This and That – News Clips Portland and Around the U.S. – May 29th

This Wednesday will finally see the opening of Paulée in Dundée (yes, I did that on purpose). Chef Daniel Mondok, most recently known for Sel Gris which burned in 2009, told OregonLive,

“We want to make this the next Napa Valley,” says chef Daniel Mondok. “Today, people come from all over the world to the Napa Valley to eat. Now they’re going to come from all over the world to Dundee to eat.”

The 90-seat restaurant, in the former Farm to Fork space at the Inn at Red Hills, is decked out in dark walnut, stone, leather and steel. In the kitchen, Mondok and chef de cuisine Sean Temple will prepare raw fish and local meat — think sea urchin and lamb tartare — and a menu of appetizers and entrees ordered a la carte or as a five-course tasting menu.

Prices look surprisingly reasonable. Go figure.

Toro Bravo & Tasty N Sons are having a big party and you are invited –

We’re another year older (five years for Toro, two for Tasty!), and ready to celebrate! Come join us June first at 4:30. We will gather at Tasty n Sons, for what is sure to be an epic adventure. Get A Life Marching Band will meet with us there, before leading the procession down the street to Toro Bravo for an open house party. Complimentary tapas will be passed and a cash bar will be open. We would love to see you all there!

More information here.

You may have noticed that Mario Batali left “Iron Chef“. In this 1 1/2 minute clip

from this year’s Atlantic Food Summit, he explains why. It is quite upfront and entertaining.

Yes, it’s in Flash, which lots of people can’t view. Sorry.

Couple of quick bits:

Local Portlander Jessica Glenn will be a contestant in the upcoming season of Fox’s Masterchef with Gordon Ramsay.

A prominent PDX chef is a finalist for next season’s Top Chef. No, I can’t won’t say who. Updated: has now been eliminated.

New York’s Murray’s Cheese Shop is opening small branches at three Fred Meyer stores this summer. These mini-shops will feature over 125 imported and domestic artisan cheeses and other specialty food items. The debut location in the newly remodeled Burlingame Fred Meyer (7555 S.W. Barbur Blvd) will open June 3. I happened to go to that Freddy’s when they first reopened, and I was pretty surprised by the cheese counter. They had a counter person who actually knew about cheese, and they carried products like the Rogue River Blue. Something tells me it was a dress rehearsal.

I don’t think I mentioned before that well-known bartender Jeffrey Morgenthaler, bar manager at Clyde Common has signed to write a cocktail book, due out before the end of the year.  For all of the Portland mixology scenesters, Morgenthaler is the first to actually have a publishing contract.

CNN confirms Anthony Bourdain will “end “No Reservations” and be exclusive to CNN beginning early 2013.

“For more than a decade, Anthony Bourdain has been a trailblazer in educating Americans about different cuisines and cultures around the world, as well as an outspoken commentator on social trends ranging from the rise of celebrity chefs to the impact of fast food chains to the spread of vegetarianism and veganism,” said Whitaker. “Examining the world through the prism of Tony’s unique expertise and passions continues CNN’s long-standing commitment to international reporting and to promoting global understanding.”

Launching in early 2013, the show will be shot on location and examine cultures from around the world through their food and dining and travel rituals. Slated to air domestically on Sundays in prime time with repeat airings on Saturday nights, it will mark a further step in broadening and distinguishing CNN’s weekend programming from its traditional weekday news coverage.

This is surprising since Bourdain is always raving about working for TC. This is not surprising because CNN probably showed up with enough money to fill an armored truck.

When Thomas Keller and Andoni Luis Aduriz of Spain some of the comments they made flew in the face of what is politically corrected among the food focused demographic (foodies).

Chefs’ obligation to help save the planet? A lofty idea, they agreed, but the priority is creating great, brilliant food.

“With the relatively small number of people I feed, is it really my responsibility to worry about carbon footprint?” Mr. Keller asked. “The world’s governments should be worrying about carbon footprint.”

…

Both he and Mr. Aduriz view the goal of haute cuisine as a seamless fusion of pleasure and art. But more radically, they are united in the belief that their responsibility as chefs is primarily to create breathtakingly delicious and beautiful food — not, as some of their colleagues think, to provide a livelihood for farmers near their restaurants, to preserve traditional culinary arts or to stop the spread of global warming. All these are threads of the current conversation about food that inform the menus of high-end restaurants, especially those labeled “farm to table.”

“What restaurant isn’t farm to table?” Mr. Keller asked. “I think about quality, not geography.”

You can read the rest here. It’s a thought-provoking interview.

The Northwest Film Center will present Alyson Grayson’s documentary The Love of Beer on Thursday June 14th, 7pm. I might just happen to have a couple of tickets to give away.

This informative, insightful, and often comical portrayal of beer culture features a litany of empowered voices. Tonya Cornet, the dual ponytailed and award-winning Brewmaster from Bend, Oregon is a reckoning force in artisanal brew, driven by an impassioned compulsion for perfection. “I’m not a painter. I’m not a writer. But I can make you a beer.” Sarah Pederson, the owner of the Portland, Oregon staple Saraveza, never intended to open a “bar” but a place where she could teach people about good beer, and make good on her promise while serving her extended family of the loyal clientele while 6 months pregnant. And Teri Fahrendorf, founder of Pink Boot Society, an outreach group that empowers women through all things beer, whether crafting, serving, or judging, is a tireless educator eager to catalyze a woman’s self-discovery in the business.

Lots more information about the film here.

This video is a collection being made for Intelligentsia Coffee. As you would expect from such a large company, it’s well done and very serious. However, when I listened to the dialog and break it down into little pieces, I found it very funny.

Inside Club 33; a tour of Disney’s “secret restaurant”. If you’ve lived in Los Angeles, you probably have heard of Club 33, a restaurant just behind Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland. You can’t dine there unless you are a member, the waiting list is now 10 years, and if you make it to the top of the list, the initiation fee is $25,000 with $10,00 in annual dues.

Yes; that’s for a restaurant at Disneyland. Guys, I’m not sure the ladies will be all that impressed… but maybe.

HuffingtonPost Canada was given a tour of the restaurant.

Red-wine coloured wallpaper, soft chandelier lighting and hushed voices greet us as we’re invited into the club’s foyer, a stark contrast to the squeals of glee and excitement heard throughout the park. The only venue in the park that serves alcohol, getting up to the second-floor dining and trophy room is an experience on its own. The French lift is an exact replica of a tiny four-person elevator Walt Disney fell in love with during a trip to Paris. He wanted to have one just like it installed at Club 33, so he sent engineers over the pond to get the dimensions right.

So let me see if I have this right. For the first year, you pay $35,000, to eat in a restaurant situated next to Pirates of the Caribbean. At Disneyland. A restaurant that doesn’t sound all that hot to me. For less money you could charter a jet and fly to France for dinner. Just saying.

Duane Sorenson of Stumptown Coffee fame has dished out more information on the Italian restaurant, Ava Genes, which he is planning to open in the Laurel Kitchen space. According to OregonLive, the chef will be Joshua McFadden, who is now cooking for him at Woodsman Market.

“We want it to feel more like Southeast Portland than an Italian restaurant,” Sorenson says. “I don’t want to hit people over the head with Chianti bottles. We want it to be a place where people can eat great food that is inspired by American-Italian cuisine.”

The Kenton Portland Farmers Market opens on Friday, June 1, and runs every Friday evening until September 28 from 3 pm to 7 pm. Every week, the market will sprout up on North McClellan Street on each side of Denver Avenue at the flashing light, steps away from the Kenton/N Denver Avenue MAX Station. More information here.

The Montavilla Farmers Market opens on Sunday June 3rd, resuming their popular series of chef demos. It is their 100th market, and they will be raffling off lots of prizes to commemorate the occasion. It’s open from 10 until 2 at the 7600 block of SE Stark St.

There are just two short days left to take the 2012 Reader Survey. I have one more incentive to add to the random drawing – a $30 gift certificate for Sunshine Dairy Products! Thanks Sunshine! Have you taken it yet? Don’t let the mainstream press tell you what to like! Rise up and be heard!

PS. I’m writing this at 1am. Please excuse any tpyos.