Lemonbasil

I've moved!

noreply@blogger.com (Allison Jones) — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 21:02:00 +0000

Hello friends! I know this post has been a long time coming, but here's the sitch: I'm the new Contributing Food Editor at Portland Monthly Magazine, managing the web content of our food section, Eat Beat. Head on over there for my usual ramblings, sign up for our weekly food news email, and, as always, keep up with me on Twitter at @allisonejones. Warning: my posts and tweets will make you hungry!

I'm sure I'll be back to posting on LemonBasil someday, but life has been so full and wonderful that something had to go. This isn't an end! Promise. Keep on eating well, and thanks for supporting me all these years!

Portland Farmers' Market Photo Tour: Early April Edition in Shades of Rhubarb and Tulip

noreply@blogger.com (Allison Jones) — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 00:29:00 +0000

Colors and the Kids: Holi Celebration at Washington Park

noreply@blogger.com (Allison Jones) — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 01:21:00 +0000

My dear friends Ratnanjali Adhar and Vinayanjali Plainfield threw a fantastic Holi party across from Hoyt Arboretum in Washington Park this morning, and I risked life, limb, and camera to get some shots of the colors, food, dancing (full-on choreography to "Jai Ho" no less!), and general tomfoolery of the day. Holi is the Hindu festival of Spring, a celebration of the reawakening of the seasons and our senses. Around the world, people celebrate Holi by spraying each other with colored water and smearing colored powders all over each other's faces. Everyone becomes a little kid, chasing each other around with water balloons of color and handfuls of bright colored dust - you have to see it to understand - and it becomes all-out war.

Given the heavy grey clouds this morning, I was really worried how the weather would shape up - as I was driving up Burnside to the West Hills I even got caught in a pretty epic hail storm - but the sun graced us with its presence and made for some pretty great shots. Ratna and Anjali stayed up until three this morning making some really awesome Indian snacks (including some fantastic samosas), we had Bollywood jams from DJ Prashant (who hosts the Jai Ho party at the Crystal Ballroom), and all the proceeds from the event were donated to Tsunami and Earthquake relief for Japan. Once in a while you get to participate in an event that is just all-around awesome - great people, great food, great music, for an even better cause. I'm sure I'll never really be able to get all the pink powder out of the space around the dials and buttons of my camera, but it was worth it.

This might be too much information, but I just sneezed, and it was purple. This party's going to stick with me for a while. Check out the photos:

An Adventure in Modernizing Portland Cuisine with Tabla's Anthony Cafiero

noreply@blogger.com (Allison Jones) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 02:50:00 +0000

Confession time. I am such a skeptic of modernist cuisine, with its gelatins, foams, savory sorbets, and wonky textures, but I'm not skeptical of Anthony Cafiero's talent - so last night's PFA dinner at Tabla was truly a food adventure. The usual set-up was in play: two long, communal tables decked out in wine glasses and white linens filled the space in front of the open kitchen at Tabla, where Tony and the team were cranking out plate after plate of dishes inspired by the chef's recent trip to Spain. The food was playful, provocative, and unexpected - savory met sweet, textures danced, and there was some really, really good octopus. The menu was structured such that small plates - the palate teasers - were set out between the larger dishes, and the single bites of "Potato Air with Truffle Pearls" and "Guilde of Goat Cheese Custard, Quince, and Lucqese Olives" played well with the entrees of Sous Vide eggs with coppa, breadcrumbs, caper aioli and miner's lettuce and the Mar y Montaña (more about that later). The wines were amazing, but I was a bit too busy taking photos and chatting it up with everyone about my new job to pay attention to labels. I'm going to have to get better about that!

Anyroads, I caught up with Tony on his day off and picked his brain about the event's menu, Portland's attitudes towards innovative modernist cuisine, and his plans for the future. Mark my words, even if I'm skeptical about small bites of truffle caviar, this guy is going places. Watch out, Portland.

Ok, man. What was your favorite dish on the menu last night? Why?
My favorite dish on the menu last night has to be my favorite dish on my regular menu, the mar y moñtana: pork, octopus, chickpea, tomato and ajo blanco-braised radish and mustard root. We get the best octopus you can buy from Spain, not from Vietnam or Thailand [where most cheaper octopus comes from]. We blanch it, drop it in a pressure cooker - one of my favorite tools - and cook it for an hour. We then marinate it with oregano, cayenne, paprika and sherry vinegar and olive oil, using the vacuum sealer. The best part is the sear that it gets on our ghetto plancha, which is a rigged-up Lodge brand cast iron griddle dropped directly onto our grill burners. Nice and hot. I had sous vide endive with Roquefort milk in San Sebastian, and I thought Ajo Blanco would work just the same. We seal the Ajo Blanco and the rood veg together and poach it until tender. The flavor infuses, and when it it's cooked, creates just a little of a caramelization around the veg, as the milk solids sweeten. The tomato is just tomato water that is gelled with a little iota carageenen, to create a very Jose Andres 'yelatin' that is spoonable when hot and has a lovely, 'roll around in your mouth' feel.

Tell me some more about the set-up of the menu, alternating small plates and entrees?
I wanted to alternate from Taste to Dish for a few reasons. I wanted to formalize the tapas experience - the idea of having tastes of a few things - and to recreate the experiences that I had a a few high-end places in Spain. They basically used small plates/tastes as breathing time for the kitchen and palate cleansers for the diner. There was also the fact that most of the tastes used a bunch of modern cuisine techniques that I had either experienced or learned about in Spain. The best way to help someone to understand simple spherification, for instance, is to serve it in a single bite so as to emphasize the technique at the same time as the visual appeal and flavor combination. I wanted to take everyone on a little tour through everything that I experienced and the overall feeling of a real tasting menu.

I am one of those people who, when it comes down to it, just wants one perfect taste of something; enough to understand it, feel it, enough to think about it, have it trigger other thoughts, tastes and emotions. I am not a fan of a plate of food that has 3 flavors to it and is the end of your night of exploration, taste, and imagination. I thought that the menu design last night created a ton of conversation and interaction between people, like everyone was on the same journey, but at the same time being able to personalize it in conversation with friends and strangers alike.

Do you think Portland eaters and chefs are ready to enter the Modernist Cuisine scene? You know I'm skeptical, but what's your take on the perception of the techniques in Portland as a whole?
As far as Modernist Cuisine goes, I think chefs are ready, but I am sure that Portland diners are not. It has always blown my mind to think why Castagna is everyone's pick for best restaurant in the city, even though they have never gone there to eat. I was ready to have a crazy, eye opening experience there, having gone to Alinea in Chicago, and was completely let down. I wanted more spheres popping in my mouth, more flavored foams, more dry ice, more play on traditional recipes with super modern plating, but I got none of that. This makes me think that the question is not 'are portland diners ready for modernist cuisine' as much as 'what brand of modernist cuisine works in portland?' Just looking at Eat Beat today, with the yogurt balls on that pea dish [at Aviary]? Karen Brooks liked them, so is that the green flag for chefs like me to start pushing in that direction?

You have to remember that I was an art student, and sculpture was what I did. When you are working with wood or metal, you have specific tools to get specific results with your medium. I love that. Now food is my medium, but I have advanced beyond just plates as my palate. Food for me is about experience, taste, sight, smell, beauty, fun, and not necessarily in that order. So the short answer is yes, Portland chefs are creative enough to execute modernist cuisine successfully, but I think the challenge is understanding the Portland diner.

Why did you get involved with Portland Food Adventures? What about the event made you want to get involved?
I got hooked up with PFA kind of by mistake. I'm pretty sure I read about it on Eater, about Cathy Whims, Scott Dolich and Jason French, and though, 'Why am I not in this? Maybe I should just email the creator and talk.' I do have to say that I thought it was a totally different thing that it is. The way I read it first, and the reason that I wanted to be a part of it, is that I thought it was a day out with the chef to all their favorite places, like a tour, and I am one of those chefs that likes to run around town and see my friends/co-chefs/old employees.

So I thought it was a dinner, and a scheduled day for a bunch of people to cruse around town with the chef, and visit places they like, which would be an awesome idea. But it turned out to be a different entity all together. PFA was a great way for me to show off a bit, but more importantly it was a perfect forum to experiment and create a unique dining experience for our guests. A lot of people really enjoyed their night, and I felt very connected with them by the end. They trusted me and my food, and that is a very real concern for restaurants to accept and overcome. You can't put sweetbreads, calf's brains, octopus and exploding soup bites on your menu unless you have your diners trust that it will be awesome!

What was unexpected about the event? Did anything surprise you?
I was really amazed at how much people were enjoying themselves and those around them. I loved fielding all the questions about ideas behind dishes and techniques. I also really loved the informality of the dinner paired with the relative formality of the plates and courses.

I was expecting your scepticism, which was great, trust me, but I got very little from our little crowd of 'foodies' last night. It gave me a lot of hope, although it was a special dinner and not just a Tuesday night at Tabla. I don't know if that is an indication of trends and things to come, or just the group acception of the theme of the dinner. I find myself mentally bouncing between awesome high end super modern restaurant and the safe, satisfying 1, 2, 3 of Tabla. I have worked a lot of creativity and thought into all my dishes at Tabla, but I purposefully dont mention them on the menu, so as not to draw attention to them. In the same breath, I do want to stress that I like having surprises on each plate, things expected and at the same time unexpected.

Last night's dinner also allowed my to serve things with instructions, which rarely happens in this town. I am happy that before the dinner started I mentioned that a few things would be interactive, and I was surprised that most people waited until I talked about what was set out in front of them. That just made it more fun for me and them.

What's next for you? Any cool projects it the works?
Friday night service, of course! No really, I need to maintain Tabla's high level of standards and efficiency in the kitchen and on the floor. I also think that we need to allow our price ($24) to reflect our level of cuisine, by raising that price a little. Looking at, of all things, Eat Beat today, I saw that Genoa is rocking out a 3 course at $40 and Natural Selection has a 4 course at $35. Don't you think that Tabla needs to charge accordingly? It is very hard for me to make money for the restaurant when I am putting out course after course of beautifully plated, executed and conceived plates at a break neck low price.

But what I am really focusing on is promoting my Monday Tapas in the back room, hopefully creating a little dining secret that everyone knows about. The illusion of exclusivity paired with acessability is very appealing from me. That's like having a tiny restaurant that is popular because it is always full, because it is so small. I am going to use the venue to experiment, like last night, but also to have fun on what is otherwise a slower night for restos in PDX. $40 gets you in, to eat until you are done, and drink white, red, or bubbles until you decide that you need to go home, just like places I went to in San Sebastian. This is definately a trial for what I hope I can build into a new venue for my self, somewhere I can cook everything that I like to cook, surround myself with my favorite people, and do something that Portland will accept. You know me, im a creative guy, and I have an eye for detail, both for how the kitchen works and how the restaurant is marketed and presented to the public as a complete idea, concept, theme, all of that. Im looking forward to 2011, I'll just say that.

Thanks Tony! And now, for the photos...

Check out photos and stories for the previous Portland Food Adventures:

Nostrana, Park Kitchen, Ned Ludd, Lincoln

Portland Farmers' Market Photo Tour: Opening Day 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Allison Jones) — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 18:25:00 +0000

Chef Choice Portland Food Aventure with Jenn Louis of North PDX's Lincoln Restaurant

noreply@blogger.com (Allison Jones) — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 23:42:00 +0000

Last night, a group of hungry diners gathered at Lincoln - Chef Jenn Louis' gorgeous and highly acclaimed North Portland restaurant - for an evening of family-style food and exploration of Jenn's honest and creative approach to Pacific Northwest cuisine. The fourth Portland Food Adventures Chef's Choice dinner brought together food lovers of all stripes to enjoy one of the best menus in Portland as it transitions from winter's hearty comfort food to spring's greens and lighter dishes. I'd been to Lincoln a few times before, notably last fall after Jenn and I made Ribollita together at the Portland Farmers' Market, but last night was extra-special. Jenn selected a long list of dishes that represented Lincoln's hyper-seasonal menu and signature blend of high-end and accessible food - from classic cassoulet with rabbit, lamb, pancetta, and tarbais beans, to brandade (sold cod/olive oil mousse) fritters, fried fennel, and some absolutely perfect onion rings. We were treated to the story of how Jenn and her husband (Lincoln's front-of-the-house and bar manager David Welch) met when she was working at Wildwood, chatted with Gabe Rosen of Biwa about his mission of bringing traditional, fun, and accessible Japanese food to a nondescript corner of Southeast Portland, and received a big envelope stuffed with gift certificates to some of Jenn's favorite spots in town.

As always with PFA dinners, the party didn't end after the last plate is cleared - we get to look forward to future visits to Podnah's Pit's newly-opened NE Killingsworth location, happy hour at Biwa, great coffee at Ristretto Roasters, fresh-baked treats from Little T Baker, and Jenn Louis' highly-anticipated SE Division hang-out, Sunshine Tavern (set to open on April 19). Want to get in on the next Portland Food Adventure? We're heading to Tabla Bistro for Chef Anthony Cafiero's take on Spanish cuisine, inspired by his recent trip to Madrid, Barcelona, and San Sebastian. It's going to be amazing, so reserve your seats ASAP! As always, my camera was with me last night, so feel free to eat vicariously - but I want to see you at the table with me next time!

Brandade fritters and fried fennel with aioli and lemon.

Flatbread with fromage blanc, roasted apple, prosciutto, and fig salame.

Arugula salad with cara cara oragnes, pine nuts, and dates.

Milk-braised fennel and lacinato kale with lardo and chiles (not pictured).

Cassoulet with rabbit, lamb, pancetta, and tarbais beans.

Panna cotta with saba (a sweet syrup made from fresh grape must)

Check out photos and stories for the previous Portland Food Adventures:

Nostrana, Park Kitchen, Ned Ludd

Party Photos: Mardi Gras Bash at Irving Street Kitchen

noreply@blogger.com (Allison Jones) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 23:38:00 +0000

What: ISK's First Annual Portland Mardi Gras Party
Where: Irving Street Kitchen, 701 NW 13th St. - irvingstreetkitchen.com
The Dirty Details: Strong classic NOLA drinks from shakers Brandon Wise and Allison Webber (think Hurricanes and Sazeracs till the sun came up), tarot readings, masked and beaded shenanigans, live funk and bluegrass music, burlesque dancers, two WHOLE ROASTED PIGS from Chef Sarah Schafer, the never-ending raw bar of oyster-shucking glory, jugglers, traditional king cake. I didn't find the baby in the cake, and I almost fell on those dangerous floor balloons about seventeen times, but otherwise the night was AMAZING. These kids know how to throw a party - and I've got the beads to prove it.

NE Alberta's Aviary: International Cuisine Without Borders, or, As the Bird Flies

noreply@blogger.com (Allison Jones) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 21:45:00 +0000

I was going to write a whole post about Aviary without making a single bird double entendre, but as I was trying to characterize the food coming out of Sarah Pliner, Jasper Shen, and Kat Whitehead's three-chef kitchen, I couldn't help but think of the phrase as the crow flies... and all bets were off. Even a cursory glance at the collaborative menu of these New York transplants' new restaurant reveals an international approach to food, an attention to detail and ingredients that seems to fly over borders and culinary trends. Indeed, these dishes combine French techniques and Asian ingredients, but there's something more to their selection and incorporation of specialty herbs, fruits, spices, fish, and meat that puts them above the standard roadways and expected avenues of the Portland's food scene. Herbs, greens, and garnishes seem to have been foraged simply because they taste great and add a lot to a dish - not because they are traditional or trendy - like a bird opportunistically selecting the tastiest bites from any spot of earth, regardless of fences or geographical boundaries.

Aviary's menu is sophisticated in a way that points a big neon arrow to the chef's culinary provinence (including stints with Alain Ducasse at the Essex House and Aquavit to Jean-Georges and Aldea), the techniques on display put them in a different category than most eateries on Alberta, and General Manager and wine director Leah Moorhead brings her truly local expertise to the fantastic wine list - but the accessible prices and enthusaism of the young chefs break through any stuffiness that sophistication might otherwise bring to the dining experience. Even though Aviary will undoubtedly receive a bit of teasing for falling into the "put-a-bird-on-it" trend of Portland's restaurants (See also: Little Bird, Roost, and the soon-to-open Cocotte), Sarah, Jasper, and Kat are doing some truly unique things that complicate any simple categorization. There's nothing predictable on the menu, and the presentation is creative and captivating, from the crispy pig ear rice to the beer ice cream with salted pretzels. I really hope people will venture out of their culinary comfort zones into one of Aviary's comfortable tables to try these dishes for themselves. If Aviary can get off the ground, they'll really help widen Portland's palate to include the kind of creative and sophisticated food that will take us from a small town with great grub to a world-class culinary community on par with the big birds.

Aviary - 1733 NE Alberta St. Portland, OR 97211 - (503) 287-2400, info@aviarypdx.com

Hours: Mon-Thu 5pm-10pm; Fri-Sat 5pm-11pm; Closed Sunday

Octopus salad with chickpea fries, pickled shallots, arugula, meyer lemon yogurt (Soon to be on the menu - my favorite dish of the night)

Cauliflower Veloute with chestnuts, shiso, and American caviar.

Crispy pig ear with coconut rice, Chinese sausage, and avocado.

Arctic Char confit with nori beurre noisette.

Brioche-crusted halibut with sea urchin, spinach, and cucumber.

Seared Tai Snapper with shrimp, bacon, and mustard greens.

Braised beef cheeks with celery root, blood orange, and ginkgo nuts.

Beer ice cream, coffee gelee, pretzel nougatine, and evaporated milk tuile (made with MacTarnahan's Amber Ale)

Eating Through Seattle: 40 Hours in the Emerald City

noreply@blogger.com (Allison Jones) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 05:00:00 +0000

I've been up to Seattle a few times in my life, but every trip is colored by my first visit. When I was just a towheaded toddler, my family took a road trip north to visit some friends, and upon arriving in Seattle I was famously disappointed that we were not, in fact, visiting someone named "Attle." Maybe I've never fully recovered from the childhood confusion, because before last weekend Seattle had remained something of a mystery to me. With so many islands, hills, highways, neighborhoods that begin with "Bell"... I'd never been able to wrap my head around the geographical layout or lifestyle of the city. I suppose I can also get a bit defensive of Portland, so my opinions of Seattle had been limited to begrudging them for stealing a lot of the Pacific Northwest spotlight (and James Beard Awards). When my friend Ratnanjali proposed a day trip to Seatown, I figured a casual trip would give me some perspective on Portland's big sister to the north. I figured we would make a weekend of it, so I asked around amongst the few friends I had in the city via Twitter and Facebook for restaurant and activity suggestions. Before I knew it, I had a list of recommendations, introductions, accommodations, and invitations that transformed our three-day-two-night casual trip into an adventure we - and our stomachs - won't soon forget.

With cameras, warm jackets, walking shoes, two bottles of wine and a dozen Voodoo doughnuts in tow, we made the three hour drive north through a very snowy Washington on Friday afternoon. With the blue skies and sun shining down on the frozen white hills and small rural towns along Interstate 5, it was really difficult to stop myself from pulling over to capture the beauty at every new vista, but we had 7 o'clock dinner reservations and had to hustle. I personally love driving and have a pretty intimate relationship with The 5, but I can definitely see the appeal of taking the train through the country from Portland to Seattle. At the very least, letting Amtrak do the traveling would save me from the embarrassment of forgetting how to pump my own gas... Though that was the last we saw of the sun for the weekend, the beauty of the drive definitely started the trip off on a high note. The sun had set when we approached the city, and as the Seattle skyline loomed larger than life in front of us I was simply overwhelmed. There's no two ways about it, Seattle is just so much BIGGER than Portland. I took a deep breath, got off at the Olive Street exit, and the adventure began.

(Here's the deal: Every hour has a link to another blog post/photo gallery - it's like an advent calendar of Seattle awesome, so don't miss anything! Thanks so much for reading, guys. You make my world go round.)

7:00 p.m. - A Truly Warm Reception - After dropping off our bags at my friend Jon's place in Capitol Hill, we scurried off through lazy snowflakes and freezing wind up the hill to Olivar (806 East Roy Street, http://www.olivarrestaurant.com). The moment we stepped into the small stone building, we were met with the welcome energy of a warm and fragrant kitchen, smiling servers, the gentle hum of candle-lit conversation - and my skepticism of Seattle's accessibility began to melt away with my chill. We were quickly seated at a small table and had just a moment to catch our breath before we began our tasting menu, as Chef Philippe Thomelin had picked out a few of his favorite dishes to take us on a tour through Catalan by way of France's Loire Valley. Philippe invited me to snap some shots of the adorable yellow kitchen and that transported me to a small French village, with clams flying, chorizo on the grill, and wine flowing freely. From the perfect bubbly U més U fan Tres Cava to the immaculate yet accessible dishes, the entire meal was like a hug, welcoming us to the city. (Step on over here for my photos of the full Olivar experience.)

9:00 p.m. - Climbing Uphill - After dinner we were set to meet up with Jon to catch drinks and a show at Neumos, so we made our way across Broadway, taking in block after block of restaurants, shops, and theaters. Portlanders, we've got plenty of trendy strips, but they're all broken up by residential areas, offices, or undeveloped stretches - imagine the heart of Hawthorne going on for a mile. Though our toes were freezing, we were ecstatic to be in the city and managed to compare Capitol Hill to everywhere up to and including Brooklyn, San Fransisco, Montreal, and Tel Aviv. It's rare that I feel like Portland is a small town, but the energy of the first few hours in Seattle was impressive to say the least.

10:00 p.m. - Lights, Noise, and Glitter - After walking about four blocks too far up East Pike Street, we backtracked and made it to Neumos for drinks and a bit of rocking out at the Deerhoof show (925 East Pike Street - neumos.com). The lights, colors, and theatricality of the show were so energizing, and I somehow managed to take a few cool shots of the space and Satomi Matsuzaki's amazing eye makeup while we danced off a few of the six courses from earlier.

12:00 midnight - Tools, Radio, Tackle - In a decidedly out-of-character move on the part of this chronic early-to-bed sleepyhead, I enthusiastically agreed to move the party over to Linda's Tavern (707 East Pine Street - http://lindastavern.com/). Part roadhouse, part hipster hunting shack, part businessmen in suits and loosened ties celebrating their birthdays, Linda's was a pleasant surprise. The sheer variety of people cramming the booths and crowding the pool table felt very different than Portland's scene, where bars and restaurants will draw pretty homogeneous crowds. I think that sense could actually be extrapolated to describe a major difference between PDX and Seattle. I love Portland and always will, but nobody would call the Rose City particularly diverse. It was cool to be nursing a pint of Manny's Pale Ale and laughing with my friends while surrounded by such energy (Check out my photos from Linda's, over here). We closed the place down, and were so happy we barely noticed the freezing weather on the way home.

Saturday

9:00 a.m. - Sunshine and Baked Eggs - There's something to be said for a city that can keep even me awake until the wee hours, then get me up again early enough for a meal too early to be honestly called brunch. We had Saturday Breakfast at Oddfellows, a gorgeous cafe in Pike/Pine that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the historic Odd Fellows Temple, built in 1908, now a lovingly renovated mixed-use building (1525 10th Ave, http://www.oddfellowscafe.com/). The morning light flooded through the tall wall of windows as we stepped up to the counter to order our coffee and breakfast. Oddfellows is really unique in that it combines fantastic, full-service quality food in an environment that really encourages you to stick around for a while. We saw plenty of people set up for the day, writing term papers, reading novels, and leisurely perusing the Times while their kids roamed around charming everyone. Can you imagine someone opening up a laptop at the Screen Door, looking like they'd stay for a while? Here in Portland we're so often shuffled in and out of tables to accommodate the long line of hungry brunchers. It'd be amazing to have a place a bit more substantial than a coffee shop to grab some amazing baked eggs and finish the whole crossword puzzle. More photos of Oddfellow's Cafe over here!

11:00 a.m. - Books, Books, and also Books - If there's anything that excites me more than food, it's books. Given that, I was obviously excited to find out that Elliot Bay Book Company (1521 Tenth Ave, www.elliottbaybook.com), Seattle's largest independent bookstore, is located a few doors down from Oddfellows. The only thing I'd heard about Elliot Bay is that "it's no Powell's" - which gives me little PDX pride goosebumps - but the space is absolutely gorgeous, with plenty of chairs and tucked away corners perfect for curling up and hiding from the world with a stack of books. My favorite part of Elliot Bay was the sheer number of staff recommendation and review slips tucked in between the volumes. We've got those at Powell's, but the stacks at Elliot Bay look as though they've been T.P.'d with staff pick slips. More photos of Elliot Bay Book Company over here!

12:00 a.m. - Seattle's OTHER Market - I'd read about Melrose Market (1501-1535 Melrose Ave, melrosemarketseattle.com/) in the New York Times last year, and have been looking forward to visiting ever since. It's one of those places that is so adorable it makes your teeth hurt. Like a smaller Chelsea Market or a much larger City Market NW, Melrose has the perfect butcher shop with cute bearded boys, a cheese shop owned by a protege of Portland's own Steve Jones, a fragrant flower shop that sells soaps and twee jewelry, a homegoods store that sells "recipe dice", a wine shop with hand-written chalkboards, and a few immaculate restaurants, all under historic beams flanked by exposed brick walls. It could be a movie set or a Disneyland village, it was so well-designed and picturesque. The thing that brought it out of fantasy land? Everyone was SO NICE. People really didn't mind window shoppers (without the windows) and I felt totally comfortable taking a bunch of photos and snagging a few samples of cheese. The space is so new, I think it will take a few more years to feel lived-in and comfortable, but it's of a breed of places I'm happy to know exists. Check out more Melrose Market shots right this way.

2:00 p.m. - Coffee Break - By Saturday afternoon, we're already exhausted. We'd been on our toes for a few hours, and the food haze of the constant snacking was beginning to take its toll. We needed to recoup, and we needed to caffeinate, so it was back to Jon's neighborhood for lattes and some people watching at Joe Bar (810 East Roy Street, www.joebar.org). Everyone needs a local coffee shop with good inexpensive eats, great drinks, and the kind of atmosphere that encourages chatting, reading, and staring into space for a few hours. The cafe itself is divided, with a small mezzanine that looks down on the rest of the space and onto the street, so we sat with our drinks and had some fun deciphering the difference between Portland and Seattle's definitions of "hipster," the various opinions of our respective Alt-Weeklies, and the state of the uncharacteristic snow/sleet/wintry mix falling outside. It was wonderful to sit back for a moment, and you can check out a few photos from the one lazy moment of the trip over here - but there were places to go, people to meet, and TWO, count them - one, TWO - dinners reservations to be met.

4:00 p.m. - Please Do Not Feed The Iguanas - So, we may have had two dinner reservations ahead of us... but we were feeling peckish and in the mood for a snack. After some hemming and hawing, I asked Jon a very serious question. Where do Seattlites go for cheap, cart-tastic Mexican food? The next thing I knew, we were way the hell up in North Seattle in the parking lot of a Home Depot, ordering tacos and Mexican hot chocolates at El Camión in the snow (11728 Aurora Ave N., www.elcamionseattle.com). Seattle may not have many food carts, but this one was awesome and well worth the drive. Great carne asada, fresh salsa verde, and a covered (and kind-of heated) seating area with a few iguanas. What more do you need? We liked this place so much we went out of our way to come back on Sunday to grab a burrito for the ride home. Photos of said iguanas, tacos, and ironic snow over this way.

6:00 p.m. - Thali and Bubbly - After quickly popping back home to change and wipe the salsa off our fingers, it was time to walk up to Poppy for First Dinner (622 Broadway East, poppyseattle.com). When I asked my Twitter followers for food suggestions, so many people recommended Poppy's innovative dining style that we had to stop by. The space is very modern, with warm colors and tall windows that framed the falling snowflakes outside. Poppy is known for serving up Chef Jerry Traunfeld's creative northwest dishes thali-style, with many small dishes served on a large platter to each guest. It's kind of like a tasting menu in one course - remeniscent of the various condiments you'd get at Koren BBQ. We shared a ten-dish vegetarian thali, some of Poppy's signature eggplant fries with honey and sea salt, and a gorgeous fig, onion, chevre tart, a a bottle of Brut. I then got to sneak into the kitchen to check out the assembly-line magic behind the thali concept and catch Chef Jerry's amazing smile. Photos of the space and menu over here.

9:00 p.m. - Dining under Paul Newman's Shadow - We popped home after Poppy to change our shoes and try to speed-meditate our stomachs into submission before heading back out for Second Dinner at Spur Gastropub in Belltown (113 Blanchard, spurseattle.com). To be wholly honest, we had to drag ourselves out of the house we were so full and exhausted, but the moment we stepped into the restaurant (after wrestling with the parking gods for about 20 minutes before finding the perfect spot a half a block away) our appetite and energy were back with a vengeance. Projected on the wall was a muted black and white Paul Newman flick, and the air was loud with great music and roudy laughter. The atmosphere was the perfect combination of refined, stylish elegance (think molecular gastronomy experiments and rye and Scotch cocktails) and tavern hollering, down-and-dirty good eating (think burgers and beers and the best fries around). From our stellar and hilarious server, through the drinks, five courses, tour of the kitchen, to the Real Talk conversation with (ahem, adorable) Chefs Brian McCracken and Dana Tough, we had the time of our lives. To think, we'd almost called it a night at 8:30. Lesson learned, friends. When in Seattle, it's worth it to step out of your comfort zone and ride the wave of people to the best spots in town. Spur certainly fits the bill, so it's no surprise that McCracken and Tough are jointly nominated for Food and Wine's People's Best New Chef - watch out for these guys, they're going places. For the full lowdown of our night at Spur, mosey on this way, and prepare to get hungry.

9:00 a.m. - Obligatory Jaunt into the Waterfront "Heart of Seattle" - Bleary eyed and wind chilled after a night of dead-to-the-world food-coma sleep, we met my friend Keren Brown (Seattle food networking maven and the creator of the amazing Foodportunity events) at Dahlia Bakery for a coconut creme pie and set off on an insider's tour of the best spots in and around Pike Place Market (85 Pike Street, www.pikeplacemarket.org). Keren believes Pike Place is the beating heart of Seattle, and was so excited to show us her favorite spots it was almost hard to keep up. We nibbled our way through the bakeries, creameries, groceries, and various other -eries, and were joined by several other food writers and enthusiasts from Seattle and beyond (including Keren's sister Julie, Kristi Willis of Austin Farm to Table, Carol Peterman of Table Fare, and Keren's assistant and Seattle foodie Felice Lam. The morning turned into a marathon relay race between our feet, our stomachs, my camera lenses, Felice Lam's Foursquare check-ins, and the freezing rain. Check out photos of our adventures over here.

11:00 a.m. - A Bowl of Soup's a Fond Farewell - After nearly two days of constant exploration of Seattle's streets, eats, and winter weather conversations, we settled into some bar stools at Tom Douglas' Seatown Sea Bar and Rotisserie (2010 Western Avenue, http://tomdouglas.com) for some morning-after drinks, sandwiches, oysters, and, for me, a bowl of hot celery root soup. Simple as it was, my body was grateful for the warmth and the chance to put my feet up and chat with my friends before piling back into the car for the drive home. Photos of Seatown's cozy bar over here, and with that, I hope you've been able to taste a bit of Seattle from wherever you're reading this.

I can wholeheartedly recommend every place we visited, and I know I will be back soon. There's too much energy, renovation, innovation, and kindness in that city to keep me away for long, and while Portland is my home and I love her with the passion of one thousand fiery rotisserie grills, it's so good to have a big-city escape just a few hours to the north. Thank you, Seattle, and everyone who made that crazy weekend what it was. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go sleep through the month of March. And if you're ever headed up North, say hi to Attle for me.

All photos and words © Allison E. Jones 2011

Eating Through Seattle: A Warm Welcome from Olivar

noreply@blogger.com (Allison Jones) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 04:49:00 +0000

Olivar - 806 East Roy Street, www.olivarrestaurant.com

These photos are part of my epic 3-day whirlwind trip to Seattle - check out the full low-down of my adventures in the Emerald City right this way.

Deerhoof at Neumos in Seattle

noreply@blogger.com (Allison Jones) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 04:48:00 +0000

Eating Through Seattle: Beers and Laughs at Linda's Tavern

noreply@blogger.com (Allison Jones) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 04:47:00 +0000

Linda's Tavern - 707 East Pine Street, lindastavern.com

These photos are part of my epic 3-day whirlwind trip to Seattle - check out the full low-down of my adventures in the Emerald City right this way.

Eating Through Seattle: Breakfast at Oddfellows

noreply@blogger.com (Allison Jones) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 04:46:00 +0000

Oddfellows - 1525 10th Ave, http://www.oddfellowscafe.com

These photos are part of my epic 3-day whirlwind trip to Seattle - check out the full low-down of my adventures in the Emerald City right this way.

Eating, and Reading, Through Seattle: Elliot Bay Book Company

noreply@blogger.com (Allison Jones) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 04:44:00 +0000

Elliot Bay Book Company - 1521 Tenth Ave, www.elliottbaybook.com

These photos are part of my epic 3-day whirlwind trip to Seattle - check out the full low-down of my adventures in the Emerald City right this way.

Eating Through Seattle: Melrose Market

noreply@blogger.com (Allison Jones) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 04:43:00 +0000

Melrose Market - 1501-1535 Melrose Ave, melrosemarketseattle.com
These photos are part of my epic 3-day whirlwind trip to Seattle - check out the full low-down of my adventures in the Emerald City right this way.

Eating Through Seattle: Coffee Break at Joe Bar

noreply@blogger.com (Allison Jones) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 04:40:00 +0000

Joe Bar - 810 East Roy Street, www.joebar.org
These photos are part of my epic 3-day whirlwind trip to Seattle - check out the full low-down of my adventures in the Emerald City right this way.

Eating Through Seattle: Tacos, Snow, and Iguanas at El Camión

noreply@blogger.com (Allison Jones) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 04:37:00 +0000

El Camión - 11728 Aurora Ave N., www.elcamionseattle.com

These photos are part of my epic 3-day whirlwind trip to Seattle - check out the full low-down of my adventures in the Emerald City right this way.

Eating Through Seattle: Poppy's Northwest Take on the Thali

noreply@blogger.com (Allison Jones) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 04:35:00 +0000

Poppy - 622 Broadway East, poppyseattle.com
These photos are part of my epic 3-day whirlwind trip to Seattle - check out the full low-down of my adventures in the Emerald City right this way.

Eating Through Seattle: Old School Glamour Meets New World Plates At Spur Gastropub

noreply@blogger.com (Allison Jones) — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 22:57:00 +0000

Spur was a revelation. Projected on the wall was a muted black and white Paul Newman flick, and the air was loud with great music and roudy laughter. The atmosphere was the perfect combination of refined, stylish elegance (think molecular gastronomy experiments and rye and Scotch cocktails) and tavern hollering, down-and-dirty good eating (think burgers and beers and the best fries around). From our stellar and hilarious server, through the drinks, five courses, tour of the kitchen, to the Real Talk conversation with (ahem, adorable) Chefs Brian McCracken and Dana Tough, we had the time of our lives. It's no surprise that McCracken and Tough are jointly nominated for Food and Wine's People's Best New Chef - watch out for these guys, they're going places. Spur Gastropub in Belltown (113 Blanchard, spurseattle.com)

These photos are part of my epic 3-day whirlwind trip to Seattle - check out the full low-down of my adventures in the Emerald City right this way.

Eating Through Seattle: Sunday Morning at Pike Place Market

noreply@blogger.com (Allison Jones) — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 21:26:00 +0000

Pike Place Market - 85 Pike Street, www.pikeplacemarket.org. These photos are part of my epic 3-day whirlwind trip to Seattle - check out the full low-down of my adventures in the Emerald City right this way. These shots include Dahlia Bakery, Piroshky Bakery, The Spanish Table, Sotto Voce, Mee Sum Pastry, Pike Place Fish, the Post Alley Gum Wall, and World Spice Merchants, among others. Enjoy!

Eating through Seattle: Seatown Sea Bar

noreply@blogger.com (Allison Jones) — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 20:10:00 +0000

Seatown Sea Bar and Rotisserie - 2010 Western Avenue, http://tomdouglas.com. These photos are part of my epic 3-day whirlwind trip to Seattle - check out the full low-down of my adventures in the Emerald City right this way.

Snowlandia: Come the Apocalypse, the City Will Be Beautiful

noreply@blogger.com (Allison Jones) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 02:12:00 +0000

Portland Farmers' Market Countdown: One Month to Go!

noreply@blogger.com (Allison Jones) — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 22:41:00 +0000

Today, my dearies, we find ourselves under sunny skies in Portland, just one month from the opening of the Portland Farmers' Market on March 19th. In a few short weeks, my Saturdays will be spent in my favorite place in town, amidst potatoes and greens and farmers in the beating heart of our city. The weekend of March 19th, 20th, and 21st will certainly be a busy one for this gal - I'll be elbow-deep in James Beard mania, hopping around town with my camera and a smile, doing my best to soak in the excitement surrounding the announcement of the James Beard nominees on Monday morning. 2011 is the first year the nominees are being revealed in Beard's hometown, and the weekend leading up to Monday's main event will be packed with events that will undoubtedly leave me hungover and ecstatic. I'm more than stoked. I'm also pretty positive the market's opening day will draw out some national food bigwigs in town for the announcements, but the real celebrities will be the market staff and farmers ringing in the true start of the new year.

Back in the present, My sister Casey and her fiance Mike and I decided to take advantage of the amazing weather this morning and walked down to SE Division to one of our favorite brunch spots - Detour Cafe - and soaked up the sunshine along the way. I've got a new dream of opening a Portland Bed and Breakfast, so - when I wasn't taking photos of blossoms and daffodils - the walk was spent pointing out big houses with great yards that might fit the bill. Just a lazy morning strolling through Southeast Portland - petting pit bulls and St. Bernards and chatting with their owners, waving at smiling drivers and bikers who stop to let us cross a busy street. Everyone gets more polite and gracious in the sun, as if our kind interactions with strangers could please the weather gods and keep the rain away a little longer. It couldn't hurt, I suppose... I know plenty of people are hoping we get a good amount of sun through the next month to bring out the early-spring goodies at the first market.

Will I see you there?

Happy 152nd Birthday, Oregon!

noreply@blogger.com (Allison Jones) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 18:39:00 +0000

On February 14th, 1859, Oregon officially became the 33rd state in the Union. Sure, today may be Valentine's Day, but here's something really worth celebrating: Happy Birthday to the best place in the country. There's a reason this green piece of earth was the end of the road for thousands of weary 19th century pioneers, and it's the same thing that pulls 21st century dreamers to the banks of our rivers and the waves of our shores. The soil is fruitful, there's room for everyone, and we'll be the last place on earth with plenty of fresh water.

I celebrate the City of Roses every day, but sometimes the beauty of the state gets overshadowed by the Big City's drama and preening. Here's to all the non-Portland reasons that make me proud to call Oregon my home, and to all the lovely people who are still traveling that Oregon Trail. We'll leave the light on for you.

Beyond this place there be ~~dragons~~ Idaho. Best turn back, traveler. Salvation lies to the west!

Springtime in Portland: Reluctantly Celebrating the Signs of a New Season

noreply@blogger.com (Allison Jones) — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 22:44:00 +0000

Every year, I tell my friends - and neighbors, and strangers, and, most fervently, myself - that this sunshine, this greening, this blossoming of the city of Portland is a trick. I say it's mean, cold-hearted trick known emphatically as Fake Spring, a phenomenon which draws us in year after year, luring us with daffodils and cherry blossoms. I climb up on my Dr. Bronner's soap box and preach the dangers of optimistically starting those raised beds and staring too long from the office window at the brightness outside. This is a specter of a new season. This is a trap. We're coddled with temperatures in the fifties, drawn out to play Frisbee in the streets, and warmed like sleepy lizards by the sun, only to fall heavily back into rain, chill, and frost for a few more months. A truly mean trick. And every year, without fail, I fall for it.

After a certain amount of staunchly promising myself I'll hold off, after weeks of avoiding the 's' word despite all the conversations that inevitably turn towards the appearance of crocuses and blossoms, I give in. Who really wants to be the Scrooge that insists this is an apparition? I manage to forget the freezing memory of the rain that inevitably dampens the first few weeks (months...) of the Farmers' Market, I block out the frost that kills the first crop, and I somehow completely erase the concept of Junuary, that horrible, horrible pre-summer gloom. I ignore history, because days like today are too gorgeous to be spent covering my eyes in a last-ditch attempt at pyschological self preservation. So, in complete acknowledgment of the fact that in a few weeks time I'll return to cuddling my Vitamin D deficiency like a puppy, jilted yet again by this false hope of an end to the greys, I give you the first beautiful signs of Spring.

Oh, Portland, you will break my heart.