EAT BEAT

Portland’s Own Major League Food and Wine Festival

Portland food-scene moguls Mike Thelin and Carrie Welch are setting out to put Portland on the national culinary festival map with international chefs and regional talent.

Posted by: Allison Jones on May 12, 2011 at 10:00AM 0 Comments

As reported by Eater PDX, Portland is finally set to host a large-scale food and drink festival comparable to the annual food events in Aspen, Las Vegas, South Beach, and New York. It’s no secret anymore: Portland’s food scene is on the map. With a handful of shiny new James Beard Awards, seemingly constant features in major food magazines and international newspapers, and so much home-grown talent, a large-scale celebration seems in order.

Local food masterminds Mike Thelin (event-planner extraordinaire and writer, formerly of Eater PDX and Portland Monthly) and Carrie Welch (the Food Network exec turned PR maven who played a hand in the New York City Wine and Food Festival) joined forces to plan the event that will feature the best of Portland and beyond. Bringing together Oregon’s restaurant, food cart, wine, spirits, beer, coffee, and bacon superstars side-by-side with national and international culinary talent, the festival is scheduled for fall 2012. Stay tuned for more information about Portland’s coming-out party… and start getting hungry, because this one’s going to be big.

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Tags: Portland Chefs, Food News, Food Event

Beaker & Flask Brings the BBQ

Start getting in a Summer state of mind with Beaker & Flask’s Picnic in the Parking Lot.

Posted by: Allison Jones on May 04, 2011 at 12:58PM 2 Comments

The spit-roasted pig becomes a picnic plate with fresh sides for only $20. Photo: Allison Jones

Benjamin Bettinger kicked off the weekly Beaker & Flask Tuesday Night Barbecue long before most people in Portland ate breakfast. The chef was up early spit roasting a Carlton Farms pig over hot coals in the parking lot, filling the morning rush hour with fragrant smoke. It was all in a day’s work for the Central Eastside eatery, which will be offering up a plate full of picnic favorites and accompanying wine and cocktail specials every week through the sunny season.

The pork is the star of the feast. Bettinger brines the whole pig in an orange zest-infused elixir, stuffs it with more citrus, and spins it slowly, hour after hour, until it literally falls apart. I arrived early to snap a few shots of the roasting pig before it came off the spit, and as I was shooting pieces of tender meat began dropping into the fire. A melee ensued as Bettinger jumped to catch the pork before it all ended up in the ashes, and I was treated to one of the first sizzling bites off the pig. The orange came through beautifully, brightening the savory decadence of the succulent meat, a testament to the chef’s early morning endeavors. In upcoming weeks, the Beaker & Flask team will tackle whole goats, lambs, and a few more pigs, giving any barbecue joint in town a run for their money.

Acting as backup singer to Bettinger’s main course lead, Beaker’s new sous chef Anthony Walton will whip up three new sides every week, making the most of Portland’s seasonal bounty. This week’s options included three flavor-packed salads: zesty lentil and grilled asparagus; a classic wedge with iceberg lettuce, shaved hard-boiled egg, bacon, and ranch; and a mix of arugula, radish, strawberries, and goat cheese. The colorful, fresh sides let the pork shine, and the $5 wine selections are guaranteed perfect pairings for an evening of great food and sunshine. A whole plate of food, including a pile of pork, cornbread, and two sides, is only $20, but the first taste of summer is priceless.

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Tags: Southeast Dining, Eastside Dining, Food Event

IPNC Walks it Out

The International Pinot Noir Celebration brought the area’s top sips to Portland’s Central Eastside restaurants to kick off the sunny season.

Posted by: Allison Jones on May 02, 2011 at 01:00PM 1 Comments

The good people behind Oregon wine country’s annual International Pinot Noir Celebration sure made the most of yesterday’s glimpse of summer. The IPNC Pinot Walkabout brought out over a hundred Portland wine lovers for a Central Eastside food and drink relay race – fifteen of the area’s top Pinot pourers were paired with nibbles from Beaker & Flask, Noble Rot, and Simpatica Dining Hall. Tasters were encouraged to stroll between the neighborhood restaurants, and some of the area’s big names in wine and food were seen sipping their way through the afternoon. Check out our photos of the fun below!

If you missed the Walkabout, there are still tickets available for Passport to Pinot on Sunday, July 31. All 70 participating IPNC wineries will pour for Oregon’s largest outdoor wine tasting, and fifteen of the northwest’s top chefs will offer up summery pairings. This year’s Passport to Pinot chefs include Genoa’s David Anderson, Bar Avignon’s Jeremy Eckel, Ken’s Artisan Bakery’s Ken Forkish, June’s Greg Perrault, and many more. For ticket information, head over to the IPNC website.

Beaker & Flask’s bar hosted Adelsheim Vineyard, Amity Vineyards, Archery Summit, Bethel Heights Vineyard, and Erath wines. The event was a casual opportunity for wine lovers to get the inside scoop behind their favorite wines.

Beaker & Flask chef Benjamin Bettinger prepared plenty of treats for the afternoon’s revelers – saving time to try the wines for himself. Highlights included the smoked bone marrow and green garlic crostini and crispy pig ear snacks.

As the temperatures climbed and walkers worked up a sweat, Bethel Heights Vineyard’s 2009 Pinot Noir Rosé was a definite hit among the offerings at Beaker & Flask.

Simpatica hosted Rex Hill (that’s Mike Willison and Bill Hatcher of Rex Hill above), Sokol Blosser, Soléna Estate, Stoller Vineyards, and Yamhill Valley Vineyards wines.

Tasters received their own wine glass at every stop and were given 45 minutes to make their way around the room. After chatting and sipping through five wines at every stop, attendees were guided to the next location.

Noble Rot’s wine bar reputation and gorgeous views made it a natural stop on the tour. The rooftop restaurant hosted Elk Cove Vineyards, The Eyrie Vineyards, Lemelson Vineyards, Ponzi Vineyards, and R. Stuart & Co. wines.

Nobel Rot easily made the most of the sunny day, with expansive views of the Willamette River, downtown Portland, and the West Hills adding to the beauty of the afternoon.

PDX Pedicabs were on call to bring wine lovers from Point A to Point B. The Central Eastside tourism board should look into making these free all the time – or at least on gorgeous sunny Sundays!

All Images © Allison E. Jones

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Tags: Southeast Portland, Southeast Dining, Wine, Eastside Dining, wine country, Food Event

Hungry to Help

Taste of The Nation Portland brings together the best chefs for an important cause – ending childhood hunger.

Posted by: Allison Jones on Apr 14, 2011 at 02:00PM 0 Comments

Attention do-gooder gourmands: If you’d like to take a crash course on the Portland dining scene and help out an important cause while you’re schmoozing, definitely check out Taste of the Nation, coming to Portland on May 2nd. This annual event is bringing together over 75 amazing local restaurants, distillers, brewers, and wineries to benefit Share Our Strength®, a national nonprofit working to end childhood hunger in America by 2015. All of the ticket and auction proceeds (yes, 100% of them) are going straight to the charity, and you’ll be able to meet the big names of the Portland food and drink world while juggling plates of the best bites around.

David Anderson (executive chef at Genoa and Accanto) is the Honorary Chef Chair of the event, and he’s helped put together a culinary line-up that reads like a Best Of Portland list. Where else can you try selections from Aviary, Bamboo Sushi, Biwa, Bunk, Clyde Common, Immortal Pie and Larder, Metrovino, Ned Ludd, Nostrana, Saint Cupcake, Screen Door, Simpatica, The Gilt Club, Vindalho, Violetta, Wildwood, Xocolati de David and more, all under one roof? LUXE and VIP ticket holders will also have access to treats from six of the top restaurants (Beast, Castagna, Genoa, June, Laurelhurst Market and Tasty & Sons) at a special pre-event gathering. The wine will be flowing, the beer will be tapped, and the drinks will be shaking all night long. Best of all, the price of just one general admission ticket will help over 18 people eat a nutritious, filling meal. We’ll raise a glass to that.

Tickets for the tasting and silent auction can be purchased by calling 1-877-26-TASTE, going to portlandtaste.org, or stopping in at any New Seasons Market.

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Tags: Portland Chefs, Food Event,