Foster & Dobbs
I’ve been passing the Foster & Dobbs store at NE 15th and Brazee (next to the new Mio Gelato) for the past few weeks, but it has always been at night when they were closed. Today I made a special trip to see what they were all about.
This is a somewhat higher-end food store. By “somewhat”, I mean they tend to carry things that are higher quality then your normal grocery, but not up in the stratospheric level.
The store itself is beautiful, everything is nicely displayed. A large cheese case dominates the space. They have a good selection of cheeses that would appeal to most people, one of the standouts being the Rouge River Blue. None of the really foul, stinky cheeses that get me going, but one could definitely find things that satisfy. They also have a good selection of Salumi Salami (by Mario Batali’s father in Seattle – try the Mole!). Funny how we are suddenly finding it all over Portland.
A small selection of wine is available as well as quite a few canned, bottled items such as olive oil, organic tea, good salts (the truffle salt is great), and the typical things you find in gourmet food stores. My only concern is that their prices seem a bit high on everything: for example, the Salumi is $20.00 a pound. Still, it is a good/classy addition to the Irvington neighborhood and I’m sure I’ll be stopping in from time to time.
- Address: 2518 NE 15th Ave Portland OR. 97212
- Phone: (503) 284-1157
- Hours: June 1 through September 30, Mon-Sat 11AM-8PM, Sun 12-6PM. October 1 through May 31, Mon-Sat 11AM-7PM, Sun12-6PM
- Website: FosterAndDobbs.com
Regarding Salumi salumi, the cheese maven at Pastaworks recently told me that it’s only recently that the stuff has been available in Portland through a distributor.
Pastaworks sells Salumi salumi for $26 a pound, so $20 at Foster & Dobbes is sort of a bargain (yeah, right). On the other hand, some of the things I’ve tried (lomo, oregano) didn’t strike me as all that special. If I’m paying $20+ a pound, I want Prosciutto San Daniele or better, darn it! On the other hand, the Salumi salami is pretty amazing, and worth the money–to me, anyway.
Thx for mentioning this place. I almost stopped in on Saturday, but was driving with la nina from whom stinky cheese elicits mock shrieks of terror. It’s wonderful to have this place, Steve’s Cheese in NW and Curds and Whey in SE carrying wonderful new varieties of artisan and imported cheese.
As for salami,the stuff that transported me was not the Salumi brand, but something from a producer called Columbus. Their thing is using only fresh, not frozen, meat. Whatever it is, the taste was better than any other I have tried. I got it at City Market, but Steve Jones is trying to get his hands on some too.
–mcz
The Salumi meats are $17/lb down at Curds and Whey, and they can also order the other meats offered by Salumi for you if you want as well. However, as this store is only a few blocks from me, I’m far more likely to go here now than Curds and Whey, though paying extra isn’t something I’m really a fan of, and I do like Curds and Whey. I’ll probably try to support them both.
I’ve been buying Salumi at Curds & Whey.. as I recall they were $16.50lb last time, so this is a bit more expensive. However, the convenience of D&D is great.
I’m a big fan of the culatello and the pancetta with cinnamon and man…the lardo. Are any of these places carrying this stuff?
Dino never wanted to really expand or grow as large as they’ve become-it was more his daughter’s idea/desire which I believe is why she bought into the place. He was always fearful it would affect the quality. I can’t really say yet if it has or hasn’t.
The correct price of the Salumi salamis at Curds & Whey is 16.00 lb. The lamb proscuitto is 33.00 lb. Quite a wide margin here, eh?
I’ve been doing the same thing! Just this afternoon I was driving past and thought, again, that I had to stop in…what about the place right next to it (not Mio Gelato) – what’s that all about?
Well, considering that to order the lamb proscuitto from Salumi direct, it’s 5-7 lbs at $25/lb, where the Salami can be bought a pound at a time for $15/lb, that’s not that bad. I’d like to try the Culatello, but since that’s $35/lb to order, I’d hate to think what a store would sell it for, but it’s better than ordering 5 pounds and having half go to waste.
Nice place. The service is great and they have some really good stuff in there–plus they were generous with the sampling of pretty much whatever we wanted to try. We bought a $12 jar of pickles (yeah, they were amazing) and a little bit of poacher. YUM.
I live in Washington and don’t make it to 15th and Brazee during the day. Would someone please tell me what the store hours are? The closest thing we have here to fine food is the Safeway deli. Please help. Thanks, Paul
Paul: Foster & Dobbs
2518 NE 15th Avenue
Portland, OR 97212
Hours
Monday through Saturday 11AM – 7 PM
Sunday Noon – 6PM
Although the people that own the place are very nice, almost everything sold here can be purchased elsewhere for less.
Although the people that own the place are very nice, almost everything sold here can be purchased elsewhere for less.
Yes, but certainly not for significantly less, and certainly not in one location.
The advantage of Foster & Dobbs is the one-stop-shopping for quality goods that otherwise would require visits to various places. The slight premium there is more than offset by the expense of driving all over town to collect what is already under one roof at F&D.