In this mix of tradition and tumult, old vines and new, there’s still much to discover. Take the scrappy winemakers of the valley’s Eola-Amity Hills region, at play with lesser-known varietals like gamay and Melon de Bourgogne that thrive in these ancient volcanic basalt soils. Here, in the most southern of the Willamette Valley’s six sub-AVAs, find wide-open country roads—less known than the well-charted wine trails to the north—that make easy touring for off-the-map wine-tasters.
Category: Work
In which I attempt to eat my way around Spain from home
We’re home to an unlikely number of good Spanish restaurants, along with hispanophile shops, bars and even wineries. You don’t need a festival to explore the diversity of Spanish food and drink here—you can work your way around the country, from Andalucía to Valencia, any time you like.
Every day is Tapas Day: Where to find Spain’s best regional dishes in Portland
How this humble roll became Portland’s signature sandwich bread
Though not quite the household name of Amoroso’s in Philadelphia or Leidenheimer’s in New Orleans, the rolls have become popular enough that the phrase “on Fleur de Lis ciabatta” is now a local byword for quality sandwiches. And if it weren’t for the persistence of a couple of first-time restaurateurs, it might never have made it beyond the bakery.
Read more at the Oregonian.
In which I drink an awful lot of stout
St. Patrick’s Day approaches, which means it’s time to break out the flocked top hats, dump dye in the rivers and order the obligatory pint of Guinness. But before you crack the top on that widget-bearing can, consider the 5,000 miles it had to travel to reach you. Wouldn’t you prefer a fresher pint?
On St. Patrick’s Day, ditch Guinness for these Oregon-brewed Irish stouts
Coffee coffee coffee coffee coffee
With its pendant lights, cactus collection, and a mural reminiscent of Matisse cut-outs covering one wall, this Belmont Street cafe is a distillation of recent Portland design trends. The space is as tall as it is deep, with turquoise tile on the floor and a massive old-growth beam looming overhead.
Hiro dreams of snack bread
For most of his life, Hiro Horie was an organization man. He spent 25 years working the Japanese baking giant Pasco, starting on the English muffin line and eventually running the company’s American wholesale operations in Los Angeles and, later, Portland. So it took a lot for the soft-spoken baker to leave the corporate fold two years ago and open his own shop.
At Beaverton’s Oyatsupan Bakers, experience translates to smaller scale
So. Much. Mercury.
America’s latest food sensation is raw tuna. Poke, the Hawaiian dish of cubed, marinated raw fish, usually served with seaweed, onion and sesame seeds, is showing up everywhere from grocery store deli counters to Beverly Hills hotel restaurants. In 2014, Yelp declared Da Poke Shack in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, the best place to eat in America. Fast-casual joints serving build-your- own poke-and-rice bowls are opening all over Los Angeles — and, now, Portland.
Poke-mania hits Portland: Where to find the city’s best raw tuna
Nora Antene, pastry genius
Antene is modest about her work. “I think at heart I’m sort of a home baker. Nothing I make in the restaurant is something people couldn’t make at home,” she says. “I don’t use any kind of magical techniques or equipment.” Her most high-tech tools are a stand mixer and an ice cream machine.
Portland’s most-anticipated new restaurant has a secret weapon.
Review: a steamy “Streetcar”
Coleman’s production feels more alive in its setting than most, conjuring the noise and activity of the Marigny and the giddy excitement of postwar America. Lit in streaks of blue and gold, the atmosphere feels alive with possibility and danger in a way that feels true in New Orleans even now.
How Sebastian Cisneros became Portland’s most interesting chocolate-maker
Cisneros, a lanky 31-year-old with a shy but warm demeanor, is both a chocolatier, making flavored chocolate bars, and a chocolate-maker, producing bars from cacao beans. His childhood story explains much of his philosophy: his one-ounce square bars, packaged in white cardstock sealed with wax, evoke vivid memories and, with ingredients such as fernet and bee pollen, not a little confusion.