updated 6.17 When I was growing up, on hot summer days dad used to get everyone into the car and head out to Lancaster California to pick fat juicy cherries and sweet peaches from the old orchards. We'd make a day of it, hiking in "The Devil's Punchbowl", stopping for a burger at A&W Rootbeer, and driving home … [Read more...] about Review: Salt & Straw
Coffee
Review: Spella Caffe
By guest writer Axel Benjamin Coffee Roaster Andrea Spella tells me over my morning cappuccino that he developed his love for coffee when he was just a kid. [Updated: Spella Caffe now has a brick and mortar location at 520 SW 5TH Ave. You'll find a new review of Spella here.] Growing up in a second-story … [Read more...] about Review: Spella Caffe
Coffee Guide: Caffe Umbria
Caffé Umbria appeared on the scene a few months ago, with all the flash and glamour you'd expect for a major restaurant opening. Getting through the door and fighting my way through the mob, it was hard to believe all of this fuss was for yet another coffeehouse. This new cafe is in the Casey Building, at the corner … [Read more...] about Coffee Guide: Caffe Umbria
Coffee Guide: Coffehouse NW
That Coffeehouse NW has become a destination for coffee fans citywide is a miracle. The pedestrian-hostile, auto-drenched corridor of Burnside Street is anything but cute—not so much resembling the two-lane, café-lined Eastside connectors like Belmont and Mississippi. And while Coffeehouse NW was trying to build its … [Read more...] about Coffee Guide: Coffehouse NW
Review: Random Order Coffeehouse
(updated 6.2012) There is a really good bakery just down the street from my house. The thing is, you’d never know it was there unless you were to go inside. You see, it’s not a bakery. It’s a coffee shop. But aside from croissants and scones brought in from Pearl Bakery, all of the items are made on site, daily. A … [Read more...] about Review: Random Order Coffeehouse
Review: Fleur de Lis French Bakery & Cafe
Refreshed: 6/12 - hours, text. Major update on its way! A few weeks ago I was enjoying a quiet cup of coffee at Fleur de Lis Bakery, when I overheard two women at the next table talking about “Food Dude”. This has happened to me several times, and I always enjoy hearing what people have to say. “You know his secret”, … [Read more...] about Review: Fleur de Lis French Bakery & Cafe
Stumptown Coffee Annex in Portland
Interested in learning how to taste coffee? Most coffee is a commodity. If you like, you can trade coffee futures, and most of the money in coffee goes to publicly traded transnational companies. And I don’t just mean the first mate of the Pequod. Nestle, Philip Morris/Kraft, Sara Lee, Proctor & Gamble, Dunkin’ … [Read more...] about Stumptown Coffee Annex in Portland
Review: St. Honoré Boulangerie
Updated 6.17 If Disney Corporation was told to design a French bakery, I would guess that St. Honoré would be pretty close to their final result. This is not necessarily a bad thing. It is more the movie version American tourists expect from a French bakery, but not like any I have ever seen in France. It just has … [Read more...] about Review: St. Honoré Boulangerie