Fried Chicken To-Go Option this Fourth of July Weekend

For those of you looking to avoid the kitchen this Fourth of July have no fear. The Country Cat Dinnerhouse & Bar, which is known for its refined farmhouse cooking and finger lickin’ fried chicken, is offering a special Fried Chicken Meal To-Go only available from Friday July 3rd to Sunday July 5th.

For $12 each, you get:
1. Two pieces of Sappington’s signature boneless fried chicken – a southern recipe passed down by his Great Grandmother. Each piece is brined for two days, smothered in Sappington’s secret spice dredge and then cast-iron skillet fried into the chicken we know, love and crave.
2. One side of bacon braised collard greens, BBQ baked beans or cole slaw
3. Homemade biscuit

Pre-orders are recommended.  Call 503-408-1414.  For more info click here.

Pazzo Ristorante was featured in the June 25th Downtown Monthly “Fresh Sheet.”

Last Friday the LAD team packed up our bags and headed to NE Portland to embark on an adventurous (and surprising!) Foodie Friday.  The day began at 10:00 a.m. when we arrived at Pedal Bike Tours to meet with founder and our personal tour guide, Mr. Todd Roll.  We were fitted with our bikes and helmets and headed out to get a taste of both Pedal’s “Coffee Crawl” and “Emerging Hoods” tours.

Our first stop, Blue Gardenia Baking and Coffee Roasterie on North Mississippi.  Blue Gardenia roasts their coffee in-house and boy are their baked goods amazing! We each got an espresso and shared a few savory items – I would highly recommend the Jalapeno Cheddar Biscuit.

After Blue Gardenia, we hopped on our bikes and took off through the streets of North Portland, ridding by Sidebar, the new tasting room at the New Old Lompoc on N. Williams, and through the streets of the NE Irvington neighborhood.  Our destination, Tabla Mediterranean Bistro is on NE 28th.

We arrived at Tabla and we’re greeted by Chef Anthony Cafiero. He would be our pasta making teacher and host for the next few hours. But before we got started, Anthony freshly squeezed oranges and handed out mimosas, a perfect way to begin.

Anthony gave us each a cutting board, a bowl of flour and carton of eggs and demonstrated the steps it takes to make Tabla’s delicious pasta.  We cracked the eggs, scooped the flour, made volcanoes, stirred the gooey mix and kneaded the dough. Anthony showed us how to roll the noodles, cut them into pasta lengths and lay them out to dry.  We followed suit, some of us learning the tough lesson that you must over flour when rolling the noodles. Mine stuck together…

After the noodles were dried and cut into pieces, Anthony used our creations to make four amazing pasta dishes.  He made a simple truffle butter and parmigiano pasta; fresh English pea, lemon, and fresh ricotta pasta; mushroom, pine nuts and tarragon pasta; and a spicy pork, tomato, chili, basil, and grana padano pasta.

After we enjoyed our lunch we stumbled outside to find we were in the middle of a typical Oregon downpour. It was sunny that morning and we were on bikes! After a quick stop at Alma Chocolates we caught a break in the weather and took off on our return trip to Pedal.  We encountered some rain on the ride back, but overall the day had been a great experience as we toured the Eastside and learned how to make pasta from a very talented chef.

Portland’s Ten 01 and Red Star Tavern & Roast House were both included in Food & Wine’s Cocktails ‘09 book.

When I land in Newark, I get my bag, call Telaviv car service, move to Waiting Area No. 3,  and immediately start building my NYC dining strategy.

And with a lot of new places on my research list (DBGB — loved it but more later), Mayahuel tequila Bar (wow), Ten Bells Natural wine bar, etc. I find that my first half of the to-dine list is always the things I crave.  AND, because I love sharing things that are worth every calorie, I am serving up my favs.

1. Must have me some Norma.  This is my favorite local pasta dish.  I had the pleasure of seeing Mario with 5 young kids (two in matching orange clogs, as I walked into Otto, very focused on having a few great contorni (we loved the sweet peas and ham, graced with a bit of heat and mint) and then a delicious dish of penne with perfectly chewy, crunchy roasted eggplant morsels, tossed with tomato sauce, fresh basil and buffalo ricotta.

2. Then, it’s time to have delivery — a meatloaf sammy from ‘WichCraft. This is my favorite lunch when working at my desk.  Ciabatta, great, flavorful meatloaf, a tad of sauce, good hard cheddar (nicely melted into the bread) and that’s heaven.

3. The world’s best pancakes.  Mitchell London (who, btw, also blows Magnolia Bakery away with his vanilla cupcakes) is in charge of the Café at Fairway.  His concept is to create a stack of as much golden brown texture as possible, basically quadruppling the carmelization in a traditional stack. Yowza!

4. It’s time for some pork buns.  Momofuko  Noodle Bar, his first and the one closest to my apartment is my favorite spot.  I always start with salty, sweet pork buns that ooze with umami and would probably be on my death row last meal list.

5. The Francophile in me must have at least one poached egg, lardon friseé salad at Balthazar within my first week.  (Although the one I had yesterday was not perfect, it still hit the spot).  Must go after 2:30, get a table in the back, always finish with the tarte du jour.  We had a lovely combination of peaches and plums with a few tart blackberries perched on the crunchy crust.

Now, I can begin to enjoy New New York.  My check-list is happily complete.

Hotel Vintage Plaza and Hotel Monaco Portland were both included in an article on Reuters that featured Travelocity’s 15 green hotel picks that offer low rates during this summer travel season.

There’s an abundance of fun-filled, sassy events going on this week leading up to PDX’s Pride 2009 celebration, which takes place on the waterfront – June 13th and 14th.  Here’s one thing you can bite into.  Leading up to Pride weekend, 10% of all ‘ball’ dish purchases at Mama Mia Trattoria and Mother’s Bistro & Bar will be donated to Basic Rights Oregon, a wonderful organization committed to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.  Lisa Schroeder – Chef/Owner and an avid basic rights supporter – will be offering the promotion until Sunday, June 14th at her two downtown restaurants.  So if you in the area and feelin’ the spirit, stop by and support a great cause!

Click here to check out a meatball recipe that Lisa Schroeder just posted on her blog.

Title: Outstanding In The Field Dinner
Location: Square Peg Farm
Link out: Click here
Description: Chef Troy Maclarty whips up a 5 course menu from fresh ingredients at Square Peg Farm
Start Time: 4:00 pm
Date: 2009-07-09
End Time: 8:00 pm

Title: Outstanding In The Field Dinner
Location: Ford Farm
Link out: Click here
Description: Outdoor dinner at Ford Farm featuring 5 course meal from Chefs Jason French and Ben Meyer of Ned Ludd.
Start Time: 4:00 pm
Date: 2009-07-11
End Time: 8:00 pm

105.1 The Buzz Host Sheryl Stewart posted information on “Portland’s Next Top Dog Model” contest on her blog on June 2nd.  Sheryl is one of the judges for this year’s contest that takes place at the Hotel Monaco Portland on Wednesday, June 15th at 6:00 p.m.

Come to the Hotel Monaco and cheer for your favorite contestant and enjoy hors d’oeuvres from Red Star Tavern & Roast House!  A $10 donation is suggested at the door to benefit the Oregon Humane Society.

Check out Sheryl’s blog post here to learn more about the contest!

The Banks Vernonia Rails To Trails – One of Oregon’s best kept secrets…

Biking Oregon’s Rails To Trails is a summer must-do.

Oregon is full of old railroad tracks. With logging drying up, the lines that once carried massive old growth trees from small timber towns to  shipping hubs like Portland are now rusting and rotting away. That is unless it’s an old line that gets picked up by the national Rails To Trails program, in which case they paves the way for future tourism and massive outdoor enjoyment. That’s where the Banks Vernonia trail comes in…

Here’s the elevator pitch for this newish rails to trails path: 20 miles of an easy grade, paved path with a flanking equestrian mulch trail, and the best part (drum roll please)… train trestles! Yes, there are at least two of these imposing wood structures towering 80 feet above the ground, one of which you can ride, run or gallop over.

Bike over or under the trestle!

Only a 45 minute drive outside of Portland, by the time you near Vernonia you feel like you’re a world away. Vernonia is a small Oregon logging town that still has a functioning timber industry and a thriving downtown, a combination that is rare to find.

Welcome To Vernonia

A perfect itinerary for biking the Banks Vernonia trail, is to head out in the morning from Portland, stop in for breakfast at one of the many diners on Vernonia’s main street, then head off to one of several trail entrances. A leisurely ride will take most of the day, but serious riders can get through it in a few hours. The trail goes from grassy plains to rich forest and will leave an impression you that is sure to bring you back for more.