Category Archives: Restaurants

What is Portland, Ore.? (Part II)

Posted on by 18 comments

Pinot Noir grapes on the vine at Ayres winery.

What is Portland?

One of the finest wine regions around…

If you love Pinot Noir, especially ones with an earthy roundness in the style of Burgundy, you will go crazy for these made in the Willamette Valley.

I know I have. And it’s a love affair that’s lasted many, many years already.

Thanks to Travel Oregon, a group of food bloggers, including yours truly, recently was invited as guests to explore Portland’s famous wine region, which is considered the birthplace of New World Pinot Noir.

It was my first time to the glorious Willamette Valley, which sports 20,000 acres of vineyards, most of it Pinot Noir and almost all of it grown on  hillsides to avoid frost.

With 425 wineries, the Willamette Valley is as verdant and picturesque as the Napa Valley, but with a less touristy and corporate vibe. It’s still affordable, too, relatively speaking. While you practically have to be a neurosurgeon or Google employee #5 to afford to start a new winery in Napa, in the Willamette Valley, that dream is still accessible for regular, working-class folks with a bit of bank.

Read more

What is Portland, Ore.? (Part I)

Posted on by 16 comments

A trip to Portland wouldn't be complete without a stop here.

What is Portland?

It’s where I had my first newspaper internship way back when at the Oregonian…

It’s where I learned it wise to carry an umbrella two out of three months that summer because that’s just how much it rains there…

It’s a pioneering eco-conscious city known for its great public transportation system, including free streetcar and bus rides in the downtown corridor…

And of course, it’s a region blessed with spectacular homegrown produce, world-class Pinot Noirs, incredible microbrews, legions of food carts long before it became trendy, and a vibrant restaurant scene any city would envy…

Thanks to Travel Oregon, a group of 25 food bloggers, including yours truly, recently was invited as guests to wine and dine our way through Portland.

Here are some of the tasty highlights:

A trip to Portland has to include a stop at Voodoo Doughnut, right?

Get in line behind the sign. And there's always a line, even late at night.

Trying to decide which one to order...

The one I had to have. Can ya blame me?

This doughnut shop is known worldwide and its wacky cruellers have even been featured on Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations.”

Read more

Pure Pizza Dough Heaven — The Recipe From Pizzeria Mozza

Posted on by 38 comments

Pizza nirvana.

Hands down, this is the best pizza dough recipe — ever.

I don’t say that lightly, either. And believe you me, I’ve tried many others, some quite good.

But the one from “The Mozza Cookbook” (Alfred A. Knopf) by baker extraordinaire, Nancy Silverton, and her chef, Matt Molina, and food journalist Carolynn Carreno, is truly astounding.

It’s got so much character and developed flavor that I could eat the crust plain. How many pizza crusts can you say that about?

As Silverton explains in the new cookbook, of which I recently received a review copy, it’s not an exact replica of the one served at her Pizzeria Mozza in Los Angeles that she owns with Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich. But having enjoyed the real deal at Mozza every time I’ve visited Los Angeles, I can attest that the recipe in the book makes a pretty darn close approximation to the pizzas that come out of the restaurant’s ferociously hot wood-fired ovens.

They both sport one of the most varied crusts around — at times crisp, chewy and airy. Each bite of crust brings a new texture — from the edges, which puff up in the blistering heat of the oven, to the patchwork of air holes like that of a wonderful ciabatta to the cracker-like center. The flavor is that of a great artisan bread. And no wonder since Silverton practically single-handedly started the gourmet bread trend in Los Angeles when she opened her landmark La Brea Bakery.

I’ve loved this pizza crust from the first time I ever sank my teeth into it years ago in Los Angeles. I can’t be more thrilled to know that I can duplicate it at home now, too.

Read more

Macy’s Union Square Mystery Basket Battle

Posted on by 10 comments

Chef Hoss Zare plating his first dish at the Macy's Union Square cooking challenge.

In one corner, a Swedish chef who cooks Italian food.

In the other, a Persian chef known for his infectious Hoss-pitality.

Of course, I can only be talking about Chef Staffan Terje of San Francisco’s Perbacco and Barbacco restaurants; and Chef Hoss Zare of San Francisco’s Zare at Fly Trap.

These gifted chefs and longtime friends squared off Wednesday night in a packed house in the Cellar at Macy’s Union Square in San Francisco for the ever popular “Mystery Basket Battle.” It was all in good fun for a good cause — ticket proceeds were donated to Meals on Wheels of San Francisco, which provides nutritious meals to home-bound seniors.

Chefs Hoss Zare and Staffan Terje joke around before the battle begins.

The three "mystery'' ingredients that had to be used in a dish

Yours truly was a judge, tasked to determine the winner of this cooking battle, which was as big on flavor as it was on laughs. My fellow judges included Kevin Blum, founder and editor of City Dish; Susannah Chen, associate editor of YumSugar; and Alejandra Schrader, a finalist on “MasterChef’‘ Season 2.  Schrader, a trained architect and urban planner, started her own private chef company, Cucina Cocina in Southern California, following her success on the TV show.

“It’s nice to be on this side this time,” Schrader joked as she watched Terje and Zare chopping and stirring up a storm during the 45-minute battle.

Read more

Tipsy Figs

Posted on by 16 comments


Don't give these figs a sobriety test.

I am guilty of contributing to the delinquency of fruit.

Yes, the other night, I got fresh figs tipsy, even bordering on wasted.

But boy, did they taste good that way.

These black Mission beauties got a luxurious overnight spa soak in a tub of Port.

It was all in the name of making “Chicken Fricassee with Figs and Port Sauce,” which was published in Bon Appetit magazine, way back in 2007. The recipe is from the now-shuttered Cremant restaurant in Seattle.

Read more

« Older Entries Recent Entries »