Eating In


It is a beautiful, cold winter Sunday and Joe and I take our usual trip to Whole Foods. This is a tradition for us, one that we cherish every other weekend when we are kid-free.


We started the day at Tony's Donuts where we had a long, leisurely visit with my parents over coffee and, yes, donuts.  What a fun place.  Everyone in there is a regular.  The coffee is mediocre.  The donuts are terrific. My mother knew every other person who came in, and she had a smidgen of history attached to each one.  That person walking in is so-and-so's  brother.  That woman over there used to work at Porteous, back when they had a coat check, "can you believe a department store having a coat check?" my mother said.  My dad told us some interesting things, things that make me feel like I spent an extra semester at a really good school, in only an hour. The activity and murmur of voices at Tony's makes everything seem festive. And the faint smell of sugar and cinnamon makes it feel like home.


We went to the Home Show and then on to the Portland Museum of Art. What does all this have to do with food? Oh yes, after viewing the photographs at the museum, we went downstairs and had a late lunch at the cafe, where all the food is prepared by Aurora Provisions.  I had a delicious black bean and chicken soup (kinda spicy) and Joe had a sandwich with chicken and Gouda.  It was all very delicious and the atmosphere is so cheerful and lively in that cafe.  The chicken in my soup was shredded, complimenting the mild flavor of the beans and absorbing the spicy broth. Very satisfying. It also felt very clean and healthy and pure. Yum!


OK, back to Whole Foods, or, rather on to Whole Foods....


We regard Whole Foods as our playground. Our love-shack.  Our love-connection.  Our aphrodisiac. We love food (you don't say!) and not just the final product that we review when we eat out.  We also love the discussion, the hunt, the gathering, the selecting.  We love choosing the items and creating the meal as we go along, not quite knowing what we will end up with.                                             

No list.


We rarely have a list.  Sometimes we will get so enthused about an idea, that I will dig around in my purse en route to the store and find a scrap of something on which to write an idea, or an item we might otherwise forget.  Once inside, we wait for the inspiration to hit us which doesn't take long.  It all starts when we arrive at the entrance; those big huge doors opening with a swish.  I am not quite sure, but I do believe we have knelt down and kissed the ground at one time or another. We get a wagon, into which we shed our coats, and look at each other as if to say, "Honey, I'm home."  Starting in produce, we always buy berries no matter what.  That's usually our dessert and part of breakfast the next morning.  Then we look at the vast array of colors, shapes, textures and displays. How do they get that perfect triangle of tangerines, and how come it never comes toppling down?  The scents are magnificent and mild. You have to really breath in deeply to get the whiff of that earthy, sweet smell.  We decided at some point that we would base our dinner on shellfish.   I am not sure when that happened.  Joe isn't big on fish, so I rarely suggest it.  But he does love shellfish. Lobster meat is usually pricey, so we decided to get one lobster cooked, so I could take out all the meat at home. I don't mind.  In fact I kind of like it because it makes me feel like I had more of a hand in the final product. We also got 6 enormous scallops and a pound of shrimp (not peeled....a mistake you'll find out shortly).  We only had scallions and berries in our basket and nothing else at this point.  We moved ahead to do more shopping while our lobster cooked.


Sometimes we happen upon a wine tasting, and that is just frosting on the cake, as they say. No such luck today. But of course we found ourselves in the wine department, and I (as usual) told Joe I thought we probably had enough wine at home.  And Joe (as usual) said, "Ya but..."  And (as usual) we walked away with a couple of bottles in the basket.  I pretend to be annoyed, the eye-roll and all, but I'm really not.  Sssshhhh.


Onward to the cheeses. We bought, oh I don't know, ask Joe. Something Norwegian and stoic, another one English and smoked, something Greek and creamy one French and sexy (with an attitude).  We found one goat cheese that was so gorgeous with edible flowers embedded in it.  Good thing Joe gets his cholesterol checked next week.


Ah, we're home. I poured a glass of wine and began my adventure of picking apart the lobster.


Large Dutch oven or large, deep skillet
1 lb.Shrimp, 6 huge scallops halved, 1 lobster.  
Scallions (white ends chopped small, greens cut into thirds) chopped garlic
Blood orange (sliced, no rind, no seeds)
Blood orange infused olive oil.
Local honey (from the Honey Exchange, Stevens Ave., Portland).  

Units of measure: Drizzle, pour, shake, eyeball it.

Put on the water to boil for the pasta. Cook as you normally would.

Saute the scallion whites and garlic in the oil and salt until soft on med-high heat.  Push to the side of the pan when done and place the scallops in the center. Turn heat up to high.  Sear until brown on any two sides (since they’re halved, you will have 3 flat sides that can be seared.) Once they are browned, about 1-2 minutes later, remove them onto a plate and set aside. 

One good way to ruin a scallop is by over cooking it. After removing from the heat, they will continue to cook a little and will be returned to the heat later. So don’t worry about undercooking!

The scallops and lobster are all cooked at this point, so they won’t be added back in until the very end just to heat up and gather up the flavor of what else has been cooking.

Turn the heat down to medium.  Add all the shrimp.  If you bought shell-on, you will want to peel them before cooking which I did not do. You can also buy them already peeled of course. Add about a half cup of OJ, or more, to cover the shrimp, scallions and garlic. Drizzle on the honey, about two huge tablespoons full.  Add in the scallion greens and orange slices.  Cover. It will start to boil and then you can turn it down to low.  The shrimp will cook quickly and you don’t want to overcook them.  When they are pink, they are done.

Turn the heat off, but keep the pan on the burner.  Add in the cooked scallops and lobster and toss it all together. Add pepper. Cover one minute, heat off, but still on the burner.

Serve over pasta with plenty of the juices.

This is where I messed up with the shrimp.  Since there was so much sauce and other ingredients, it was a bit messy and annoying to have to peel the shrimp.  This, incidentally was where I learned something about Joe.  He peeled all the shrimp before eating where I peeled one and ate a bite, peeled another and ate a bit etc....He was patient and organized and I was just too eager to taste the meal even with the burden of peeling the shrimp in between bites.  What does that tell me about either one of us?  Actually nothing very important.

Sit down with your favorite wine (it does not have to be white just because it is seafood) and taste how brilliantly all these flavors come together.  Fruit, like orange, mango and pineapple, is a great way to cook fish and chicken. Cranberries, apples, and pears are my favorites to use with pork and beef.

Enjoy!

Caiola's

It's Saturday night, we are out with friends and have another restaurant to visit in the new year!

After having "warmed up" with cocktails at Grace, we were ready to go crazy on the dynamic menu offerings at Caiola's.  Just about everyone we know raves about Caiola's and if you believe the reader's choice awards, it's the perfect lovers' restaurant.  (Since we were essentially double dating tonight, it only made sense to put their reputation to the test.)

This is definitely one cozy little restaurant.  Close seating and tables offer little in the way of private conversation, but the buzz and atmosphere was pleasant none the less.

Let me begin by saying that the list of potential offerings were impressive.  I started salivating just reading down through it.  Polenta Fries, BBQ Baby Pork Shank, Bacon Rillette, Tongue (yes I said tongue), Ruby Red Beets...  How was one supposed to choose?  One thing was for sure: I was going to forgo my natural propensity for the Cheese Board for one of these other options!

After much deliberation, we finally chose our courses and of course our wine.  We chose a Petite Syrah from Paso Robles to drink tonight given our rich meal selections. 

It doesn't matter who ordered what because we shared everything, so we'll spare you those details.  For our 1st course we tried the Curry Lentil soup, the Warm Reuben Spread with Gruyere Cheese, the Marinated Red Ruby Beets and Baxter's Bacon Rillettes.  The Lentil soup was full with flavor and the presentation was appealing.  It had a nice balance of curry flavor but we all felt it could have been served a little hotter than it was.  Baxter's Bacon Rillettes (pronounced: rih-LEHTS) were an instant hit with all 4 of us.  Bacon rendered in bacon fat, pulverised into a paste and served in a ramekin with Shallot jam and Peppery Spinach accompanyments, come on folks, what's not to love about this one?  I actually ordered the Reuben Spread out of genuine curiosity and was surprised at how good it was.  The Corned beef was mashed together with sauerkraut, placed in a ramekin, covered with Greuyere Cheese and then baked and served with Cornichons and Artisanal Rye Croutons.  A very interesting rendition of a clasic.  Kate ordered the last of the forementioned starters, the Ruby Red Beets (which actually showed up golden yellow  ...???).  They were still delicious, served warm with citrus, Goat Cheese and Spinach.

When we ordered our 2nd bottle of the Syrah, I was informed that this was the last bottle they had  (in case we wanted a 3rd one for the table).  Fortunately we didn't feel the need for that this evening.

Our Entree choices were as follows: 2 orders of the Paella (pronounced: pie-A-uh), a Strip Steak and the Penne alla Norma.  The Paella with Saffron Rice, Grilled Chicken, Chorizo, Shell Fish, Peas and Green Beans was plentiful and perfectly cooked yet a little bland which surprised us all.  One of our fellow diners actually asked for Tobasco sauce for hers.  My Strip Steak was cooked to order and served with Gorgonzola Butter (yummy), Herbed Fingerlings and Root Vegetables which had been diced and sauteed together with spinach.  Kate's Penne alla Norma with Kalamata Olives, Grilled Eggplant, Red Peppers and Ricotta Salata was spicy but unremarkable.

While we all enjoyed ourselves tremendously in each other's company, I can't say we were blown away with this experience (the clear exception being the appetizers we all shared).  Honestly, we all remarked that we felt the service could and should have been better for a restaurant with such a high standing locally.  But this is why anyone should try a marginal or bad experience with a follow up, right?  In fact, Kate and I have a favorite because we gave it another chance.

Ok, now let me get a word in here, Joe, will ya? When you described my Ruby Red Beets (you were referring to my appetizer weren't you?) you left out the nut-mixture-thing that was on the plate. Maybe that's because we can't figure out what to call it, and keep referring to it as that nut-mixture-thing which doesn't sound like a culinary term to me (but what do I know).  Anyway, it was delicious!  It's odd that it was not in the description on the menu however (and odd that the beets were golden yellow, not red, with no explanation from the server).  Little things like that bug me, not because they're terribly important, just that it feels like someone wasn't paying attention to every detail like we've come to expect.

My main course, as Joe perfectly stated, was unremarkable.  In fact the proportion of pasta to sauce was off.  There was a lot of the sauce left over and it was not something to be scooped up and eaten. There was nothing bad about it, just nothing terribly great about it.

I have to say, I have been here before, although it was Joe's first time.  I didn't love it the first time either, but I will return with Joe for his second try (my third) and see what happens.  We had a great evening with our friends and that's what it is all about!

Thanks Kate.  We certainly did have a good time!

We give Caiola's 3 stars on this visit.

Until next time, Cheers everyone!

~Joe and Kate

Lunch at The Salt Exchange

Before I begin, I want to point out the slight change in the name of this blog. As you can see, my silent partner (who is rarely silent) has been added to the name above. We eat out together, critique these places together and write these reviews together. So being a "together" kind of day on this day of love, it seemed fitting to change the name!

Valentine's Day!  February 14th.  "The Day" to show your Love how much they mean to you.  ...Not that one shouldn't demonstrate this on a daily basis anyway!

And because we just couldn't get out for dinner, we decided to go have a nice lovers' lunch date instead.

Like the sheer number of the good restaurants in Portland, there are different and equally exciting lunch menus available to the consumer at your favorite dinner destination.  So today I chose to take my sweetie to The Salt Exchange to finally try out their luncheon offerings. 

As is normal for us, we were seated at the Chef's bar overlooking the kitchen.  This vantage point offers so much added value to the overall experience for the serious foodie.  We were offered a complimentary dish of the Truffled Potato Chips to snack on as we got going and boy were they a treat!  Flavorful, just enough salt to whet the appetite and very crisp but not burned.

We simply had to try the Cheese Sample platter as a starter.  With Great Hill Blue, Tallegio and Herbed Goat Cheese how could you go wrong?  The plate was served with fresh crostini, truffle-infused honey and balsamic-caramelized figs. Mmmm Mmmm!

For our main course we both had a hard time deciding what to have.  The choices ranged from house-made falafel wrap, grilled cheese with bacon, fish tacos (made with Hake today), house smoked chicken salad sandwich, hand-cut turkey club and a cubano (roasted pork loin with ham and Swiss sandwich).  

Kate chose the hand-cut Turkey Club with bacon, orange-cranberry jam, lettuce and tomato with a side of ginger-carrot soup (the soup de jour).  I chose the House smoked Chicken salad sandwich made with grilled grapes, smoked Gouda cheese, lettuce and onion with a side Caesar salad.  In both cases, the bread on our sandwiches was perfectly crisped on the outside and warm inside.  Not brown or over-toasted, but what I will refer to here as "al-dente" if I may.  You can ask to have your bread done to your own preferred toasted state just so you know.

After drooling over how delicious and satisfying our meals were, we were offered the dessert menus to tempt us further.  (It was a good thing we decided not to eat breakfast!)  We settled on the house made chocolate cake with lemon curd, raspberries and fresh whipped cream and a glass of Vidal Ice wine. 

One of the great things about sitting where we do whenever we dine here, is that you get a full picture of exactly how a kitchen operates, how fresh and original each plate is and how adept the staff is at their craft.  I have to give top credit to Chef Adam White.  We were witness to a well run, highly communicative and focused line.  Kimmo and Courtney work their magic as well, and indulge us by answering all our silly questions!  Not only was the kitchen line on their game, so was the wait staff.  They were very attentive to each order, special requests from guests and worked as a team to expedite the meals to tables as they were put out.

Kate turned around at one point, looking to the front of the house, and took notice of the decor. "It's not just pretty, it's also well thought out in its simplicity.  I like the feel."   She also made note of the bar stools being comfortable enough for a leisurely meal, since we always eat at the chef's table (with bar stools.) 

To sum it up: We loved our Valentine's Day lunch date, the meal, the service and the overall experience we had at The Salt Exchange once again!  ...And on Valentine's Day, isn't it all about the love?

Kate and I give The Salt Exchange 5 stars for their lunch!

Until next time,

~Joe and Kate

Schulte and Herr

Out and about on a Beautiful but cool day in Portland, it's lunchtime and Kate and I simply had to visit Schulte and Herr again!  Our last experience there was awesome if you recall.

I reported on my last blog about this restaurant that they were a breakfast and lunch stop only.  Well, that has changed and they are now open for dinner from Tuesday through Saturday from 5pm-9pm.  Lunch is Tuesday through Friday from 11:30am-2:30pm and on the weekends they now do Saturday and Sunday brunch from 8am-2:30pm.  I am most excited to go back at some point soon and try out dinner!

Needless to say, Kate and I had two cups of soup (and the potato pancakes as well) to start.  We tried both the split pea and ham and the lentil soup offerings just to make sure they were up to par. Oh boy, were they ever and a perfect choice given the weather outside.  I don't remember if I said it just this way or not about the last visit, but the potato pancakes were simply out of this world.  If you can possibly imagine what a perfectly cooked foie gras should feel like when you eat it, that's what these were like.  They were perfectly crisped on the outside and melted in the mouth like butter on a hot knife.  Full of clean, wonderful flavor that satisfied not only the palate but the senses as well.  When dressed with the applesauce and sour cream that accompanied them, Home Run!!!

We sampled two different main course offerings.  Kate went for the Beef Goulash with roasted red peppers and pan fried bread dumplings.  This plate was beautifully laid out with the evenly golden brown dumplings framing the beef goulash.  The beef itself was as tender and flaky as a brisket would be and sooo delicious with the red pepper sauce it had been cooked in!

My roasted Bratwurst (a very traditional German dish) was amazing!  The wurst was roasted to a very attractive caramelized state on the outside and the meat itself was flavorful, sweet and seasoned to perfection.  This was served with homemade sauerkraut and what I can only describe to you as the best potato salad I have ever eaten!  Seriously.  It was that good.  The plate came with a generous dollop of fresh whole grain mustard which was also matched very well with the Brat.

Well, let me also share with you the dessert we had.  It's called Bee Sting Cake and I was glad we saved enough room to have it!  This dessert is made with a creme brulee like vanilla custard sandwiched between two layers of cake and topped with a honey and almond brittle crusting.  I'm going to have to include a picture of this at some point in the future.  For now, you're going to have to look at the empty plate!

We had a wonderful conversation with Steffie while we dined and were pleased to find out that Schulte and Herr also have (and welcome) a BYOB liquor policy for their patrons!  Have a special beer or bottle of wine that you think you'd like to consume with your meal at Schulte on your next visit?  Well, bring it along!

I give Schulte and Herr a solid 5 stars on this visit.  It is quickly becoming a favorite of ours!

Until next time, Cheers!

~Joe

Grill 233

Hello everybody!  Well, once again Kate and I ventured out in search of something new and I'd been hearing a lot of commercials for this restaurant.  So off to Yarmouth we went!

I was quite honestly very desirous of a good steak and had been told that I probably wouldn't be disappointed here.  Some of you may know that Kate is a designer by profession, so when we go out we not only wind up dissecting the meals and service, but frequently the conversation delves into the atmosphere and decor as well.  So with no further ado, I'm handing the mic over to Kate!

What I first noticed when we entered the restaurant, was the bar to the left. The area for people to sit or stand was narrow, sandwiched between the bar and the wall of windows, which made it feel very cozy. It looked cool and fun, and I thought it might be nice to return to it some other night. As soon as we turned to our right, following the hostess to our table, the atmosphere was quite a contrast. It felt a bit dated and rather ordinary.

We were seated near one of the service stations in the back of the dining room which also placed us next to a blocked off door to the kitchen, a door that was obviously not in use anymore. My view was a stack of booster seats and ketchup bottles. This isn’t exactly the most appealing scenery when eating. The dining room was too dark for me personally, which made it feel a little dreary. Dim lights can be done warmly if they cast the right light. It was somewhere between Bonanza, Friendly's and ANYWHERE USA. This didn't bother me because it is what it is. Not every place has to be hip and trendy. However, some things are so easy to fix and can advance any place 2 notches with a little effort.

Another thing that could be improved upon (in my opinion) is the cleanliness. My wine glass had spots on it for instance, the silverware had fingerprints, and the rest room was not terribly clean or tidy. (Joe mentioned that the men's room was out of soap). 

The very sweet server was an absolute delight. However, she carried too many things at once, leaving her armpit the only option for transporting our bottle of wine to us. There too, is another area for improvement. These are all extremely easy fixes to make. Given the quality of the food and the meal we experienced it would have made this an even better overall experience.

A little polish on the silver and a little more for the servers, and the atmosphere would have better matched the nice meal we had.

And now, back to Joe...

To begin I ordered a bottle of Spanish Red wine as I knew I was going to have a juicy steak for my main course.  I chose the 2008 Monte Vicor Garnacha (Granache).  For those of you who haven't figured out yet that the Spanish reds are quite the exceptional values yet I say: what are you waiting for? TRY THEM!!  Kudos to Grill 233 for having the insight to include them on their wine list.

I ordered a bowl of the Clam Chowder and Kate ordered a Caesar Salad for our first course.  We shared both.  The Chowder was terrific.  The use of red bliss potatoes was unique for a clam chowder and I liked the presentation.  Kate's Caesar salad was a little bit under dressed.  It is easy to overdo a Caesar dressing, leaving one's palate pining for water or more croutons, but to have a salad not have enough of that wonderful flavor is equally disappointing.  I was impressed that Kate's salad plate had been chilled in advance, a trick I learned way back when I first started working at the Lancaster Country Club in the early 90's.  (I wish my chowder bowl had been given the same courtesy of being pre-heated prior to the chowder being put into it.)

We both ordered the 12 oz grilled Rib eye medium rare.  They both came out perfectly cooked and exactly as we ordered them (Kate opted to have the sun dried tomato garlic butter on the side of her steak).  I must say for the record: Well Done Chef!  I have commented often about how so many restaurants and chefs let the seasoning do the talking for them as opposed to cooking and seasoning something perfectly, the way it should be done.  To create a signature is one thing, but to create an exceptional experience consistently is another.

Before I forget to mention it, I was pleasantly surprised by the presentation and preparation of the olive oil that accompanied the fresh bread.  It was not your typical good oil served with fresh cracked pepper, but rather with herbs and spices that really took this common offering to a whole new level.

We were truly satiated by the end of the meal and opted out of desert on this visit.  I did overhear the presentation of offerings at another table near to us though and was impressed with the selection.

I give Grill 233 and it's staff a solid 3 stars on this visit.