Portland Food News for October 16, 2006

I wondered why the Oprah domain was on the site over the summer, and now I know. A reader alerted me they were doing a roundup of restaurants for their November issue.

Since buying Oprah Magazine was a direct assault on my masculinity, I hoped to find the article online, but it isn’t there yet. Instead, I threw myself on the grenade by going to the bookstore and buying a copy – in a brown paper bag of course. You didn’t really think I’d get on MAX with a copy of it in a clear bag did you? I was hoping to get something manly to put over it, like Guns and Ammo, but they didn’t have anything like that. The whole experience reminded me of buying my first Playboy sooo many years ago. Anyway, on to the article.

Interestingly enough, Seattle was passed over. Five Portland restaurants were mentioned: Roux as “The Cool Place”, Paley’s as the “Foodie’s Choice”, Wildwood for “Local Flavor”, Por Que No as “Best Bargain”, and Park Kitchen for “Most Creative Chef”.

I’m not going to editorialize here; I’ll let you all do that. In the meantime I’m learning the 20-Minute Rule for Better Sex, How to Complain at a Restaurant, and 7 Ways to Get a Grip on Mindless Munching. Fortunately, I have a nice bag of Trader Joes cashews to eat while I’m reading.
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Gasp, is Vancouver Washington becoming a food town? First there is the planned 7000 sq. foot high end place near the Evergreen Airfield and soon there will be La Bottega Cafe Deli and Wine Shop Deli and Wine Shop in downtown Vancouver. Stated to have over 150+ wines, and Italian cooking from scratch.
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North Portlanders who love Two Buck Chuck, Wasabi Peas, and a thousand other packaged and frozen treats will soon be able to ditch having to cross the river or fight the traffic congestion on NE Sandy Blvd. Yep, rumor has it Trader Joes is eyeing a soon to be new swanky retail/condo development on the corner or N. Interstate and Shaver. Of course they are already remodeling the old 24 Hour Fitness in Hollywood to replace the cramped little store just up the street. We’ll keep you posted.
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I wandered by the new Cacao – Drink Chocolate store at 414 SW 13th the other day. All I can say is, WoW. They must have a zillion (all right, million) different chocolate bars and a small assortment of truffles from around the world. These people are passionate, and will take you around the store telling you the characteristics of each bar. Not only that, but if you are polite, they may give you a sample of one of their melted chocolate drinks. Zounds! I had to hold myself back from skipping all the way home. They have lots of great things like Fran’s chocolates from Seattle, and Pralus from France. Watch this space for much more info. Note: I first found out about this place from a a news brief in The Oregonian by the lovely Karen Brooks. A link to her blurb can be found HERE. (Link is no longer available)