PDX Eats/Drinks: Castagna, Ristretto, Caffé Umbria, Bar Avignon, Foodcarts, and Beer!

A few favorite places where I've been getting my PDX food and drink on....
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CASTAGNA
If anyone is taking a bigger risk than Castagna owner Monique Siu in our local restaurant scene I haven't heard. She has taken one of the city's most respected dining rooms and totally remade it, with food that you have never been able to get in Portland and a remodeled dining room that is both cozy and chic. The food is nothing less than a new way to look at dining out here in PDX, with preparations and technique that no one else is doing. We went to the preview dinner a couple of weeks ago and were pretty impressed. But I was anxious to go back and check it out on a regular night. So last week w and I hooked up with our friends J&K to see what they're slinging. Based on the dinner we had, there is absolutely reason to be excited. The menu is short, with about 15 choices, from starters to mains descending down the page. You make a meal with two or three selections (ask your server for guidance if need be), which are listed by their ingredients, with the focus ingredient of the dish in bold letters to the left of that selection (click on the Castagna link at the top to see the menu). Not as complicated as it sounds, I promise. Highlights from our dinner included the "Crab", which was four small piles of fresh crab meat topped with toasted amaranth, with a few spots of lemon foam dotted around the plate (btw- LOVE the new serving pieces!) with browned butter pooled (lightly) in the middle of the plate. A bite of all of the ingredients together made the crab explode with flavor. Light, rich, intense all at the same time. That went for most everything we had, and shows that young gun chef Matthew Lightner, the 28-year old running the kitchen, has some serious confidence in his chosen skill set. My main course was an incredibly tender and delicious sous vide lamb breast, which was slow cooked for 28 hours at 160* (!!). Owner Siu has provided chef Lightner with some pretty cool new toys to play with in the kitchen. I for one can't wait to see how the show progresses. Prices are reasonable, with not small portions, making each menu choice something you can share, and believe me you'll want to!

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COFFEE SHOTS
Have you ever drunk blueberries and gotten your morning wakeup call at the same time? No? Neither had I until I tried Ristretto Roasters Ethiopian Sidamo coffee. Just opening the bag of beans the first hit you get is obviously coffee, but followed immediately by a distinctive blueberry aroma. That carries over into the cup, making this one of the more intriguing ways to get that morning groove going. Also in my pot has been their Mexican Santa Cruz roast, which doesn't have the blueberry but does have a seductive, spicy cocoa aroma and flavor. Owner Din Johnson sources out organic, single-origin beans from around the world and uses an obviously sure hand to coax the best from them......ADD RISTRETTO: Just this morning I had perhaps the best single shot of espresso (right) I've had in a long time at the Ristretto Williams Av. location. A perfectly smooth, not-bitter-at-all short pull (I hate those places that think an espresso should be 3 or 4 ounces of weakness in a cup), with an adorably inspired shot glass of sparkling water to refresh your palate if need be. I didn't since the shot was lingering in such a satisfying way!


If the espresso at Ristretto is the current king of shots, then I also have to give huge ups to the cappuccino which I remain enthralled with at Caffé Umbria on NW 12th & Glisan. This is everything a cappuccino should be: deeply flavored coffee topped with a light, fluffy foam that is always beautifully presented in the cup. For me the key to a great capp is, besides a smooth coffee, is the foam. The Umbria foam is perfect, making their cappuccino the best I've had outside Italy. And like the sparkling h2o at Ristretto, I love that Umbria gives you a tiny piece of Italian dark chocolate with your drink, a perfectly satisfying amuse bouche to nibble with your cup.

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BAR AVIGNON
I wrote up the new happenings at Bar Avignon a few weeks ago. I've had the good fortune in the last two weeks to be able to eat twice more at BA where new chef Jeremy Eckels is continuing to fine tune his menu. Very farm driven food which is expertly prepared and served to the fortunate hungry crowd at ridiculously affordable prices. Everything I've had has been pretty freaking fabulous (w is particularly enamored with their seafood stew, and on my last visit I had an unbelievably moist and tender pork loin). Take that along with their very reasonably priced wine list and this is without question among the top one or two best deals in local dining. Get thee to a bar stool (for 2 people their bar is definitely the place to camp out for dinner) or grab a booth on SE 22nd and Division soon and you'll eat exceedingly well without having your wallet vacuumed out!

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WHIFFIES and POTATO CHAMPION
I stopped last night to grab a bite at the post-apocalyptic foodcart pod that resides at SE 12th and Hawthorne to grab some cheap grub after a wine tasting at VINO. I've been following Whiffies fried hand pie cart on twitter and been reading about their amazing savory pies but for various reasons hadn't tried them out. Same goes for Potato Champion, home to poutine in P-town. So last night the time was right. The only two savory pies on offer last night at Whiffies were the BBQ Beef Brisket and Pumpkin Curry so of course I grabbed both ($4 each) along with a small cone of fries from P.C. ($3.50) to take home to share with w. Man, if you need to get your fried food on to ensure you'll wake up at 2a.m. desperately thirsty, this stuff is the deal....and worth it, IMO! The P.C. fries (I skipped the poutine for now) were excellent, fluffy and potatoey, perfectly fried and salty and I am instantly hooked on their tarragon-anchovy mayo dipping sauce. Then you have the fried half moons from Whiffies. First off a light, not-too-dry dough wrapped around some amazing filling. The brisket would have done any bbq joint proud, and the vegan pumpkin curry was like a bite of savory pumpkin pie, like having Thanksgiving dinner in New Delhi. The hipster/alt vibe runs strong at this corner, and that's not a bad thing when you can chow this cheaply and this well!


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GREEN DRAGON PUB
After a "hard" day of tasting wine with the reps who schlep their product, some days endlessly, through the doors at the wine shack, NOTHING gets the taste of too much grape juice out of my mouth than a refreshing, palate cleansing IPA. Lately I've been meeting my über-talented artist friend Amy Ruppel for beers and bitching at southeast PDX's bastion of all that is malty, hoppy, and alcohol fueled, the Green Dragon Pub. Already boasting one of the best selections in our beer deranged town, the GDP has just opened their Back 30 Bar, with 30 more choices of carb loaded goodness to choose from. Me thinks this is what they mean by "the good life getting better"!

It's not your mother's Castagna

Hell, it isn't even close to the Castagna YOU knew three weeks ago. That is how big the changes are. Owner Monique Siu had mentioned how this was like opening a brand new restaurant, and she couldn't have been more right. From the interior changes to a menu unlike any other in town, the game has changed on SE 18th and Hawthorne. But did it change for the better? That's what I was hoping to find out when I received an invite to a preview dinner last night.

I have to say first off this isn't a review of the restaurant. It's way too early for any passing of judgment. But I can give you my observations. One of the biggest gripes a lot of people have always had about Castagna is what, in some opinions (not mine), was a too stark dining room. Those who held that misguided thought should be very happy with the new paint scheme Monique introduced. The two end walls have gone form stark white to a warm brown, and new banquettes in a brown fabric line three walls now. The effect is to make for a cozier, more intimate dining space, and I really like how it feels.

Now, the food. I can only guess how much pressure is on 28 year old Matthew Lightner, who has taken control of the Castagna helm and done a 180* mid course turn. It's a gutsy move for Monique and Matthew to take an icon of Portland's dining scene and make such a drastic change. The same local food source philosophy still holds, but the menu shows how much has changed. What you'll be handed when you sit down is a one page sheet of 15 choices of appetizers and entrées, ranging in price from a very reasonable $10-$22. It's not your normal choice of app, then main of protein-veg-starch. With this menu you have the responsibility to make you own meals, and I can see it will be incumbent on the staff to help guide the customer through this new landscape. To the left of each menu choice there is one word in bold, like "tomato, or "chestnuts", etc., that is the main focus of that selection, the other ingredients working to bring out the essence of each focus item. One dish in and the "new" Castagna was in full evidence. We started with the "Tomatoes" (above left), which was ripe cherry tomatoes with oysters, the whole topped with a surprising, and striking horseradish "snow". This is accomplished with one of the many new toys Lightner has to play with in his kitchen. In this instance horseradish is frozen in nitrogen, then blended to form an icy powder before being sprinkled on top of the tomatoes and oysters. Really fresh flavors, and the icy snow was like nothing I've ever had.

Next up was "Fall Harvest" (left), a bright mélange of local greens...hyssop, mustard, amaranth...placed into a bowl (BTW- the new serving pieces are beautiful) and then the server pours a parmesan broth around the greens as a sort of dressing. Parmesan broth....I don't seem to remember anything like at the old Castagna! This too worked in a surprisingly delicious way, the salad again super fresh and each bite seemed to yield a different flavor. Following that was "Leeks", describes as mussels, char grilled leeks, fresh cream, charred hazelnuts. This was a beautiful plate, the roasted leeks tender, and sprinkled with bits of charred leek pieces and black specks of ash lending a smoky sidelight to the fresh mussels. Neither w or I could detect any hint of hazelnut in this dish however.

Then it was on to the protein courses, which paradoxically was started with a dish called "Cabbage". What it was was a sous vide piece of halibut with whey that was meltingly moist and tender, topped with steamed savoy cabbage and sitting on top of fresh ricotta, with sprinklings of dill adding a needed herbal edge. Again a broth was lightly poured around the piece of halibut. Next on the protein parade was, of course, "Celery Root", which was oxtails that had been braised in local hard cider on a piece of celery root in ash (!!), with thinly sliced apple and cress. This was a very nice, savory/sweet bite, with the apples and cress providing that needed textural contrast.

Last up of the main dish samples was easily the most unusual thing we tried all night. Delicious, but way different than anything I've had. A piece of aged rib eye (cooked perfectly medium rare but a bit tough) surrounded by fingerling potatoes and topped by a translucent piece of smoked fat and topped by oxalis. I would at first think this might be over the top...I mean a sheet of fat??...but it actually melted in your mouth, providing a sense of smokiness to the beef and potato, with the very savory oxalis herb adding it's bitter/floral compliment. Did I mention this was a different Castagna?

To finish we had two different desserts, which are conceived by Lightner and Castagna's pastry chef. First an elderberry baba, a light, slightly sweet cake, with a stewed prune and an intensely flavored scoop of coconut ice cream and an elderberry broth surrounding it. The lightly floral cake and the coconut ice cream played very well together. Then they brought out a chocolate mousse that was sensational. Mousse cake with a cocoa crumble on one side, and more "snow" on the other, this time of the white chocolate variety. The texture contrast on this was spot on, and again the "snow" provided such a surprising twist and a cool, palate refreshing match to the creamy mousse.

So is this a good thing happening at Castagna? When Monique came by the table and in talking afterward, you can sense her excitement at this huge change, and she and Lightner are absolutely taking Portland dining in a new, modern-thinking direction, giving a modern twist to the whole farm-to-table ethos. Lightner came out of the kitchen, and in a short conversation at our table we were struck by his seriousness and well spoken commitment to what he's trying to accomplish, which belies his young age. I can tell there's going to be some surprised, confused looks on the faces of longtime Castagna regulars, but my thought is if they give Siu and Lightner's vision a chance, the rewards are evident. The prices are certainly reasonable, and it is going to be very compelling ride watching Lightner's steer off in new directions.

The "new" Castagna

as kind of a teaser to the preview dinner I'm going tonight, I just got the following press release from Castagna's PR flaks detailing a few of the many changes at the restaurant (as owner Monique Siu told me "we are basically opening a brand new restaurant"), a bio of new chef Matt Lightner (who at just 28 has got to be under more pressure than any cook in town), and the new menu which will debuting this Saturday the 10th. I'll be reporting on tonight's dinner tomorrow....stay tuned!
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PORTLAND, Oregon – (October 8, 2009) – Just back from Castagna’ s new garden, Executive Chef Matthew Lightner sorts his treasures of herbs, flowers and produce to consider the best way to bring out the natural flavors of each ingredient. Sometimes appearing more like a detective than chef, Lightner looks to the ingredients to tell the story, drawing from a vast history of cooking traditions as well as modern techniques as he creates each new dish. He puzzles over the perfect technique to use– from grilling or brining to smoking or curing, and even welcomes more modern innovations like sous vide, which uses braising to bring out the intense flavors of certain cuts of meat like leg of lamb and pork cheeks.

“I want the flavors to be clearly in focus in each dish,” said Lightner. “The cooking technique needs to be the right one to coax the authentic flavors from each ingredient.”

Menu Brings out Flavor of Place
With Lightner’s new menu debuting on October 10th, diners at Castagna can expect a close connection to the local farmers and foragers who passionately oversee our food source. The dining room menu will change often in respect for what is available on the local farms and in the Castagna garden.

Seasonal Menu

SAVORY
Tomatoes oysters, preserved tomatoes, horseradish
Crab dungeness crab, amaranth, lemon, cardamom
Matsutake mushrooms, pine nuts, roe, garlic
Fall Harvest vegetables and greens of the season, parmesan
Beets scallops, grapefruit, beets, walnuts
Leeks mussels, char grilled leeks, cream, charred hazelnuts
Tubers potatoes, sunchokes, carrots, pancetta, aioli
Salsify marrow, roasted salsify, bread crumbs, brown butter
Chestnuts agnolotti of chestnut, pecorino, prosciutto,
Duck egg seeds, grains, rye crisp, slow egg and jus
Cabbage halibut, fresh ricotta, whey, savoy cabbage, mustard
Onions salt cod, pickled, grilled and smoked onions, garlic
Celery root oxtails, celery root in ash, apples, cress
Potxas lamb, beans, toasted seeds, peppers, onions
Beef aged rib eye, smoked fat, oxali s

SWEET
Apple cream tart, apple, caramel, fresh cheese
Hazelnuts ice cream, frozen meringue, pears
Chocolate mousse, almond streusel, frozen white chocolate
Elderberry prune, coconut,st. germaine baba
Sorbets carrot, apple, banana in ginger brew

From Iberian Pig Farms to Portland’s Food Scene
Matt Lightner, 28, oversees the kitchens at both Castagna and Café Castagna after his recent immersion in Spanish culture and cuisine, including an 18-month stint at Mugaritz, one of the most esteemed restaurants in the culinary world. While in Spain, he met with some of the country’s artisan producers and growers – from a tour of olive presses in Andalusia to Iberian pig farms and cheese caves in the Basque region. During his tenure in Spain, Lightner studied with Ferran Adria, Andoni Aduriz and Juan Mari Arzak through the Icex program, a culinary program for select chefs to visit Spain’s modern restaurants and artisan producers.

As the new executive chef at Castagna Restaurant in Portland, Oregon, Lightner, will take over one of Portland’s most respected kitchens -- known for its sustained commitment to locally grown ingredients. “I hope to bring Castagna’s menu even closer to the farmers and foragers and create dishes using a variety of techniques I studied in both the kitchens of Europe and closer to home in the Pacific NW and California.”

At Mugaritz, Lightner was immersed in a Spanish culture passionate about pure and true flavors and found a new love for the botanical side of food. “Working at one of the best restaurants in the world has elevated my connection to food and how to celebrate one single ingredient to allow for its true flavor to emerge. I also want to honor the sourcing of each ingredient and make the activity of finding the herb, flower or seed part of the overall dining experience.”

Prior to cooking in Spain and spending a month at Noma in Copenhagen, Lightner held many positions up and down the West Coast. In 2006 he was the chef de cuisine at L’Auberge in Del Mar, California where he worked alongside James Beard award-winning chef Paul McCabe. He also learned French culinary techniques from French Master Chefs Philippe Boulot of the Heathman Restaurant and Francis Perrot of Fairbanks Ranch.

“We are all excited to welcome Matt into our Castagna family,” said owner Monique Siu. “Matt shares our philosophy of creating food that is the cleanest, clearest, most natural expression of our local ingredients. His modern-natural cuisine coaxes the most flavor from the best ingredients using both ancient and modern techniques.”

Dining Room Gets Fresh Look
Castagna’s dining room received a fresh new design by local architects Jeff Stuhr and Kevin Valk of Holst Architecture. As the original designers for the restaurant, Holst remains true to the earlier concept of a minimalist, clean dining room void of clutter. “We wanted everything to be about the food and the people and let the room design enhance the flavors and presentation found on the plate,” said Siu. “The updated remodel still allows for the food to be in focus, but we have added warmer hues and more intimate spaces within the dining room.”

About Castagna
Located adjacent to the Ladd’s Addition neighborhood in Southeast Portland, Castagna has been a culinary destination for more than ten years offering sophisticated dishes prepared simply with seasonal ingredients and influences from France and Italy. Monique Siu and Executive Chef Matt Lightner collaborate on recipe and menu development. Castagna is open 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday at 1752 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd. For more information call 503-231-7373 or visit www.castagnarestaurant.com

Quick Bites PDX: Castagna

Heeding the call of our president that we all must do what we can in this moment of national crises, I have decided the best way I can help the economy...and by extension the United States of America...is to take every opportunity to stimulate the local food economy. I am pledging to all of you loyal E.D.T. readers eat even more delicious food, caring not at all about personal consequences, sacrificing my waistline in order to better others lives. With that altruistic thought foremost in my mind, I gathered some like minded friends together the other night for a dinner at Castagna here in Portland. I am a way-too-regular bar rat at the café side of Castagna, and haven't had dinner the "regular" restaurant for some time. It is without question one of the best restaurants in Portland, but with all the satisfaction the café provides next door, it inexplicably falls off my radar.

Seeking to remedy that oversight we walked through the doors into Castagna's coolly elegant dining room. Now there are some people who don't like the minimalist, sort of Euro-clean aesthetic of the room. I used to be among them, thinking it was too stark. But over the years it has really grown on me. I very much like the feel, open and airy, a room that keeps your focus on the seasonal, immaculately prepared food. There were six of us, so I knew we'd be able to sample a full range of the temptations on the menu. We started out with cocktails and prosecco while we pondered our options. We couldn't resist the Duck Confit Agnolotti in brodo, which were tender, savory little stuffed pasta bites in a clean yet rich broth. The Dungeness Crab and Pea Shoot salad is a Castagna classic, with generous portions of crab and bits of pea shoot filling a martini glass, dressed with a very lightly creamy dressing and topped with a chopped egg "mimosa". We also shared the Tres Tapas (pic at left) of chorizo buñuelos, mussels escabeche, and grilled prawns with Seville Orange Aioli (and yes, that aioli was as crazy delicious as it sounds!); the Mache and Beet Salad; and the Monterey Bay Calamari with fideos (small bits of pasta) and aioli. All were done really well in Castagna's signature clean, not too heavy style. To share with everyone (did I mention my selflessness? oh, I did??) I brought along a bottle of 2001 Bernard Moreau Chassagne-Montrachet "1er Cru Morgeot". Pretty good chardonnay if I can say so. Well, actually it was incredible fucking chardonnay....rich, creamy, minerally, still bright fruit and acid, this long, luscious finish, drinking right where you want it. The kind of chardonnay that only the Burgundians can make, and what American winemakers can only dream about!

From that promising beginning, we were moving on with our evenings "work". Entrées were ordered...short ribs (pic at right) for me, muscovy duck leg for w, and around the table a grilled New York steak; Vol au vent (puff pastry filled with creamily sauced mix of Oregon black truffle, salsify, and potato-leek potage); and I am missing what the other two were. Doesn't matter, because they were good and we already have enough to cover. My short rib dish was about as rich and decadent as a beef entrée can get. Braised in red wine with yellowfoot chanterelles and pancetta, along with a side of potato purée, I was in heaven. I've been on a serious short rib kick lately, and the tender, fall-off-the-bone meat at Castagna hit all of my "nice" buttons. w thought it was a tad rich, but that just meant for me it was just right! w's Muscovy Duck Leg was braised in Seville orange juice and served with polenta and a crispy speck-cabbage roll. I thought this was a fabulous plate of goodness. The sweet-bitter braising liquid couldn't have been better with the naturally rich duck, and the slight crunch of the roll and soft polenta filled you mouth with so many different textural sensations. One of those rare plates that would keep you coming back for more to see what happens with each bite. I thought this was a very nicely thought out and executed dish. The New York was of course perfectly medium-rare, the meat from Cascade Natural, only confirming that the NY steak is about as good as a piece of cow can get. The Vol au vent while good was the only dish that didn't really knock me out. I thought it could have had a little more intensity, and fell a bit flat. But then I took another bite of the glory that was my short rib, and all was well. Drinks with this course: 2006 Joel Rochette Morgon "Les Micouds" ($35), the reason why the gamay grape is one of the world's great food reds; and a 2004 Rabasse-Charavin Cotes du Rhone Villages "Cairanne" ($45), southern French character and just what the steak and short ribs needed. As an aside, I wish they would have had the '04 Rabasse-Charavin "les Cailloux", which is actually a bit less money and I think delivers much more flavor impact. Not that the "Cairanne" didn't work it pretty hard, but in my fantasy world everything is perfect, you know?!

So that left us with the sweet task of ordering desserts, never a problem with this crowd. Ordered and consumed with much delighted moaning:
-Pistachio Praline Semi-freddo with chocolate sauce (pic at left)...gorgeous to look at AND eat. The best of our desserts.
-Lemon Tartelette with huckleberries...sweet-sour lemon with sweet berries. Do I even need to say this was a great match?
-Chocolate Pavé...a chocolate soufflé cake layered with chocolate ganache. I am a whore for good chocolate cake and this was one that I would happily sleep with. No, I really would!
-Vanilla Panna Cotta....I hadn't had a good panna cotta since Italy almost two years ago (including a "crime against humanity" version at DOC). This reassured me that someone other than the Italians really gets what custard should be (yes DP, another custard you would love!).
And of course we had to share the greatest after dinner dessert wine that always works with virtually anything you match it with, a bottle of 2007 La Spinetta Moscato d'Asti "Biancospina". All the lightly fizzy, peachey refreshment you could ask for.

This was a such a well done dinner, and it's interesting but not surprising how the food echoes the dining room...clean, comfortable, fresh, keeping your your focus on the basic pleasures good food provides. It seems that too many people look at Castagna as a "special occasion" restaurant, but it really shouldn't be be with their reasonable pricing on both the menu and wine list, the always excellent service, and regularly changing, seasonal menu.
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ADD CASTAGNA: For three consecutive Thursdays, starting on March 19th, Castagna will be putting on Thursday Flight wine dinners featuring lesser known Italian and French winemakers and their organic and biodynamic wines. A flight of three wines paired with a four course dinner is just $45, which if it is anywhere near the experience I had Thursday qualifies as a helluva deal! Click here for details.

Ha and Vl: Noodle heaven! + Genoa r.i.p?: Another view.

Always on the lookout for new and delicious ways to get my food fix here in PDX, last Monday I went to the food mecca that is SE 82nd Avenue......wait, food mecca AND 82nd Avenue?? Maybe, if you want to eat your Big Mac in the used car you just bought off one of the innumerable car dealers with the hooker you just picked up on the street. At least that is the shared perception. But as in most cities, where suburbanites fear to tread are where food cognoscenti know to find some of the best places to nosh on authentic Asian food. Where the rents are cheap is where the newly minted communities set up their shops, serving their native foods to others who miss that taste of home. I had read about Ha and Vl on the website of our local fishwrap The Oregonian, where Karen Brooks raved about their hand crafted bowls of noodle soup. Tasting is believing, so Monday morning found me pulling into the parking lot of the charmingly named Wing Ming Square, a mini-mini mall of all things Asian and entering through the portal of Ha and Vl. There's something exceedingly satisfying knowing that at 9:30 in the morning, when most office workers are wiping the powdered sugar off their shirts from that donut they just pounded, I'm sitting down for what turned out to be perhaps the best bowl of soup I've had in town. The room itself is fairly small, with brightly painted walls, and a TV in the corner that on this morning was playing a Steven Seagal blow-'em-up movie. Perhaps the perfect backdrop to the flavor explosions that were going on in my mouth from my bowl of Bun Rieu, a shrimp paste based broth with loads of noodles and pieces of pork, soft tofu, peppers, onion, and tomato with just the right chili bite to slap the last of the morning funk out of my head. Incredibly fresh, you can taste the care that goes into each bowl. Every day they do one soup (two on Sundays) that is usually sold out by noon. At $7 for a very large bowl, this is about as good as breakfast can get! Also don't miss their perfect Vietnamese coffee. I ordered it in "strong" mode. Like Steven Seagal, if I'm going in, I'm going in hard! Also Tanya (Tonia? Tonya?), who is the daughter of owners Owners Ha Luu and William Voung H. (the "ha" and "Vl" of the name) was SO nice. I've also got my eye on their exceedingly affordable bahn mi sandwiches. This is the real deal, and worth the trip to the badlands of east Portland. And for all you B&T'ers who travel in trepidation, don't worry, the hookers usually don't hit the streets until the afternoon...um, so I've heard.
Ha and Vl, 2738 S.E. 82nd Ave., 503-772-0103, 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday and 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday
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In Portland Genoa Restaurant for over three decades was a Portland institution, a temple of Italian food that garnered loads of national press for it's authentic, usually impeccably prepared food. It was also the incubator for several of Portland's current top chefs, including Kevin Gibson of Castagna and Evoe, Cathy Whims at Nostrana, and John Taboada of Navarre among many others. There's been much hand-wringing over it's recent closure, with everyone saying what a loss it is and how could this happen. Yes, it was one of the first restaurants in town that showed how good serious restaurant dining can be. But I have to take issue with owner Kerry DeBuse's explanation that the current economic downturn had been lethal to his restaurant: "I've seen serious recessions over the decades at Genoa," DeBuse told The Oregonian, "but nothing to compare to the economic meltdown in which we now find ourselves. We cannot continue as an economically viable business." Gee, does that sound familiar? Like the auto moguls on view in the District this week, Mr. DeBuse seemingly wasn't willing to change with the times. His contention that "it all changed 180 degrees within a week of the recent (Wall Street) crash" isn't exactly a mea culpa. These things don't happen overnight. Stubbornly clinging on to his expensive, fixed-price, special occasion only menu like Ford clinging to its SUV hegemony, rather than offering ala carte options to make it more accessible to the masses, he saw customers leaving for the less expensive options in town when they wanted that "night out" experience. His corner location was also a prime spot, and I could never figure out how they wouldn't open it up to the street, drawing people in by making them curious as to what was happening inside, instead keeping the windows facing SE Belmont covered in a tired, frankly unattractive dull reddish wrap. The restaurant business is like any other be it cars, newspapers, my wine business, what have you. Like the dinosaurs found out, those who fail to adapt to changing times become pieces of history.

PDX Food Happenings: Quick Bites

One food happening and one new opening you need to know about
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This Sunday, Sept. 28, at Castagna (1752 SE Hawthorne/ 503.231.7373) they are going to be having an incredible Greek feast with food by chef Elias Cairo and my pal and ever-entertaining Greek wine god Dino Ariston. Dino has made a couple of unforgettable appearances at VINO's Friday soirées, and he knows his stuff like nobody else. The menu looks pretty off the hook, too. Included will be:
* Grilled sardines, octopus and prawns
* Roasted mussels
* Spit roasted Cattail Creek lamb
* A plethora of side dishes including:
* Skordalia and salt cod
* Greek gigantes beans
* Psefto Keftedes: assorted vegetable "meatballs"
* Yemista: assorted stuffed vegetables
* Epirote style pita
All this incredible food and wine will set you back only $75 a person. An amazing deal, and if I hadn't planned on having people over to our house Sunday I would be there in a heartbeat!
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Also just opened, TODAY, on the corner of SE 13th and Lexington and someone I'm very excited to have as a new neighbor is Blue Kangaroo Coffee Roasters. Owner Cindy Wallace and her partners, along with roasting savant Flo Posadas, have been roasting small batch coffee out of their home on Sauvie Island and selling it around town to a few select accounts. Now they've decided to take the plunge, and their new coffee shop (and soon-to-be micro roastery) on the corner looks like another great addition to our Sellwood 'hood. You'll find free Wi-Fi, newspapers on the tables, and homemade pastries (by Cindy's sister-in-law) to wash down with their drinks. I'm having a cup of their house coffee right now and it is excellent...very smooth, a dark roast with no bitterness. Stop by and check it out!

PDX Food Notes

A couple of quick summer notes to those who, like me, find themselves hungry and thirsty this summer. If you're fortunate enough to live in Portland it helps........

First off, Castagna is starting up their annual series of fabulously thirst quenching and appetite satisfying rosé dinners. I've been to several over the past couple of years, and they are always a great value at $50 for four courses with wine at one of the best restaurants in town! Click on the link above for more details.
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Another restaurant I am totally stoked for and went for the first time (more soon on that) this week was Biwa over on 215 SE 9th Street. Awesome Japanese food at a great price. They have just announced their sidewalk dining area has just opened, plus they have recently put out their new summer menu. Click the link to check it out. Believe me, based on my experience you need to be there. Cool space, great people. What more do you want?!
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Two new restaurants opening soon are 50 Plates in the Pearl; and Belly over on NE Fremont and MLK in the old Terroir spot, both much anticipated. I've been fortunate enough to be invited to their media preview dinners, so you'll get the lowdown soon!

Season's Eatings!

With spring finally hitting us here in PDX, my thoughts of course turn to what new seasonal delights I get to stuff in my ever hungry pie hole. It's good to know that in the next couple of weeks, if I don't feel like cooking springs bounty from the farmer's market, then my pals at Castagna have me covered with two fantastic special dinners that celebrate the best of what's fresh. At $45 a pop...including wine!...these are great dining bargains. I've done several Castagna wine dinners in the past, and they always deliver.
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SPRING ASPARAGUS DINNER
Wednesday May 7th 6:30 pm

~ Asparagus soup with fried morels
~ Pork schnitzel with asparagus
~ Elder flower ice cream

SPRING MOREL DINNER
Wednesday May 21st 6:30 pm

~ Vol au vent with morels & asparagus
~ Coq au vin Jaune with morels
~ Rhubarb crème brulée tart

$45 a person includes wine
call 503 231.7373 for reservations
Castagna
1752 SE Hawthorne Blvd.
Portland, Or 97214

Iowa, Meat, and Rock'n Roll!

I couldn't wait to get out to Gartner's Meats here in PDX this morning. Maybe it was the fact that I was listening to "Marseilles", this rocking 1980 hit from Angel City that got stuck in my head while I was in the shower. I don't know about you, but almost every morning there seems to be some song rolling around in my dome as soon as I wake up. I've offered full disclosure to my friends that more often than I'm comfortable with that song is "High on the Hill is a Lonely Goatherd" from The Sound of Music. I don't even want to know why that might be. Anyway, this morning w and I were talking about the French national anthem, La Marseillaise, just as I was getting in the shower. Then she left the room, and my rock-addled mind switched over to Marseilles by Angel City. I'm not proud of the fact that I kind of like that song, but it is what it is. Anyway, I got out of the shower, downloaded it from Limewire, and much to w's dismay, cranked it up. And thought about meat.

The longest meat counter on the west coast. Mmmm...beefy!






My meat being tied up, just moments from my hungry little hands!


We're having our friends from Castagna, Monique and the Handsome One, over for dinner tonight, because the H.O.'s parents are in town from Iowa, and we'll be tonight's diversion. Iowa, meat, and rock 'n roll. It all goes together. Especially when you get to go to the Mecca of meat here, Gartner's Meats. Gartner's has been out in the hinterlands by the airport for about 50 years. Surrounded by a neighborhood filled with homeowners who seem to think the best place for the fridge is the front porch and who never met a car that they thought didn't look better up on blocks, this place is the deal to get your pound or a hundred of flesh. This is old school butchering. You've got some animal from the forest strapped to the hood of your car? Come on in. Need a side of beef in a hurry? They'll hook you up. Pork, beef, chicken, house smoked sausages? They've got you so covered. And don't even think about leaving without their famous pepperoni sticks for the drive home. At 9:15 this morning in the car on my way to work, nothing tastes better. Especially when I've got a comforting 6.5-pound three rib prime roast that in a few short hours will be sizzling in my oven sitting next to me. Stay tuned tomorrow and I'll let you know how it goes. Rock on!

Gartner's pepperoni sticks....don't leave for home without 'em!

Portland food rants, plus a crackback from Seattle

Our local fishwrap, The Oregonian, every year puts out their local restaurant guide. This year's issue came out this morning, and the local foodie scene will be buzzing. This years winner is Chef Andy Ricker's Thai food shack/restaurant Pok Pok..or Whisky Soda Lounge depending on your preference. Both names get you some of the best Thai-style street food on the west coast. Very deserved, and if you like explosive flavors, this is the place. Although I do have to say we were there last week when they rolled out their new menu, and it was slightly flat. Hopefully a one night aberration.

Best ironic moment from the Oregonian Diner guide: Gabriel Rucker, indie chef of the moment whose restaurant Le Pigeon is one of my personal favorite spots to get my grub on and my pick for Best of the Year, and who has never met a stick of butter or piece of offal he didn't want throw on a plate, was named by the paper Rising Star of the Year 2007. Very flattering I'm sure, but his picture on the cover of the new Food and Wine Magazine has gotta carry a little more juice and I'm guessing will be the one in the frame on the wall.

More Food and Wine Mag: Ex-local wunderkind chef/train wreck Michael Hebberoy, who drove Gotham Tavern/Ripe/Clarklewis and his marriage off a cliff before high tailing it to Seattle has an article about the the indie restaurant/food scene in Seattle in the new F&W issue. Local PDX chefs (along with any number of winemakers) like Greg Higgins of Higgins, Scott Dolich of Park Kitchen, and Kevin Gibson of Castagna, who could cook MH 's ass under the prep table any time, must have loved his parting crackback on his Portland experience: "What I loved about Portland was the unabashed amateurism. The farmers were learning how to farm, the winemakers learning how to ferment, the cooks learning how to cook (many chefs even lying about their pedigrees and staying up late to work on their supposed three-star skills)." This from a guy who left a trail of lawsuits blowing in the wind as he drove out of town after his own restaurants imploded. Hey, no sense looking in the mirror, right M?
*thanks to Portland Food and Drink for the heads up on the Hebberoy story

A fashionably satisfying evening!

Last night another reason why I love my life. My friend Jake runs the marketing for Portland retail fashion icon Mario's. In our humble burg, if you want Armani, you go to Mario's. Prada, Zegna, Dolce & Gabbana? Ditto. So I get a call from Jake talking about his plans for their fall catalog. Jake is a big wine fan, and he wants to go with a wine theme this issue, so I hooked him up with two of our local wine icons, John Paul from Cameron Winery and David O'Reilly from Owen Roe.



Bright and brilliant Oregon Box Crab Salad with arugula and grapefruit!

We met for dinner and conversation at Castagna, as you know one of my favorite places to get my grub on. Owner/chef Kevin Gibson put together an incredible seven course tasting menu (corner left) to go with some crazy bottles of wine John and David brought. It was a fantastic evening listening to David and John talk about their experiences, philosophy, their commitment to sustainable, organic, non-manipulative winemaking practices. Oh, and the food rocked, and the wines were off the hook.

John Paul, larger than life!

Highlights for me? For wine all seven bottles opened were stunning. Among John's offerings was a superb bottle of his 2001 "Clos Electrique" Blanc, a dead ringer for a great white burgundy, and still so young, filled with character. Simply awesome. Among the Owen Roe offerings, David's '06 "DuBrul" Riesling, '05 "Kilmore" Pinot and a staggering '04 "Slide Mountain" Cab Franc blew us away. And of course Kevin's food was spot on. Not a weak moment from the lighter than air gougeres to the sensual semi-freddo. My palate was rocked by the box crab salad, his house cured meats (the lardo was insane!), and perfectly pillowy agnolotti that both John and I agreed were the equal to anything we've eaten in Italy. Then his savory, earthy squab breast with English peas and morels with John's '05 "Dundee Hills" Pinot and David's '05 "Kilmore" was one of those perfect wine and food moments that almost makes me weep. The lamb chop and pistachio-praline semi-freddo were equally incredible.

Agnolotti with spinach, speck, and parmesan in a heavenly broth!





A wildly satisfying night, and a huge reminder that I am so fortunate to be able to have these experiences. Wow!

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Add Castagna: If you've been putting off experiencing the sublime pleasure of eating in Castagna's dining room, through June 21st parties of four can save $20 off their tab (parties of more will save $5 off each diner's entrée). Just grab one of the postcards off the front table when you walk in and save $5 per person. This is a great offer, and a wonderful chance to take advantage of Kevin and Monique's classic seasonal cooking from the area's best local food purveyors! Call 503.231.7373 for reservations.

Heaven on Hawthorne

A lot of you know that I am a total honk for the amazing food put out at Castagna Café here in Portland. I go there more than any other place in town, and nobody in America takes care of my burger craving like the juicy morsels that come spinning off the grill there. And don't even get me started on the fries. Potato perfection! But all too often I feel I'm giving short shrift to the Café's big brother next door, Castagna.

This is the original, the inspiration for all the goodness at the café and for my money one of the two best restaurants in town. Actually one of the best restaurants I've eaten at anywhere. Owners Monique Siu and Kevin Gibson have created a casually elegant and comfortable dining oasis on SE Hawthorne Boulevard. I love the understated dining room, and the chairs are so comfy. So, to make up for past neglect, w and I went for dinner last Wednesday, and of course were knocked out by the food we had. w hadn't been, except for a time at a wine dinner a few months ago where the couple across from us who we didn't know ended up getting in a fight, with her crying and him acting like a control freak ass. Oh, the best part was it was her birthday. "Gee honey, Happy Birthday. Could you quit crying on your dessert, please?"

Okay, major digression, but an all time restaurant story. So, we show up, no tears on the horizon, and have our palates knocked out by the food and beverage. We started with a couple of glasses of Guy Charlemagne Champagne Blanc de Blancs which was sublime, and the perfect thing to have with our starters of a 1/2 dozen Malaspina Oysters, Wild Watercress Soup, and what they call the Trio, which is a revolving seasonal offering. That night it was roasted Chioggia beets, fried cardoon, and a feta & thyme salad. All so good. Then chef Kevin Gibson took liberties because he is well acquainted with my love of the cured pork product, and sent out a plate of Belgian endive and apple salad with slices of their house cured lomo. His lomo was off the hook, silky texture, rich flavor...better than the best prosciuotto you've ever had. Too good.

Then on to the entrées, where Kevin (aka The Handsome One) hit it on the screws with both our dishes. w had the Coq au Vin Jaune, which was chicken thighs braised with Vin Jaune and morels with Betty's Noodles. It was so nice, the earthy morels playing the perfect counterpoint to the rich sauce and the fork tender chicken. I had the leftovers yesterday for lunch, and it was maybe even better! I ordered the Sautéed Muscovy Duck breast, which was I think the most tender, perfectly cooked duck breast I've ever had, and as if it needed more richness, it was set in a small pool of sauce Cassis. It was served with Swiss chard and pommes Dauphin, little fried fingers of mashed potato. Needless to say, my plate was practically licked clean. For our drinking pleasure, I had pulled a bottle of 1997 Panaretta Chianti Classico out of the cellar. It was perfect, a classic Italian sangiovese drinking at it's absolute peak. Yum!

And yes, we had room for dessert. After much deliberation we chose a sensually creamy crème brulée served with a mini chocolate pot de crème, and also a crazy good tart-sweet Meyer lemon tart with huckleberry sauce. Somehow we managed to swill down a glass of Moscato d'Asti, which is always an acceptable way to finish. All in all, Kevin and his kitchen crew rocked us, and if you live here in PDX or planning a visit, put this on your list of must-go places!

The Source!

This is new to me. After years spent walking out of New Seasons (which I still love shopping at) with my hands heavier with two bags of groceries but my wallet lighter by about $65, I have found the source. It gives heading east a whole new meaning. I have recently discovered the joys of shopping at two of PDX's great culinary secrets. The real goods at supremely inexpensive prices can be found at two of Portland's best Asian markets: Fubonn Supermarket (2850 SE 82nd Ave.) and ABC Seafood Market (6509 SE Powell Blvd.). Here you'll find some things you'll have to work at to use, i.e.:

But I am enthralled with the possibilities walking the aisles of Fubonn and dreaming....or drooling. We've been buying wonderfully fresh whole trout here lately. Oh, and at $2.68 per pound vs. $4.98 at Seasons. One of the reasons you get such fresh fish at these markets is the incredible turnover. And if you think that carp on the right isn't calling to me you'd be wrong....
I was reading on some food site recently that pork belly is a big new ingredient, and based on what I'm eating our local boites I'd have to agree. But at the same time I was thinking "Sure, if I had a wholesale meat account, I'm sure I could grab a slab, but where's a poor schlub like me going to get a pound or two?" Well, if you look about two feet to the left to the left of these pork shanks, you'll find all you want....
Mmmmm, pork products! In case various unusual animal parts don't grab you, the packaging will....
And for fresh Dungeness crab, you won't do any better than heading to ABC Seafood on SE Powell. We were turned on to this crustacean paradise by our pals Kevin and Monique of Castagna Restaurant. Sure fresh crab is slightly more work...if boiling a big pot of water can be called work...but the flavor is far superior to the pre-cooked store bought crabs. It is so much sweeter and fresher. Plus at $3.49/#, it doesn't get much cheaper. And they really don't put up a fight...it's the lobsters that are the bad asses who will try and rip your finger off on the way into the pot. The crabs just kind of Caspar Milquetoast into the boil. And don't listen to anyone who says use that Old Bay garbage. Per Kevin, and we heartily agree, all you need is saltwater....period! And for you Uwajimaya fans who swear by their fish, a few weeks ago when w and I were in line at ABC. I poked w and whispered "Look on top of that stool" which was right behind the counter. Sitting there was a check for about $3,000......from Uwajimaya. The source, get it?!