A Year in Eating, or Every Place I have Eaten in Portland/Oregon So Far*

21st Avenue Bar & Grill

Aab Indian (Columbus, OH)

Ace of Cups (Columbus, OH)

Acropolis (Columbus, OH)

Alotto Gelatto

Akai Hana (Columbus, OH)

Anna's Greek Restaurant (Dublin, OH)

Argyle Winery (Dundee, OR)

August Moon
Autentica (tasting)
Backspace

Bagdad Theater & Pub
Baked Alaska (Astoria, OR)

Baker & Spice

Bamboo Sushi

Bar Mingo

Barrel 44 (Columbus, OH)

Bastas Trattoria
Beaker & Flask

Beijing Hot Pot

Bent Brick (tasting)
Bernie's Bagels & Deli (Columbus, OH)

Besaw's

Beaux Frères Vineyard (Newberg, OR)

Bijou Cafe
Biwa
Blitz Bar (Pearl District location)
Blue Burrito Grille (PHX Sky Harbor International Airport, Phoenix, AZ)

Blue Danube (Columbus, OH)

Blue Moon Cafe

Bodega (Columbus, OH)

Bonopizza (Columbus, OH)

Bridges Cafe

Bridgetown Pizza

Bread & Ink Cafe

Brunchbox (tasting)
Bubba Bernie's (Food Cart)
Bunk Sandwiches/Bunk Bar
Burger King (NE Weidler Street)
Burgerville (NE MLK Jr. Boulevard)

Burgundy Room (Columbus, OH)

Bye & Bye
Cafe Bella (Columbus, OH)

Cafe Bourbon Street (Columbus, OH)

Cafe Brioso (Columbus, OH)

Cafe Nell
Cameron Winery (Dundee, OR)

Carabar (Columbus, OH)

Cascade Dining Room (at Timberline Lodge, Government Camp, OR)
Casa Del Matador (NW 23rd Avenue)

Cellar Door Coffee Roasters
Cha Cha Cha Taqueria (Hawthorne)
Cha Taqueria & Bar
Chehalem Tasting Room (Newberg, OR)

Chen's Good Taste
Chipotle (NW Lovejoy Street)
Chop

Clever Crow (North Market, Short North, Columbus, OH)

Clinkerdagger (Spokane, WA)
Clyde Common
Cocotte (tasting)

Corbett Fish House (Corbett Avenue Location)
Corner Chowder and Coffee House (Astoria, OR)

Creole Kitchen (Columbus, OH)

Deschutes Brewery
Dirty Frank's Hot Dog Palace (Columbus, OH)

DOC (tasting)

Dosa Corner (Columbus, OH)

Dot's Cafe (closed)

Dove Vivi

Dovetail Bakery
Doug Fir
Due Amici (Columbus, OH)

East End
Eat Pizza!

El Arepazo (Columbus, OH)
El Gallo (Food Cart)

El Vaquero (Columbus, OH)
Elephant's Delicatessen (NW 22nd Avenue)
Escape from New York Pizza
Eurotrash (Food Cart, tasting)

Eyrie Vineyard (McMinnville, OR)
Farm To Fork (Dundee, OR)

Freshpot

Food Fight Grocery

Garcia's Internazionale (North Market, Short North, Columbus, OH)
Garden State (Food Cart, tasting, closed)
Gasa (Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada)

German Village Coffee House (German Village, Columbus, OH)

Gold Horse Seafood Restaurant

Grand Central Bakery

Green Dragon

Gustav's (PDX Portland International Airport)

Hakatamon

Ho Toy (Columbus, OH)

Hopper Hut (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Hotel Oregon (McMenamin's, McMinnville, OR)
Hounddog's Three Degree Pizza/Ravari Room (Columbus, OH)

Hungry Tiger Too
Impero (Columbus, OH)

J. Alexander's (Columbus, OH)

Jack and Benny's (Columbus, OH)

Jam on Hawthorne

Japanese Oriental Restaurant (Columbus, OH)

Junior's Cafe
Ken's Artisan Bakery
Ken's Artisan Pizza
Kenny & Zuke's
Kinara Thai Bistro
Kingston Bar & Grill

Koji Osakaya (Downtown)

Kornblatt's Deli

La Bonita

La Michoacana (Dublin, OH)
La Rambla (McMinnville, OR)

La Sirenita

Lavash Cafe (Columbus, OH)

Laurelhurst Market
Ling Garden
Little Big Burger

Little Bird

Little Palace (Columbus, OH)

Longworth Cafeteria (Longworth House Office Building, Washington D.C.)
Lucky 13 (San Francisco, CA)

Madena of the Pearl
Marcella's (Short North, Columbus, OH)

Mazatlan (20th Avenue & W Burnside Street)
McDonald's (18th Avenue & W Burnside Street)
McDonald's (Sandy, OR)
Meat Cheese Bread

Melt
Mi Ranchito (San Francisco, CA)

Minerva's (Rapid City, SD)

Mio Gelato
Mississippi Studios/Bar Bar

Mr Sushi (Dublin, OH)

Muu-muu's

Nicholas Restaurant
Nick's Italian Cafe (McMinnville, OR)

Nida's Sushi (Short North, Columbus, OH)

Nob Hill Bar & Grill
Noble Rot
Norma's Seafood & Steak (Seaside, OR)

North 45

Northstar (Beechwold, Columbus, OH)
Paddy's Bar & Grille

Pagliali's Pizza (Johnston, IA)

Pambiche

Papa G's
Pastaworks (City Market)
Pastaworks (Hawthorne)
Pastini Pastaria (NW 23rd Avenue)
Pearl Bakery
Perkins (Omaha, NE)

Perkins (Sheridan, WY)

Pharaoh's Pizza Palace (Columbus, OH)

Piada (Columbus, OH)

Pine State Biscuits (Belmont Avenue)
Pine State Biscuits (PSU Farmer's Market)
Ping

Pita Pit (SW 10th Avenue)
Pizzicato (NW 23rd Avenue)
Pizzicato (Airport)
Pizza Oasis
Plainfield's Mayur
Pok Pok
Pok Pok Noi
¿Por Qué No? (Mississippi Avenue)
Portland City Grill
Prasad
Press Wine Bar (Dundee, OR)
Red & Black Cafe

Red Fox Bakery (McMinnville, OR)

Red Hills Market (Dundee, OR)

Red Ridge Farms (Dayton OR)

Remy Wines (McMinnville, OR)

Rex Hill Vineyards (Newberg, OR)

Rigsby's (Columbus, OH)

Ristretto Roasters (Mississippi Avenue)

Rodgers (San Francisco, CA)
Rogue Distillery & Public House
Rontoms

Rose's Restaurant and Bakery

Sal's Italian Kitchen

Salt & Straw
Samovar Yerba Buena (San Francisco, CA)

Sansai
Sante Fe Taqueria
Sbarro (LAS McCarran International Airport, Las Vegas, NV)

Serratto
Screen Door
Shiesh Kabob (Food Cart)
Silk
Simpatica Dining Hall
Sinju
Sizzle Pie (E Burnside Street)
Sparky's
St. Honoré
Steak and Shake (Indianapolis, IN)

Steakadelphia
Stepping Stone Cafe
Steve's Cheese Bar
Stumptown Coffee (SW 3rd Avenue)
Stumptown Coffee (Belmont Avenue)

Sunrise Cafe (Yellowsprings, OH)

Surly Girl Saloon (Columbus, OH)
Swagat
Tábor (Food Cart, tasting)
Taco Bell (21st Avenue & W Burnside Street)
Taco Time (Roseburg, OR)

Tao of Tea
Tara Thai

Tasi Cafe (Columbus, OH)

Taqueria Cancún (San Francisco, CA)

Tastebud (Farmer's Market)
The Heathman

The Matador
The Painted Lady (Newberg, OR)
The Pied Cow
The Ram's Head (McMenamin's)

TJ's (Vacaville, CA)

Three Friends Coffee House

Tin Shed

Tip Top Kitchen & Cocktails (Columbus, OH)

Toast & Pho

Tube
Typhoon! (NW 23rd Avenue)

Udipi Cafe (Columbus, OH)

Union Cafe (Columbus, OH)
Uprooted (Newberg, OR)

Vegetarian House

Veritable Quandry

Vesuvio (San Francisco, CA)

Vindhalo

Violetta
Vita Cafe
Voodoo Doughnut (SW 3rd Avenue)
Voodoo Doughnut Too (NE Davis Street)
Wet Hot Beef (Food Cart, tasting)
Wendy's (IAH George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Houston, TX)

Wendy's (NE Grand Avenue)

Wild River Brewing (Grants Pass, OR)

World Cup Coffee (at Powell's City of Books)
Whole Foods Market (Dublin, Columbus, OH)

Whole Foods Market (Pearl District location)

Yakuza Lounge (tasting)

Yau's Chinese Bistro (Columbus, OH)

Yeah, Me Too (Columbus, OH)

*This list includes places I only drank coffee or tea at (did not eat at), wineries and some venues--because I specifically went there for those things or to eat there, but not venues I only went to see a show/do something else at and did not eat. It also includes ice cream/gelatto, places I've worked with/for, and fast food restaurants.

There are a number of places I don't remember or don't remember the name of (mostly food carts/random pho spots/dives/venues).

I spent about a quarter of the year outside of Oregon (travelling/in Columbus). Places not in Oregon are italicized.

Eating the ones you love

I have a lot to post, but I've been lazy.
For now, you should read this: Raising the animals you plan to eat.

BRINGING VEGANS DOWN A NOTCH

ONE CRACKER AT A TIME.

Braised Goat with Red Wine Portabella Sauce

My dad thinks just because it resembles a steak, it'll cook like a steak. It doesn't work like that. Especially not when you're talking about goat meat, and it's cut straight out of an adult thigh. He bought a whole goat leg to make "mutton" curry and saved two cuts from the shank to grill. Obviously not a preparation conducive to goat meat--it's lean and it's leg meat, so when he asked me to prepare it for my mom and himself, I decided to braise it.

Beer Camp Columbus 2010

Beer Camp is an event the Wild Goose Creative [Collective] is putting on, and they're having a cooking contest--food made with beer. I'm going to enter, but I need ideas for something other than, you know, beer-battered onion rings or cheese and beer soup. More people should read this blog and help me come up with ideas. Maybe I'll ask my friends at dinner tonight. Ian lived in Germany for a while--that must mean beer in food, right?

Anyway, come out if you can. There's a beer tasting from Columbus Brewing Company (I don't think it's only their beers, I think they're just 'presenting' it), and some other contests--label design and beer crafts (I'm not really certain what this means, but it reminds me of Luna's butterbeer cork necklace--um, you can make fun of me for saying that, I don't mind).

"Did the discovery of cooking make us human?"

A BBC article about research that asserts that our learning to cook food, as a species, was central to our evolution.

Without cooking, an average person would have to eat around five kilos of raw food to get enough calories to survive. "Cooking made our guts smaller," he says. "Once we cooked our food, we didn't need big guts."

Cooking food breaks down its cells, meaning that our stomachs need to do less work to liberate the nutrients our bodies need. This, says Wheeler, "freed up energy which could then be used to power a larger brain. The increase in brain-size mirrors the reduction in the size of the gut."

I don't know. I've seen some pretty big guts...

Mussels in a White Wine, Garlic and Tomato-Parmesan Broth

I'm fine with just eating mussels, and full for the night, but since my parents invited some of their friends for our weekly family dinner, we had to make the meal a bit more substantial. This involved me creating a sort of hearty-bruschetta (chorizo, portabella and white button mushrooms on toasted baguette slices), an anchovy-laden Caesar salad, and the addition of some extra-large (on-sale) shrimp to the mussels. (No pictures of the salad, because besides chopping the romaine, then adding anchovies and olive oil, I didn't do anything--dressing, croutons, etc.)

The mussels used a similar broth to the sauce for the Zucchini Cappellini I made the night before--I once again used both grape and those Heirloom tomatoes, but in the broth I added about half a bottle of white wine and dried herbs (both grocery stores I went to were out of thyme and parsley--who knew that Valentine's day called for eating in?). Generally, I use fresh herbs, but dried work just as well--or perhaps better, depending on the herbs you're using. Fresh thyme is my favourite, but there is something overpowering and all-too-leafy and grassy about fresh parsley, and I found using dried parsley was much more to my liking.

If you've never made mussels before, don't worry. Mussels cook in about 5 minutes. The hardest part is the cleaning (not hard) and the prep of the ingredients for the broth (well, that's every recipe). To clean mussels, I always 'soak' them for about 20 minutes. This doesn't kill them, because you don't do it long. The reason to soak them, if you have the time, is so that they naturally filter out the sand/grit inside them. Some people say that the ones that float are alive, the ones that sink to the bottom are dead--I've also found this to be pretty untrue--a lot of the ones that sink are still alive. I always check every mussel after I've soaked them. Don't ever used cracked ones or opened ones--discard immediately!

What it means to clean mussels is to scrub them gently to remove the barnacles and also to remove what's called the "beard." I'm just going to link to a video for the removal, because I think it's easier to pick up if you see it rather than me just telling you. Regardless, always remember to pull towards the hinge of the mussel, or else you'll kill it--you want it alive until you cook it (I know, cruel--also, remember, I'm not vegan anymore, so, sorry). Also, I'm sorry about the video, but I think it's hilarious--and it's exactly what I do. (Seriously, what is with her voice?) Etc.

Mussels in a White Wine, Garlic, and Tomato-Parmesan Broth

(serves 4, by itself--8 as part of a meal;

takes about an hour to an hour and a half, including prep)

4 lbs medium-sized mussels

(Whole Foods sells them in 2 lb bags, Giant Eagle carries them loose)

2 1lb containers of grape tomatoes, halved

1 1lb container of "Gourmet Heirloom Tomatoes", quartered (optional)

(substitute cherry tomatoes if you can't find these)

10 cloves of garlic, finely minced

1 white onion, finely chopped

1-2 c vegetable or chicken stock

2 c white wine

(so, I was incredibly liberal with the wine, as I tend not to measure it--just pour, and used half a bottle or so--probably you don't want to do that)

6 oz grated Parmesan

2 oz shredded Parmesan, optional

2 baguettes or 2 loaves of ciabatta, sliced and toasted

(we like ciabatta better for the purposes of slopping up the broth, plus I used baguette for the bruschetta)

*alternative ingredients I don't normally add, but that were used for the photographed version of this recipe (per dad's request to make it spicy/to add more seafood, etc):

3 tbsp hot sauce (Sriracha)

2 tbsp red pepper flakes

1 1/2 lbs extra large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 package of whole wheat linguine

(yes, half a package was enough for 7 people, because this is not a pasta recipe)

1. Soak the mussels in a bucket of cold water for 20 minutes.
2. Add the 4 tbsp of olive oil to medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add all of the grape tomatoes. When the skins loosen a bit, turn to medium-low heat and add the garlic and onion. After about 5 minutes, turn to low, add the herbs and broth and simmer for 20 minutes. (Cook pasta, if using, drain, and set aside.)
3. Once you have prepped all the ingredients (you can also do this before hand). Rinse, scrub, debeard and then rinse the mussels again. I usually just do this with the water running.
4. Add the quartered tomatoes and the white wine, turn up to medium heat until the broth begins to boil, about 5 minutes. (This is where I added the hot sauce and red pepper flakes) Add the grated Parmesan, the mussels (and the shrimp). Cover and cook for two minutes, then uncover, and gently stir the mussels so that the mussels on the bottom are on the top and vice versa. Cook for two more minutes.
5. Remove mussels to a serving dish and top with Parmesan and red pepper flakes (optional).

The end!