It’s All About Keeping You Entertained

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You are at the office, and it’s a Monday holiday. Do you really want to work while the rest of us are frolicking in the balmy breeze? Of course not! Here’s lots of good stuff to keep you occupied for a while:

Bon Appetit ran another roundup of Portland restaurants for their February issue. Listed in this article: The Country Cat, Ace Hotel, Clyde Common, Lovely Hula Hands, Toro Bravo, Rocket, Simpatica Dining Hall, Lupa Wine Bar, Teardrop Cocktail Lounge, and House Spirits Distillery. I couldn’t find a link online.

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House Spirits got lots of attention from Food and Wine Magazine in an article on America’s Best New Whiskeys.

Medoff also hopes his latest experiment in DIY distilling will generate interest in Oregon whiskey. With “Whiskey Your Way,” amateur distillers make their own barrel of bespoke whiskey at House Spirits under Medoff and Krogstad’s tutelage. At the cost of around $5,000 (about $50 a bottle), Whiskey Your Way participants can customize their whiskey in whatever style they fancy: bourbon, rye, Irish, Scotch or, if Medoff has his way, Oregonian. “I tell people that they can go out and buy bourbon or Scotch, but here’s a chance to make their own style of whiskey,” Medoff says. “And they’re coming up with some pretty imaginative stuff.”

Hmm… $5,000 for my own barrel of whiskey. Maybe we should all get together and get a bulk discount.

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Liz Gadberry over at the Portland Tribune Linked to our conversation on Stu Stein. This story has gained a life of it’s own, with inquiries coming in from newspapers and magazines all over the nation. It will be interesting to see if anyone else picks it up. Speaking of links, in an article called America’s Hottest Coffee Houses Albina Press got a nod from MSNBC.com.

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The Three Lions Bakery over on NW 5th street, has moved out of their space. Sources tell me they are another candidate for Circling the Drain – allegedly unpaid taxes, declining sales; I heard a rumor they even had their water turned off last week (unexpectedly), which made it difficult to make coffee. Croissants are now being made for them by Delphina’s. As for the space, another rumor has the GM of a certain popular downtown restaurant taking it over.

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New York Magazine has an interesting article called A Woman’s Place? “Precious few women run New York kitchens. We asked seven prominent exceptions to tell us why. Off the top of my head, the statistics seem even more lopsided here.

So here’s a question: Where are all the women? Despite the fact that women make up the vast majority of home cooks, and despite four-plus decades of modern feminism, women still run just a small percentage of top kitchens in New York and elsewhere. Never mind the Rachael Rays and Nigella Lawsons of the world. They’re TV personalities, not chefs. They don’t turn out hundreds of meals a night on a hot, high-stress line at one of the country’s most esteemed and critically scrutinized restaurants.

I don’t believe the answer that has been thrown my direction every time I’ve mentioned it before: Women can’t take the heat (physical/mental) of a kitchen. What do you think is the reason?

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Do you have dreams of writing about food, and (gasp), even getting paid for it?

The Portland Mercury is currently looking for an experienced FOOD EDITOR. This part-time editorial position entails weekly food reviews, occasional restaurant roundups, editing our online restaurant guide and other fun stuff. An encyclopedic knowledge of food and local restaurants is required, as well as outstanding writing and editing skills. Send published clips, resume and short cover letter to:

FOOD EDITOR POSITION

c/o Portland Mercury

605 NE 21st Ave, Suite 200

Portland, OR 97232

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Filberts has closed. Coincidentally, as soon as I finished my review, they packed up shop and stuck a sign on the door. Sigh. More money thrown to the wind. No, I didn’t have anything to do with it. I was promised more information on the closing by the PR company if I held back the news for a short time, but this didn’t happen. Still no details. Lesson learned.

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The new Overlook building on N. Interstate will contain a single commercial tennant: Krakow Koffeehouse & Market.” For those who are worried about the huge decline in neon signs on that street, one of the developers says they are “placing our fairly large, 30 sf exterior neon sign on the lower 2nd floor”. Lots of people are joking about the name; remember, it’s in a Polish neighborhood, and it will all make sense.

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The Boston Globe did an interesting article called Some like it hot -How boomer’s failing taste buds are shaping the future of American food.

Why is hot so hot? The conventional explanation is that the nation has an increasingly adventurous palate. Immigration and prosperity have made Americans more sophisticated eaters, pushing wasabi peas into the mainstream, along with chili-Thai lime cashews, cayenne chocolate bars, and other high-octane combinations.

But some food scientists and market researchers think there is a more surprising reason for the broad nationwide shift toward bolder flavors: The baby boomers, that huge, youth-chasing, all-important demographic, are getting old. As they age, they are losing their ability to taste – and turning to spicier, higher-flavor foods to overcome their dulled senses.

Chiefly because of degenerating olfactory nerves, most aging people experience a diminished sense of taste, whether they realize it or not. But unlike previous generations, the nation’s 80 million boomers have broad appetites, a full set of teeth, and the spending power to shape the entire food market.

If this is the case, the incredibly over-spiced frites I was served last night, must be directly related to my age. “We’ve got an old one! Dump more spices on those fries!” Sigh.

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The positive press keeps pouring in. Arizona Highroads Magazine ran a “Portland Weekender” article in the latest issue. You’ll be glad to know Portland is most notable for its microbrews, world-class wines, tax-free shopping, outdoor enthusiast’s nirvana, and the ability to “Go green by joining the throngs of pedestrians downtown or cyclists along Portland’s 270 miles of bike-friendly street lanes and paths…”