Grande Foods has opened in Cornelius in the old Hank’s Thriftway spot (1619 N. Adair St. between Forest Grove and Hillsboro). 35,000 square feet of Mexican ingredients make this the first of its scope in Portland. It’s full-service, with a bakery, meat department, deli, etc. If you are into Mexican cooking, this should be on your list of excursions.
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Brad Root of Roots in Camus has opened his new restaurant 360 Degrees Pizzeria. It’s in the same shopping center as his other restaurant. From [link no longer available] The Oregonian, “Pizzas from the fire-deck oven are Neapolitan-inspired, says Root, and some toppings ring of the California school, from green chilies and spicy sausage to goat cheese with a fig-jam base.”
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More about the restaurant being opened by the folks behind Tabla on the SE corner of the Henry Building in the pearl. It will be called Ten01, will feature an expanded menu, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, a full raw bar (seems to be the trend for 2006), and a walk up bakery-deli window. From Willamette Week, “former Seratto man Paul Ducan will take on the day-to-day chef de cuisine role at Tabla. This one is hitting awfully close to home – I feel a larger waist-size in my future.
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I mentioned Vij’s restaurant in Vancouver BC last week. A few days later they were featured (again) in the NY Times, along with Vij’s Tamarind Bistro.
From the Times, “In 2003, Vij’s was described by Mark Bittman in The Times as “easily among the finest Indian restaurants in the world.” Vij’s cuisine, made in the all-female kitchen run by Mr. Vij’s wife, Meeru, is not fusion exactly — the flavors are Indian, but rather than being a succession of stews, the dishes are adapted to a Western style of cooking: the restaurant’s famous lamb popsicles (chops), for example, are marinated in mustard and white wine and cooked to a pinkish medium-rare. They are then served with a creamy, garlicky fenugreek curry that’s not unlike a butter-chicken sauce, sans food coloring, but the meat is grilled to order, not stewed en masse.”
One thing I didn’t know, “Mr. Vij’s marketing and product design is so sure-handed that he has even managed to make boil-in-a-bag food seem chic. As I paid up, I reminded myself that on the next drive up to Vancouver from Seattle, I had to remember to pack a cooler in which to carry home a week’s worth of Rangoli meals.”
You can read the article here. (link no longer valid)
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Roger Porter’s swan song for Willamette Week was an article called “Big Cheese”, a discussion of Steve’s Cheese, Curds and Whey, and lots of other good cheese information. It’s a great primer; I highly recommend taking the time to read it. Interestingly enough, his first review for The Oregonian came out this week – Malay Satay Hut. I thought it was one of the weakest he’s done. Don’t get me wrong, I think the O is a better audience for his style of reviews, I’m just a bit disappointed by this one. On the other hand, on his worst day, Roger can run rings around me.
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News from the world of Alberta Oyster Bar and Grill. Pastry chef Nate Flansburg has jumped ship from Andina. If AOBG had an ongoing weakness, it was their desserts. It will be interesting to see where he takes the menu.
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Finally, cheese is my kryptonite. Scarcely a day goes by that I don’t indulge in one fashion or another. If you love cheese or are interested in learning more, this is a great month to be in Portland. I stole this entire post from Tami Parr over at Pacific NW Cheese Project. The American Cheese Society Conference Update “Here are a few updates about the American Cheese Society Conference, which will be held July 19-22 in Portland, Oregon:
The chefs who will be participating in Saturday’s Cheese Cook-Off have changed. Now slated to go head to head (or toe to toe, as it were) in the competition are Vitaly Paley of Portland restaurant Paley’s Place, Tony Mantuano of Spiaggia in Chicago and Jack Riebel of Dakota Restaurant in Minneapolis. This will be an Iron Chef style cooking competition using cheese as the main ingredient.
Conference planners are looking for volunteers. Many people are needed to make the festival happen, particularly for the Festival of Cheese which will be held on Saturday night. If you email Tami (click on the link in the upper right-hand corner of her site) she will tell you who to contact.
The American Cheese Society Conference promises to be a four-day cheese-themed extravaganza. Some of the seminars are trade specific, but Saturday, July 22 has been specifically designated as Cheese Enthusiasts’ Day and will feature seminars on cheese and wine pairings, profiles of cheesemakers including Oregon’s own Willamette Valley Cheese Co., and the aforementioned Cheese Cook-Off. The Festival of Cheese starts at 4 pm on Saturday and will be an amazing opportunity to stroll around sampling over 800 samples of cheese from cheese makers all over the country … I guarantee that you will encounter many kinds of cheese that you’ve not seen or heard of before. The Festival of Cheese is truly a one of a kind event! Tickets to the Festival are going quickly—I would advise reserving yours soon if you’re thinking about going.
And one other thing … on Sunday, July 23rd, the ACS will hold its traditional post-conference Cheese Sale at the Hillsboro Sunday Farmer’s Market. This is a one of a kind event, sort of a great cheese flea market of your dreams where you can purchase all of the cheese that’s been brought in for the Conference for bargain basement prices.
Registration for the conference is open now! You may register separately for different days and/or events, and you can also buy tickets for the Festival of Cheese separately. For more information about the Conference events or to register for some or all events online see the American Cheese Society website.
Pork Cop says
I love soccer but I hate how important all of the shootouts were in this Cup. Sudden Death is the way to go, especially in the finals. I also think the Italians are a bunch of crybabies. Oh well…..
sidemeat says
Pasta sounds great, if U.K. had won would you be looking for bubble and squeak? (can that even be had in this town?)
Food Dude says
Sidemeat, if Italy had lost I’d still be eating Italian… I’d just have an extra glass of Italian wine with dinner. The game was between Italy and France though.
sidemeat says
This ‘France’ you speak of, does it have something to do with underpants? Forgive please my not understanding of things futbol.
cuisinebonnefemme says
The ACS Conference is sold out. At least, that’s what their website says: “Due to an unprecedented conference registration, the 2006 ACS Annual Conference in Portland is sold out” Please correct me if I am wrong.
“unprecendented conference registration”…woo hoo, nice showing Portland.
J’aime le Fromage! The stinkier the better!
s says
Soccer……….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Baseball……..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Football……..not zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
The Mexican shop sounds interesting, thanks for the heads-up. Maybe I’ll actually be able to find skirt steak (I’m beginning to think cattle in the northwest have no skirts.)
tparr says
cusinebonnefemme, you are right, the ACS conference itself is sold out – but they’ve also just increased the number of available tickets to the Festival of Cheese event on Saturday night, so you can still participate in the cheese festivities!
mfk fisher says
I’ve been to the Festival of Cheeses several times at the conference in other cities, and it has always been extremely crowded. There has usually been a shortage of plates, so you find yourself re-using one plate for many kinds of cheeses — yuck! If you’re smart, you’ll tuck a pile of small paper plates into your handbag — you may be very happy you have them. For real cheese nuts, I’d suggest showing up at the Hillsboro Farmers Market Sunday morning — you will find a number of cheeses you probably can’t buy here, and can talk to the cheesemakers (something that doesn’t happen at the “festival”). Also, you won’t pay 75 bucks for the privilege. There won’t be as many selections, but you’ll have a chance to enjoy what’s there.