Just saw this blurb on eater.com which is only good news to those of us who live five minutes by car away:
Chefs Daniel Mondok of the temporarily shuttered Sel Gris and Andy Ricker (Pok Pok, Ping) are teaming with Kurt Huffman of ChefStable to open Foster Burger in the former home of Cava at 53rd and SE Foster this January.
The menu will be simple and inexpensive with good beef, hand cut fries, salads, milk shakes, and a full bar. The 48 seat dining room will add another 50 seats outdoor on the smoking patio to be open year-round. Huffman's ChefStable is also partners in the forthcoming Gruner, the first Chris Israel restaurant to open in Portland in 15 years. Gruner debuts in December.
While sad about the demise of Cava, this seems to be the perfect fit for that space and brings huge restaurant cred to Foster Road. Bring on the beef!!
Showing posts with label Andy Ricker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Andy Ricker. Show all posts
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
PDX Quick Bites: Ping; Koi Fusion; + coffee, carts, bars, and Taboada's, oh my!!
Some quick thoughts/observations from eating around town.....
After a recent lunch at Ping with my friend's Denise and her man K I asked on a twitter post if anyone else was as underwhelmed with Andy Ricker's Ping as I am? This place opened with great hype, riding the PDX Asian street food wave created by his much better Pok Pok. Both times I have been to Ping I am always kind of "meh". Okay, so where are all these amazingly creative, vibrant flavors? From what I hear about Thai street food, you can have fireworks going off in your mouth. Ping is like a sparkler that gives you a minor thrill, then fizzles. It seems it has been dumbed down for local consumption. Some things I like: the octopus skewer (below right) was nicely
al dente with the requisite fire. The meat stuffing in the pork bao (pic at top) was very flavorful, but the bun surround was too chewy (and not a good deal at $4 each). The other things were....nice...but seemed to lack spark. And finally, I have to join the chorus that goes "what the hell is up with the skewers HAVING to be ordered by the 2 each?" If I'm by myself, maybe I only want one skewer so I can try more things. Would the orbit of the Ping kitchen really come to a screeching halt if they had to put out...gasp...one skewer?!? And I have to say, the few small bits of over-cooked lamb on that skewer for $6 (oh, wait, I meant $3 each as they are listed on the menu, but you have to order 2...*#@!%^) were not a terribly good deal...or a just plain terrible deal. The greater mystery is how can Pok Pok be so good, and this place not so much? Answers, anyone??
*** *** *** *** ***
So, with being less than satisfied with the Ping lunch, Denise and I (sadly K had to go back to work) wandered a couple blocks down to Burnside and 4th, where the roving Koi Fusion Korean taco cart was parked for the day. In the food media world it seems you can't throw a tortilla without hitting an article about Korean taco carts. It started with the Kogi carts that are the hottest thing in L.A. dining. Koi owner Bo Kwon, inspired by a visit to Kogi decided to give us a Portland version. The Koi marinated meats are delicious. Fresh made corn tortillas, creative Asian style topping, and tender, very flavorful Bulgogi tacos and my favorite, the Korean Short Rib tacos are fantastic at $2 each (hello Ping? $2 each, 
and I can order ONE if I want). Both marinated in what their website calls "Mama Kwon’s secret sauce" they were spicy, savory, and sweet....and delicious! We also tried the spicy Bulgogi pork taco, which could have used a lot more seasoning. I can't wait to go back and try the two beef tacos again, as well as the Seoul Sliders, which are tacos with "Bulgogi BBQ beef, shredded napa cabbage, griddled onions, crisp bean sprouts and spicy mayo". You can find out where to get your Koi on by checking their twitter feed, and it is totally worth the chase!
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TASTY BITS: A double shot of good news for those who like to get their caffeine high going. I was hanging outside the Spella Caffé coffee cart downtown, swilling another of owner Andrea Spella's perfect double espressos, when I found out he is opening a store at SW 5th and Alder that he hopes to have going by Dec. 1st. Great coffee without the raindrops falling on my head? I am so in!.....The other coffee shot is the news flash that Billy Wilson, owner of Barista coffee in the "Pearl", dropped on twitter yesterday that he has just signed a lease for a space on NE Alberta. Billy is a fanatic about sourcing high quality organic coffee from small boutique roasters around the U.S., and his drinks, as you'd expect from a champion barista, are top notch.
Add Pok Pok: It was written up in our local fishwrap that Pok Pok/Whiskey Soda Lounge owner Andy Ricker is opening a bar just kitty corner from his always rocking spot on SE Division, so us poor bastards who wait outside in all kinds of weather can have a warm, dry place inside to get some alcohol fueled warmth and a few tasty bar snacks. The new space will become Whiskey Soda Lounge and Pok Pok across the street will be just that.
*** *** *** *** ***
Just opened in my Sellwood 'hood (and conveniently just across the street from the wine shack) is a new food cart called Bruce Lee Kitchen. I've checked out their phat thai and red curry, both around $5 and $6, and was really impressed. The phat thai isn't quite a classic style, being somewhat spicier than your normal version, but it was bursting with fresh flavor. And I was even more smitten with cart owner Liza's red curry (pic at left), which was a deep, rich, lightly creamy and pungently flavored blast of palate pleasure. Great values, and an excellent compliment to the goodness always coming out of the Garden State cart which sits right next to BLK. My life continues to receive many tasty blessings!
*** *** *** *** ***
Portland Monthly blogger Mike Thelin mentioned in his post Monday that Navarre's John Taboada is opening another space just down from Navarre on 22nd and E. Burnside he is going to call Luce (pron. loo-chay). It's a two room spot, one of which will house a large commercial kitchen, the other a spot Taboada hopes to turn into a dining room event space seating up to 60 people (a la Beast?). Taboada, whose Navarre was named "Restaurant of the Year" by The Oregonian last year, cagily says he should be open "Soon".
After a recent lunch at Ping with my friend's Denise and her man K I asked on a twitter post if anyone else was as underwhelmed with Andy Ricker's Ping as I am? This place opened with great hype, riding the PDX Asian street food wave created by his much better Pok Pok. Both times I have been to Ping I am always kind of "meh". Okay, so where are all these amazingly creative, vibrant flavors? From what I hear about Thai street food, you can have fireworks going off in your mouth. Ping is like a sparkler that gives you a minor thrill, then fizzles. It seems it has been dumbed down for local consumption. Some things I like: the octopus skewer (below right) was nicely
al dente with the requisite fire. The meat stuffing in the pork bao (pic at top) was very flavorful, but the bun surround was too chewy (and not a good deal at $4 each). The other things were....nice...but seemed to lack spark. And finally, I have to join the chorus that goes "what the hell is up with the skewers HAVING to be ordered by the 2 each?" If I'm by myself, maybe I only want one skewer so I can try more things. Would the orbit of the Ping kitchen really come to a screeching halt if they had to put out...gasp...one skewer?!? And I have to say, the few small bits of over-cooked lamb on that skewer for $6 (oh, wait, I meant $3 each as they are listed on the menu, but you have to order 2...*#@!%^) were not a terribly good deal...or a just plain terrible deal. The greater mystery is how can Pok Pok be so good, and this place not so much? Answers, anyone??*** *** *** *** ***
So, with being less than satisfied with the Ping lunch, Denise and I (sadly K had to go back to work) wandered a couple blocks down to Burnside and 4th, where the roving Koi Fusion Korean taco cart was parked for the day. In the food media world it seems you can't throw a tortilla without hitting an article about Korean taco carts. It started with the Kogi carts that are the hottest thing in L.A. dining. Koi owner Bo Kwon, inspired by a visit to Kogi decided to give us a Portland version. The Koi marinated meats are delicious. Fresh made corn tortillas, creative Asian style topping, and tender, very flavorful Bulgogi tacos and my favorite, the Korean Short Rib tacos are fantastic at $2 each (hello Ping? $2 each, 
and I can order ONE if I want). Both marinated in what their website calls "Mama Kwon’s secret sauce" they were spicy, savory, and sweet....and delicious! We also tried the spicy Bulgogi pork taco, which could have used a lot more seasoning. I can't wait to go back and try the two beef tacos again, as well as the Seoul Sliders, which are tacos with "Bulgogi BBQ beef, shredded napa cabbage, griddled onions, crisp bean sprouts and spicy mayo". You can find out where to get your Koi on by checking their twitter feed, and it is totally worth the chase!*** *** *** *** ***
TASTY BITS: A double shot of good news for those who like to get their caffeine high going. I was hanging outside the Spella Caffé coffee cart downtown, swilling another of owner Andrea Spella's perfect double espressos, when I found out he is opening a store at SW 5th and Alder that he hopes to have going by Dec. 1st. Great coffee without the raindrops falling on my head? I am so in!.....The other coffee shot is the news flash that Billy Wilson, owner of Barista coffee in the "Pearl", dropped on twitter yesterday that he has just signed a lease for a space on NE Alberta. Billy is a fanatic about sourcing high quality organic coffee from small boutique roasters around the U.S., and his drinks, as you'd expect from a champion barista, are top notch.
Add Pok Pok: It was written up in our local fishwrap that Pok Pok/Whiskey Soda Lounge owner Andy Ricker is opening a bar just kitty corner from his always rocking spot on SE Division, so us poor bastards who wait outside in all kinds of weather can have a warm, dry place inside to get some alcohol fueled warmth and a few tasty bar snacks. The new space will become Whiskey Soda Lounge and Pok Pok across the street will be just that.
*** *** *** *** ***
Just opened in my Sellwood 'hood (and conveniently just across the street from the wine shack) is a new food cart called Bruce Lee Kitchen. I've checked out their phat thai and red curry, both around $5 and $6, and was really impressed. The phat thai isn't quite a classic style, being somewhat spicier than your normal version, but it was bursting with fresh flavor. And I was even more smitten with cart owner Liza's red curry (pic at left), which was a deep, rich, lightly creamy and pungently flavored blast of palate pleasure. Great values, and an excellent compliment to the goodness always coming out of the Garden State cart which sits right next to BLK. My life continues to receive many tasty blessings!*** *** *** *** ***
Portland Monthly blogger Mike Thelin mentioned in his post Monday that Navarre's John Taboada is opening another space just down from Navarre on 22nd and E. Burnside he is going to call Luce (pron. loo-chay). It's a two room spot, one of which will house a large commercial kitchen, the other a spot Taboada hopes to turn into a dining room event space seating up to 60 people (a la Beast?). Taboada, whose Navarre was named "Restaurant of the Year" by The Oregonian last year, cagily says he should be open "Soon".
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Quick Bites PDX: Ping me; great gyros; damnable dim sum
In a blog post at our local daily fishwrap website, writer Karen Brooks has an update on the much awaited Andy "Pok-Pok" Ricker project Ping, opening in February in our, um, "Chinatown" area. if ever you needed proof of past lives and reincarnation, then Ricker may provide it with his American boy obsession with all things southeast Asian and delicious. He travels regularly overseas to Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, and elsewhere and brings back his inetrpretations of the best of the street foods he finds along the way. If Ping comes close to Pok Pok's authentic Asian food vibe, then we're in for a treat. Click here to read Brooks' report.
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The Greek inspired glory that is the gyros and fries at Foti's
One of my favorite spots for years when I'm tooling around midday and suddenly my stomach starts demanding attention is to pop into Foti's Greek Deli on SE Burnside and 18th. They've always had the best gyros in town, some addictive and thick slabs of Greek seasoned fries that are so freaking good (and the only time I indulge in a side of ranch dressing), plus other very well done Greek specialties and a damn good fried chicken with the same seasoning as on the fries. Plus if you're looking for that hard-to-find ingredient for your home cooked Greek feast, chances are you can grab it off the grocery shelves here. Give your order to Foti's über-nice wife who always seems to be at the counter, pull up a chair at one of their tables that take up one side of their store-cum-Greek taverna, sip a glass of ice cold retsina, and indulge the Mediterranean vibe!
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After our trip last year to China where, walking up to any number of street vendors, we ate some of the best dim sum on the planet (not to mention the SF/Oakland must stop East Ocean's awesome offerings for you traveling dim sum fanatics), we knew in Portland's inconsistent dim sum scene we'd never find the heights reached there. But we weren't prepared for the horrors that landed on our table during a recent visit to Fong Chong in old town. Without question the worst dim sum either of us has ever had. Plate after plate of heavy, ill prepared, greasy or wrapped too thickly bites. We tried four or five different things, didn't finish anything, and walked out. Somebody in that kitchen needs to either start caring or shut the doors. An unrelenting, unmitigated dining disaster!
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The Greek inspired glory that is the gyros and fries at Foti's##### ##### #####
After our trip last year to China where, walking up to any number of street vendors, we ate some of the best dim sum on the planet (not to mention the SF/Oakland must stop East Ocean's awesome offerings for you traveling dim sum fanatics), we knew in Portland's inconsistent dim sum scene we'd never find the heights reached there. But we weren't prepared for the horrors that landed on our table during a recent visit to Fong Chong in old town. Without question the worst dim sum either of us has ever had. Plate after plate of heavy, ill prepared, greasy or wrapped too thickly bites. We tried four or five different things, didn't finish anything, and walked out. Somebody in that kitchen needs to either start caring or shut the doors. An unrelenting, unmitigated dining disaster!
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