Tuesday night I headed out to Vino Paradiso, which translated into Portlandia means, “A little piece of wine-infused paradise in the Pearl District.”

I was joined by my folks, who I’d invited thinking they’d approve, after viewing a segment featuring VP’s chef whipping together a sformato on KOIN’s Studio 6 program.

We kicked off the evening with cocktails at the bar, and I got one called “Bridges Over Portland.”  The sprig of rosemary, combined with Cock & Bull ginger ale and a local Portland-made spirit was a nice balance to the sweltering evening heat (well, sweltering for Portland).

We then got to the meat of the matter, and I ordered from the Dining Month prix fixe menu – a mixed green salad, the sformato and a chocolate cake to make myself feel like I’ve truly earned my love handles.

This was my first encounter with a sformato and I wanted it to be special.  I carefully explained to my folks its Italian roots, and how the chef prepared the dish (based on what I remembered from the KOIN segment), shamelessly inventing steps for the parts of the recipe that I’d forgotten, and all the while dodging questions about who I may or may not be dating and what I’m doing with my life.

When the main course finally arrived it was a lot like love at first sight.  Only my love was a little airy quiche-like dish with flecks of asparagus & sweet onion, seemingly floating upon a bed of shrooms.  These were no Psilocybin’s, but the meal sent me on a magical trip nevertheless, and due to a mix-up with my mother’s order, we got a second order of the sformato on the house (which I enjoyed for breakfast Wednesdsay morning).

Overall, our service experience was not without a few hiccups and errors here and there – but they were overlooked as our waiter was friendly, courteous, attentive and more than willing to make all corrections so that we left feeling like we had another positive experience at one of Portland’s fine dining establishments.

I like to do my part to help out – especially when the work involves eating.

For Dining Month I chose to go to Metrovino, located off 11th and Northrup in the Pearl District.  There are many great things to say about this place – the classy ambiance made me feel underdressed in my undershirt (it was the hottest day of the year when I was there) but the friendly staff made me feel welcome and at ease; and they weren’t irritated by my pesky vegetarian questioning.  As a self-described “peskytarian” every dining opportunity is like walking through a minefield mouth first.  That’s why I’m appreciative of the patience exhibited by the fine folks at Metrovino.

For the Dining Month three-course prix fixe I inhaled their pea soup (forgetting any sense of time and place, and forgetting to write down the proper name), followed by their Roasted Alaskan Halibut Fillet and topped off with their Meyer Lemon Panna Cotta for dessert.  I also stole some mammoth bites of the Chocolate Espresso Cake but anyone would have done the same.

While Metrovino is well known for their wine selection – I couldn’t resist the allure of an old flame called Guinness.

It was a lovely day for a Guinness, and a lovely day to enjoy the Dining Month deals at Metrovino.

This past weekend I had the extreme pleasure of making the journey back to my hometown of Port Townsend, Washington for our annual Rhododendron Festival.

During the week-long celebration, this Victorian seaport of 8,500 people turns into a bustling village with expats returning from regional cities to associate with old friends and to partake in merrymaking.

(this is my buddy Dan making a pizza, using his homemade arugula pesto)

Long ago I lost the desire to watch the main event – a grand parade featuring marching bands, local politicians, boy scout troops, bagpipers, and princesses riding atop fantasy scenes crafted from paper maché.  Now it’s more about rekindling old friendships, having fun, and perhaps even taking a little break from reality.

(this sign was on the local Bank of America)

One of the things I love to do when I return home is to eat and drink all of my favorite foods from the 20+ years I spent living there.  I have a spot in particular where I don’t even really like the coffee, but one sip takes me back to an era in which I had dropped out of college and spent the winter digging cable trenches and weatherizing houses in the cold, rain and wind.  Ahhh, memories.

Another beverage – Port Townsend Brewing Company’s “Chet’s Gold” reminds me of an era in which my band, in its infantile form, played for courteous friends at Sirens Pub – fueled in part of course by said beverage.

While many of the foods available in my town are noteworthy for sentimental reasons – there are also fantastic exceptions that deserve their rightful place upon my personal culinary pedestal – including anything from Waterfront Pizza, and the Mushroom Poach from the Salal Café.

Yet, while enjoying the spoils I realized there was a piece of me missing at every dining occasion – I was without the people who would appreciate these food-related discoveries the most – my esteemed colleagues at Watershed Communications.

Therefore, before heading back to Portland I brought a few of my favorite artisan products from local companies to share with my colleagues including beer from Port Townsend Brewing Company, tuna and salmon from Cape Cleare Fishery and cheese from Mt. Townsend Creamery.  This afternoon we took a much needed break and relaxed over amazing cheese, beer and delicious smoked salmon from my favorite small-town artisan producers.

The Port Townsend Bitter and the Seastack were notable favorites, but I think everyone agreed that everything was delicious and I’m proud to come from such a strong, vibrant, artistic and beautiful little town.

Finally, I thought I’d show a photo I took of an actual landline phone that I came across in someone’s house.  Apparently retirees aren’t the only ones who go to Port Townsend to live out their golden years

Last week Montinore put the finishing touches on the bottling of their 2010 Borealis – a proprietary blend of “Northern Whites” featuring fruit from four varietals including Müller-Thurgau, Gewürztraminer, Riesling and Pinot Gris.

Many of you probably don’t need to be told how delicious this blend is, but it might be fair to warn you that Montinore sells out of the Borealis every year.

During my extensive investigative process (to determine if I could score some bottles for the office) I learned that each year the specific proportions for the blend are slightly different to suit the taste of winemaker Stephen Webber and the rest of the team at Montinore.  Therefore, if you recorded the profile of the 2009 Borealis from their website and locked it away in a safe – your efforts were futile!

To learn more about Stephen and to get a behind-the-scenes take on his methodical process, please check out the following link that will take you to the Montinore blog.

To follow Montinore on Twitter.

To follow Montinore on Facebook.

The March 2011 edition of Sunset Magazine has a story all too familiar to us – Pop Up Stores!  Our winter promotion with DMI included a pitch to local, regional and national media to share the news about pop-up stores including Crafty Wonderland and Portland Design Collective (need Facebook to access that link) – both featuring talented artisans from across the region.  Here it is below, in all of its glory!

This week we’ve been supporting Bill Carter’s effort to bring attention to the proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska, an open pit copper & gold mine that would become one of the largest in the world and would threaten the Bristol Bay salmon fishery – a $400 million industry boasting 11,000 jobs in one of the more remote regions of the U.S.

As Bill likes to point out, it’s not that people should necessarily oppose mining, it’s just that this one is in a very bad place.  If built, Pebble Mine would be 14 miles from Iliamna Lake, the largest and most pristine, natural salmon hatchery in the world.  Humans could never hope to engineer something this wondrous.  Humans could also never hope to engineer a system that would keep the toxic sludge byproduct from finding its way into the watershed and destroying the fishery.

Now, Bill Carter is heading out to Astoria, Oregon for a fundraising event tonight (2/25/11) at Clemente’s Restaurant as part of the Fisher Poets Gathering.  Proceeds will support the amazing work of Trout Unlimited’s Save Bristol Bay campaign. We expect a full house and an impassioned, delicious evening.

You can catch up with Bill’s work by listening and watching some of his interviews from earlier in the week. Let us know what you think.

• Interview with fishing expert Ronnie Kovach of Radio Fishing University in Anaheim, California.  The conversation takes an interesting turn to their shared humanitarian efforts elsewhere.  Check out this great video.

• February 16th, Bill Carter joined Lisa and Gordon Clement of Clemente’s Restaurant along with host Donna Quinn of KMUN radio in Astoria to discuss today’s unique fundraiser for Trout Unlimited’s Save Bristol Bay Campaign (let’s just say that you can buy cocktails to fight the mine, what a terrific concept!).

• Bill Carter joined Rick Emerson from Outlook Portland for his first television interview to discuss the proposed mine.  Rick Emerson is one of my favorite radio/TV personalities, so I relished the chance to hang out in the studio as they filmed.  To top it off, Bill accepted an offer to appear on the Rick Emerson Radio Show later in the day. Both great interviews.

• A great review of Carter’s memoir Red Summer appeared in Coast Weekend.  By far one of the better reviews I’ve seen of Carter’s gripping narrative about his experiences commercial salmon fishing in Alaska.  For more, check out this link.

• Bill had a great interview with Sheryl Stewart from 105.1 fm The Buzz in Portland.  He discussed his film Miss Sarajevo, and shared the news that U2 is using footage from the film on their giant 180′ screens during sold out concerts around the world.  To learn more about Miss Sarajevo and the subsequent hit song featuring Bono, Pavarotti and Brian Eno – check out Fools Rush In.

Quite the wild week for Team Watershed – but we expect no less when passions and careers collide.

We opened the Oregonian this morning to discover FoodDay has a great cover story with five fabulous chili recipes for your Super Bowl viewing party, including a vegan Heirloom Bean, Kale and Wheat Berry Chili recipe that has certainly caught my attention.

Our clients have also been hard at work crafting the perfect Super Bowl chili recipe and the following is a simple yet extravagant dish using super-charged chipotle sour cream, linebacker-sized chunks of avocado, and humanely raised beef from Organic Prairie.  Enjoy!

* Photo Credit: OrganicPrairie.com

Grass-fed Beef and Black Bean Chili with Avocado and Chipotle Sour Cream

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Chili:

¼ cup olive oil

¼ pound Organic Prairie bacon, finely chopped or ground (to grind, cut into chunks, freeze until firm, then pulse in a food processor)

2 pounds Organic Prairie grass-fed ground beef

1½ tablespoons kosher salt or 1 tablespoon table salt, more to taste

2 cups chopped onion

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons mild chili powder

1 tablespoon smoked paprika (optional)

1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground coriander

2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes (not tomato puree)

2 4-ounce cans mild roasted green chiles

2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed

½ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1 cup low-sodium beef or chicken broth

2 tablespoons molasses (optional)

Hot sauce, to taste

Toppings:

1 ripe avocado, diced and tossed with a little lime juice and salt

1/2 cup sour cream mixed with 1 teaspoon adobo sauce from a can of chipotle chiles (freeze the leftovers)

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large heavy-based saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until most of the fat is rendered and the bacon pieces are golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Pour off all but around 2 tablespoons of the fat.

Add the beef to the pan, sprinkle on about 2 teaspoons of the salt and cook, stirring frequently, until the meat is no longer pink, about 5 minutes, but don’t let the meat get brown and crusty. Scrape the meat from the pan into a bowl; set aside.

Add the rest of the oil to the pan, add the onion and 1 more teaspoon salt. Turn down the heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are soft and lightly golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic, chili powder, smoked paprika (if using), cumin, and coriander and cook another minute, stirring and scraping so the spices fry slightly in the oil.

Stir in the crushed tomatoes, green chiles, black beans, chopped cilantro, beef broth, molasses and remaining teaspoon salt, plus as many shakes of hot sauce as you like. Turn the heat to low, and cook, uncovered, until thickened and rich tasting, 45 minutes to an hour. Add back the bacon and beef and simmer another 15 minutes. Taste and add more salt or hot sauce as needed.

Serve the chili in bowls with some avocado piled on top and a generous drizzle of the chipotle cream.

Cook’s Tip:
Grass-fed beef is generally leaner than conventional beef, which means that you need to take care not to overcook it or it may seem dry, especially if you’re cooking a steak, roast or hamburger. For the ground beef in this chili recipe, drying out isn’t a worry because you’re simmering it with so many moist ingredients – including olive oil and bacon!

About Organic Prairie. Organic Prairie meats are produced by an independent cooperative of organic family farms. We are pioneers of the organic meat industry, who began producing our delicious meats—without the use of antibiotics, synthetic hormones, or pesticides—back in 1996. We insisted on third-party organic meat certification long before federal organic standards were established. We were the first in the industry to ban animal by-products from our cattle’s diet. And we played a vital role in shaping federal organic meat certification standards—the strictest in the industry. To learn more about our cooperative, please visit www.organicvalley.coop, and look for us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/OrganicPrairie.

Organic Prairie, the meat division of Organic Valley, makes it easy to have your football chili and feel good about it too.  Their new online store — www.organicprairie.com — offers USDA-certified organic beef, pork, and poultry – including grass-fed organic ground beef — making it easy and convenient to access meat that meets all of your high standards and delivers great taste in the process.

Yesterday a throng of Portlanders gathered with Portland Mayor Sam Adams in the rain, wind and a temperature hovering around 40-degrees to kick off the holiday shopping season.

The event was part of the Downtown Marketing Initiative’s efforts to promote pop-up shops and to spread the word on the holidate program, featuring in-store events and free parking at SmartPark garages in December when you enter between 4-6p.m.

For more on our “Hit of the Week” check out this great hit from The Oregonian.

Or, if you’re a visual person, here’s a great clip from KGW.

Earlier this week, we invited a group of national, regional and local food writers to join us at our client Montinore Estate in Forest Grove, Oregon, to learn about the biodynamic agricultural methods that Montinore uses in the vineyards and the winery.

We spent six hours in education mode — touring the grounds, examining the vines, and yes, holding cow horns, with owner Rudy Marchesi and biodynamic soil consultant Philippe Armenier.  Armenier is the former owner of a winery in Chateauneuf du Pape and now works with wineries in Washington, Oregon and California.

We ate delicious food prepared by Kristin Marchesi of Montinore – drank wine, of course, including several from Montinore as well as biodynamic wines from some Old World wineries, in France, Italy, Germany and Austria.

The discussion bounced between Armenier’s deep-rooted philosophical beliefs in the biodynamic principles outlined decades ago by Rudolph Steiner and Marchesi’s practical “hey, I’m doing it and it works” explanations of the biodynamic methods used at the estate.

The day invited interest, curiosity, skepticism, wonder — and hopefully more interest in biodynamics as a whole.  At Watershed, we’re certainly intrigued and will be digging deeper into the subject.

Check back soon for more photos and a short primer on the basics of biodynamics.

Next Monday, Watershed will help bring together national and international experts and writers to demystify the often controversial and misunderstood methods of biodynamic agriculture.  Hosted by Montinore Estate, this event will include experts such as Philippe Armenier, a leading biodynamic agriculture consultant to more than 30 wineries in California, Oregon and Washington.

Interest in biodynamic methods is increasing in the media and positive articles like the recent Wall Street Journal story “Discovering Biodynamic Winemaking” definitely help the BD cause.  But rarely is the word “biodynamic” mentioned without controversy lingering around the edges. Take this reader response from the article’s comment section:

“It continues to baffle me how otherwise intelligent, thoughtful winemakers can subscribe to such bizarre and indefensible practices.”

At the boot camp, we’ll be thrust feet first into the controversial world of biodynamic methods and we hope to answer some questions, like:

1.  Are biodynamic methods appropriate for all forms of agriculture?

2.  What are the additional investments (time and financial) of practicing biodynamic farming over conventional farming?

3.  What’s with the sheep horns and chamomile sausage?

4.  Can we taste the difference?

Surely, there is much more to discover, and we intend to share that with you in a follow up post. But for now, we’d like to hear what questions you’d have. What have you always wanted to know about biodynamics, but didn’t have the expert-on-hand to ask?