For those city dwellers who only experience cheese coming from a deli fridge case, here is a working dairy not far from the beaten track where you can see the cows, take a tour of the dairy and bakery, and then buy the goods. We bought some cheddar and one of the rindy-musty cheeses. The [...]
I’m not going to say where, and I’m not going to say who, but someone I know sat on a small supply of foie gras before it was banned from sale in California. Some bits appeared recently at a home, seared in beef fat, and topped with chopped Japanese style rib eye cabs. I ate [...]
On 1 July, California will effectively be banning the sale of foie gras. In the weeks leading up to this change, a number of restaurants have been serving up their last remains of the liver, and I’ve done my best to assist them. The meal I most looked forward to was at Julienne, a special [...]
When the warm season settles in, I start looking for tarragon at the farmers market. And when I start seeing it in lush bundles at BD’s Saturday market stand, that’s when I know that summer is here. They sell it in bunches for a dollar, it’s usually more than I can use. One item I [...]
Julienne is rolling out a prix fixe supper club, called Common Table. Its first dinner was based on favorite restaurants in Portland.
This location has seen some contentious times – different concepts, but usually there’s been a common element of ownership or staff throughout those times. One outcome of an intense experience is that the group that shares it become strongly bonded together, I know what this is like. So the fellows who started the Arlington Tavern, [...]
My friend Matchoo recently mentioned it was time to spring clean his food cupboards. So I have decided to do the same. And in going into the depths of my larder I have discovered several things. * I now understand the evolutionary process that created the tuna noodle casserole. Guess what I made for dinner? [...]
Westin of Spare Parts, and Al from Events Untitled (Red Star?) paired up at the Creek Side to roast a whole pig. Check out the cool old grill of Creek Side’s, which they rolled out into the parking lot for the roast. There were plenty of hungry diners inside the bar, who were having a [...]
Remember how The Pub was zoned on one side of 224 Helena Street, while La Tour was on the other side? There were two separate bar tabs depending on which business provided which product. Cocktails, beer, food came from The Pub. Wine, or most of it, came from La Tour, and the food came from [...]
