Diary of a Foodie – Excellent Viewing
When Gourmet’s Diary of a Foodie was first announced, I checked the local OPB listings, and since they didn’t show it, completely forgot about the series. Months later, my Tivo was smart enough to figure out I might enjoy the show, and started recording it for me.
Warm temperatures are not a friend to most of us with MS, so for the last few days, I’ve plopped on the couch, and started going through the Diary series.
I’ve watched lobster being fried in homemade lard – be still my heart (pun intended). I watched absinthe being made. An excellent piece on the bar at one of my favorite restaurants, Cyrus in Healdsburg California, showing the great lengths the bartender goes to for the perfect cocktail. Sweetbreads. In one show Ruth Reichel made faux fois gras, which she swears tastes just like the real thing. For my taste, this is one of the best cooking/food shows I’ve seen.
Aequitas Capital Management Investments in Portland Restaurants
Aequitas Capital Management has invested $1.175 Million in N.W. Hayden Enterprises. Funny, years ago that would have sounded like a ton of money, but these days it’s not even a nice house in the west hills. Anyway, from the press release: “NW Hayden Enterprises will use the infusion of capital for the opening of new restaurants throughout the state, including in Portland the opening of Mark Lindsay’s Rock n’ Roll Café in July 2007, and the re-opening of the legendary Brasserie Montmartre in December 2007. NW Hayden Enterprises is also spicing up the former Harrison’s space in the Fox Tower with a concept based on Latin, South and Central American tastes. The new restaurant will feature big flavors and traditional regional favorites at very affordable prices.”
That is a lot to do with little money.
Pinocchio Bar & Restaurant
The rumor is they will be opening the doors on Tuesday May 15th at 5pm for dinner. Brunch will start on Sunday May 20th and lunch will begin on Monday May 21st. In the email I got from them, they mentioned my um, dislike of their artwork, and swear if I come down in person, I’ll like it better. I’ll try to get the menu posted in the next 24 hours.
Terroir to Open in Portland Under Chef Stu Stein – Accused Plagiarist
Terroir is planning on opening their doors on June 6th. This is the one on MLK, with Chef Stu Stein at the helm. Doesn’t ring a bell? Maybe this will help. He’s the one that was plagiarizing in articles he wrote for a newspaper down in Ashland. Got caught, and skulked out of town, to end up here. They are at 3500 NE MLK, Portland. (503) 288-3715. The menu that’s been posted so far is notable for being cheap low priced. If you want to read more on the alleged plagiarism by Mr. Stein, you can do a search on here or portlandfood.org and you’ll find lots of discussion and examples. Anyway, How can they be so cheap and supposedly have such high quality food and a big fancy building? That’s what I want to know.
Preliminary on Rocket Restaurant
Lots of people have been asking about Rocket, the new venture by Leather Storrs, of Noble Rot fame. Ya’ll know I’ve been, ’cause I’ve posted the menu. As a matter of fact, I’ve been three times, and will be back once more before I post my quick hit. The reason? Um, I just want to have my ducks in line on this one. Nice space, nice view, one of the best patios in town, great service. Not nearly as crowded as you might expect, so give it a try – very L.A. To find the stairs/elevator, (it’s on the 4th floor of the lipstick red building), don’t go into the restaurant downstairs, instead walk on past it until you see the unmarked entrance just to the right. As far as I know, it’s the only place in Portland where you’ll find sous vide cooking (double click on the words if you don’t know what this means).
Look for it at the end of this week.
Hungry T says
The last (and only) time I was at Yakuza, they were preparing meat sous vide as well. It was my first time trying sous vide meat, and to be honest, I didn’t like it. Maybe Rocket’s is better?
nancy says
Can’t say whether it’s a good match for your tonic, but I give Plymouth (which we’ve been drinking since the article came out) a big thumbs up. I drink it just with club soda — not even lime — and it’s clear and crisp, the herbs/juniper running through with (for me) just the right impact.
Jill-O says
I like Diary of a Foodie too. I had no idea it was shown on Tuesdays, though…I record it (or my DVR does, anyway) on Fridays at 12:30. It’s a subscription recording, so I have no idea why it doesn’t record it on Tuesdays – thanks for mentioning it, I’ll have to check things out with the ti-faux.
tastyvittles says
Noble Rot also does sous vide cooking. Also I think it’s appropriate to wait on your ‘quick hit’ on Rocket. I feel like they’ve barely been open and that too early a review is not always the best way, and in fact can hinder what is often a period of just getting settled in. I like to wait at least one month before first trying a brand spanking new place.
Hunter says
Lord I hope Hayden keeps that cigar room in the old Harrison’s space. There is no place downtown to smoke a cigar right now.
grapedog says
Ah yes, sous vide cooking. Also known as gently cooking food in a cryovac package at exactly the right temperature. The technique is supposed to keep all the character, texture and moisture of the food intact vs. sharing it with the cooking liquid. I’ve also read that if not done properly, nasty bacteria might have a field day in such a cooking vessel.
Michael Ruhlman’s “The Reach of a Chef” goes into detail on sous vide and how it’s used by Thomas Keller and others in their super high-end cooking. I’m curious to try it myself in Portland one day to see if it’s just hype or really something new.
Regarding cigars, I consider myself a non-smoker, but I picked up a nasty cigar habit 20 years ago. There’s something about a cigar and nice single-malt scotch for a relaxing evening. I enjoyed Harrison’s cigar room once before they closed. Bring it back, please!
truth says
hunter, isn’t there a cigar bar at el gaucho?
Hunter says
For what it’s worth, yes. It’s only open at night and I refuse to smoke a cigar in an area where others are eating or drinking. Harrison had a great closed off room with really great ventilation and purifiers. There was also a great room in Cascade Cigars which is now closed.
Julie says
I’m sorry I’m still stuck on; “lobster fried in lard”…..sounds wonderful.
hossboss says
Has anyone been able to find full episodes of Foodie? The podcast is only short, 3-6 minute clips… :(
On another note, thanks for the consideration, Hunter. Not that I eat at El Gaucho, but I agree cigar smoke food don’t mix. I still don’t understand how Bourdain can chain smoke and not destroy his palate.
charles mcenerney says
thanks for the great review of “foodies!” tivo comes to the rescue…
just to clarify, the series of video podcasts that are available via itunes are a separate series of segments that were produced for promotion of the series, but if you subscribe to the feed, the very first video podcast is a 12-minute preview of the series, made up of several segments from the on-air series.
enjoy!
charlie
Nino says
Hey Everybody,
Looking for some ideas on cigar places around Portland? I did an article for PDX Magazine on this topic several months ago. You can download it here as a PDF. Enjoy!
Nino says
Hi Everybody,
If you’re looking for some ideas on cigar places around town, I did an article for PDX Magazine on that topic earlier this year. You can read it here as a PDF. Enjoy!
mountainfoodie says
hossboss – I’ve hit a dead end on podcasts and was wondering the same thing.
hmmmm homemade lard….
reflexblue says
re: Terroir
I expect small plates to be under $10. I’m probably more excited about the rabbit cakes than I should be.
I love the name, Terroir.
re: plagiarism
that description of Juniper Farms is exactly as I’ve described to many people.
rodney says
Calvin Trillin describes a foodie as “someone who eats something on a bed of something else”
rodney
Chambolle says
You can always count on Trillin for the goods.
re: the cigar thing – trust me on a few things. At the Kennedy School, the cigar place is called the Cypress Room, which is beyond and to the left of the main restaurant. The Horse Brass (bless them) and the Moon and Sixpence are good pubs with good beer selections (among other things) that should be on that list. Gaucho is cool, but sometimes I don’t feel entirely comfortable listening to the conversations of wealthy dudes who spend a little too much time in China. Kelly’s Olympian has extremely high ceilings and a staff who is so bogged down with ennui that you could light yourself on fire and they would simply say, “Hey man, do you need an ashtray?” Jake’s on 10th (the Governor Hotel) allows smoking in their bar even though the dining room is on the other side of the partition. (I’m afraid this alone will be cause for several comments.) And on Alberta, the Know and the Nest allow it for the same reasons as Kelly’s (but more in the “we are godless” sort of sense). If I’ve omitted anybody, sorry. It’s not like I’m a staff writer for the weeklies or anything. This is where I smoke if I’m not on my own back patio, stargazing.
pastry gladiator says
Terroir, Rocket. . .oh, Portland, what “foodie” restaurant name is next?
Hmmm. Pinot’s Noir, The Green Zebra Cafe, Comice Bar and Grill, or perhaps Heirloom? My personal favorite. . .Fiddlehead’s.
Well Seasoned says
How about Offal?
adam says
I can’t find Diary of a Foodie anywhere in my channel listings for OPB at any of the times listed. Any ideas?
Food Dude says
Adam, you can see the local listings here.
Jill-O says
Oh, I didn’t realize it was on OPB Create (currently Comcast channel # 310) too.
Last Friday’s show on OPB (at 12:30) featured molecular gastronomy and included some face time with Achatz and Cantu in Chicago.
Camper English says
Tonic water: It’s interesting that when you added the sugar afterwards your tonic settled out. Mine did not. But you did it only slightly differently than I. I made the tonic and filtered it using the original recipe. (It still took a while to filter.) Then I reheated and added only sugar to it to turn it into syrup. It sounds like you did herb/fruit concentrate plus sugar syrup. Questions: Did you reheat the two parts together? And when you say settled out in the drink, do you mean the bark settled to the bottom, or that the drink didn’t stay mixed together with gin/soda?
I suppose its a moot question since you’ve found a better solution, but just curious. Thanks for sharing!
Food Dude says
Camper, I’ve made it exactly as stated in the recipe, which worked the best, but was a huge pain. I’ve also made it in two parts. As I recall, I also made a simple syrup that wasn’t as strong, and then added more later,
As far as settled out, I mean the drink didn’t stay mixed together. I’ll be making another batch soon. If I figure out anything better, I’ll drop you a note.
Charles in PDX says
I’m delighted that my google search for “making tonic water” led me to a fellow Portland-er! I’ve been wanting to get away from the high fructose corn syrup in regular tonic water–which is even in Hansen’s brand “Natural” Tonic Water! Did you ever post the whole process/recipe? All I’ve found in this short, cursory browse has been your follow-up post with shortcuts.
If you haven’t tired of replying to comments on this topic, please send the full-blown, full-fledged, whole kit-and-kaboodle description of quantities, ingredients, and steps for this adventure. Thanks in hopeful anticipation.
Brigitte says
came upon this site by searching on how to make my own butter… the web is like this, one thing leads to another… lol
anyway… I am a chemist, and one thing I can tell you… if it settles when you let it stand, it can be centrifuged. I have no clue where you would happen on a centrifuge but if you do and it isn’t your own, then for Pete’s sake be careful not to spill the sticky stuff inside… grins