ExtraMSG

Here's my report on the favorable Mexican food experiences I had on my trip: It's from this: http://www.extramsg.com/modules.php?name=N...e=article&sid=8

Okay, finally put up my report. It covers Mexican, pizza, and ice cream (or gelato) in the areas from Sacramento to San Francisco to Watsonville. http://www.extramsg.com/modules.php?name=N...e=article&sid=8 I'll post pieces of it here and there accordingly.

Nice class. I only know the term veloute in its technical sense. I assume that's a term used more in France or the UK to refer to what we Americans inappropriately call "cream of..." soups? (Inappropriately, because they often have no cream with the trend against fatty soups and towards more flavor of the base itself. Instead, they're primarily just pureed more and more nowadays, I think.) PS You've got one hell of an impressive set of tomatoes and carrot, if you know what I mean. Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge.

Does anyone else watch The Restaurant and say, "Man, I never want to be a Manhattanite"? So much posturing, so much playing to the cameras, so many prima donnas, so many chefs in the kitchen, both literally and figuratively. It's the same reaction I have every time I visit LA.

Trillium, have you tried Rogue Creamery, yet? I think they might be new to the market. At least, I don't remember them there. I've seen them handing out tastes at New Seasons before and they've won several gold medals at international cheese contests. Here's their website: http://www.roguegoldcheese.com/ I really do think their blues are some of the best I've tasted. They were mostly selling cheese curds at the market, though, I think. Many of them were flavored. I agree that Low BBQ makes better BBQ than di Carlo's makes sausage. The intesity of the flavor in the sausage could be improved, imo. However, decent grilled sausage with peppers and onions on a roll is tasty and it looks like Low's main competition at the market. I think they realize they new to do something showy to bring in the patrons. Jim Dixon asked if they were out of meat as he walked up because they do everything in the back. There was nothing on the front table. di Carlo's is grilling (what's the true word, griddling? Sauteeing? There's no grill involved) right there in the front. It looks great and smells great. I think as Low gets a feel for marketing themselves and word of mouth spreads they'll start getting the lines. I was disappointed that Juniper Grove wasn't at the market yet. What made it worse was that there was a cheese producer there that had really bad sheep and goat cheese. Nastily sour. It was like they actually stewed it in the stomach of a cow rather than just adding a little renet.

I put up some photos. Some are from a friend, Leopoldo, who was there as well. His site is http://www.geekroar.com: http://www.extramsg.com/modules.php?set_al...=view_album.php

Thanks, Jason. I've certainly been rolling my eyes over all the arm-chair tasting that's been going on. Such certainty from a coaxial cable.

Went to the Portland Farmer's Market today and took some pictures: http://www.extramsg.com/modules.php?set_al...=view_album.php It was extremely busy and pretty full of vendors even if the produce options were a little more limited than they will be later in the year. A few highlights: * Low BBQ: Rodney (chefrodrigo) and partner Kyle started their first day of business selling probably the best ribs and brisket in PDX. Any of you who got a taste the other night, know that, believe it or not, they improved it from there. The brisket was falling apart tender and juicy. The ribs were still excellent, especially those lamb ribs, making a trip for some Q to the PFM a necessity. They also reduced the black pepper to a more universally acceptable level. Great job guys. * Sahagun: eGer eem who hangs out in the pastry board was selling her chocolates which have a wonderful texture and are accented by mostly savory flavors like chile, ginger, and cardamon. I like that she's not trying to make them overly sweet, too. My wife restrained herself admirably, only buying two truffles (are they still truffles if they're not round?), because she's on a diet. She's been jonesin' for chocolate since she's been reading the book, too. * Delphina's Bakery: I'm not familiar with this bakery. Anyone know it? The bread we tried, a walnut/fig bread, was pretty tasty. I don't know if the crumb is up to the standards set by Ken's et al, but it was pretty good. * Ken's and Pearl: Ken's and Pearl were there. Of course they're both great. Ken was even manning his own booth. * Pumpkin Honey: Not sure of the seller's name, but they're on the north side and were selling a flavorful pumpkin honey. Bought a bear of it myself. * Berries and Bees: Lingonberry and Huckleberry preserves, though spendy, were very, very tasty. * Sundance Lavendar Farms: A few of their jams overwhelm the lavendar, imo, but the orange balances it well. I recommended making a lavendar salt like I saw at the SF Ferry Building farmer's market. That stuff rocked. * Cheese: Several good cheese producers. Rogue Creamery is really good. Oregon Gourmet Cheeses and Willamette Valley Cheeses are both pretty good. Alsea Acres isn't quite as good as Juniper Grove (who wasn't there), imo, but they're getting better. They also had some chevre packed in flavored oil that looked nice. * Salumeria di Carlo's: Low's meat competition was slammed as usual. Big long line of people waiting for their freshly grilled sausages. * Pix: Cheryl was working the booth herself and as always her and her food are evil temptresses. * Groundworks Organics: They had a good selection of produce including some nice looking young carrots and lots of greens and bulbs. * Rossi Farms: Lots of different types of potatoes that looked nice. * Eggs: What's up with all the eggs? Blue eggs were too high, imo, at $4/dozen, but they did have some chicks and their mom below their table for the kids to play with. There were probably 4 or 5 spots selling eggs. * Morels: Lots of great looking morels from several vendors. I should have got some, but I've got a frig full of shrooms right now.

cjsadler, Sharon may have more insight, but... Are you frying the salsa after roasting and blending? That may help; it reduces the tanginess of tomatillo-based salsas just like roasting or simmering decreases the tanginess of raw tomatillos (which can also use). I try to stay away from sugar if I can. Don't want to go down the anglo road of making everything into a ketchup. Also, a splash of lime at the end can take the edge off a salsa if you have mediocre ingredients. You do want to roast or simmer them until they're pretty soft. Think canned tomatoes soft.

Where do you live, Chad? Maybe it's just that Oregon has enough Mexicans, but even our Safeways and Albertsons out here carry Bufalo's and Tabasco's chipotle purees.

Good. I've got the Mexican part of my report done, plus the pics up: http://www.extramsg.com/modules.php?set_al...23bb6b1a77149ba I'm going to try to get the text up tonight. I need to cover the pizza, ice cream, and markets that I liked.

Several of us got a pre-taste of chefrodrigo's Q this evening. It was quite tasty and everyone seemed to enjoy it a lot. There was beef brisket, pork ribs, and.....wait for it, wait for it....lamb ribs. They're using great quality meat that I was a little suspicious of at first, but now I can see why. I think they're already right at the top of the heap (and the meat is even re-heated, I'd love to have a chance to taste it right after it has rested). But the most promising thing was that Rodney wasn't satisfied with the results tonight. If he's planning on making it even better, we here in Portland are all going to have to go on low-carb diets for fear of becoming a town of weebles. Anyway, thought you Texans that followed his thread might be interested in a few pics:

Bufalo does this in a jar. Tabasco now does a crappier version as well. I always have some on hand. eg, I used it today in a simple dressing for a salad, combining it with cream, salt, and pepper. I see that sort of thing for more European/Italian food -- anchovies, pesto, sun-dried tomato, tomato paste, porcini -- but never much for stuff Americans or Mexicans purchase. It may have to break through cultural barriers.

I disagree, Teaspoon. I don't think it has anything to do with patriotism, but I do think there's a tendency among some to like what the ICJs created because it seems different whereas the stuff the ICAs create seems familiar. Of course, none of us were put in that judging seat and when it came down to it, any of the people who have voiced so strongly their disdain for Bobby Flay or Wolfgang Puck might have crinkled their noses and wanted to spit that trout ice cream in a hankerchief, too. After listening to Steingarten twice on the show, I have a hard time believing that he was playing favorites. The ICJs got stomped. Maybe the true problem is that the ICJs were always a little too idealized in the minds of many audience members going into this new series. btw, can't someone here interview someone like Steingarten or Allen or both and the Bon Appetit lady about their experiences and the judging. There are so many questions I know I'd like to ask, like what did they say that was cut, and how do the dishes compare to meals they've had at established restaurants, etc.

It was at the Portland Center for the Performing Arts. The tables of wine and food wound around each of the four levels. Plus there was a silent auction. It was Monday night. You can go here: http://www.strength.org/taste/portland/ http://www.tasteofthenation.org/ I'll have pics in a day or so.

I don't think most diner burgers are fast food (and I don't know how many are actually great, but that all's pretty subjective). Few diners can produce burgers fast enough to have a drive thru like Burgerville does. How dismissive the statement is depends on how much you think the fast food genre lacks.

It's still just fast food. And it's still a chain. You're not going to get truly great food, especially consistently, under these circumstances, usually. But for what it is....

The nice thing about Navarre is that it's cheap enough to try it again (or for the first time, if you haven't been). If I'm in the neighborhood, I might be willing to try a couple things again. I might be tempted to ask for what the worst thing on the menu is, though, just to see what their bad item might be. It's that hidden pebble in the pot of beans that I worry about most there (figuratively speaking, of course). When I got in that unfortunate pissing match over the place with Jim Dixon a while back, I really just wanted to hear why people who like it like it because my experiences have been lackluster. If some of you would join us for PortlandFood.....

$80 at the door, I think. But who's counting. We didn't pay, we just worked our asses off. I'm actually a little sore still.

Hasn't AB said that AB snubbed him or something at the last Beard event? There does indeed seem to be some high school style animosity between the two. Not to mention they're from two ends of the spectrum, one essentially being the motorcycle-riding, chain-smoking guy who hangs out in back of the school trying to get laid and score some weed, the other the geek who stays after school to help the teacher and makes friends by being "the funny one". Also, Bourdain said that it's not his time to be a panelist on the gong show, or something like that, in regards to ICA on another thread, if memory serves.

Hey fifi, not to pick nits, but we have real Q in Portland, just maybe not great Q. But I'm eagerly awaiting their start.

Just read the interview. Nice job, Trish. One compliment to the director: I think they did a very good job of showing the food. One of my complaints about the original is that you often didn't get a sense for a few of the dishes per show. I felt like I saw every dish and got some good closeups of the prep along the way here consistently.

Perhaps a sign of the Apocalypse?? How did the ICJs have 90% winning percentiles? There's always an edge for the home team. I didn't like that when I first watched ICJ, but I learned to like it. It meant that when a challenger beat the Iron Chef you knew he earned it. The Americans have an advantage from the beginning because they're cooking for other Americans.

Iron Chef Japan used the same approach. i think the article said that in the japanese version, the contestants were given the ingredient about an hour in advance. in any event, the article listed the significant advance notice in the american version as one of the differences between the two. I believe they were given a short list the day before on ICJ.

A few of us PortlandFood.org people went to Taste of the Nation last night. We volunteered and so got free access. I went in the morning and worked up an appetite setting up, then the three of us tore down afterwards. It was actually nice tearing down because I felt like I was working off some of the calories. Tons of people, tons of great food, tons of wine. A few of my favorites of the night: * Fennel panna cotta from Tuscany Grill. They had vanilla and pistaccio, too, but the fennel rocked my world. I voted it for People's Choice, even though I was tempted to go with something less likely to get easy votes. The panna cotta was sublimely creamy and had just a hint of licorice flavor. It was topped with candied fennel, I think. Wow. So much better than the panna cotta I had at clarklewis the other day. * Juniper grove goat cheese baked in a tomato sauce from Genoa. Can't remember the exact title of the dish, but it was excellent. The thing that put it over the top was a finishing kick, probably from chile flakes or something. * Flank steak from Typhoon in a spicy red sauce. I had a lot of meat that night, and this one was cooked the best. * Sausage rolls from Pho Van. Basically salad rolls with sausage instead of shrimp. It was quite tasty sausage. * Cochinita pibil from La Calaca Comelona. I'm a sucker for such things. * Beer float from Pix. Not my cup of tea, but beer drinkers seemed to love it and it was clever. btw, Cheryl was walking around in hot pink dickies all night and I fear my crush has now been solidified. I'd say, "If only I weren't married," except I know I'm barely worthy to clean the custard from her beaters. * Viandes meats. Pates, house cured meats, etc. Quite good. * Higgins had several house cured meats as well. All were excellent. * The mussells from Ken's. I don't really like mussells, but these seriously had the texture of butter and the sauce, something with chiles, was luscious. * Taqueria Nueve had these octopus gazpacho pastries, essentially like little choux buns filled with gazpacho and topped with a little octopus and a pico de gallo like concoction, I think. They didn't look like something that would be anything special, but they were. I'm quite glad that I snagged one. I'm sure there were others, too, that impressed me. I'll have to wait until I see my pics and my friend Leopoldo's pics. Maybe duckduck can chime in, she was there with us. Anyone else go? I'll link to my pics when I get a chance to upload them.