Oregon Travels, Part II: The Painted Lady Restaurant

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Pan-roasted ling cod at The Painted Lady Restaurant.
Pan-roasted ling cod at The Painted Lady Restaurant.

Newberg, OR — The stately Queen Anne-style Victorian on South College St. at East Second Street has endured a long while.

But it took husband and wife, Chef Allen Routt and General Manager Jessica Bagley-Routt to inject new life and spirit into this house that was built in 1895.

Last week, the couple celebrated the 20th anniversary of The Painted Lady Restaurant, the charming, fine-dining establishment they opened here after renovating this 130-year-old gem in Oregon Wine Country.

These days with so many increasing challenges, it gets harder and harder to maintain a business. That the Routts have managed to do so at such a high level is a true testament to their dedication to quality and standards.

Routt, who began cooking at age 16, graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, and interned with Chef Bradley Ogden at San Francisco’s One Market. That led to cooking stints at such iconic establishments as the Inn at Chef Patrick O’Connell’s The Inn at Little Washington, Chef Jean-Louis Palladin’s Pesce, and Chef Mark Militello’s Mark’s South Beach (where he would meet his future wife), then becoming executive chef at Brannan’s Grill in Calistoga.

The Victorian turned fine-dining restaurant.
The Victorian turned fine-dining restaurant.

His wife, who was raised in Southern Oregon, graduated with top honors from the Western Culinary Institute in Portland, where she interned at acclaimed Higgins restaurant, before helping open Mark’s South Beach. She eventually took a job at Chef Hiro Sone’s Terra restaurant in St. Helena before becoming a sous chef at Brix restaurant in Napa.

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Oregon Travels, Part I: Kiyokawa Family Orchards

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Randy Kiyokawa at his Kiyokawa Family Orchards.
Randy Kiyokawa at his Kiyokawa Family Orchards.

Parkdale, OR — As a kid, Randy Kiyokawa dreamed of becoming either a police officer or a DJ, professions he knows couldn’t have been more different from one another.

But as Kiyokawa grew to learn, familial expectations have a way of steering one’s path in life. As his parents’ youngest child and only son, he knew deep down that his destiny likely would entail succeeding them in overseeing the family fruit farm, one of the few remaining Hood River Valley farms owned by Japanese American families who returned here following their internment during World War II.

Planted with 157 acres of fruit trees, including more varieties of apples than probably any other farm in the valley, Kiyokawa Family Orchards is a testament to perseverance and adaptation.

Thankfully, its legacy will continue now that Kiyokawa, on the brink of turning 64, is poised to turn the farm’s operations over to the fourth generation — his daughter.

Last month, I had a chance to visit the farm. Though it hadn’t yet opened to the public for the season, work was still happening, most notably on the small homes on site. He provides free housing to his 40 employees

His farm boasts a stunning view of Mount Hood.
His farm boasts a stunning view of Mount Hood.

Kiyokawa walked me around the property, where blossoms were just starting to appear on Bosc, Comice, and Anjou pear trees. He also grows peaches, plums, and baby kiwi. In a nod to his wife’s heritage, he also planted Persian plums and sour cherries.

It’s apples, though, for which his farm is best known — 125 varieties in all.

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Prime Time for Asparagus with Cannellini Beans, Creamy Tarragon Vinaigrette & Pickled Mustard Seeds

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Jazz up your asparagus game with a perfect cooking technique, plus flavorful garnishes.
Jazz up your asparagus game with a perfect cooking technique, plus flavorful garnishes.

When it comes to asparagus, I typically prefer grilling or roasting whole spears because the high heat caramelizes them, bringing their natural sweetness to the forefront.

But Katie Reicher, executive chef of pioneering Greens Restaurant in San Francisco, has taught me another method, one with impeccable timing that renders the spears yielding yet not droopy, and tender but with still a little bite.

Her way is pan-steaming, complete with a genius move — blitzing the tough asparagus ends that are usually discarded with a little water in a blender instead to create the cooking liquid. It gets poured into a ripping hot pan with the asparagus, where it steams and simmers before evaporating and leaving them perfectly done.

Not only are you not wasting any part of the pricey asparagus this way, but you’re imparting more flavor, too.

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Late-Night Fried Chicken at Michelin-Starred Ssal

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Behold the glorious, late-night fried chicken at Ssal.
Behold the glorious, late-night fried chicken at Ssal.

There are times when fried chicken means a napkin tucked into your collar and Wet Ones at the ready as you dig your hand into a cardboard bucket of the stuff.

But there are other times when fried chicken is savored in a chic minimalist dining room with mood lighting, a glass of French Champagne, and a tin of osetra caviar with a mother-of-pearl spoon to complete the picture.

If an elevated fried chicken dinner, one with Korean flourishes, is what you crave, Michelin-starred Ssal in San Francisco has now got you covered.

Chef-Owner Junsoo Bae.
Chef-Owner Junsoo Bae.

Your appetite just has to hold out until after its usual tasting menu service concludes and its yasik or Korean late-night eating culture menu takes over afterwards on weeknights. Although in South Korea that usually means midnight, you won’t have to wait quite that long here, but just until about 9 p.m. or 9:30 p.m.

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Get Saucy — No Matter Your Dietary Restrictions

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I used Get Saucy's Tikka Masala on shrimp and asparagus.
I used Get Saucy’s Tikka Masala on shrimp and asparagus.

After being diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease in 2018, Brian Bentow went on a low-inflammation elimination diet and became symptom-free without the need for medication.

However, he began to miss certain favorite foods, especially ones with global flavors. So he joined with Chef Suhan Lee, a Marine veteran who went to culinary school after he developed IBS symptoms following antibiotic treatments when he was injured in Iraq.

Together, they have created Get Saucy, a ready-to-cook line of sauces made with organic and non-GMO ingredients. Free of the top nine allergens (milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame), Get Saucy follows in accordance with paleo, autoimmune protocol, low inflammation, and gluten-free diets.

While a number of sauces are in the pipeline, the first one to debut is Tikka Masala, which is available in a three-pack of 16-ounce jars on the Get Saucy website for $45. I had a chance to try a sample recently.

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