Fresh

One of the things that I love most about PDX is the amazing assortment of fresh, seasonal produce and meat. I have never lived in a city so aware of what is coming from the farms and when is the best time to eat it. Coming from Florida we had 2 seasons- sunny and rainy. I try to get out to the different farmers markets around town to see what is fresh this week. I love to come home with a bag full of stuff and figure out what to make for dinner. One day it was bacon ends, lamb shanks, and swiss chard. Another it was kale, radishes, asparagus, and Walla Walla onions.

The latest edition was organic arugula, red onions, smoked coho salmon, chives from my over grown plant, and goat's cheese. I had bought a take n' bake pizza from the grocery store and so decided to toss my ingredients on to that. The result was a delicious pizza with fresh ingredients that was ready in less time than it would have taken me to order and wait for a sub-par delivery pizza.

In a city that seems to be obsessed with good pizza I am proud to say that I think mine was pretty darn good. We enjoyed it with a glass (or two) of Moldavian red wine and a good movie. It was a nice way to chill out on a weeknight and enjoy eachother's company.

Man, that's Bunk!

So today I made it to a PDX institution: Bunk Sandwiches.

This places has been reported on by  Guy Fieri, from Food Network, Bon Appetite, Food & Wine, you get the picture. So I was super excited when my co-workers suggested we take advantage of the sunshine and head over to pick up some lunch.

I had the roast beef sandwich. It was juicy roast beef served on a poppy-seed bun with caramelized onions, cheddar cheese, and horseradish. It was wrapped in foil and tossed in a bag with some house made potato chips. My co-workers go the chicken salad sandwich with bacon and avocado and the pork belly cuban. The pork belly cuban is what I will get on my next visit.

Like all other great spots in PDX, this place as small and seating was first come, first served. They did have a few tables outside and a couple of characters inside, but it is what I have come to love and expect out of the best of PDX's eateries.

Street Cart Tour

If you didn't know, PDX is becoming renowned for it's street cart culture. In the past year alone I have seen more articles about street carts in PDX than almost any other food scene here. So I am compelled to start a mission: trying out street cart fare at least once a month. I know, there are a lot of carts and only trying one a month would result in a long term commitment to finding the best of the best, but hey, I plan on being here for a while.

My first PDX food cart experience was at the Grilled Cheese Grill. We went here after a morning of zip lining and it was DELICIOUS! I had the Jalapeno Popper- roasted jalapenos, colby cheese, and cream cheese. I 86'd the tortilla chips in favor of avocado and it was the right decision. Some in our group got the Cheesus. It is a burger sandwiched between two grilled cheese sandwiches. Yes, a heart attack on a plate! But with some cold beer, it was soooooo good.

This afternoon I decided to take advantage of the sunshine and headed out to a Bento food cart. It was off of SE Milwauke and it was pretty delicious. I had the lemongrass pork with yakisoba noodles and vegetables. At the delivery window they have an assortment of sauces of which I feel the peanut sauce was the best.

So I am setting out on a mission to get better acquainted with the food carts of PDX. I've got a couple of resources to point me in the right direction but if you have a fave food cart, let me know.

Gourmet Mag- PDX Street Carts

Bon Appetit- PDX Street Carts

Portland Monthly- Street Carts


UPDATE: Portland was just voted #1 by Budget Travel for the world's best street food because of their food carts! Gotta start going!Worlds Best Street Food

First foot forward

Hello friends,

As some of you may know Dan and I recently relocated to Portland (herein referred to as PDX because that is what Portland-ers call their city) from Orlando, FL. It's true, we couldn't have gotten further away from our home unless we'd moved to Alaska, which certainly was not an option.

So we've been living together in PDX since I arrived in March. One of the reasons we choose PDX was because of the amazing food and wine scene here. Dan got a job in the wine industry as a tasting room manager for Wines of Oregon and I'm doing advertising for Fred Meyer and Kroger. And when we aren't working we are living and dining in PDX. So if you'd like to sit a while and hear our tale we'd be happy to share some of our favorite things about our new city and all of those things that make it so great.

Let's start with our favorite happy hour spot: Uptown Billards on NW 23rd and Burnside. Now I know what you are thinking, this is a city filled with hot happy hour spots. Hell, there is even a happy hour guidebook that gives you the skinny on all the good places to go. But Uptown has found a special place in our hearts, and not just because Dan is pining for his pool table. The happy hour food here is AMAZING! They do a 5 course tasting menu for happy hour. It's $15 for the tasting menu or $25 for the tasting menu + wine pairings (we haven't turned down the wine yet). Our most recent trip was for their Lovin' Latin America menu. All of the food was inspired by Latin American cuisine.

First course: crab cake wrapped in avocado topped with micro-greens

Second course: grilled scallop on a bed of veggies and quinoa with cilantro and chili sauces

Third course: shrimp on polenta with ancho chili sauce (my new comfort food)

Fourth course: hanger steak with mango salsa

Fifth course: house made mango ice cream with house made peanut fudge and mango bits

All of these paired with excellent Latin American wines and for just $25. It's a sin really.

But then we haven't found a place yet that wasn't wonderfully delicious. So stay tuned for more entries on our new lives in PDX.