Scopa in Healdsburg: an Italian kitchen in wine country!

There has been so much goodness going on for the last week while w and I were on our honeymoon/food & drink fest....that it may take a couple posts to get you caught up on the highlights. We ate our way around the Napa/Sonoma wine country, took advantage of the Cali/Oregon coastal offerings, even got our grub on at the best steakhouse in America in Redding (!!). Today though, it is all about a singular experience.
The one word you need to remember if you find yourself in Healdsburg and thinking about dinner: Scopa! If I had an Italian grandmother, this has got to be what eating her food would be like. This tiny spot on the Healdsburg Plaza just opened in early May. For some reason the gods of indulgence were smiling on us last Friday, and we were able to snag a hard-to-come-by rezzie for four (we were with w's sis and her hubby). This place has been grabbing huge buzz for chef/owner Ari Rosen's home style Italian cooking and insanely (for wine country) reasonable prices. He and his wife Dawnelise Regnery have transformed this cozy room into a den of Italian comfort. One look at their menu and I knew we were in for some food fun. Luckily my dining companions were up for the ride, and we put a nice size dent in their menu. Here's the rundown....

Starting in, we ordered the Lupini beans (left), which is a classic Italian card playing snack ("Scopa" is an Italian card game played in most parts of the country). Kind of fava-like, with a tender bean under the outer skin. You can peel and eat, or just do the whole bean. Slightly salty, totally addictive.

We also had the Burrata Cheese with artichokes and arugula (below), which was a softly sensuous mouthful of housemade mozzarella. Really fabulous stuff. Also on the table was the Tonno del Chianti, which is a traditional marinated, shredded pork dish with greens and a fig balsamic marmellata. This was awesome as well (you might hear that descriptor a lot about Scopa), the meat tender, perfectly matched with the fig jam.

They had two pizzas on their menu, and the debate was on...margherita or sausage? I see any mention of pork product, and I'm sold. But since this wasn't all about me (or so I said) we opted for margherita, as this is w's favorite kind of pie. It was perfect, the crust cracklingly crisp, not too thin, the dough with plenty of chew, and the tomato sauce, basil, and mozz topping in just the right proportion. Lots of smiles around the table, and four entrees to go!

After being blown away by the apps, we knew the mains would kill, and they did exactly that. The Moscardini (left)...baby octopus with Yukon gold potatoes, caper berries and olives...was sensational. Tender, incredibly flavorful, with a piquant bite from the sauce. The House-Made Gnocchi with a Napolitano meat ragu were pillowy perfection, some of the best I've ever had. The beautifully presented pot of Nonna's tomato braised chicken (right) over creamy Piedmontese polenta was so homey I expected to see Nonna herself in her housecoat serving it.



And not that I'm spoiled, but everyone consented to yet another pizza (left), because how can you turn down house made sausage. Again, this is what all pizzas should aspire to be!


Perfectly pillowy gnocchi!









By now we were reeling....from the food, the three bottles of wine, our full tummies....so of course we ordered two desserts. A kind of molten chocolate cake (left) with a vanilla sauce poured on top, and marinated strawberries. Yeah, they were spot on, too. This place absolutely nails it, and again an incredible bargain in this high priced town. Along with the great food price, their wine list has some great deals with lower than expected markups. I took along a bottle of wine (a perfect bottle of 2003 Cameron "Arley's Leap" Pinot Noir) and was happy to pay their $15 corkage, but remarkably they waive the corkage if you buy another bottle off their list! I can't imagine eating better, as this is exactly the kind of neighborhood-feeling place that we all wish was on the corner in out towns. The service was excellent, and even though they had a reservation for our table and we overstayed a little bit, we never felt rushed (thanks Rachel!). There's some fabulous stuff going on at Scopa, and if you get a chance, you HAVE to check it out!

Cheap Eats PDX, pt.1: Serratto

I don't get out for it often, and don't know how widespread it is in other cities, but here in Portland you can eat for a ridiculously cheap amount of jack by hitting happy hours at various restaurant bars. And here it's not just divey bars offering semi-petrified hard boiled eggs floating like a science experiment in a jar behind the bar. Practically every high end restaurant in town has some sort of cheap eats. Usually it is a discount on their appetizer menu, or a special happy hour menu. This is the first in what I promise will be an ongoing report on how tio get yur food groove on for less. One of the best in town that I've come across is at Serratto on NW 21st & Kearney. We stopped in yesterday for a quick bite. The burger above, with smoked bacon, white cheddar, house-made bbq sauce and crispy fried onions and a nice size pile of frites was a mere six bucks! And it was actually one of the best burgers I've had in town, perfectly cooked, a good quality hand-formed beef patty, meltingly cheesy, although next time I'll have them hold the bbq sauce. It was good but I'm not a big fan of that particular condiment. It was a crazy bargain! Serratto has a ton of other tempting options you can snag from 4:30-6:00 every day, including pastas, pizzas, french onion soup, etc. We opted for a really delicious bowl of manila clams steamed with saffron, white wine, and other well chosen flavoring agents ($6), an excellent beet, pear, and chevre on baby greens salad ($4), and their crispy fried calamari with a lemon-caper remoulade ($5) that was slightly underdone but if it was made correctly it would be a killer deal. Let's see...four different (not small) plates of satisfaction at one of Portland's best restaurants for $21. Let me hear you say "Hell yeah" people!!

Unexpected pleasure!

One of the most satisfying things about eating out is when a plate of food appears in front of you with a presentation you didn't expect, you've never had, it is delicious, and something easily replicated at home. Such was the case last week when w and I were out with her visiting sis having another remarkably satisfying meal at Clyde Common here in Portland. In the midst of an array of deliciousness, the pasta pictured above appeared. Very simply prepared with chopped fresh herbs, olive oil, a bit pf grated Parma, and best of all an almost perfectly poached egg (it could have been maybe a smidge less done). But is was so nice to have the yolk adding its creamy, slightly fatty texture and the eggy bits smushing up and mixing into the pasta. Really a nice touch, and something you could do with plenty of other pastas. Before this my pasta-egg combo of choice was of course Marcella's perfect carbonara. Now, my mind is racing....I'm having visions of fresh spring asparagus with sautéed chopped pancetta, maybe a light sprinkle of Parma, with a farm fresh poached egg sitting prettily on top!

Also enjoyed that meal were their incredibly addictive starter (left) of fried anchovies with aioli (I dare you to have just one order!), and a meltingly tender entrée of braised pork shoulder (below).

Le Pigeon love..aka Happy Birthday to me!

"Foie Gras"...."Lamb Belly"...."Foot and Tail Croquette"..."Beef Cheek Bourguignon". Gee, where am I, in heaven? Nah, just Le Pigeon here in PDX, where the accolades have always come fast and furious for chef/owner Gabriel Rucker's charnel house cuisine. Talk about respect for your raw material. If you're a pig who happens to catch Gabriel's eye, there's a good chance that 95% of you will end up on his menu. w and I made the trek to GR's offal outpost last night for my birthday dinner, and explored many and varied parts of God's creatures.


Bones and Su-Lien working it in the LP kitchen!







I always like walking into Le Pigeon's cozy, warmly lit dining room. Plus, now that they have started taking reservations, the crap shoot that was getting a seat there has become more like a sure bet. We had rezzies for a table at 7:30, but this is one of those joints that if there is a seat at their tiny ringside-to-the-kitchen counter, you grab it so you can check out the action on the stove and maybe get some input from those who are cooking your dinner. Seeing two perfect seats at the bar open up, we gave up the table and bellied up, which for this place is an appropriate metaphor. The menu was looking amazing tonight. I could have had each and every starter. But reason took hold, and with a glass if Loire Valley fizz in hand, we made the tough decisions. We wanted to make the evening last, so we went with two starter courses of two appetizers per course before our entrées. I know what you're thinking, but too much has never been a problem for me, and w is very tolerant of my "ways". The first two out of the kitchen were amazing. Of course you know I'm having foie gras if it's offered, and at LP it usually is (left). This was maybe the best foie I've ever had. Two thick slices served on top of a buttery fig tart, the whole thing drizzled with pine nut syrup. Decadence defined, and a truly sensational dish. The other half of our first course was a plate of neon green garlic noodles with snails and ramps (below right). Another success, the citrusy noodle sauce offsetting perfectly against the earthy snails, the pasta itself with a nice al dente chew.






So far, so fabulous. Next round we had the lamb belly with asparagus, peas, and pecorino and the toro on top of couscous with favas and radish. Both scored huge on our pleasure scale. We were talking with chef Steven "Bones" Anderson, who was slinging it right in front of us, about the toro (left). He highly recommended it, saying that the lightly seared toro (the fatty belly of the yellow fin tuna) was like fish foie gras. With its melt-in-your-mouth texture, he was dead on. Gabe's cooking at LP, even with all the meat love going on, is actually very seasonally defined, and the lamb belly app (below) was the epitome of spring seasonal eating. No meat says spring more than lamb, and the incredibly fresh asparagus and peas alongside tasted like they came right off the farmer's market stand. This was another stellar dish, the assertive yet meltingly tender lamb belly and the crunch of the veggies...awesome!

The courses were being perfectly paced at this point, nothing coming too quickly, a nice break between dishes that gives you time to appreciate what you just had. This a hallmark of an attentive kitchen that communicates with its floor staff. I had brought along a 1988 Panaretta Chianti Classico to drink with our mains, and it was one of those sublimely aged reds that couldn't have been drinking better. The dry, dusty-cherry, earthy sangiovese fruit that domestic sangiovese producers can only dream about with still sharp acidity that makes these Tuscan treats some of the world's greatest food wines. Fantastic juice!

Our two entrées were just making their appearance, and they looked delicious, even without taking a bite. w had the seared duck breast on top of chunks of pheasant, broccoli florets, and raclette cheese. This dish was so rich, teetering on the brink of too much (I can't believe I'm saying that) but managing to just hold back. The duck skin was just-right crisp, the meat moist and tender. I opted for the skate, which was lightly breaded and pan-fried, sitting on top of, as Bones described it, an orzo "risotto" with pork belly bits and cauliflower. Surf and turf was never so tasty! A nice counterpoint to w's duck, I loved the moist, fresh flesh of the skate. The green sauce surrounding it was piquant and played beautifully with the semi-rich orzo and skate.

Since I wasn't going to have birthday cake for dessert, I happily settled for their creamy, sensuous crème brulée with a side coffee pot de crème. Both were so good, and this has to be one of the best crème brulées in town. Washed down with a couple of glasses of Frenchman Eric Bordolet's ethereally delicious pear cider (a great finishing drink, btw, with only 5% alcohol), this capped an amazing dining experience.

I hadn't been to Le Pigeon for almost a year, and was hoping for a great meal. Sometimes with all the hype a place gets, though, there is always that nagging doubt in the back of your mind "Is it going to what I hope it is? Are they coasting?" After this dinner, and on a night when Gabe was out of the kitchen, this was start to finish one of the best dinners I've had in Portland, so the answer is a resounding no! This is a tight kitchen absolutely nailing it at a high level, and the floor staff makes sure everything flows seamlessly.

Mai Thai: five minutes to happiness!

I have seen the future of Thai food happiness in Portland, and by lucky coincidence it is about a five minute drive from our house! A newish place called Mai Thai (shocking play on words, I know) opened a couple of months ago down on 31st and SE Belmont. Both w and I are huge Thai food aficionados, but here, like everywhere in America, you have to wade through rivers of mediocrity to find anything of quality. I had gotten a couple of to-go orders in the last three weeks from Mai Thai and was very impressed. Taking into account that no restaurant food eaten at home is as good as having it at the source, this was still really flavorful, interesting, and just plain good. I found one dish last week called Pad Prik King (c3 on their menu) which was a large serving of just-right green beans in a house made chili sauce with prawns. Two bites in I was already wondering when I could have it again. Instant food addiction!

So last night w and I decided to have the dine in experience and made the mercifully short drive. Their dining room is very nicely done, with nice touches like silk tablecloths and throws over the chairs, but not too over-the-top like some places. Just comfortable. We started in with an appetizer of Toa Hoo Tod (menu item #3, pic above left), which was light, pillowy golden brown fried tofu with a perfectly balanced Thai sweet-sour sauce. The perfect start because it was flavorful but not filling, which as I understand it is the whole point of appetizers, right? We followed that with their squid salad (below right)...cooked squid with onion, mint leaves, lemon grass, tomatoes, chili paste and lime. An explosion of flavors, and even at "medium heat" not too hot, but with enough kick to have us sniffling ever so slightly. The squid was very fresh tasting with a perfect chew. Like everything we had this was a beautifully presented dish, thoughtfully plated for real visual appeal. The whole "eating with your eyes first" is clearly understood here.

Between courses, we were talking with our server who also owns the place with her family. They came up from Los Angeles recently, looking to do their own style of Thai cooking without getting lost in the maze that is Asian dining in L.A. The space on Belmont was an underperforming Chinese joint for years, and they did a great job of renovating. Plus what really sells me on a place like this was her insistence that they "do food we like to eat, not what people expect". I love that attitude, especially when it's executed as well as they do at Mai Thai.

So we were ready for more at this point. I of course had to satisfy my Pad Prik King jones and it was as good as the first time (left). Their chili paste sauce is so good, complex, incredibly flavorful but not overpowering, and the beans have nice bite without that annoying "squeek" you get when you bite into improperly cooked beans. We had it with prawns which I have to think is the way to go, but they also offer it with chicken or tofu. One of w's (and probably everyone's) benchmarks is Pad Thai, the ubiquitous but rarely well done item at every Thai restaurant. We ordered a plate (#39, below) and both were giving each other looks like "wow, someone has finally got it right!" The noodles were slightly chewy in a good way, the sauce piquant but not biting (maybe there was a tad too much sauce, but not enough to really detract). The serving was very generous as well, something that can be said for everything we had. The entrées in general run in the extremely reasonable $9-$14 range, and considering how good everything has been, this has to be considered one of Portland's food bargains. I've also tried the Fantastic Tofu (C1) which was just that, and a Mussamun Curry (35) which was the only average dish I've had off the menu. There are also desserts to be explored, but this night the stomach real estate was not to found. But you know I'll be back for it!

Mai Thai is one of those places you hope sticks around so you can see what develops. The staff is very friendly and ready with solid advice, like her suggestion that we try their whole sea bass, which we didn't but will next time because it's hard to find whole fried fish dome well, and I'm betting Mai Thai nails it!

Mai Thai
3104 SE Belmont Street
503.232.9844

Going home never tasted so good!

It's good to know that even after being gone for a couple of years...or more...there are places where when you return you experience that immediate feeling of comfort, a sort of "going home" kind of feeling. Mom and I went out to dinner last night at Caffé Mingo on NW 21st here in PDX. Mingo was the place I used to go ALL the time. Sometimes more than once a week. It was almost embarrassing, but so freaking good I gladly put up with the humiliation to stuff myself with more of their simple, well-made Italian food. The intimate, salt box sized space, the staff, the food, and one of the top two counters to eat at in town (the other being my new Mingo in terms of regularity, Café Castagna). For whatever reason, Mingo had fallen off my radar, so last night I decided it was time to get reacquainted with my old pleasure provider.

The view into the kitchen from our ringside seats, where the chef is getting his flame on!









We walked in and I was immediately happy to be there. The room had a good buzz going even at 6:30, and we were led to their chefs table that looks right into the kitchen, a great front row seat where you can watch the chef cooking your food and himself at the same time. Even better my old friend Greg was working the counter and would be our waiter. Nothing like being in the hands of an old hand (G...I mean "old" in the sense you've been there for a while, not "old" in that other sense, 'kay?). I checked out the menu and decided on the all important beverage of the evening off their very reasonably priced list, a delicious bottle of Renato Ratti Barbera "Torreglione", which throughout the meal did nothing to change my conviction that Barbera from Italy's Piedmont is maybe the ultimate food wine. Then we got right into it with a starter of Spiedini di Gamberi (shrimp and croutons skewered and grilled) and their Vongole (clams steamed in a garlic-chili broth). Both were excellent, the shrimp seasoned lightly with red pepper flakes and fennel seed and so fresh. The vongole was working it too, the clams briny and fresh, with nice garlicky aromatics and a nice bit of chili bite on the finish. Antipastis that both did their job of getting us ready for more.

For the mains, mom went light with Insalata di Spinaci (left), which was a wonderfully flavorful spinach salad with grilled pears, red onion, castelrosso cheese, and roasted walnuts tossed with a balsamic vinaigrette. If you're doing salad for your entrée, this is how it should be. A not-too-heavy mix of sweet-savory grilled pears and red onions set off by the slightly salty cheese and vinaigrette. After much deliberation and guidance from Greg (I love it when you ask your waiter if you should order something that looks awesome and he very discreetly advises against it. Credibility rules!). I finally went with their signature Penne al Sugo di Carne (right), which has been on their menu from the beginning. I figured if I'm coming home after all these years, this dish is the culinary equivalent of sliding into those old slippers hiding under the bed. It was perfect. A super rich, savory dish of Cascade Natural beef braised in chianti and espresso, the pasta just al dente. One bite and I could've wept. So good. But why waste energy crying like a little girl when I had this dish of meaty goodness to wok through.

At this point reasonable people would call it good and head out the door, happily satisfied at the shared conversation and food. As you've probably figured by now if you've been following my frenzied feedings, reasonable and food are two things that don't go together in my indulgent mind. Luckily mom was right there with me, so we finished this over the top dinner with a slice Limon Torte (an olive oil lemon cake) that was perfectly moist, sweet, and tart all at the same time; and we also indulged in their Panna Cotta topped with amarena cherries, an awesomely rich dessert beautifully described by mom as "something that makes your teeth hurt", but in a good way, you know? This was a great meal and I left with a full belly and warm feelings. Not a bad way to return home! A special shout out to Greg: Thanks and great to see you...I'll be back soon!

Tabla Bistro: fixed price = fixed smiles!

Getting value out of any one dish when you eat out isn't too difficult. Here in Portland a plate of the addictive of Penne alla Vodka at 3 Doors Down or the fabulous burger at Castagna Café always hit the sweet spot for under $15 a pop. But the all too rare multi-course, prix fixe meal, a standard offering in European restaurants, is sadly much harder to find. And when you do find one, getting real quality is even more difficult. That's why last night's dinner at Tabla Bistro was such a revelation. An American restaurant, thankfully about a five minute drive from our house, that serves three generous courses of real quality food, for a mere $24. Incredible!

w and I went last night and neither of us had been for a long time. In my case a couple of years at least. We arrived at 7:30 and were seated in their very comfortable, yet on this night sparsely populated, dining room. A couple of cocktails were ordered to get the party started...w ordered their Persephone, a fairly acceptable riff on a pomegranate cosmo, maybe a little heavy on the pomegranate juice. I had the Anna's Ginger Drop, which was stellar. A not shy dose of gin, ginger purée, and lemon juice that was both attention getting with that ginger snap and refreshingly balanced. Checking out the menu, how the 3-course deal works is you pick one item from three columns of offerings: a beginning, middle (a pasta selection), and entrée. There's something for everyone here, and w started with their radicchio salad (bottom at left) which was really well presented with a lightly creamy poppy seed dressing, comice pear, and a slice of Humboldt Fog cheese. I opted for their sweetbreads (top at left), which consisted nuggets of this glandular delight on top of a crostini, which was slightly over-toasted, surrounded by a pool of savory mushroom sauce. We were both smiling after these, especially knowing we still had two courses to go.

In anticipation of goodness to come, we had our very nice server pop the cork on a bottle of 1998 Sportoletti "Villa Fidalia" Reserva that I brought from home ($16 corkage fee). This was an Italian cab blend that was drinking absolutely perfectly, silky smooth, complex...very yummy! Tabla's wine list itself had some pretty good value going for it too, and seemed to have choices that would fit any budget, plus some nice by-the-glass choices.

Our "middle" dishes arrived shortly after. All their pastas are house made, and I had the rabbit ragu on tagliatelle that was delicious. w opted for their tajarin with truffle butter and grana padano. Now we were spoiled by the ethereal tajarins we had in the Piedmont of Italy last year and also the version made out at PDX's own Alba Osteria. The Tabla style was a bit disappointing. We would've liked to see the pasta cut a bit more thinly, and the truffle butter sauce tasted much too strongly of truffle oil, becoming almost bitter on the palate. The quality and cooking of both pastas was perfect though, not too done with a nice bit of al dente texture.

Then it was entrée time, and again we really were impressed. Again, very generous portions. Mine being their shredded boar shoulder (left) topped by a crusty slice of sautéed polenta with a just right sprinkle of blue cheese. Really succulent, with a slightly spicy sauce to counter the richness of the boar and polenta. w's plate of duck confit (below) was equally impressive, crispy on the outside, perfectly moist inside, served with chive mashed potatoes and a port poached orange. Duck confit is one of the great all-time food inventions, and the Tabla offering, again in the context of this 3-course meal, where sometimes expectations are lowered, was excellent.

After all that savory deliciousness, we had to have something sweet. And since we couldn't decide between the Panna Cotta with amarena cherries and the Carrot Cake made from local grower Gen Thiel's carrots, with walnut bits and a maple cream cheese frosting, we said the hell with it and had both. And both, I'm happy to say, were sweetly satisfying. The carrot cake was the standout and something we both would look forward to having again.

Bottom line, the only real miss was the tajarin. Overall this was an excellent night out, and for just $24 each for the first three courses, it has to be one of the most incredible restaurant dining values in town.
E.D.T. Rating (out of 4): Food-3.0; Value-4