm to fire cooking that that has forever raised the bar on open kitchen and adaption to the natural environment and showcase of the artistry of food preparation visually and aromatically before tasting it. They are about to launch a Full Moon Dinner Series in partnership with Westward Whiskey, a dinner series whose tickets go on sale this weekend! The series promises food, fire, nature and togetherness with the full moon in locations around Oregon’s wine country.

The full moon series takes place for the following full moons:

  • Pink Moon – April 16, 2022
  • Strawberry Moon – June 14, 2022
  • Sturgeon Moon – August 12, 2022
  • Harvest Moon – September 10, 2022

So how was my experience with Tournant Cold Moon Crab Feast? First, it’s essential you set an alarm for when the tickets go on sale because they will sell out fast. For the Tournant Cold Moon Crab Feast we were lucky that they opened up a second communal table (other tickets were for tables of 4 or 6 seats – great to keep the dining table to your quarantine bubble), and it was in such demand they even expanded to a second night of Sunday and that sold out too. So be ready – sign up for their mailing list and follow them on Instagram so stay in the loop.

When you purchased the ticket, it was for the prix fixe of 3 courses, but there were also additions you could purchase as add-ons that included seafood platters or towers and caviar service in advance, and during your meal you could additionally order cocktails, wines, oysters, Louisiana blue crab cakes, and fries. Trinna and I were 100% on the same page that of course we needed a seafood platter and caviar service. The difference between the platter and tower was the number of people they served, both offered Pacific oysters on the half shell, poached prawns, chilled mussels, crab claws, salmon tartare, lemons, mignonette and sauces. Caviar service was 1 oz Siberian Sturgeon caviar with special accompaniments of toast, potato chips, and yum those little potatoes.
Tournant Cold Moon Crab Feast seafood platter with Pacific oysters on the half shell, poached prawns, chilled mussels, crab claws, salmon tartare, lemons, mignonette and sauces Tournant Cold Moon Crab Feast seafood tower with Pacific oysters on the half shell, poached prawns, chilled mussels, crab claws, salmon tartare, lemons, mignonette and sauces. Caviar service was 1 oz Siberian Sturgeon caviar with special accompaniments

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Nicholas Restaurant’s New Location

June 1, 2021 by Leave a Comment

I have been a fan of Nicholas Restaurant for a long time and I’m probably not the only one – this family restaurant has been in business in Portland for more then 35 years. It all started when the original Nicholas, “Dad” to the current owner and daughter Hilda, and grandfather to the Nicholas I met during my recent visit (Hilda’s son), took a risk using his retirement and pension to found Nicholas Restaurant after immigrating from Beirut, Lebanon. Despite this being their first time running a restaurant, Hilda’s parents found their pizzas and calzones were a hit and they were able to expand to the larger Lebanese homey menu you see today. I was sad to see them close up their hole in the wall Grand location, but also thrilled to see Nicholas Restaurant’s new location on SE Madison which now has room for a patio with heaters and umbrellas, plus more space (4x as much square feet) for distancing tables, and a medical grade air filtration system. And look at those cute booths and new bar. The second floor has a section perfect for a larger party of family and friends.
Nicholas Restaurant's new location on SE Madison includes a patio with heaters and umbrellas Nicholas Restaurant's new location on SE Madison now has room for a patio with heaters and umbrellas, plus more space (4x as much square feet) for distancing tables, and a medical grade air filtration system. And look at those cute booths Nicholas Restaurant's new location on SE Madison now has room for a patio with heaters and umbrellas, plus more space (4x as much square feet) for distancing tables, and a medical grade air filtration system. And look at those cute booths and new bar! Nicholas Restaurant's new location on SE Madison now has room for a patio with heaters and umbrellas, plus more space (4x as much square feet) for distancing tables, and a medical grade air filtration system. And look at those cute booths and new bar. The second floor has a section perfect for a larger party of family and friends! Nicholas Restaurant's new location on SE Madison now has room for a patio with heaters and umbrellas, plus more space (4x as much square feet) for distancing tables, and a medical grade air filtration system. And look at those cute booths and new bar. The second floor has a section perfect for a larger party of family and friends! Nicholas Restaurant's new location on SE Madison now has room for a patio with heaters and umbrellas, plus more space (4x as much square feet) for distancing tables, and a medical grade air filtration system. And look at those cute booths and new bar. The second floor has a section perfect for a larger party of family and friends!

During the pandemic I was thankful and incredibly impressed by Nicholas Restaurant‘s quick pivot to their “Flatten the Curve Healthy Menu” to serve the community. This was one of the fastest reactions to the times – they closed the dining rooms on March 16 2020 and started offering this menu right then. The menu at the time still had the same generous portions, but at a reduced price of $10 or less (with entrees still including salad and rice) to help those suffering financially and enhance their diet from unhealthy or processed food that might be what they think could afford. And, they were taking care of their team and their family with food. I ordered multiple times, and then when I heard they would be closing the SE Grand even stopped for takeout just to see it one more time.
Nicholas Restaurant's takeout from their 2020 Flatten the Curve Healthy Menu that offered $10 or less menu items so people with financial concerns could still enjoy good healthy food

As much as I enjoy the takeout, and especially eating that garlicky toum without subjecting anyone else to my aromatic breath as I eat it by the spoonful, I was excited to check out the patio immediately. There is nothing like having that fresh pita bread hot from the oven presented to your table with the zaatar and oil dip. We love the hummus so added that on as well even though we knew we would also be ordering a Mezza that had more hummus because well, we love hummus. F has a regular order that he doesn’t even look at the menu: the Arabian Breeze Mezza which gives highlights of multiple dishes: Hummus, hamara, caramelized onions mixed with tahini, majadra, fried cauliflower, and falafel.
Nicholas Restaurant pita with an appetizer of hummus. There is nothing like having that fresh pita bread hot and fresh from the oven presented to your table. Nicholas Restaurant Arabian Breeze Mezza which gives highlights of multiple dishes: Hummus, hamara, caramelized onions mixed with tahini, majadra, fried cauliflower, and falafel

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A Slow Return to Normalcy: Travel around the world with the best takeout in PDX

April 26, 2021 by Leave a Comment

It’s been almost a year since I updated – as COVID-19 quarantine started in March 2020, I stopped dining out as we all went into lockdown. The last post I wrote was about missing the last time I saw my family in Thanksgiving of 2019, and missing travel. Today is a special milestone: it marks the day that I and F get our first Pfizer vaccination shot now that we qualify. It gives me a lot of hope that we will soon be on the road to a slow return to normalcy. I hope all of you out there are doing as well as you can be, and we can eventually return to sharing stories and experiences again over that universal connection of food and drink. I look forward when these quarantine parties of 2 or less (depending on whether F is eating anything) that I’ve had for the past year can expand to include more then my household. In the meantime, maybe it’s time to prepare for travel by traveling around the world with the best takeout in PDX.
Kacha - Latkes Party set with a platter of 12 crispy potato draniki and toppings. You can keep it vegetarian with the included Endive salad with creamy tarragon dressing, Roasted applesauce with toasted coriander, Maitake mushroom gravy (so creamy and a generous portion you can use on biscuits or turn into mushroom stroganoff!), Smoky eggplant ‘caviar’, Truffled farmer’s cheese spread, and Smetana (Russian-style sour cream) or add assorted seafood including Tsar Nicoulai Caviar and Beet Horseradish Cured Salmon. Latke Parties also come with a Dreidel, chocolate Gelt and instructions so you can play Dreidel at home. I got the vegetarian version but added some deli meats of smoked Salo and Salami and House cured salmon roe. The horseradish vodka is sold at Aria Urdaneta, basque cuisine takeout feast

It has been a devastating year for Portland food and drink industry. Some beloved establishments have closed, and those in the industry who have persevered are still struggling, most having to pivot to fit these new times. I still have continued to try to be a patron by supporting take-out and delivery from local businesses at least once a week. Everyone on this list is local. That said, it is a limited list. Many of you know that we live in SW Portland and that we do not own a car so I definitely had a limited circle of distance, with only a few exceptions where I rented a ZipCar. Even with vaccinations though, I am definitely cautious of the current atmosphere and AAPI hate incidents that I have fortunately not directly experienced yet, but have heard about happening in Portland second-hand. So you will likely see a very slow uptick of more PDX food and drink highlights from me, but it will be slow. It will still mostly center on take-out and delivery.
Ranch PDX - Sicilian style pizza, this one is the The #4 with Red Sauce, Aged Mozzarella, Sausage, Ricotta, Calabrian Chilies, Pecorino Romano, Fresh Basil Grassa PDX Pork Belly Mac and Cheese with barbecue pork belly, jalapenos, red onion, cornbread crumbs

That said, I thought maybe I would start with a year in review of the best takeout in PDX I have had in the past year and if you have not had the chance yet, I would recommend you give it a try. Travel around the world with me while still eating in your pjs with these delicious local food creators.

Asia

Khao Moo Dang

Order anything here that includes the crispy pork belly. My favorite is the Ba-Mhee Pi-Set, an egg noddle set with five spice pork loin, crispy pork belly, whole soft-boiled egg, pork dumplings, and yu choy, served dry, and then add on chinese sausage. For the vegs they have soy curl on rice or with egg noodle or in a house curry. Theses dishes bring me straight to eating on little plastic stools along the side of the road in Thailand.
Takeout from Khao Moo Dang Takeout from Khao Moo Dang: the Ba-Mhee Pi-Set, an egg noddle set with five spice pork loin, crispy pork belly, whole soft-boiled egg, pork dumplings, and yu choy, served dry, and then add on chinese sausage

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Pasta at Rick Gencarelli’s Grassa Portland

May 16, 2014 by 8 Comments

If you are a regular visitor of my blog, you probably know I am a fan of Rick Gencarelli. I’ve been going to Lardo monthly for their Lardo Chefwiches. As an aside, they recently finishd running through the latest 6 chefwiches, so the big Lardo Chefwich Party is now coming up on Sunday June 8th at the 1212 SE Hawthorne location, from 12-4 for $20. If you missed any of this year’s six, here’s a chance to try them all out, and there will be also a beer tap takeover by Crux Fermentation Project at the event.
Lardo Chefwich Party is now coming up on Sunday June 8th at the 1212 SE Hawthorne location, from 12-4 for $20. If you missed any of this year's six, here's a chance to try them all out, and there will be also a beer tap takeover by Crux Fermentation Project at the event.

Sometimes though, I might instead go next door to Grassa which is right next to Lardo (in fact there is a connecting door) at their location of Southwest 12th and Washington. I have not yet had the pleasure/greed to order from both Lardo and Grassa in a single meal- but I have thought about it.

I love sitting at the counter in Grassa and watching them make their fresh pasta. It takes a lot of willpower not to reach over and grab some pasta and just eat it raw, right then and there.

The pasta at Rick Gencarelli's Grassa is made fresh, right in front of you!

On this particular visit several months ago, a friend ordered (I think) the Italian Sausage pasta with peppers, onions, basil, grana, escarole.
Grassa's pasta dish of Italian Sausage pasta with peppers, onions, basil, grana, escarole in Portland Grassa's pasta dish of Italian Sausage pasta with peppers, onions, basil, grana, escarole in Portland

Also on deck for me was the Carbonara with bucatini, pork belly, and slow cooked egg
Grassa's pasta dish of Carbonara with bucatini, pork belly, slow cooked egg in Portland Grassa's pasta dish of Carbonara with bucatini, pork belly, slow cooked egg in Portland

The meatballs at Grassa are incredible.
Grassa's meatball dish in Portland

I would recommend ordering this as your side instead of the garlic bread that I ordered on my last recap post of a Grassa Visit that included the Radiatore with tomato braised chicken, crisp skin, ricotta, basil (which has turned into agnolotti with chicken liver mouse, jalapeno butter, but still that crisp chicken skin this season) and the Bucatini wtih hazelnut pesto, zucchini, mozzarella crema. Neither of those original pasta dishes are on their current menu anymore- so check every once in a while to see what new pasta masterpiece is now on the menu!

Bucatini wtih hazelnut pesto, zucchini, mozzarella crema and Radiatore with tomato braised chicken, crisp skin, ricotta, basil, from Grassa by Rick Gencarelli

On yet another much more recent visit (this month), I tried out the Creste Di Gallo with pancetta, whipped ricotta, English peas, fine herbs and grana.
Grassa Portland's Creste Di Gallo with pancetta, whipped ricotta, English peas, fine herbs and grana Grassa Portland's Creste Di Gallo with pancetta, whipped ricotta, English peas, fine herbs and grana Grassa Portland's Creste Di Gallo with pancetta, whipped ricotta, English peas, fine herbs and grana

Is this too much pasta porn for you? I don’t feel bad at all about it.

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