Lisa Neal, owner of Couer de Terre Vineyard in McMinnville, OR, gives her perspective on the 2010 Portland Indie Wine & Food Festival on her blog, Yamhill County Chic. This is the fifth year Cour de Terre Vineyard has been invited to pour at Indie. See Lisa’s blog post here.
OK, here’s our moment. After months of preparation and anticipation, the food world has arrived at our doorstep: The IACP Conference! Hundreds of culinary professionals from around the world are eating and drinking their way through our fair city, name badges around their necks, Kikkoman-sponsored tote bags in hand. Watch out for sharp elbows at the food carts, and allow an extra 10 minutes to get your perfectly pulled shot of locally roasted espresso – it’s time for us to share our yummy bounty!
As PR chair for the IACP conference, we feel an extra obligation to show off our city and to make our visitors’ experience mind-blowingly fun and delicious…which is always easier to do when you’re throwing just a touch of frugality into the mix. To that end, we’ve put together a list of only-in-Portland places that offer wonderful food and drink at a great value.
Here’s our list of 10:
Bailey’s Tap Room: On April 21, 22 and 23, a hoard of Oregon brewers will invade Bailey’s Tap Room – well, two or three at a time – to talk beer, and umm drink beer. Brewers will be coming and going throughout the evening, so this is your chance to meet the men and women who make your favorite Oregon brews!
Burgerville: This is not your parents’ fast food joint. Burgerville is an amazing northwest-based company that makes all the fast food classics using locally sourced ingredients. Even our junk food is local and sustainable. Oh, Portland! Locals wait for each new seasonal specialty to come on the menu– Think Oregon marionberry milkshakes and Walla Walla, onion rings in the summer. Don’t check this off your list because it is a drive-up, you might be back for quick seconds!
Café Nell: The “4-6 Prix-Fixe” is an awesome phenomenon at Café Nell, located in NW Portland. From 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm each night, Café Nell serves a special prix-fixe menu that includes three courses for $14. And the food’s great. This is a steal!
Clyde Common: Looking for somewhere to grab a late-night dinner? It’s not that easy, cuz Portland does wrap things up a bit earlier than some cities. Fortunately there’s Clyde Common to the rescue. Order off Clyde’s dinner menu until 11:00 pm and their late night menu until 2:00 am.
Nostrana: The James Beard Awards are just around the corner, and you’re in luck… Four James Beard nominated chefs live right here in Portland! Nostrana Chef Cathy Whims cooks up a late night happy hour seven days a week in her Southeast Portland restaurant, where Whims’ soulful Italian regional cooking makes you feel like you’re in Piedmont, not Portland. Come in and enjoy food and drink specials from 9:00 pm until close.
Tabla Mediterranean Bistro: Tabla has won the hearts of Portlanders with its warm, Northeast neighborhood charm, esoteric wine list and $24 dinner prix-fixe (that includes appetizer, pasta dish and entrée). One of the best dinner deals in town, hands down!
Ten 01: Wednesday is On-The-Spot at Ten 01 in the Pearl District. Sommelier Jeff Groh opens up select bottles from the cellar giving all who come in a chance to taste some great wine for a great price. Find out what’s on the spot by following Ten 01 on Twitter.
The Country Cat: If you like pork, you’ve come to the right city. Now you just need to head over to The Country Cat for chef/owner Adam Sappington’s Whole Hog Plate, a true ode to pork (rolled belly, brined chop, & smoked shoulder on South Carolina grits with cider glazed Moyer plums). You should also probably check out the CCat’s weekly dining deals. Our favorite is Fish Fry Thursday – it’s $11 for a southern fish fry and a draft beer.
Wildwood: Get a taste of the Northwest at one of the originals on the culinary scene — Wildwood Restaurant & Bar – during its late night happy hour from 9:00 p.m. until close seven days a week. Enjoy small bites like grated radish bruschetta, fried pork rillettes, Oregon bay shrimp hush puppies and Sweet Briar Farms pork pastrami sandwich. Prices range from $2 to $7.
Special beer and dessert pairing Wednesday night only: Have dessert and sample some of the Northwest’s best microbrews at the same time–and it’s FREE. Join Hopworks, Double Mountain, Ninkasi for a special pairing at The Cleaners, the groovy event space near The Ace Hotel. The sweets will come from Pix, Clyde Common, Ten 01, Wildwood, and Steve Jones’ new Cheese Bar (we reckon he’ll bring some cheese…) Just show your IACP badge for free entry. Did we say it’s free? And an excellent way to end your night tonight.
It’s been a great media month so far for Hotel Monaco Portland. Last week, the March issue of Travel + Leisure hit the stands and Hotel Monaco’s Mini DaVinci package was included as the “great deal” in Portland. This morning, “The Today Show” interviewed T+L’s editor on planning family summer getaways and the Hotel Monaco’s Mini DaVinci package was featured as a great family package available on the West Coast.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
ideabox – bringing lifestyle back to housing.
If you didn’t get the chance to make it out to the Expo Center for the Portland Home & Garden show this past weekend, here’s your second chance to see the ideabox! This KOIN Keep it Local segment will give you a peek into the modern, energy and resource efficient pre-fab firm known as ideabox. This is a very cool discovery for the urban, eco-conscious homebuyer and all the homes are made right here in Oregon! We were really excited to work with Owner Jim Russell on this project!
To learn more about ideabox or to check out more of there model homes click here.
Keep It Local Host Priya David visited Chef Dustin Clark at Wildwood Restaurant and Bar last week to get some tips on creating more upscale small bites for the Superbowl. To view the segment on KOIN’s website click here.
Amazing review of Wildwood Restaurant & Bar by Downtown Monthly Editor Janet Filips! She hit on all of Wildwood’s great offerings – seasonal food and drink with a warm atmosphere. As we are sad to see that this is the last issue of the Downtown Monthly, we are happy to see this section close with a review of one of Portland’s most well-known and well-loved restaurants.
The Oregonian shares our Watershed Moment.
True to our approach, this strategic article on Steven Smith Teamaker for The Oregonian was well in the works before we even wrote the press release announcing Steven Smith’s return to the tea market.
While we’ve been planting long-term seeds for national media coverage, we were also shaping breaking-news stories for top local media. At Watershed, we believe it’s important to give local writers access to local business stories first. Why you ask? Because often they have a deeper understanding of the people and culture behind locally-based businesses, and that insider perspective can help shape the conversation for future stories.
Great work Leslie! We love your angle. This is a great foundation story to Steven Smith Teamaker, and just the beginning…
Our interest in farmers and the meat they produce dates back to when Watershed Director Lisa Donoughe worked with 5,000 deer farmers in New Zealand to help market their meat in the US – now a fairly common product on restaurant menus. Since that time, we have worked with local farmers, such as Cattail Creek Lamb, to promote their ecologically sound and socially responsible products.
Our active interest in the provenance of meat has spawned a new 2009 event called Livestock. This sister event to Wordstock, is designed to inspire a passionate discussion on killing your dinner. Livestock is being produced in collaboration with Camas Davis, former food editor of Portland Monthly and founder of the Portland Meat Collective.
Patrick Coleman featured Livestock in an article in the October 8th issue of the Portland Mercury. In the article, Watershed Director Lisa Donoughe shares her experience of coming face-to-face with her food.
Livestock is scheduled for November 4th and November 11th from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at the International Culinary School at the Art Institute of Portland. To reserve your tickets please call 503-827-6564.
To view the article online click here.
