Portland Food and Drink

Restaurant News and Information For Portland Oregon Area Restaurants and Bars

Barista Coffee NW 13th Open, Is It Bad Manners to Photograph Food?

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Barista Coffee, Billy Wilson’s new venture is now open at 539 NW 13th street.

Barista Coffee Pearl District outdoor diningHe’s got some beautiful equipment including a stunning vacuum pot, and coffee from Stumptown, Ecco Caffe and Chicago’s Intelligentsia: you can pick which bean you want them to use for your cup. This makes for some interesting comparisons. Of course a selection of beans from the variously featured roasters are also for sale. Along with building-out and opening the shop, he’s getting ready for the United States Barista Championships  – both a last minute decision to compete and the baristas that will undoubtedly be swinging by, not to mention his significant other is going to give birth any day now. Stop by the shop and see if she does it while you are there! Highly recommended… er.. the shop, not the birth.

Is it bad manners to photograph food in restaurants?

This week there is an article on the subject in the Pitsburg Post-Gazette. This paragraph stuck with me:

I, too, love looking at pictures of foods I’ve eaten, cooked or even just drooled over at a farmer’s stall. I sometimes wistfully recall places and restaurants past where I wish I’d snapped a picture. But there’s a good reason I don’t actually have that many pictures of restaurant meals. When that first dish arrives at the table, even though my camera is at hand, I often find that I would rather just enjoy the meal and the company without worrying about the light, whether I’ve repressed my flash, or whether everyone else’s camera is better than mine. No matter what you tell me, I just don’t think that looking through a camera lens at a dish is as pleasurable or memorable as looking at the dish itself.

So snap your photos, because food photographs are lovely to have. But try to remember that part of food’s pleasure, its beauty, is its ephemeral quality. Sight is only one of our senses, and it’s certainly not the most important one when it comes to experiencing food. So until they invent a machine that can capture a dish’s aromas and tastes along with its physical appearance, I’ll consider a camera far less essential than a good appetite and a pleasant companion.

I watch people all the time that eat without paying attention. Sometimes I wonder if they even know what they are eating.

Restaurateurs are resorting to all kinds of tricks to get diners in the door.

Now from MSNBC comes this: Pay What You Want. So far the restaurant (Panera) is making money:

“Customers have already paid 20 percent more than the original price,” he said, confident that he will more than cover his expenses for the month. “People want to be polite and would be embarrassed not to pay enough.”

This got me thinking – What is the most you are comfortable paying for an entree? For me it’s around $30. More than that and I tend to look at other menu items.

The 2009 James Beard Award semi-finalists have been announced. For Portland:

Outstanding Restaurant: Higgins

Rising Star Chef of the Year:  Gabriel Rucker – Le Pigeon

Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional: Stephen R. McCarthy – Clear Creek Distillery

Best Chef NW: Scott Dolich – Park Kitchen, John Gorham – Toro Bravo, Daniel Mondok – Sel Gris, Naomi Pomeroy – Beast, Gabriel Rucker – Le Pigeon, Cathy Whims – Nostrana. Hmm… they didn’t leave out many people.

Reader Interactions

Comments

    • biabub says

      for JBA i’m fine with John Gorham, Naomi and Gabe Rucker. i’d add Elias at Castagna. haven’t been to sel gris so can’t weigh in there. but Higgins for outstanding restaurant – really? in this town? easy to rattle off a dozen better places. really doesn’t hold up in comparison to dinners at Pok Pok, Toro Bravo, Ten01, Tabla, even newcomer Lincoln far exceeds anything Higgins has ever shown over the years. quite a strange list of nominees. does this mean Seattle is completely shut out or did you just post the Pdx chefs?

  2. Mike says

    I went by Barista today, and there was already a line out the door. The space looks really good, and the location can’t be beat. So happy to see a good coffee shop in the Pearl.

  5. JasonC says

    An “Oustanding Restaurant” has to have been in business for 10 years (and a “Rising Star” must be under 30).

    That said, it’s kind of like complaining about the Oscars isn’t it? Some good work gets recognized and some good work (especially the most quirky and adventurous) often gets left out.

  6. whatthef says

    Portland is lucky to have Higgins restaurant and they absolutely deserve this. Greg & Paul, along with their staff (more than a few have been there since they opened), deserve to be recognized for their contribution to this city. The food is always local, seasonal and incredible. There are several purveyors who likely wouldn’t be in business without them.

    Just because they aren’t the flavor of the month that so many Portland foodies love to love (until the next one opens), give some credit to a business for filling the seats and taking care of business for more than 10 years. They must be doing something right, even if you don’t get it.

    • Cuisine Bonne Femme says

      Oh I get it. My theory: Higgins has become a favorite for those who don’t like change, where familiarity and comfort reign above the actual food and consistency. They have built a solid reputation over the years and are also the frequent mention of hotel concierges, and listed in travel Portland style guides which keeps them filled with visiting diners. Oh, and it’s also a favorite “power broker” lunch and dinner place, and close to PSU and the Arts District making the location a prime one. Higgins was also around when there were scant choices in Portland and doing something unique back in the day. This has allowed them to gain a loyal following. And that’s terrific for them. However, Portland has changed. There are now more options, and I’m with Food Dude here, there are now better options.

      And yes, Higgins did trail blaze and has contributed a lot to setting the foundation for making Portland a wonderful food city, especially in helping train a whole bunch of the “new guard” chefs in town. However, there is a risk when restaurants are consistently lauded not for their CURRENT contributions, but for ones in their past. It’s called resting on your laurels, which I think is the current problem with Higgins. They have a formula, they stick with it, it works for them. ‘Nuff said. That doesn’t mean I want to eat there though.

      Is Higgins a bad restaurant? By any means, no. But my take, as someone who used to frequently “Power lunch” and have dinner there myself – I have seen a HUGE slip in quality and especially consistency over the past few years. My last three experiences at Higgins have been mediocre at best. Staff that are borderline rude – showing no interest and enthusiasm and ignoring tables for long periods of unacceptable (and unexplainable time), a burger that one day will be perfect, and the next under or overcooked and slapped on a plate with nary a care, dishes that come to the table at the wrong temp, or as was the case of my last meal there – never made it to the table at all.

      That’s just unacceptable, no matter what one’s contributions to dining in Portland have been.

      Still if others like it, and the restaurant is doing well, then who cares what others think?

  7. Nikos says

    We get it, WTF, but it’s Marsha Marsha Marsha all the time…their food may be local and seasonal but not always incredible, sometimes it is stale “classic” french. Which is better than most, but still.
    As for the foodies, I agree, they are superficial…(been to Giorgio’s lately, that’s a restaurant serving consistently incredible food, but there’s never any mention of it here or anywhere…just by way of example)

    • Food Dude says

      Hey now – We have a review of Giorgio’s on the site, and it is a restaurant I really enjoy. I think people tend to forget about it because the owner tends to do nothing in the way of PR or events.

      As for Higgins, it used to be one of my favorite places, until after one abysmal dinner after which I swore I’d never return.

      • Joe says

        Not a Huge Higgins fan, but it “used to be one (your) favorites” and all it took was one meal to put you off? Sheesh.

        As for the other nominees, I think Gabe deserves recognition, certainly as a “rising star.” Best chef, I dunno, but a shame not to see Andy 2Pok in the mix.

  9. whatthef says

    In case I’m not the only one who didn’t know this;

    “A whiny dramatic response by someone who is jealous of another person.”

    I doubt it will become a part of my repertoire. Here I thought I was in the know because I knew what “jumped the shark” meant.