On the edge of Multnomah Village, a group of friends & I were at a gallery to meet up with an artist friend. Okay -- I'll admit the name of the gallery: it's The Geezer Gallery. Yes, that's correct. Anyway, after viewing all the lovely, cleverly creative, imaginative artworks, it was decided that we would dine at "the German restaurant across the street." I had an inkling of doubt, owing to my previous experience with German restaurant food here in town, but being the adventurous type, I hopped onto the caravan.
The lobby is a funky little area, with house-made pastries in prominent display. Though the few Christmas decorations were probably new, the feel of the lobby made it seem as though they were brought out for the occasion from last year.
We received wonderful service for our table of eight, and from the minute we sat down until the last bite of conversation, we all felt immediately comfortable. We had a merry time, and when the food was brought out, it was all a pleasant surprise. First was a sampling ‘round the table of a bowl of “The original Dill Pickle Soup” which someone had ordered. As most of us did, I really had some doubts about this one. But it was amazingly delicious and I promptly ordered my own bowl!
Next were the main courses, and all of them came with spinach with the butter already on it – a nice touch, I thought; I didn’t have to ask f0r butter! – and a serving of spaetzle, a kind of noodle that is short and bright yellow, resembling scrambled eggs. The spaetzle was tasty, but seemed rich, so a smaller amount on my plate might have worked better, at least for me. There was also a serving of carrots, sliced bias cut. They were cooked perfectly: not mushy but not a little too firm as so many places do. The best part was my halibut fillet, which was a house special just for me, because they were out of the two previous items I’d tried to order. It was lovely and tender, with a delicate Bearnaise sauce to complement it splendidly.
Those were the highlights. The prices were reasonable, the service attentive and on top of it, and the whole place had a homespun feel. One just had the sense that this little place advertising itself as “Bavarian/American Food and Pastries” had lots of regular customers. I don’t doubt that a bit.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Friday, October 8, 2010
Tabla Bistro
Tonight we were in search of dessert, and being near the famous "Restaurant Row" of NE 28th Avenue, we stuck our head into a couple of places --nah, way too crowded -- and with dessert on our minds, who wants to wait an hour just to get in? We wandered into Tabla, a charming bistro with medium-low, pleasant lighting, an interesting dinner menu, and a nice dessert menu. We immediately liked the place. And though it was nearly full, the hostess found us a seat at the counter with a view of the cooks at work. We ordered and sat back to enjoy the "show." We found it interesting simply because we're into food, and we were very quiet and well-behaved while the cooks and servers went about their tasks.
Steve ordered a slice of chevre almond tart, which he liked (I didn't, but that doesn't mean anything except that I'm not into chevre). I ordered the pound cake filled with mascarpone cheese (which I am into), blueberries on top, and a sauce of -- what -- caramel, I believe.
After trading tastes, we ate all of our respective dessert; not that we liked it or anything. Heh heh.
So of course after that I asked for a menu and was given one with the kind offer to take it with me. I of course did so, and no doubt we shall pass that way again.
ciao
deb
Steve ordered a slice of chevre almond tart, which he liked (I didn't, but that doesn't mean anything except that I'm not into chevre). I ordered the pound cake filled with mascarpone cheese (which I am into), blueberries on top, and a sauce of -- what -- caramel, I believe.
After trading tastes, we ate all of our respective dessert; not that we liked it or anything. Heh heh.
So of course after that I asked for a menu and was given one with the kind offer to take it with me. I of course did so, and no doubt we shall pass that way again.
ciao
deb
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Irving Street Kitchen
Last night we dined at Irving Street Kitchen. It's got great Southern-style food and a really fun atmosphere where you can look out 13th Street and watch the Pearl pedestrians amble by. I had the Draper Valley fried chicken -- came with "smashed" potatoes, collard greens, and Ken's Artisan Bakery bread -- with butter and a large-grain salt sprinkled on it. Draper Valley chicken is absolutely wonderful -- very tender and actually tastes like real chicken, which it is. The batter was nice and crunchy and looked like corn flakes. The taters were very good, and the collards were ok. Steve had the shrimp etoufee, which he liked, although it was light, he said, meaning the sauce is usually thick in that dish, but here it was a thinner sauce, and lightly seasoned. He also had a jambalaya, which had a thick tomato-pasty sauce and tasso (smoked pork). The jambalaya was very good, he said. As a side note, Steve is very picky when it comes to Cajun and Creole food, having lived in New Orleans and cooked this style of food at home for many years. I totally trust his judgment on this.
My only bitch is that although the beer was good (the Organic Red something or other, in draft), the 'tender did not pour it so that there was a head on it. I like a good head on my beer, and rarely get it in this town! It's the oddest thing. . . must be part of the Portland weird-ness.
Aside from this minor point, the servers seemed to be happy to be there, and were very professional. Most of the customers were very animated and enjoying themselves. I would highly recommend Irving Street Kitchen as a place to bring out-of-town guests or good friends.
In other news, I tried out a new brownie recipe today. It came out like a slightly dense cake, in an 8x8" pan, with frosting that you pour over it when they're just out of the oven. I call them Buttermilk Brownies, because the recipe calls for buttermilk -- big surprise there -- and it uses cocoa powder. I got this stuff that's a dark chocolate and Dutch chocolate blend. The brownies were so dark, they should actually be called Devil's Food Cake-Like Buttermilk Brownies. And so they are. BTW, they're half gone already. Yum.
ciao
deb
My only bitch is that although the beer was good (the Organic Red something or other, in draft), the 'tender did not pour it so that there was a head on it. I like a good head on my beer, and rarely get it in this town! It's the oddest thing. . . must be part of the Portland weird-ness.
Aside from this minor point, the servers seemed to be happy to be there, and were very professional. Most of the customers were very animated and enjoying themselves. I would highly recommend Irving Street Kitchen as a place to bring out-of-town guests or good friends.
In other news, I tried out a new brownie recipe today. It came out like a slightly dense cake, in an 8x8" pan, with frosting that you pour over it when they're just out of the oven. I call them Buttermilk Brownies, because the recipe calls for buttermilk -- big surprise there -- and it uses cocoa powder. I got this stuff that's a dark chocolate and Dutch chocolate blend. The brownies were so dark, they should actually be called Devil's Food Cake-Like Buttermilk Brownies. And so they are. BTW, they're half gone already. Yum.
ciao
deb
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Lost Pastries of Portland
There are times when I feel a yearning for some of the lost pastries of Portland: bakeries that have closed and will never again offer their great wares. Some outstanding ones: at Le Panier there were several small savory galettes. I loved the tomato galette; the tomato center was a savory mixture made sweet from the tomatoes, and the galette itself was made of a lovely phyllo dough. Another gem was from a bakery in Sellwood some years ago. Don't remember the name of the place, but it was operated by a man with a British accent and a woman on SE Tacoma, just off 13th, I think. I would stop especially for their cinnamon roll. It wasn't one of those big puffy kinds, it wasn't a bun, but a roll; with lots of cinnamon and walnuts, and a wonderful but overly sweet frosting of an off-white color. I didn't go there that often, so it was always a special treat, but because I made infrequent visits, I had no warning that they would be closing. That had to have been approximately 1989, because I was working at a place near SE 26th and Holgate. I've been looking for that cinnamon roll recipe ever since.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
September Song
Not exactly a swan song, but a nostalgic September song; school is out for the term and we have 2 weeks off. I'm excited that all exams and work is done for now, but oddly enough, it seems kind of strange to not be studying or have a project hanging over my head to be done. It's an odd mix of freedom, relief, and emptiness; but my head will get filled again soon enough with too much information to sort out.
In the kitchen lab, we mixed and baked a vast number of goods: breads, cakes, muffins, scones, croissants, Danish pastries, eclairs, tartlets, all or most during one class each. I love doing the little tartlets -- forming the crust within the mold, pouring the lemon curd or pastry cream into the crust, and of course the tasting afterward. Muffins and scones can be very similar to drop cookies: mix, drop, you're done. I liked the slightly bready but moist cream scones, which are thin and cut into shapes like long triangles, then brushed with butter while still hot.
The croissants were a thrill to make, and took two classes to do. First, the dough, which must rest in the refrig for a time. The next class time we rolled them out, spread the butter onto the flattened dough, folded, turned, and poked the dough to mark each full turn. Then back to the refrig, later retrieving for another full turn, for a total of three. For the last time, we cut the rolled out dough into triangles of a particular angle so that they would roll up into adorable little croissants! It's truly an art form, and wonderful to eat.
The Danishes were fun also, with all the different shapes you can make them. Then, using similar filling for tartlets, we topped them with raspberries or blueberries. Very nice.
Eclairs are a different way altogether. One makes the pastry, stuffs the mix into a pastry bag, and pipes the little guys onto a baking sheet. Once they are out of the oven, crispy and cooled, you fill them. The eclairs unfilled are no great shakes, and though we made traditional French buttercream, that by itself was rich, but not so wonderful alone. But -- when you fill the eclair with the buttercream, the combined taste of the two is out of this world. I totally ate -- well, eight -- so it was a full day, heh.
The most difficult thing about making sponge cake is getting it out of the pan.
I loved the mini loaves of French bread we made. They were very good, too.
It's all good.
Back to the restaurant-hopping for bites here and there, we had an oppty to go to belly, over in NE, after a show. I ordered the $12 (!) appetizer, but it was very yummy: potato gnocchi, with bacon pieces. The bacon was perfectly cooked, and the gnocchi -- well, I ate all of it, after lending a taste or two to friends. The glass of Barbera was nice too, but I much preferred the Cabernet I drank at Wildwood last month. I also liked the ambiance there better; at belly it was a bit chilly; could it have been, perhaps, because eight of us showed up near closing time? Well, not that close; but we did close the place. We weren't too rowdy, though; just enthusiastic about our appetizers, drinking wine and socializing.
I love school, but I also love it that I'm on break. 'Til next time!
ciao
deb
In the kitchen lab, we mixed and baked a vast number of goods: breads, cakes, muffins, scones, croissants, Danish pastries, eclairs, tartlets, all or most during one class each. I love doing the little tartlets -- forming the crust within the mold, pouring the lemon curd or pastry cream into the crust, and of course the tasting afterward. Muffins and scones can be very similar to drop cookies: mix, drop, you're done. I liked the slightly bready but moist cream scones, which are thin and cut into shapes like long triangles, then brushed with butter while still hot.
The croissants were a thrill to make, and took two classes to do. First, the dough, which must rest in the refrig for a time. The next class time we rolled them out, spread the butter onto the flattened dough, folded, turned, and poked the dough to mark each full turn. Then back to the refrig, later retrieving for another full turn, for a total of three. For the last time, we cut the rolled out dough into triangles of a particular angle so that they would roll up into adorable little croissants! It's truly an art form, and wonderful to eat.
The Danishes were fun also, with all the different shapes you can make them. Then, using similar filling for tartlets, we topped them with raspberries or blueberries. Very nice.
Eclairs are a different way altogether. One makes the pastry, stuffs the mix into a pastry bag, and pipes the little guys onto a baking sheet. Once they are out of the oven, crispy and cooled, you fill them. The eclairs unfilled are no great shakes, and though we made traditional French buttercream, that by itself was rich, but not so wonderful alone. But -- when you fill the eclair with the buttercream, the combined taste of the two is out of this world. I totally ate -- well, eight -- so it was a full day, heh.
The most difficult thing about making sponge cake is getting it out of the pan.
I loved the mini loaves of French bread we made. They were very good, too.
It's all good.
Back to the restaurant-hopping for bites here and there, we had an oppty to go to belly, over in NE, after a show. I ordered the $12 (!) appetizer, but it was very yummy: potato gnocchi, with bacon pieces. The bacon was perfectly cooked, and the gnocchi -- well, I ate all of it, after lending a taste or two to friends. The glass of Barbera was nice too, but I much preferred the Cabernet I drank at Wildwood last month. I also liked the ambiance there better; at belly it was a bit chilly; could it have been, perhaps, because eight of us showed up near closing time? Well, not that close; but we did close the place. We weren't too rowdy, though; just enthusiastic about our appetizers, drinking wine and socializing.
I love school, but I also love it that I'm on break. 'Til next time!
ciao
deb
Friday, September 3, 2010
August Eating
Farewell to summer almost, but not to good eating. This past August I sampled Korean food , albacore tuna, Haagen-Dazs Dark Chocolate ice cream (to die for, BTW), and various pastries, though not all in one sitting.
The Korean food was quite an adventure. My friend and I stopped into a Korean Barbeque restaurant in the Fubonn shopping center on SE 82nd. We both ordered the same thing: The tofu bowl with mushrooms and cauliflower. When we'd walked in we saw a server pushing what looked like a dim sum cart over to a table of customers. To our surprise (one of many), our order came out on such a cart: a colorful display of 2 bowls and various little condiment dishes. As the server was placing the vast array in front of us, I wondered what we were supposed to do with all the little plates of things. Were they supposed to go into the boiling bowls of tofu & vegetables? Or do we eat them individually? We decided to eat them individually, and most were quite delicious: Potato with hardened honey on them, kimchi, bean sprouts (probably mung bean), cole slaw, cucumber and seaweed salad; and 2 eggs. After grazing on the condiments for a time, my friend asked me, "Do you think the eggs are raw or cooked?" I said, "Of course they're cooked. But I could be wrong." She decided to open one to find out. It was raw! Oh, we said; so that's why the tofu soup was boiling -- so we could do an egg-flower-soup kind of thing and break the egg into it. Now, of course, the tofu soup had stopped boiling, so of course we didn't eat the eggs.
Then, for our 14th wedding anniversary, my husband and I treated ourselves to the fine dining restaurant Wildwood. This is where I had albacore tuna -- and when the server asked how I wanted it, I said "cooked." Well done? Medium well? Well done tends to come out dry, he said, so I opted for medium well. There were long green beans underneath the tuna when it came out, artfully presented on the plate. Best, it was all delicious. I ate every bite, and so did Steve, who'd ordered duck confit, which is roasted duck, and vegetables. Neither of our portions were a lot, but with the starter salad we ordered -- a frisee with bacon and curly greens -- it was just right. We even ordered dessert, and shared a splendid chocolate cake with chocolate icing, baked in a ring mold with a wonderful sort of vanilla-flavored sabayon (sauce) around it on the plate -- again, another lovely presentation, and with one lone, charming little candle to celebrate our union. We blew out the candle together, and each of us devoured exactly half the little cake. Yum. An excellent restaurant for our excellent adventure in dining out to celebrate. Great pick!
Technically, it was September -- 2 to be exact -- when I first tasted Haagen-Dazs's Dark Chocolate ice cream. What a treat. Just melts in your mouth, man. And there's still some left!
So, yes, I did go back to talking about food in restaurants, although those restaurant excursions have indeed been cut way back due to time and money considerations. However, I am still in Baking & Pastry School at the Art Institute, and boy, have we been busy. See my next blog for all my baking adventures in school!
Buon appetito!
ciao
Deb
The Korean food was quite an adventure. My friend and I stopped into a Korean Barbeque restaurant in the Fubonn shopping center on SE 82nd. We both ordered the same thing: The tofu bowl with mushrooms and cauliflower. When we'd walked in we saw a server pushing what looked like a dim sum cart over to a table of customers. To our surprise (one of many), our order came out on such a cart: a colorful display of 2 bowls and various little condiment dishes. As the server was placing the vast array in front of us, I wondered what we were supposed to do with all the little plates of things. Were they supposed to go into the boiling bowls of tofu & vegetables? Or do we eat them individually? We decided to eat them individually, and most were quite delicious: Potato with hardened honey on them, kimchi, bean sprouts (probably mung bean), cole slaw, cucumber and seaweed salad; and 2 eggs. After grazing on the condiments for a time, my friend asked me, "Do you think the eggs are raw or cooked?" I said, "Of course they're cooked. But I could be wrong." She decided to open one to find out. It was raw! Oh, we said; so that's why the tofu soup was boiling -- so we could do an egg-flower-soup kind of thing and break the egg into it. Now, of course, the tofu soup had stopped boiling, so of course we didn't eat the eggs.
Then, for our 14th wedding anniversary, my husband and I treated ourselves to the fine dining restaurant Wildwood. This is where I had albacore tuna -- and when the server asked how I wanted it, I said "cooked." Well done? Medium well? Well done tends to come out dry, he said, so I opted for medium well. There were long green beans underneath the tuna when it came out, artfully presented on the plate. Best, it was all delicious. I ate every bite, and so did Steve, who'd ordered duck confit, which is roasted duck, and vegetables. Neither of our portions were a lot, but with the starter salad we ordered -- a frisee with bacon and curly greens -- it was just right. We even ordered dessert, and shared a splendid chocolate cake with chocolate icing, baked in a ring mold with a wonderful sort of vanilla-flavored sabayon (sauce) around it on the plate -- again, another lovely presentation, and with one lone, charming little candle to celebrate our union. We blew out the candle together, and each of us devoured exactly half the little cake. Yum. An excellent restaurant for our excellent adventure in dining out to celebrate. Great pick!
Technically, it was September -- 2 to be exact -- when I first tasted Haagen-Dazs's Dark Chocolate ice cream. What a treat. Just melts in your mouth, man. And there's still some left!
So, yes, I did go back to talking about food in restaurants, although those restaurant excursions have indeed been cut way back due to time and money considerations. However, I am still in Baking & Pastry School at the Art Institute, and boy, have we been busy. See my next blog for all my baking adventures in school!
Buon appetito!
ciao
Deb
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Cool School
I am so excited! It's time for a shift in the observations expressed in this blog. The focus will be less on eating out in restaurants, and more on daily life in Baking & Pastry school. I start classes tomorrow, July 12, 2010, and it will be a year-long program. This is the most exciting thing I've done since I started acting professionally! I am just completely pumped about it: there's so much to look forward to, lots of things to learn and make and create; and most definitely a lot of hard physical work, and academics, too: there will be lots of homework and studying. There was a day-long orientation at the college (Art Institute of Portland), where I met some of the students I will be working alongside in the BP program. Near the end of the day some of us Culinary Arts folks were in a classroom and had an informal talk with four instructors and the Academic Director of the Culinary Arts Department. It was lively, students were responsive, and for me it was the most fun part of the day. It gave us a chance to ask questions that directly involved the classes we would be taking from them, like, Will all the labs be in the kitchen? (Any time in the kitchen is lab time), and Will we need to sharpen the knives in our supply kits? (No; they are factory sharpened). The instructors were interested in us, too, wanting to know where we were from, what we liked to eat, had we ever worked in restaurants; and they gave us some background info about themselves and the different kinds of places they eat, from restaurants, to farms, to private homes, and more. One news item I found interesting is that the college will be opening an on-site restaurant in three months. I hope I will be able to be involved in that in some way. At the end of the day we picked up our supply kits, including our chef uniforms. I love it! Especially the hat! It's a cute little baker's toque, not the big tall kind that master chefs wear.
In anticipation of starting classes soon, this past month or two I've been making a lot of different things I'd never made before, most of them very simple! They were all from scratch. A big part of my background is that I'm a longtime scratch baker at home. I made pizza -- it was much easier than I thought -- and a Persian lime pie with meringue topping and a graham cracker crust; a blueberry crisp, also with a graham cracker crust, and six cups of blueberries! I made an old favorite, a zucchini quiche with mushrooms and Swiss cheese; and today for breakfast I baked heart-shaped scones made with cherries and cream. It's going to be a great day!
ciao
deb
In anticipation of starting classes soon, this past month or two I've been making a lot of different things I'd never made before, most of them very simple! They were all from scratch. A big part of my background is that I'm a longtime scratch baker at home. I made pizza -- it was much easier than I thought -- and a Persian lime pie with meringue topping and a graham cracker crust; a blueberry crisp, also with a graham cracker crust, and six cups of blueberries! I made an old favorite, a zucchini quiche with mushrooms and Swiss cheese; and today for breakfast I baked heart-shaped scones made with cherries and cream. It's going to be a great day!
ciao
deb
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