Updated at the bottom:
It’s been quite a while since I have done a food news roundup. Lots of little things have happened, but nothing worth a full post. However, there is enough now to make it worthwhile.
Tommy Habetz and Nick Wood are looking for locations for their next project, Bunk Bar. They want to do a complete dive bar, and have Matt Brown of Ron Toms on board.
In case you missed it, Pok Pok is now open on Sunday. It seems they have so much business, Andy felt like he was just throwing income away.
Burgerville is continuing their new push to combine as many local, seasonal ingredients into their menu as they can. Right now they are knee deep in cherries. A few nights ago, I stopped and grabbed a “cherry chipotle pulled pork sandwich”. You know, it was one of the better fast food items I’ve ever had. Everything in the sandwich is fairly local, natural, etc. Kudos to them for the whole program.
Willamette Week broke the story on August 7th; Chef Greg Perrault is leaving Micha Camden’s D.O.C. It seems he wants to go work on a farm. At this point, no one has been hired to replace him. (WW link no longer works)
You think food carts are big business here? According to Yahoo News, a NYC, a hot dog vendor was evicted over a “whopping rent bill”. (link no longer good)
A New York City hot dog vendor has been evicted from his prize spot outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art because he couldn’t pay a whopping rent bill of nearly $54,000 a month.
$54K a month! That’s a lot of hot dogs.
Tasting Table, a “free daily email that delivers the best of food and drink…” has featured “Four scene-stealers in the Northwest’s culinary capital”. The list includes D.O.C., Bunk Sandwiches, Ping, and Beaker and Flask. All of this is pretty predictable. What i find interesting – they call Portland “the Northwest’s Culinary Capital”. Take that Spokane!
About a month ago, much ado was being paid to the “Donut Burger” at The Original: a Dinerant, a new restaurant downtown. It’s a “VOODOO DOUGHNUT BURGER natural beef patty, cheddar, glazed doughnut”. I knew I’d seen it somewhere before, but it wasn’t until I was working on cleaning up old posts that I stumbled across it. Back in march of 2006, I covered the same thing on this very site:
This sounds like something a bunch of stoned college students would come up with:
Homer Simpson would love the newest taste sensation in minor league baseball: the doughnut burger.
We kid you not. The Gateway Grizzlies of the Frontier League promised to create “Baseball’s Best Burger” in time for the team’s opener in late May. And they appear to have succeeded.
The ballpark sandwich will include a hamburger topped with sharp cheddar cheese and two slices of bacon — all between a “bun” made of a sliced Krispy Kreme Original Glazed doughnut.
Feels strange to quote myself. As appealing as their restaurant may sound, I am in complete agreement with The Portland Mercury’s Patrick Coleman’s review of the Dinerant. Ugh. One of the most scathing reviews I’ve read in a long time.
Anyone else read the Oregonian’s review of Urban Farmer last week? I thought they were going to fill in the missing piece of my steakhouse review series, but was wrong. Maybe it’s just me, but it seemed awfully short on the details.
Also from the Oregonian, Lovely Hula Hands is adding a “Pizza and ice cream parlor”. It’s going to open right next door. Wood-burning oven and the whole bit. James Albee, will head the project. He has experience from Gialina Pizzeria in San Fransisco. This one scares me, but I wish them great success.
Along the same lines, former Noble Rot chef Gregory Smith is taking over as head chef of Lovely Hula Hands. Hmm. Can’t wait to go back and see how he’s doing.
<updates: I forgot this stuff:>
While I’m complaining about everyone else, what’s with the Portland Monthly Burger Roundup? Cafe Castagna’s burger has been voted best time and time again – including by readers of this site, but they don’t even mention it in the article. Sounds like someone over there dropped that ball on that one. Hello? Is anyone over there?
Credit where credit is due, the lowly NW Examiner paper has be impressing me with their reviews. I like the fact that this free, low budget newspaper is putting out some of the most entertaining restaurant reviews in the city, not hesitating to call a restaurant out for mistakes. This month they review Dockside and Ping, finding good and bad at both restaurants. I go out of my way to pick up every issue.
That’s it for now. As I said, there just hasn’t been much going on.
Portland Monthly burger issue is pathetic to say the least. I won’t even talk about the burger reviews…
The 3 chefs attempt to create the ultimate burger was a good idea, but so poorly written and developed. Tragic.
Even Mark Thelin’s review of late night restaurants was so poorly written and full of mistakes. I know he is better than that.
All in all, after reading this issue, I turned to my wife and told her I HAD to stop buying this magazine as it’s been making me so upset! I swear to god i will NEVER buy this trash again. Unless they bring back Camas Davis as food editor.
Coleman’s review of the Original was right in line with the one and only experience I had there. A total disaster. Not a big surprise when you see who’s the chef there!
BTW, to stick with Sage Group, the chef at Departure was fired a couple weeks ago. And that’s a darn shame. Even if I didn’t particularly liked the “gimmick” presentations, I thought the food was spectacular. I hope he’ll stay in Portland. This guy is serious with his cooking and knows his subject.
FD, thanks for the great news roundup. I learned a lot from it!
Maybe her firing is the reason the writing sucks now. A very ‘intern’ style. PM has really taken a slide lately, not only in writing style but in design. I haven’t heard of anyone who looks to them for restaurant reviews.
The editor of the NW Examiner should be no friend to restaurant owners or those who enjoy eating at small, independent places with tight cost structures. He championed last summer’s campaign against sidewalk cafes which now has the city creating an entire department to police them, at a 1000% increase in fees for businesses. Hobos can sit on the sidewalk all they please now but taxpaying businesses have to pay heavy rent and endure multiple inspections. Thanks free newspaper for adding more costs to the point where many businesses are considering whether it would be better to just nix the tables, layoff the staff, and stay indoors. We really needed more fun time with city bureaucrats.
Second that.
The NW Examiner has had the most disgusting anti-business agenda I have yet to witness in an already pretty damn anti-business town.
I respect my cat far too much to line the litter box with it but apparently the hobos who defecate all up and down the streets and alleys of NW downtown find it useful.
Regarding the stance the NWE took on the sidewalk cafe issue I have to point out this letter to the editor which I have to give them credit for printing I guess:
“Cross the street
I’m curious, Ms. Welch [Letters, “Sidewalk cafes,” July 2009 Northwest Examiner].
Are you using a walker? On crutches? Confined to a wheelchair? If not, why
couldn’t you just cross the street to the east side of 21st? Are the Pizza Schmizza
and Ken’s Bakery tables too much for you?
Can you stop thinking about yourself long enough to notice businesses are
closing left and right, nobody is hiring and teens can’t get summer jobs because
older adults like me have to piece together part-time jobs to make ends meet right
now? Have you read that Oregon has the second highest unemployment rate in
the nation?
You must have a nice secure government job. Or maybe you work in the medical
field in anything but sales. Two-income household?
I’m thrilled to see our community overflowing with people willing to part with
their hard-earned money. Is a few minutes of inconvenience on a beautiful day
really so bad?
Ms. Welch, you really should stop “stumbling all over town” and move to the
suburbs. Then you wouldn’t have to spend your valuable (?) time harassing store
managers, attending transportation meetings (LOL!) and complaining about how
difficult life is for you right now.
Of course, if you are using a walker, on crutches, confined to a wheelchair,
vision-impaired or at least 75 years old, I apologize; you have a valid reason to
complain about people supporting our local businesses.
Tracy Pursche
NW Lovejoy”
If anyone knows Ms.Tracy Pursche please tell her I would like to buy her a drink. Well said Madame, well said.
I’d like to know what people think about the Oregonian’s Mix Magazine going to a monthly publication. Can Portland handle another Magazine that is primarily restaurant reviews. Are people getting burned out reading the reviews? Any feedback would be appreciated. Which publication do you think does the best reviews?
I like MIX, though I wonder if they can keep up the content on a monthly basis. As per restaurant reviews, I don’t think they really do any.
Best restaurant reviews are right here on this site!
I’m talking print – otherwise, yes I agree
One reason Castagna might have been left off is that their burger took a nosedive . . . I haven’t been there in a while, but the last time I had a burger there, it was massively oversalted (and I REALLY like salty food) and the fries were terrible. Several of my friends have been since my last visit and reported exactly the same experience.
I was there two weeks ago and it was as good as it has ever been. Just perfect.
That’s good news – I’ll have to try again. Until that experience, it was my favorite burger in town.
I had the burger and fries at Castagna last Wednesday night. Both were as delicious as ever – with the burger cooked perfectly medium rare. I know it’s officially summer now as a thick slice of yellow heirloom tomato was on the plate as well. This is still my favorite burger in town.
Mix is just a rehash of reviews and articles they’ve already run in the daily or online. I guess they figure they may as well get more mileage out of the same old stuff.
MIX never reruns what’s in the daily/weekly paper. Where did you get that idea?
Yes I’ve seen it many times. They recycle reviews, photos, interviews.
For example, the piece on Chef Naoko was identically intact on OregonLive.com, Mix, and The Oregonian, photos and all.
Huh. So they run things in MIX after they’ve been online a while? I mean, I know they run things at the same time — all publications do — but after… well, news to me.
I can’t recite to you the precise chronology of what appears when. All I know is that I’ve seen the same photos, interviews, features, and reviews on all three media.
I admire Martha Holmberg and I think Mix is an excellent magazine but, yes, articles from the Oregonian are definitely reprinted in Mix sometimes.
That’s a fact that can be substantiated by anyone with the time and inclination.
I don’t believe Mix is a rehash. I’m a dinosaur and read the paper version of the O every morning and I have yet to see articles from it or even FoodDay appear in Mix. I’m with Food Dude in that I’ve enjoyed the content so far, but wonder if they will be able to come up with enough more content on a monthly basis.
I agree with others as to Portland Monthly. It seems like they are just there for the paycheck. I’ve quit buying it too, and wonder how long it will remain in business.
the most glaringly bad aspect of the Burger Issue was the inclusion of Helvetia Tavern. Now, maybe this burger was good 10 years ago(perhaps longer) but it is merely a Sysco pre-made patty, Sysco bun, Sysco cheese and dressing(catching the theme here?).
I’ve been more and more impressed with Edible Portland
Me too. I look forward to each issue.
Mike, just to back up FD, I had the burger at CC last week. Both the burger and the fries were fantastic. If I have a gripe with CC, it would be that they’ve fallen into the “panzanella salad trap.” Panzanella is a specific salad designed to use day old crusty bread, and beautiful, ripe tomatoes. This was another green salad with small croutons. Actually, it was a lovely cucumber/heirloom tomato salad, but panzanella it was not. Small gripe admittedly, but I was really looking forward to having panzanella.
You guys are really harsh.
First, Mix is NOT a rehash, it’s the best food magazine Portland has ever had. True, some of the restaurant-focused articles are re-used, but the features are wonderful, original, and fun. Plus the art direction is very nice. Martha Holmberg does a great job.
Second, I don’t understand why the PM burger issue was so bad. It was fairly well written, and fun. It wasn’t Camas Davis, but it was still okay. That said, the Castagna and Slow Bar omissions were pretty glaring. I’m with the Dude.
Third, the state of food journalism in this town overall is hurting, and that’s because editorial budgets are way down, editors are overworked, and
there’s less to write about. Even this site has far less content than it did a couple of years ago.
Of coarse, if you don’t like something, that’s one’s own choice, but one must consider that things have changed considerably for journalism in the past few months. Things will get better.
Hi, I’m the editor of MIX and FoodDay. I thought I’d weigh in on the MIX is a rehash issue, just to clarify. The only content in MIX that originates elsewhere are the capsule reviews in the back of the book, sections called Scene and High 5, which are mostly repurposed from A&E or Diner (repurpose is a nice way of saying rehash). We update/fact-check those as needed, but don’t research and write fresh for each issue. Sometimes a topic might be covered in A&E that we then cover again in MIX, but it’s not the same content. As far as I can remember, other than those reviews, everything in MIX has been created expressly for first publication there. Sometimes we’ll then use parts, photos, recipes or whatever, in FoodDay or A&E. Re the online reuse, every time we publish an issue of MIX, we post all the content on mixpdx.com. (Ditto for FoodDay/foodday.com) That site, along with foodday.com and the A&E sites, is part of OregonLive — we’re all one big happy family. So maybe that’s why yogipdx has that impression? Re us being mostly restaurant reviews, the only review-ish content in MIX is those little recaps in the back. Radar addresses restaurants, but mostly as trend pieces or profiles. Re the biggest issue — whether we can sustain a good magazine over 10 issues a year — well, I ask myself that question every day! I’m sure you guys will let me know how we’re doing as we go forward.
Thank you for setting the record straight. Sorry if my tone was at all dismissive. Actually, I do read it and always make sure to take home a free copy from the farmers’ market. I have a foreign foodie friend who is moving here in a month, and plan on buying her a sub.
Martha, I enjoy the magazine and recently subscribed. Keep up the good work.
Thanks Martha! I didn’t even know there was a mixpdx.com
Foodrebel, if you think his food is bad, you should see how he treats his employees. So sad.
Did anyone see the restaurant issue of Portland monthly? It’s pretty awful, only eclipsed by Willamette week. Don’t they have any editors? My favorite paragraph in over-the-top hyperbole is
“There are restaurants by which to judge other restaurants, ,and there are those by which to judge friends. Such is Nostrana. With fare so humble, so religiously seasonal, so artfully executed, so authentically regional (in the sublimely specific Northern Italian sense), it’s not too harsh to say that if a friend doesn’t comprehend the magic of this restaurant, he or she may not be worth of your time”
Dumbest thing I’ve read in a very long time. No wonder the latest issue is about 1/2 the pages it was a year ago.
That’s very funny bbfoodie. Is that quote from the Portland Monthly or Willamette Week? Aren’t both their restaurant issues out now?
That pretentious drivel is from Portland Monthly.
WW came out with their issue last Wednesday.
Hey, check your chakra, pdxyogi — you’re sounding kinda harsh!ditto bbfoodie. Re the book size, Gourmet’s issues were about 1/2 what they were a year ago, too, and their writers were kinda good.
What Martha said.
Thanks for the comments bbfoodie. I wrote that line of ‘pretentious drivel’ as our resident yogi says, and of course everyone is entitled to their opinions, as I am entitled to mine. I for one am extremely proud of the hard work that Eva, Randy, Jason, Basil, and I and put into Best Restaurants 2009, and the majority of feedback has been positive. And for the record, I think that Ben, Kelly, and Co. did an excellent job from start-to-finish on the Willamette Week restaurant guide. In this economy, it’s no small feat to review 100 Portland restaurants, and they ought to be applauded.
But Mike, if you actually do judge your friends–to the point of exclusion–on their taste in restaurants there is something wrong with you.
I know, it’s really just rhetoric meant to galvanize a readership. With a little more reflection and imagination I think you could produce better written devices than that. The overkill makes me skeptical, too.
Speaking of devices, my issue with the Portland Monthly guide was the listing of “close contenders” under each of the “best” restaurants. What does that mean exactly? If one of the best restaurants should burn to the ground, there are runner-ups to fulfill their culinary commitments?
What a cranky bunch of comments. Go have something good to eat, preferably with a cocktail.
Snobbery makes me cranky. What can I say?
/checks fridge for mollifier
This town has so much good food and culture, yet an amateurish monthly magazine, especially when it comes to their food section. It’s filled with inaccuracies, poor fact checking, over the top hyperbole. PM reads like some recently graduated college kids haven’t learned basic research skills. I found myself rolling my eyes at all the long-winded flowery descriptions, and the “aren’t we clever” lines. Even worse is the introduction by the editor, which has little to do with food and more to do with his own interest in urban planning. Trying to weave the two together was stupid.
The writers seem more enamored with themselves and their “talents” than in providing a service to the public. Trying so hard to be clever and wow above everything else, they have no focus, and come across as pretentious little twits. Reminds me of essays I used to have to grade at a fancy east coast college, when I was a TA during grad school. Drivel, but with big east coast college words. I did get a big chuckle from this passage:
“Flavors scream, exemplifying both mastery and a humble restraint. A seared flat-iron steak, its internal flesh the color of a pomegranate, rests atop a bed of fresh arugula garnished with soft slivers of poached garlic and rosemary-infused olive oil. Seasonal pasta dishes, like the summer lasagna, are fresh and unfettered: sheets of soft spinach pasta alternate with sliced sweet heirloom tomatoes, homemade mozzarella, and small explosions of flavor in the form of prosciutto pieces scattered throughout.” The only thing missing is Favio showing up in soft Vaseline-lense glory, to seduce some lonely maiden with his sauce, and take her ever so gently in the steamy, rosemary-scented fragrant kitchen. You get the connection easily too I’m sure: Nostrana as written by Harlequin Romance.
More issues: Take the review of Syun in Hillsboro: “The couple returns home twice a year to stay current and push the menu in experimental directions—for instance, deep-fried tofu or green-tea pudding.” Really? I’ve had the “experimental” fried tofu at Syun- a dish that anyone with a Japanese cookbook and access to the internet can find is traditional. Green tea pudding? Experimental? It can be bought in Jello type packages at most Japanese supermarkets.
Then there is just this unreadable thing from the Nostrana listing: “There are restaurants by which to judge other restaurants, and there are those by which to judge friends. Such is Nostrana.” What the heck does that even mean? It makes no sense. Does one judge friends based on specific restaurants? Who are these mysterious “friends” the writer is referring to? This is just bad writing. Somebody needs to hire professional food writers, fact checkers and editors over there. PM is a magazine, not a blog.
In the interests of fact-checking:
The romance-novel cover model is Fabio. Favio is either an obscure movie producer, an Argentinian singer and actor, or possibly the mutant offspring of Fabio and a bowl of garbanzo beans.
They actually are such rubes as to call agedashi dofu “experimental”?! Ugh.