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??

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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.
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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!
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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".

Quick Bites PDX: Ping

It was something new and much anticipated, and I so much wanted to love it. Like when w got her new Mini Cooper, I was almost as excited as she was. And we both LOVED it. Totally exceeded expectations. That was the hope I had when we met with friends at Andy Ricker's new Portland spot Ping, his love letter to the street food of southeast Asia and a follow-up to his über-popular Thai joint Pok Pok. The buzz had been huge in town. Talk that this could begin the revitalization of our incredibly lame and tired Chinatown/Old Town area. Its location on NW 4th Avenue is excellent, with windows along two sides, and across the street from the parking lot that hopefully...please God...will become the downtown Uwajimaya store. The place itself is very cozy, with tables to the right and left and a bar facing the open kitchen. The wood paneled walls gave it a warmth, and the vintage radios along the north wall (that had been salvaged form a radio repair business in Old Town) were a pretty cool touch. So was my love requited?

We went in with five people, knowing that would give us a pretty good chance to work our way through a lot of the menu. We each had a cocktail or two, and I thought the gin collins was just about perfect. Tart, fruity, great paired against the spicy food to come. Our server dropped a plate called Miang Kham (pic at left) on our table. Peanuts, ginger, thai chilies, fried dry shrimp, toasted coconut, lime, and shallots to wrap in betel leaves. This was an incendiary intro to their menu. Two words: be careful! Then we made our way through the menu, ordering in two rounds to avoid to much table crowding. Among the offerings we tried:
-Vietnamese style short ribs skewer (bottom in pic at right)....good flavor, slightly skimpy, but decent.
-Baby Octopus Skewers....could these have been any chewier? Again good seasonings, but way too tough. One of our friends (who owns a restaurant in town and understands such things) was somewhat surprised as she chewed away, going "is this ever going to go away?" A huge step below the perfection that is the Andina Octo Skewer.
-Quail Egg Skewer....a tiny, perfectly cooked quail egg wrapped in bacon with a slightly spicy mayo sauce that I could have eaten dozens of. Delicious!
-Spicy Chiang Mai Sausage...that wasn't that spicy or flavorful, surprising considering all of the listed ingredients.
-Plaa Meuk Ping....was toasted dried cuttlefish (top in pic at right) pressed and served with a sweet chili sauce. Hint: take it out of the toaster earlier next time to avoid that burnt taste.
-Steamed Gai Lan....I love gai lan, and the Ping version was steamed just right, with a nice bite. But what's with the pool of garlicky oyster sauce. The sauce was good, but there was way too much of it.
-Ju Pa Bao....a bone-in pork chop that is served unadorned in a soft roll. This was good, classic street food, but I don't think you'd lose any authenticity by cutting the bone off before serving. It made for a somewhat awkward eating experience.
-Laksa....a Malaysian coconut curry noodle soup. I thought it was pretty good, but three people at our table thought it had a funky element going on.
-Salted Duck Egg Salad...again, some nice spice, but seemed to lack a little soul. Not that exciting.
-Rice Soup....in a pork broth, this was also goo0d, but didn't have the depth or impact it could have.

The overall impression we left with was this is good, and of course has great possibility, but somehow the execution seems to be lacking. Some things were very good, some not so, and it's that unevenness that needs work. While we were sitting at our table we talked with a couple of friends who stopped by to say hi, and when I asked one of them what she thought, she said she had been there the previous week and had a so-so experience, but it was better tonight because now she knows how to order. Which to me isn't good, because you shouldn't need to 'know how to order". Everything should be good.

We were talking about in the car with our restaurant friend, and she posited that sure, Andy really knows this food, and how to prepare it, and what it should taste like, but just because he does doesn't mean it is so easy to teach cooks here. It's one thing to eat it over there with people who have worked with these flavors their whole lives. Quite another to try and teach cooks here what to do with what are unfamiliar ingredients to most of them. It is one of the reasons that I think that a lot of people I know have had somewhat uneven experiences at his Pok Pok restaurant as well. Would I go back to Ping? Sure, but I wouldn't rush back. I liked the vibe, the service was good, and I'm interested to see if things come together.

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!

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