rockdoggydog

Dave, I would love to take you up on this, maybe next year. I've never really gone along with the freezing of fungus, I am a big fan of drying though. Rocky

I've never heard of rice being grown here either. As for tofu and other products many of the importers in Cali are also producers for the items that can be made here and are often made from ingredients that are in turn also imported or grown in Cali. It's not so much a matter of demand here, as it is that the imported stuff is so cheap and are the same brands that many immigrants and their families are used to seeing and using that there are very few local producers of any kind for many of the items. This coupled with the serious economies of scale involved in most of the foodstuffs tends to concentrate the number of producers. There are also a number of items that the raw materials for are very cheap outside of the U.S. because they are grown in more quantity and are normal crops and not subject to the vagaries of trendiness in food, mustard greens come to mind especially. What is available here is incredibly expensive in comparison because not that much is grown for consumption here in the NW and the trendiness of greens lately has driven prices up even more. Tofu only benefits from being fresh in a few basic forms, and so local producers will only concentrate on producing those, as they would get their brains beaten in trying to compete costwise with larger operations whether based overseas or in California or elsewhere. The advent of modern shipping and packaging and the proximity of the West Coast to Asia only makes market forces even stronger. What drives me nuts is seeing tofu I know was produced in China priced at or near the same price as say Thanh Son tofu produced down on 12th. Rocky

I forgot about the matsutake, I got some last year and they were so skunky I gave up on them. Laurel, where did you get yours? It would be nice to some fresh ones that are non-skunky. The kelp here is not the right type, and I should have stated that it's the prepared stuff that I had in mind. That is a decent price for shitake though. I'll have to keep an eye out. Rocky

Hi Lauren, All tofu except the really basic stuff, dried noodles and most fresh ones too, pickled goods, just about all asian produce except for things like bok choy and napa cabbage that are popular these days, bamboo, a lot of the mushrooms (straw, enoki, matsutake, black fungus, and reasonably priced shitake spring to mind), sausages, wrappers (dumpling skins, won ton skins, egg roll wrappers, rice paper, etc.), tuna of all sorts, leaves like banana and taro, taro root, daikon worth eating, kelp, yam flour, rice flour, corn starch, rice of all sorts, and lotus root off the top my head. The list of condiments, spices, and sauces is really long but they don't count under the rules, but there are a lot of them. I usually keep an eye out for things at the farmers markets or at Central Market but I rarely see anything added in the way of asian ingredients because many just won't grow here. Which just reminded me, mangoes, ginger, lemon grass, pineapples, and a whole slew of fruit. Man, this is tough. I suspect that this would be much easier to do in California than anywhere else. Rocky

This sounds really interesting and I really do try to eat locally already but trying to adhere even mostly to an all Washington diet would rule out just about all asian dishes for me, which are a pretty big staple in my diet. Hmmm, gonna have to think about how to get around that, and no I'm not going to start fermenting things on my deck. Rocky

(_8(|) _ _ _ _ That's a thing of beauty dude. Absolutely gorgeous. Rocky

There will also be a 9 course option soon for the truly hungry or extra curious. Rocky

Repeat, I would KILL for a great place to go near my house. That sounds like a great concept you have there Chefturnedbum, wherever you open I'll be there. Rocky

The Stella's space is empty right now. I would kill for a good place to go right next to my house. I know you've done the U-District, but hey, why not try again. Rocky

I've worked with The Wedge several times and they are a decent crew. the staff is very accomodating and is happy to meet with you to work out menus. Rocky

Tried Lite Gourmet tonight with Dani. The restaurant is located where the Wing Dome on the Ave used to be and I must say they did a great job of cleaning up the space and ridding it of the smell of grease. I love grease but there's nothing worse than smelling the grease that useed to occupy a restaurant when it's no longer that restaurant. The menu is exactly as Jason described it and I too forgot to ask what's in a Lite Gorumet Salad. I ordered the roast chicken and a bowl of clam chowder, and Dani had a Turkey Sandwich. The chowder was not bad but not great, but it was good size bowl and the garlicy herb toasts that came with it were superb. In fact I would totally be willing to order them alone if I could as an appetizer. Dani's sandwich was a standard turkey sandwich on Rye, the meat was pretty generic having the look and taste of standard turkey cold cut loaf. It did have one twist to it, there were apples in the sandwich taht Dani said were a nice addition. The chicken was great! Well seasoned the quarter chicken was well roasted and moist and the skin was crisp. It was served with some roasted potatoes and carrots that were pretty unmolested and just left to their own devices. The people working here were very nice and still working out a few kinks but cheerful. The chef came out a few times to make sure everything was ok and asked for any comments we could offer. The entrees come out on those wooden bed trays you see for Mother's Day painted in a variety of pastels, and while a visually appealing touch took up a lot of room on the table. We also told the chef it would be nice to have the option of ordering a cup of soup instead of a whole bowl as it is a largish bowl. Dani later commented that the portions seemd kind of small and while the apples were a nice touch in the sandwich it still wasn't all that unique. I replied to Dani that the portions only seemed small in comparison to the outlandish serving sizes we see all the time now in restaurants, and that for the price it was a good size. You can actually eat everthing on your plate and not feel bloated afterwards. Prices were very reasonable and friendly to the college student budget, the chicken was $6.99, and the prime rib listed on the menu was $9.99. For Dani and I, the total came to just $25 for the chowder, a pop, the chicken, and a sandwich including tax and tip. Overall it was a positive experience and hopefully it will be able to thrive in this location. Many students may bypass it as it does look nice inside but hopefully the lunch crowd from offices on campus and Safeco will give it a boost. It's a nice break from all of the usual cheap eats places that dot the Ave. Rocky

I picked one up from Amazon during one of their Calpahlon blowouts for $14. If you have time keep an eye out. Calphalon Commercial, does the job really well. Rocky

Are there no German pubs or eateries in Vancouver? If what you're looking for is a nice soft hot pretzel with some mustard, that's the way to go. Rocky edited for spelling

This is going to sound horrible but Housing and Food Services does "BBQ" and will contemplate vegetarians. Rocky

The only thing I use Citysearch for is as a directory and to check on hours. Good luck in your search! Rocky

Unions menus are currently seafood heavy to take advantage of the current bounty. Try the shrimp! Rocky

How about an omakase meal? Another one of those different on two levels sort of things. All of the usual suspects, Shiro's, Saito's, Nishino, the list goes on. Third what Reese said, she is a wise woman. Rocky

Why the avoid? I've been very intruiged by the place and have been meaning to go? Rocky

I like nothing more than going to Le Pichet early in the afternoon after the lunch rush has passed and getting the charcuterie plate, a glass of wine, and watching life rush by. Rocky

I've only been to Maharaja once and that was enough. The service was really nice and earnest, but the food was incredibly mediocre and indifferent. As far as Szechuan Bistro goes, I used to like the hot pot and the dry sauteed string beans with chitterlings. Rocky

Tequila Taqueria on 85th a little farther down from Mori, and just a little farther Georgia's Greek Restaurant. There's Kebab House, on Greenwood and 82nd, but don;t be in a rush, I swear sometimes they have to rinish rasing the lamb before they can serve it. Rocky

Cafe Juanita Rocky

In the Columbia Gorge take the scenic route and stop by at the Multnomah Falls Lodge, especially for breakfast. Trout and Eggs! The trout is usually fresh and caught nearby. Farther down the road when you get to the northern Willamette Valley which is beautiful, strike out for Hwy 99 and Hwy 18 and between Sheridan and McMinnville is the Fresh Palate Cafe, only open for lunch but worth scheduling for, great food and amazing desserts. It's in the middle of nowhere and shares a building with an excellent tasting room and the Lawrence Art Gallery. In Amity there is the Amity Fare Cafe which has some really good diner fare and will do take out. If you have time definitely get off I-5 and parallel it through as much wine country as you can, many wineries will be open to the public and the scenery is great. A year ago I wrote up a Trip Report with a few places. Continuing down I-5 when you get to Redding go to In-n-Out, it's the first one you'll encounter and you can have a little comparison for yourself with Burgerville if you stop there also. Greatest fast food greaseburger ever! All of the places here and in my trip report are casual or no dressier than polo shirt or shirt but no tie. Have fun! Hope you post a report when you're done. Rocky

Try Central Market as well, they have some house made fresh ones at the meat counter as well as Cascciopo's suasages there, also fresh. Rocky

Go a week before the sale and pick out exactly what you want, because the people on the floor get slammed and don't have time to answer questions during the sale. Rocky