10.07.06
Posted in Uncategorized, Food at 10:15 pm by Leopoldo
Last Wednesday, some friends and I visited Bar Pastiche (http://portland.citysearch.com/profile/41544861/portland_or/bar_pastiche.html) for their ‘Cider House Dinner’. We had originally planned on doing the dinner the previous Wednesday but Pastiche cancelled out on us because they had not received a replenishment of Cider. The group was put off by a morning-of cancellation of a dinner that had been planned and reserved a good many weeks beforehand and of the original 9 only 4 made it to the re-scheduled dinner.
The menu consisted of salt cod in scrambled eggs, chorizo, a cod in pepper skins dish, a hunk-o-steak, quince and cheese for dessert and as much cider as we cared to put down with the dinner. I disliked both cod dishes and thought it a bad idea to repeat such a strong ingredient in a five-dish meal. My companions liked the cod with eggs but hardly anyone touched the cod with pepper skins. Both the chorizo and the steak were delicious. We all eagerly slurped chorizo juice from the plate with hunks of bread and ravished the steaks. The quince and cheese provided a nice end to the meal. The cider was good, but not great. It was appropriately dry but not very flavorful, which in some ways was good as it did not detract from continued consumption throughout the meal.
Overall I would recommend this meal to any interested in a meal meant to be eaten slowly and during a good conversation.
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02.22.06
Posted in Food at 4:10 pm by Leopoldo
At the age of twelve a series of bad encounters with fish convinced me I probably had an allergy to fish and shellfish. I have doubted that allergy for some time; especially since I eat foods that I know contain small amounts of fish or fish oil (Thai, Vietnamese) but have always erred on the safe side and avoided all fish contact. With a trip to Asia drawing near and health I figured it was time to find out for sure what foods am actually allergic to. Read the rest of this entry »
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01.10.06
Posted in Humor, Food, Movie Making at 9:34 am by Leopoldo
I loved the short instructional video: The Japanese Tradition - Sushi. Go watch it and enjoy.
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12.14.05
Posted in Food at 6:49 am by Leopoldo
This food review was originally posted on PortlandFood.org
I met some friends for after work drinks at Oba! http://www.obarestaurant.com/home.html on NW Hoyt and 12th this last Wednesday. We were supposed to be there for Happy Hour, however that plan was thwarted by a HH cutoff of 6:30pm and by a bar full to overfilling. The joint immediately started to score points against it: The place was overcrowded (and by extension loud), the people were hip to the point of over-pretentious, the prices were high and most annoying of all a steady Latin beat was constantly heard over the loud din of the crowd, just soft enough to make out nothing but the base line and just loud enough to be insidious. The hostess (who was absent for the first five minutes of my arrival) was unable to answer another customer’s query as to whether they would extend the HH time given his inability to squeeze in, but was at least able to say she did not know with a smile and some grace.
The mood (and score card) brightened when the hostess offered to make room for my party in the already filling restaurant section, no reservations requested, again when the nice and friendly wait person came by for my drink order and more so when the drink arrived. Sure I was paying $7.50 for the cocktail but at least it (unlike some recent cocktail experiences I have had) tasted like a well mixed and well leaded drink. I was hoping for a bowl of soup of the day, however being allergic to sea-food a Shrimp soup sounded like a quick ticket to the emergency room (as did half of the menu), instead I settled for a Queso Fundido (think Yuppy version of chips and cheese dip) that was quite delicious. The first cocktail, a Metaxa Mango Sidecar had a good kick without being overbearing. The second, a Prickly-Pear Margarita was sweet and strong, the way I like it. More points were scored by having an unprotected WiFi access point available though not many since getting a smidge of signal required hanging my laptop out the end of the booth.
Overall I found Oba! A bit expensive and not comfortable enough to entice me to return. I thought the quality of both the food and the drinks was quite high and I was very impressed with the service.
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12.05.05
Posted in Food at 4:04 pm by Leopoldo
This food review was originally posted on PortlandFood.org
Having recently started a new work contract at the Montgomery Park building in NW Portland (http://www.billnaito.com/pages/montgomery.html) I found myself once again on the hunt for the best of the local cuisine. Even with the close proximity to Northwest 21st and 23rd avenues (or as an old co-worker of mine used to call them ‘trendyfirst’ and ‘threndythird’) the cold weather and rain have discouraged much walking and the lack of close by parking makes driving out for lunch impractical. Given those limitations I have been sampling the offerings of feederies located closer in. This is what I hope will be the first of a number of mini-reports on nearby food.
Food in Bloom (http://www.foodinbloom.com/) is the name of the catering business and local cafeteria for Montgomery Park. Located in the second floor of the Montgomery Park office building it is an easy location both for building office workers and nearby workers / residents. For being a ‘work cafeteria’ the offerings are both surprisingly broad and good while a bit expensive. There is a supply of fresh sandwiches prepared each morning and saran wrapped for quick pickup that runs out by around 1pm each day. The sandwiches are freshly made with fresh ingredients and are of a better quality than the presentation would suggest. The FiB grill is ready to prepare a hamburger or quesadilla any day but the real treat at the location are the daily specials. For $5 to $6.50 (depending on the dish and whether you opt for the side salad or not) you will get a heaping plate of chicken enchiladas, beef stew with mashed potatoes or various other dishes. So far every entrée I have tried has been amazingly well prepared and tasty. Eating in the open 135 foot, glass encased atrium of the building is rather pleasant, particularly with the daily musical accompaniment (a rotation of good local artists playing jazz and classical tunes on the piano, flute and other instruments). The price may seem a touch steep for a cafeteria line fare with plastic ware (there is metal silverware, if you know to look for it next to the specials counter) and self-bussing tables but the quality of the food makes Food in Bloom worth patronizing.
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08.31.05
Posted in Food at 1:40 pm by Leopoldo
It is all about the Watermelon. I have eaten two in the last two weeks and am most of my way through a third. Cut it up, put it in Tupperware and stick in the fridge and voila, late night snacks and after meal dessert. At first I went for the wee ‘personal sized’ watermelons thinking they were more appropriate for a single man but I soon realized the full sized watermelon are sweeter and keep long enough to eat.
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07.19.05
Posted in Food at 2:32 pm by Leopoldo
I had heard fellow sybarites praise Farm Café before so when we needed a good place for a late night dinner to discuss the movie we had just seen we decided to head over to Farm. What a wonderful dining experience! The restaurant is setup in a homey feeling adapted house and has a friendly staff and great food.
The first impression was a negative one. We stood by the door for a good few minutes with waiters and waitresses walking past us and no acknowledgement of our presence before a hostess took my name and told me it might be a little while. Waiting did not matter much, partially because at 10pm we figured the wait would likely be short and mostly because it was a lovely spot to be on a warm summer night. The menu had plenty of appetizing options as well as a wide selection of house concoctions. The clientele was a bit humorous with it’s overabundance of retro counterculture clothes and hairdos but they, like us, seemed to be there for good food and a good time.
The three of us ordered cheese stuffed ravioli with a spicy crushed pepper sauce, the veggie burger (made with eggplant) and the roasted tofu with mushroom marsala sauce. All dishes were well prepared with quality ingredients and quite delicious. My roasted tofu was mild enough to not tire out on the sauce yet delicious and engaging. The ravioli were huge (three of them filled the plate) and had a sauce that was spicy enough to excite the palette without offending. The veggie burger was probably the winner of the bunch with a complex construct of tastes and textures that made you want to take another bite before the first was done. We accompanied the dinner with local microbrews and a mixed drink and followed it with a chocolate soufflé with coffee ice-cream. The soufflé took a good while to materialize (I would have been worried had it been otherwise) and had a good balance of richness and lightness. Coffee ice-cream could easily have been overpowering but was mild enough to provide the right degree of flavor. I recommend Farm Café to anyone looking for quality local ingredients properly treated. If you go, look for me there, I quite intend on returning for more.
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06.09.05
Posted in Travels, Food at 5:03 pm by Leopoldo
I just finished compiling and sorting through all the pictures I took on the vacation to Paris and Bristol. A selection of the images is included in the various entries (probably the best pictures) but if you want to see the full set of images from the trip they are available at:
Geekroar.com Gallery :: Paris 2005
And
Geekroar.com Gallery :: Bristol 2005
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11.15.04
Posted in Food at 9:01 am by Leopoldo
Over the weekend the folks from PortlandFood.org went on wine tour of Yamhill Valley. The event was outstanding with great wine, good food and wonderful company. My favorite wines from the tour (at least among the ones I could afford) came from the same winery that was a favorite on the wine tour I did two weeks earlier: Torii Mor Winery. They have a delicious not-too-sweet and not-too-oakey Chardonnay that was worth buying during the last visit as well as some great Pinots, two bottles of which I bought on this round. The actual best wine was probably a sip of a $100/bottle Pinot noir tasted at Domaine Serene, but good as it was I am not at the point where I am wiling to drop that much money on a single bottle. Nick has posted many pictures of the tour at his website. I took a few pics as well which I will post when I take the time to.
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10.13.04
Posted in Travels, Food at 12:19 pm by Leopoldo
The orchards of Washington and Oregon are known for their significant production of apples and pears. What a lot of people do not realize is how many unique varieties of apples are grown in these orchards. Combining a beautiful fall drive around Mount Hood with a tour of the apple orchards my mother and I were able to purchase and sample dozens of different heirloom apple and pear varieties. Skipping varieties commonly available in super-markets and most baking apples we still collected 26 different apple varieties, 19 types of pears and other assorted farm goods. Read the rest of this entry »
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