See, I don’t even know how to really start this.

And actually, I barely did. After writing that pathetic first sentence, I closed the computer. That was last night. How do you wrap up years upon years of good and bad times – major struggles, some victories, your favorites, the memories…

Now is a day later, although, it’s 330p and I’ve barely felt like I’ve been awake. Time is beginning to become increasingly blurred, like this drug-induced montage of color. I’m not on drugs (of course – they’ve never really ‘agreed’ with me) I’m just on ‘moving.’ It’s a powerful blend of anxiety, hope, daydream and staring out the window.

Tomorrow, around 5am as long as the sleep Gods are on our side, we’ll hop in the Civic, leave the construction zone that has become our house and spend some quality time along I5 South until we hit the City.

There we will try to find a piece of the massive grid to call home.

Ok. Here goes Cat. Crawling out of the bag. My partner Casey and I have made plans to move from Portland, Oregon to San Francisco, California. Oh em gee! When?! Why?! How?! Yes, all of those questions are more or less cascading through my brain too.

Casey got accepted to graduate school at the Art Academy University in Interior Design and Architecture so we’re making the jump around mid August.

Umm… job? Apartment? Friends? Love? Yes I want all those things there too so if you have insight into any of them, LET ME KNOW. Need an incredible studio apartment, mini van, or vintage sofa bed? Again, be in touch.

Now that the nuts and bolts are mildly addressed, let’s get on to my feelings, shall we? How do I begin to tell the tale of the Northwest 1999-2010. A lot has happened here, meaning a lot will be missed, missed and missed some more. Don’t be surprised if I begin obsessing over favorites (eh hem, Random Order, Red E, Crow Bar, Masu, I’m looking at all of you) and mourning the loss of comfort.

Something else I’m chewing on is this. As in, exactly what you’re reading. This little blog thing. A Fly on the Wall has been a bone of my internet self since 2003. And as I mentioned earlier, a lot has happened here. Should I move it? Change it? Just erase it off the face of the internet and start a new shiny one? All those questions have yet to be answered by me so if you have any thoughts on them, please do share.

Here’s to the city by the bay.

Starts with the window

SE 36th Ave. and Hawthorne Blvd.
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 239-4756

Sometimes, okay, actually a lot of times there’s a gem in this town and it gets passed me. Like the Waffle Window – aka., the cutest brick hole I’ve ever seen. The Waffle Window has been around. It’s not new and the foodie press have loved it for a long time. The Oregonian did a little video interview for it, Gourmet featured it, Yelp has over 200 reviews on it. And yes, I just now went there. Where have I been? Well, busy, like everyone else, I guess, not to mention pathetically attempting to be disciplined.  I mean, how many times can you seriously allow yourself the intoxicatingly delicious delights this town has to offer?

And ends in waffle

So I made the Waffle Window waffle my lunch today. Good decision.

I opted for the seasonal “Fall Blossom” which included mandarin oranges, strawberries, panna cotta, whip cream, and pomegranate seeds. Their other topping options were equally as awesome, including a handful of savory choices (I’d totally get the “Farm Fusion” next time: mushroom, spinach, roasted peppers, tomato, marinated chevre).

The reason to eat one of these gourmet monsters is the waffle itself. Screw all the toppings. They apparently are “real” Belgian style, which has to do with the yeasted batter. It’s almost akin to a thick, bread pudding. Think luscious challah bread, but with even more vanilla. They’re divine.

Imagining streets lined with vendors doing waffles just like this gives me a cavity just thinking about it, but according to Belgium legend, that’s exactly what it’s like there. Whoa.

Also, if you’re hesitant to hit up the window based on the typical dripping skyline, don’t be. It’s totally legit to chow your waffle breakfast, lunch or dessert inside the Bread & Ink Cafe next door.

Sausage city

401 NE 28th Ave.
Portland, OR 97232
(503) 847-2534

This isn’t a review – it’s more of a shout out to a friend who’s got a really cool restaurant on her hands. I’ve known Alyssa Gregg for a while. We’re not super close, but I interviewed her years ago for Portland Food and Drink, and I’ve kept up with her ever since. As mentioned, she just opened Spints, and I’m just plain excited for her, for me, and for the NE 28th neighborhood.

The spot is gorgeous. She’s poured some insane amounts of sweat into the place, which only adds to the wow of it all. It has two rooms – a bar and a dining room. The doorway that connects the two used to be a solid fireplace.

Dining room glow

And she knocked that shit down herself. During the night of the opening her plumber told me he saw her with a jack hammer jacking up some concrete outside. “Well, the job needed done,” she said.

I only sampled her hors d’oeuvres, which were spreads of smoked meat 10 ways, spiced mustards, and dense nut breads – all lovely combinations with the impressive wine and spirit list. Fellow foodie-friend Gaironn Poole did the wine menu, which included a pinot gris that I adored.

More internet yammering about Spints to come, I don’t doubt. For now, Congratulations Alyssa. I’ll see you soon!

True story

Yesterday was an anomaly. Here’s why: I was successful at something without having to try that hard. That can only lead me to believe that chanterelle mushroom picking is insanely easy.

My girlfriend had been talking up this field trip for a while and I was very hesitant for two reasons – 1) I was scared to death I would become poisoned and 2) I did not have nearly enough time to learn all that mushroom picking entails.

Typically my tales of success go something like this: Have the desire to accomplish something. Learn all about it over the course of weeks or even years. Try and fail – many, many times. Finally, after picking myself back up, I will taste a small piece of victory and feel as though life really isn’t so hard… If only my other efforts would always end up as magically successful as our forest fungus adventure.

He helped

We packed up the dog, the mushroom guide circa 1969, rain jackets and a water bottle. The weather was unusually perfect – the clouds were puffy and separated – the sun sang through the sky and created epic rainbows against the picturesque farmland outside of Portland. However, I barely noticed what condition the world was in because I was frantically going through the mushroom guide, trying to study what the differences were between “fake chanterelles” and the real thing. Fake chanterelles shouldn’t be confused for the real thing, said the guide – they are poisonous and cause digestion distress. Please see reason number one why I didn’t want to take this risk in the first place…

Once we got to the desired mile marker, we pulled off the road and started meandering down the trail. My girlfriend is almost as clueless as I am in regards to mushroom picking, but had tried going a few weeks ago at this same spot. She came back empty handed and got additional tips from a coworker to go off the hiking trails.

“So, like, when do we start turning off the trail?” I ask.

“Whenever, I guess,” she responded. We kept repeating that, if nothing else, we’d enjoy an afternoon hike. I couldn’t imagine actually finding a wild chanterelle, so I was barely even looking. But then a little white-top mushroom showed itself through the soggy leave-covered ground. That’s all the motivation I needed.

“Look! There! Mushroom!” I exclaimed. That was the sign. “Here, let’s just start walking here!” The white mushroom certainly wasn’t a chanterelle – I didn’t need the guide to cross reference that, but surely where there’s fungus there’s fungi, right?

We squished through the soft forest floor – eyes suddenly acute to every leaf, stick, and pine cone. All of three minutes later we find it, our very first wild chanterelle all scalloped orange and perfect. It could have easily been mistaken for an oak leaf, but when examined closely, it was dinner.

“Look, the gills, do you think it’s really it?” my girlfriend asks. I couldn’t believe it – we needed a second opinion. The description in the book said to look for “gills going down the stem with adjoining veins.” Uhh, sure, I guess it fit that… Once we found one, the rest practically jumped into our hands. Every few minutes, we were gently adding more pounds of precious fungus to our canvas bag. The air felt fresh, kind and lucky.  The dog was romping around the forest just as excited as we were. A few hours later the rain came and we took that as our exit sign. We walked back to the car in disbelief that we had approximately 10 pounds of wild chanterelles.

Yumm!

My girlfriend took some into her coworker the next day, just to make sure they were the real thing.

“Oh yeah, they’re chanterelles,” she told me after their conversation.

“Was he so excited?! We found so many!” I said.

“Well, no – I mean, he’s gotten four times that amount lately,” she recalled.

Great for him. I’m still riding my mushroom high.

Stop one: Ping

October has been a month full of delightful eating outings. Instead of attempting to keep up on all individual reviews, I thought I’d just explode them all into one epic blog post. Enjoy!

Ping
102 NW 4th Ave.
Portland, OR 97209
(503) 229-7464

If I ate at Pok Pok nearly as much as I drove by attempting to eat there, well, I’d eat there a lot more. My point is Pok Pok is amazing, you don’t need me to tell you that, and it’s equally as busy – even on weeknights. Then comes Ping, Andy Ricker’s second successful Southeast Asian restaurant.

Pork collar by Ping

In short, it’s delicious. It parallels Pok Pok’s menu nicely, without being redundant. One of my favorite dishes in this town is Pok Pok’s boar collar, which doesn’t exist at Ping, but a similar one there would be the pork collar. It’s not quite as mind-blowing as its $12 counter part, but the pork is layered wonderfully with savory pockets of herbaceous Asian flavor.

The drink menu is almost as fun as the food — sakes that would make your head spin, and creative cocktails featuring foreign fruity spirits.

The space is super sexy too; one of my favorites. The open kitchen adds a casual feel to the hip vintage decor. Either making Ping a weekend date destination, or weekday lunch spot just makes sense.

DOC
5519 NE 30th Ave.
Portland, OR
(503) 946-8592

Dear God, every morsel of food and drink out of DOC is perfect. This Italian-focused restaurant takes the idea of stellar-simple ingredients and creates them into mouth-watering puddle of magic. Read the menu; it almost sounds boring, with items such as, “risotto, chanterelle, squash” but once those hit your taste buds, you’ll melt like butter via grassfed local cows. I did the tasting menu for $50 as did my two dining companions, so we essentially got to try the entire menu, minus an appetizer (or antipasta). For your next special evening out when you’re wanting to feel like you’ve never tasted food before and you’re willing to pay a few extra pennies for it – go there.

James John Cafe

James John Cafe
8527 N Lombard St.
Portland, OR 97203
(503) 285-4930

If what you’re after is a chill, wi-fied cafe in St. Johns with lovely pastries and Stumptown coffee – this is an excellent spot. The space is huge, the outlets are numerous, they accept cards and play nice music. Really, what more do you need?

They used to do dinners during the week, which got great reviews; however, those are currently on hiatus. They just started doing a small breakfast / lunch menu Tues-Fri, and do a larger brunch on Saturday and Sundays, of which I hope to try soon.

Latte and scone by Vivo

Vivo Espresso
932 SE Morrison
Portland OR 97214
(503) 477-6303

Too cute, too cute, Vivo Espresso is too cute. This definitely isn’t the newest coffee shop in town (by the time you blink, there will probably be a new one) but this one deserves a shout nonetheless. The owner is super sweet, and opened up back in April. She’s the only shop in town that serves Blue Star Coffee, a small-batch roaster up in Washington. I really liked it. The espresso and coffee was both really bright and clean, not too acidic and not too dark.

Wi-fi, yes, accepts cards, yes, good music, yes, and good seating, yes. The only bummers – she’s closed on weekends, the pastry selection could be a bit better and, as always, I wish it was open later.

Gretchen’s Kitchen
940 SE Morrison
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 234-4086

Breakfast by Gretchen

Think of your favorite restaurant, coffee shop, or even grocery store… now try and think how long it’s been open. I’d venture to guess it’s in the ball park of six years or less. Portland’s food scene has exploded, meaning that there are a lot of young businesses (yay, love them) but really, where and who are the old-school players? Hubers? Zells? Gretchen’s Kitchen? Yep.

Gretchen’s Kitchen has been kickin’ it on SE Morrison Street for e l e v e n years! It comes as no surprise that she has her hard-core regulars, many of which, walk in, don’t even look at the menu, and blindly order “the special.” Here’s the thing; Gretchen’s is the quintessential greasy spoon – nothing is fancy – it’s just a simple, comfort food, at wickedly good prices. She has the good breakfast, lunch standards: scrambles, pancakes, deli salads, sandwiches and homemade soups.

I had a mushroom, spinach (it was organic; I saw the bag), swiss, red onion scramble and scoop of fresh-cut fruit salad for seven dollars. Wow. The special that day looked incredible too – a quarter roast chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, homemade biscuit and green beans. “I’m gonna make you fat!” Gretchen said when one of her regulars gasped at the amount of food. “Too late for that,” he responded.

Gretchen is, a reason in itself to come here. She’s hilarious and so nice. When I tried to pay with my card, she didn’t blink twice and declared, “I don’t take cards; just come back next week.” I protested for a moment saying, I could go grab cash somewhere but she saw it as an opportunity to turn me into a repeat customer. “Honey, it happens all the time. Just come back next week, and I’ll get to charge you twice!” she said with a smile.

Hipness all Over

Urban Farmer
525 SW Morrison St.
Floor 8
Portland OR 97204

Oh, Urban Farmer; Oh, Departure; Oh The Nines. The three are very much related (i.e. in the same building) but I’m just going to focus on Urban Farmer’s weekend brunch for now. It’s good; it’s shiny; it’s very much trying so hard to be the snobbiest Portlander possible. That may sound like a total diss, but I still really enjoyed my time there. The menu incredibly diverse for being dubbed, “A Modern Steakhouse.” Every entree comes with some luxurious sauce, marmalade, or syrup, which I’m not complaining about.

I’m a big sucker for almond croissants and salads, so I tried their version. Croissant? Major let down. They make them in house, and are super chewy and gluey. The simple salad was delightful though – lots of local greens, with radishes. The extra-special treat that morning was definitely the fried chicken and waffles. If that’s on a brunch menu, lord help me refuse it. Urban Farmer’s version was pretty good. Small, cute, cornmeal waffles with moist, white-meat chicken and a honey-chili glaze. Would I go back? Sure. Would I go out of my way to go there? Nope.

I am happy to announce that I am opening my first restaurant, Spints, at the beginning of December, 2009.  Spints will be an alehouse featuring Northern European cuisine and eclectic blend of local and regional beers.  In addition, our cocktail menu will focus on local distillers along with in-house craftsmanship.  I will be acting as both owner and executive chef.  The cuisine will be have its main focus on traditional German food, but have some influence from Belgium and Northern France to add some lighter fare.  Overseeing the management of the bar will be Ted Charak, formerly of Teardrop Lounge.  The restaurant will be located at 401 N.E. 28th Ave. (x-street flanders) and will be open Tuesday-Saturday for dinner with brunch to be added soon after.    The neighboring businesses and residences have been very welcoming to this new addition and I look forward to being a part of the community.   For further updates please visit spintspdx.com.

North Mississippi & Skidmore
Portland, OR 97217

I like the expression, “I’m the mayor of (insert your neighborhood here).” I hear this every once in a while, and if I remember correctly, one of the owners of the Night Light Lounge even had this as his MySpace name (“Mayor of SE Clinton”). Don’t quote me on that, but the point is, if I were Roger Goldingay, I might be saying this in regards to North Mississippi and Skidmore.

Roger is the owner of the newly-opened Mississippi Marketplace: Portland’s latest food-cart “pod” and soon-to-be opened brewpub, Prost! I just get so excited when the food-economy stars align, and I couldn’t think of a more perfect use for this corner, especially when it’s in my own neighborhood. The Oregonian reported that Roger got “flooded” with applications to be one of 10 carts on the corner. Early comments from cart owners support the idea that this is the right time and place for the Mississippi Marketplace.

I’ve tried three of the eight carts, and am especially fond of the fresh juices and egg sandwiches (not surprising if you’ve read this blog before or know me at all). Dogfeathers serves up organic drip coffee and espresso from Schondecken, a boutique roaster in Sellwood and juiced-to order creations. The Big Egg has incredible egg sandwiches that melt in your mouth (try the “Arbor Lodge”).

I don’t doubt improvements are on the way, and I think Mississippi Marketplace would greatly benefit from the following changes: 1) an ATM machine 2) way more seating and 3) composting bins.

I’m also looking forward to the much rumored re-opening of the Sugar Cube, a sweet pastry focused cart originally started by Kirsten Jensen. I never got the chance to check it out before it closed and the owner jumped ship to Two Tarts Bakery. No word on when she’ll open, but I’ll be eating a cupcake in celebration when it does!

Vegan. Baking. Two things that creative culinary Portlanders are trying to fuse together more and more. Big names in the scene include: Sweetpea,  Black Sheep, Cherry Bomb, Dove Tail and as of Tuesday, Sept. 22, Back to Eden Bakery Boutique opened a retail space destined for that list. If demand has anything to do with the continuously evolving vegan-baking scene in this town, then we have an awful lot of egg and dairy free cupcake lovers on our hands.

Now for me to make some claims: I don’t know a ton of people, but I know a few. And of those few, a scant are vegan. While I may not roll in the solid vegan community, I’m still intrigued by this growing food subculture, and I have a strong sense I’m not alone. If you were to poll every patron of specialized-vegan food businesses, I’d imagine the majority of them were actually food-conscious curious omnivores like me, which is what brought me to the doors of Back to Eden.

With that said, I’ll admit that I’m not even close to a vegan baking expert, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to try everything in their inventory – and at Back to Eden, there’s a lot of it! My ignorance also doesn’t stop me from asking the elementary questions like, “Uhh, so how do you do all this without eggs or butter?”

Owners Garrett and John are quite skilled in that department and have packed their cases full of cupcakes, scones, tartlets, pies, muffins often made with plant-based oils, Smart Balance butter and egg replacements. And that’s just the “bakery” portion. They also have a thorough selection of candies, sauces, cards, books and artwork. Of course, coffee has its place here too – they serve Cellar Door Coffee Roasters dripped to order. My visit included a cup of the Peruvian, which was delicious until I contaminated it with a mixture of soy creamer and coconut creamer (note to self: sometimes vegan substitutes aren’t always necessary).

Perhaps one of the things I loved most about Back to Eden was its frozen “yogurt” machine, or, more specifically, what came out of it. The soft serve is a soy-based creation from Chicago Soy Temptation and the vanilla and chocolate aren’t too sweet and nicely refreshing. They also have the incredible locally-produced Holy Kakow Organic Chocolate Sauce, which I recommend using whenever possible.

Complaining about coffee in Portland is treacherous territory. In a place where quality coffee is almost as much a birthright as water, it can sound trite to say, “there’s no good coffee in this neighborhood.” But when the developing standard is to be able to enjoy locally-produced coffee within a few blocks of nearly every major neighborhood (or intersection), sometimes that statement holds true.

Such was the case if you were in lower Hollywood. Part I-84 on ramp, part antique mall, the area can sometimes feel disjointed from the other solid sections of Northeast. Then Aliviar Coffeehouse came in and gave the Starbucks drinkers a better option.

“This neighborhood is weird – everything around here is pretty much an antique store,” Nick of Aliviar said recently. He’s half of the six-month old coffee shop’s staff on NE 42nd Ave., just one block south of Sandy Boulevard. It’s just him and Staci, the owner.

The place is small, charming, and is a nice spot to be if you’re in the area and looking for a chill coffee shop. They have good basics: pastries from Kettleman, wi-fi, accept cards and are open until 5pm seven days a week (although they may push it to 6pm). Their coffee is from Batdorf and Bronson, which I thought was pretty random, considering their tea comes from Intelligentsia. Nick insisted that after trying a bunch of different vendors (including Intelligentsia, Stumptown, amongst other local roasters) Batorf and Bronson was really their favorite. “Not many coffee shops have ‘em, so they’re excited we do.” I admit, I can’t think of any others, and my coffees were excellent.

They have a nice little loaning library in addition to a bookcase featuring local literature and cds. Nick also has hopes of bringing in a record rack dedicated to selling local vinyl. Stop by and say hi; these guys are nice.