Category: Portland

Sorry I Missed Your Birthday.

On By Emily KeithIn celebrations, PortlandLeave a comment

This little blog turned 6 years old at the beginning of May. Celebrations are great excuses. Today I spent the morning in ADA accommodation meetings which is really not a horrible way to spend a Saturday. After work I took the bus to the Pearl District, the ninth circle of hell, and went shopping at Anthropologie where I always feel like Theseus, having to clutch and follow a rope to insure finding ones way out of the labyrinth. Oven and Shaker is a few blocks over so the blog and I decided to Happy Hour.

Pepper Smash #2 -mint, Aquavit, lime juice , maple syrup, yellow bell pepper juice ;

Let’s talk ice, it’s important. This is nicely crafted and surely frozen in-house but I found myself having to hold back the cubes so they wouldn’t knock out my front teeth. I would like to drink this in a taller glass, that’s all. Same drink, different vessel. Due to the kick of mint that brings out the sweetness of the pepper I would definitely drink this again. Krogstad’s Aquavit always has nice things to say.

radicchio, parmigiano, rosemary-sage croutons,

Nobody will ever shut up about this salad. It’s served at Nostrana, it actually belongs to her, and it blends bitter, creamy, earthy so perfectly.

Fava shoots, chilli-onion jam, pecorino, green olives

Seasonal selection pie and the fava shoots are verbena-y and green tasting even after a solid char, mild spice, top excellent cheese that did not overwhelm with salt leaving most of the pie’s salinity to the olives.

When I walked to this restaurant I was in an excellent mood; wind in my hair, life at my feet, marveling at the ideal of dignity and how maybe, just maybe, it’s a replenishing well that can sustain good fortune through multiple perils and trials. After entering Oven and Shaker I realized I’d walked through NW with my fly down. It was around the time this pizza showed up that I started to feel a bit better about myself.

Dessert

True test of any cocktail program is their Old Fashioned. This nailed it, great pour, vintage vibe garnish. Ungh.

Service here is aces, really accommodating boarding on rewarding. My waiter helped me qualify the logistics concerning the BEST way for him to package my leftovers so that they fit into my shopping bag without turning my clothes into pizza.

Cheers! Sorry I missed your birthday.

I’ve Unlocked Brunch

On By Emily KeithIn brunch, fancypants, new to you, oystertopia, Portland, travel, unsolicited adviceLeave a comment

Back in time: Chicago, November 2011. The Publican. Sunday Brunch.

Bloody Mary / Side Cars / Coffee

This is a popular spot in Fulton Market where they ring a bell every time a patron buys the bartenders a six-pack. A ton of work went into designing the interior of this place and it shows. Feats of brute strength go into the food –

Pork Rinds / Mimosa
Ricotta Pumpkin Walnut Bread / Figs / Mint
Sirloin Steak / Fennel / Apple / Truffle / Knife
Duck Hash / Eggs

While enjoying this meal with my buddy, Sarah, a little restaurant back home in Portland placed the final touches on their own well designed space and banging food executions.

Enter The Woodsman Tavern – It’s safe to say these two restaurants are defined by similarities as well as differences, you can’t ring a bell and buy the bartender a six-pack (or can you?!) but there is a singularity of experience that allows these restaurants to bro down with one another from a sizable geographic distance.

Stumptown Cold Brew on the Gun

The Woodsman is the brain child of  Stumptown Coffee founder, Duane. I have no doubt he spent some time in The Publican envisioning his final product.

Bottle Aged Bloody Mary / No Side Car

These pictures are from 4 visits to The Woodsman because, unlike The Publican, I can walk there. It’s dangerous. I went to their very first brunch service and it’s only improved over time. However, the Bloody Mary once had sherry in the mix. It think this changed recently? Bring back the sherry.

Biscuit / Country Ham / Eggs / Kale

My brunch friends always order this dish and the ham is typically from Johnson Country, TN. After sampling a biscuit once or twice I can attest that The Woodsman does not serve a Yankee’s biscuit. Nice work.

I usually order this:

Fanny Bay / Fresh Horseradish / Champagne Mignonette

Or this,

Oven Pancake / Smoked Meyer Lemon Marmalade / House Ricotta / some kind of nut
Half Grapefruit / Burnt Honey

The tall drink in the background? That’s a Michelada with Sangrita, Lime Juice, Mezcal, Beer, and Spicy Salt. Be careful! Tread lightly! You have a whole day ahead of you!

Best Buds / Awwww

But really, truly, both are great places to be. I also have to mention how great the service at The Woodsman is – it’s really good, which is important for a place slinging oysters for $16 a half-dozen! Makes it worth it!

They also have fun:

Celebrating Tony Iommi's birthday. Sabbath on the Sabbath.

 

The Bent Brick

On By Emily KeithIn new to me, Portland, unsolicited adviceLeave a comment

I’ve been sick for two days but this afternoon I got out of bed, washed the orange juice from the bottom of approximately 40 glasses and remembered that before all of this ickyness I was sitting in a sun-lit room in the NW corner of Portland having a lovely evening, an evening that morphed into a really awesome night. The Bent Brick is totally worthy of your business, I did the leg work for you. I recommend that you go before I next see you because I’m pretty sure I’m contagious.

stranger things have happened

Yup, that’s the name of the drink. Bourbon, coriander, verjus, spiced currant, egg white. I’m not a big fan of bitters and it’s used in so many craft cocktails, so verjus and I get along really well.

green beans

Char grilled green beans, bean leaf pesto. LEMON. These were nice and lemony, or maybe bean leafs are lemony. Matters not to me, I’ll eat greens beans any which way.

various pork parts :0

Actually, ‘crispy pork snacks, buffalo style’. I didn’t order these but I totally ate some.

Curds and Sauce

Okay, ‘fried cheese curds, fried apple sauce’. Although she refuses to admit it, my dining companion is well-regarded as the local expert on fried cheese curds. These can be found on a handful of menus and because they are so filling she usually takes the leftovers home in her purse.

BUT, these are not just any fried cheese curds, only SOME of these are fried cheese curds, the rest are fried applesauce and THEN they dust the whole plate with what looks like the contents of dehydrated cheese packets that are inside Mac and Cheese boxes but it really did not taste like that, it was much better and not salty at all, very subtle.

Pickle Plate
Pickle Plate

Don’t test me with a pickle plate, I am unafraid. I will go back to The Bent Brick and order the pickle plate again and again. I’d also like to thank The Bent Brick for not overly sweetening these pickled beets. You Yankees, I’ll tell you what, you like some sweet pickled beets. I don’t know where you get that from!  These were so refreshing. I also really enjoyed the pickled kobocha squash.

SAME PICKLE PLATE
Cheerios

Cheerio pudding, yeasted caramel, apples. With the presence of Cheerios in this dessert you’d think it would have the effect on the diner of “look at me! just a big old kid eating Cheerios for dessert!” However, I found this dish more compelling than that. First of all, that’s good old nutritional yeast flecked over the caramel up there. I have never seen that done on a plate before and it WORKED. The apples placed around the dish had the texture of potatoes and I don’t know what you’d have to do to turn an apple into a potato but keep on with it because this dessert was most excellent.

I had so much fun sitting at the bar for Happy Hour that it actually occurred to me just to ask someone to seat me in the dining room, make a whole night of it. But instead, I will go back very soon. You can order the whole menu for $48.oo and the bartender told me about a shrimp dish that contains popcorn. Go to The Bent Brick!