Beast: A Review

For Christmas this year, my friend Alex gave everyone dinner out at various fancy restaurants. Mine was Beast, and we tried it out last night. Dining at Beast is sort of like going to a dinner party where you don't know anyone except the person you came with. And I mean that in a good way. Everyone eats the same thing at the same time, either 6 p.m. or 8:45 p.m. It's a lot of fun, the food was, with one exception, excellent, and overall, I totally recommend it. We went for the wine pairing with each course, which I strongly suggest. Six courses sound overwhelming, but the portions, for the most part are small, and therefore doable. Without further ado, here is course-by-course commentary:
1. Both the soup and nettle pastry were delicate and delicious; the soup had strong but not overwhelming flavors of mushrooms and truffles. The sparkling wine was wonderful.
2. Charcuterie Plate. A big plate with little bites of delight. Naomi Pomeroy suggested ending with the Foie Gras Bon-Bon. She was right. Everything on the plate was wonderful, I especially liked the paté and the chicken liver mousse with maple bacon, but the Bon-Bon was amazing. A delicate, buttery cookie was topped with a dome of buttery foie gras, garnished with two little dabs of sauternes jelly. It was dessert, really, but made of meat. Wow.
3. The lamb was, unfortunately, the low point. The artichokes fried in duck fat that accompanied it were wonderful, the mint-hazelnut salsa verde that topped it was fresh and crunchy, but the lamb...was too salty. It wasn't just my piece, Alex's was too. Which was really too bad, because everything else was so great.
Intermission: elderflower sorbet palate-cleanser. It wasn't listed on the menu, but ended up being one of my favorite thing that I ate that night. It was sweet, refreshing, and tasted, as I described it (and which made Alex laugh), as a Swedish snowball.
4. The roasted beet salad was good, but not anything particularly remarkable.
5. The cheese plate was a nice assortment of local and international slivers and dabs of cheese, accompanied by delicate anise shortbread. Very nice.
6. Dessert: the lemon tartlet was a nice, sweet, and light end to an overall very enjoyable meal.

Here's the menu for this week as posted on Beast's website:

week of march 11th

MENU FOR THE WEEK BELOW (suggested wine pairing in italics)

RICOTTA & NETTLE PASTRY
CREAM OF HEDGEHOG MUSHROOM SOUP
SHAVED OREGON BLACK TRUFFLE
DOMAINE LABBE BRUT DU SAVOIE-NV

CHARCUTERIE PLATE:
FOIE-GRAS BON-BON, SAUTERNES GELEÉ
STEAK TARTARE & QUAIL EGG TOAST
PORK, PORK LIVER, SOUR CHERRY & PISTACHIO PATE
CHICKEN LIVER MOUSSE, MAPLE CANDIED BACON
RIJCKAERT COTES DU JURA ‘EN PARADIS’-2006

CATTAIL CREEK LAMB LOIN CHOP
CRISPY BABY ARTICHOKES
DEMI-GLACE & MINT-HAZELNUT SALSA VERDE
ORATOIRE ST. MARTIN CAIRANNE ROUGE
RESERVE DES SEIGNEURS-2007

ROASTED RED & GOLD BEETS
FENNEL, WALNUT VINAIGRETTE
SHAVED SHEEPS MILK CHEESE
ORATOIRE ST.. MARTIN CAIRANNE BLANC HAUT COUSTIAS-2007

~SELECTION OF STEVE’S CHEESE~
ANISE & FLEUR DE SEL SHORTBREAD
POACHED WINTER FRUIT, MARCONA ALMONDS
CHATEAU BELLIVIERE BLANC VV ESPARSES-2005

LEMON-THYME TARTLETTE
VANILLA BEAN ICE CREAM
CASSIS COULIS
STEINMETZ RIESLING AUSLESE BRAUNEBERGER JUFFER-1992

503.841.6968 · 5425 NE 30th Ave · Portland OR 97211
Dinner 5:30-9:30PM Wednesday - Saturday, Sunday brunch 11-2
www.beastpdx.com

A Few Brief Updates

I haven't updated this in a while, I just don't have much time to go out, or cook, for that matter. But here are a few items of note:

• Jace Gace has closed. The hipster waffle house on Belmont is gone, and in its place is a generic-looking "deli" with a ubiquitous Pepsi-sponsored sign. Honestly, Jace Gace wasn't that great, I make better waffles at home, but it was a cool space, and I hope that something more interesting than a so-called "deli" eventually makes its home there.
• I visited Sel Gris for a second time over the weekend. This time, we had Lobster Gnocchi as an appetizer, and roast saddle of rabbit as an entree, which was stuffed with sweetbreads and wrapped in bacon. The Lobster Gnocchi was excellent, but I enjoyed the duck I had the first time I went there more than the rabbit; the duck was much lighter than the rabbit. It might have just been that duck suited my mood better. The staff there continues to be incredibly helpful and friendly.
• Alu is for sale. Supposedly the owner of the Germanic wine bar wants to move to Spain, and that nothing was wrong with business. Hmmm. I loved that place, and I hope whoever buys it maintains the same atmosphere and quality level.
• Sip and Kranz was sold. The Nordic "Child-Friendly" coffee shop had been closed for a while due to flooding from faulty plumbing. Then word came that it had been sold. Supposedly, the new owners are taking out the children's room (Hooray! No more screaming babies!) and are replacing it with computer stations. S & P's proximity to Jamison Square, combined with its kid-friendliness, led it to be often used as a rest area rather than a coffee shop, with inconsiderate parents coming in to get napkins, use the restroom, and take refuge from the sun/rain/etc. for hours by filling up all the seats without buying anything, all the while their kids ran around screaming, knocking things over, and disrupting the few paying customers who were actually there. Not the best way for a coffee shop to make money. I really liked everything about Sip and Kranz except the annoying children and parents. They had good coffee, good drinks, and nice furnishings. Best case, all this will be retained, and improved upon with the lack of children.
  
• Rumor has it that Gourmet Magazine may eventually only be online. Yes, that's right, the original upscale cooking magazine may no longer have a print version. The publisher apparently has too many titles in this genre and feels the need to weed things out. Why they chose Gourmet over other titles, I really don't know. Gourmet had a nice mix of articles on travel, food, and food politics. It was specifically the food politics that I enjoyed; most other culinary magazines ignore that side of things. Maybe circulation was down. That's too bad. Maybe CondeNast will reconsider.
  

That's all for now. I should be trying Beast soon, and a review will definitely follow.

Gladstone Pizza and Coffee Shop

I love living in a big, old farmhouse in SE Portland, but I do miss the hustle and variety of NW. Specifically, I miss the option of getting a slice of NY style pizza from Escape From New York. But that problem might be solved, at least to a degree.
Last night, at my request, my delightful roommates and I had dinner at Gladstone Pizza and Coffee. I had been there once before, on moving day, but just for coffee. They have great coffee, by the way, Stumptown, and they know how to prepare it.
Last night was the test. By day it's a laid back coffee shop that, for whatever reason, reminds me of one I went to in Toronto. At night, the bagels and coffee halt (or at least the bagels do), and the pizza oven gets fired up. It's still chill, but with the added coziness of candles. It's a family-run place, which always makes things nicer. The pizza is excellent--NY style, thin, floppy crust, and like Escape From NY, their topping options are limited, but appropriate. It's mostly classics, such as pepperoni, onions, etc. with a few gourmet options thrown in, such as chevre and andouille sausage. But nothing weird like peanut sauce.
We stuck with the classics: half pepperoni, half green pepper and onion. I heartily approved, and I think my friends all enjoyed it too. They have a few beers on tap; Joe and I chose a Belgian-style ale that was caramelly-colored and almost thick. It went really well with the pizza, but was pretty strong for a beer: alcohol content was around 10%. At the end of our meal, the owner came over with four little slices of pizza for us to try. He was developing a new variety of pie and wanted to test it out on us. I love that. It was good too: a bright, fresh tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, and basil. Pizza Margarita, in other words.
We all left happy. I'm not sure if they have pizza by the slice at night, but if they do, then it's probably the perfect place. And, bonus bonus, it's only a couple blocks from our house. What a relief.
Go there for coffee or pizza. Either way, you'll enjoy it.

Gladstone Pizza & Coffee Shop

503.775.1537

3813 SE Gladstone Street

Sel Gris

Friday evening I met up with Ingrid for coffee at the Albina Press on Hawthorne, and as we lingered, we realized we were both hungry. Neither one of us had been out to a nice dinner in ages, and decided to try somewhere new: Sel Gris, about a mile down Hawthorne near Ladd's Addition.
It was the right choice.
We both started off with champagne cocktails composed of champagne (duh), lavender syrup, some sort of orange liqueur, and garnished with an orange twist. One of the most delightful cocktails I've had in quite a while.
Next up was "Salt and Pepper" Calamari: lightly fried and sauteed calamari, scallions, preserved lemon, leeks, Thai basil, chilies, and housemade nuoc cham. The preserved lemon added an unexpected bright tang to the calamari, and they gave us a huge amount for an appetizer--probably enough for four people. We couldn't finish it. A pity.
On to the entrees: Ingrid had the ginger beer braised pork shank, accompanied with thyme-infused pumpkin puree, savory pecan praline, and pumpkin seed oil. She gave me a bite, and it was excellent, but I think I enjoyed my choice even more.
I ordered szechuan peppercorn pressed peking duck breast and braised duck leg, accompanied by baby bok choy, and forbidden black rice in a lapsang souchong infusion. Wow. The duck breast tasted like steak. I've had duck before, but never like this. It was amazing.
That was all. Neither one of us could finish our entrees, so we brought them home. Obviously, we couldn't handle dessert. But our bill came with two little chocolate truffles topped with--you guessed it--fleur de sel. A nice little sweet touch at the end.
Highly recommended.
Sel Gris
1852 se hawthorne portland, or. 97214
(503) 517.7770

Office Holiday Party 2008

Per usual, I planned the company holiday party. This year, I decided to hold it at Clyde Common, which is one of my favorite restaurants. The company is growing, and although five people didn't show up, we still had an excellent turnout. After last year's success with a themed gift exchange, I held a repeat, only this year the theme was "The Office." Quite á propos, don't you think?
Here are some photos:

My Dad's Baklava Recipe

All right, it's here. The much-requested Baklava recipe. My dad adapted and tweaked it from Lebanese Cuisine by Madelain Farah

My Dad's Baklava

1 Syrup Recipe

4 cups chopped walnuts
1 cup sugar
1 Tbl orange flower water
1 lb. filo dough
1 lb. drawn butter

Prepare the syrup first:
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
couple drops of lemon juice
1 tsp orange flower water

Combine sugar, water, and lemon juice in a sauce pan. Boil over medium heat for about 10 or 15 minutes or until fairly thick, like honey. Before removing from heat, add orange flower water and let come to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool completely.

Next, combine nuts, sugar, and orange flower water. Place approximately 1/3 of the filo sheets in a tray, brushing each sheet with the melted butter. Smear the nut mixture on top, and cover with remaining filo sheets, again brushing each layer with melted butter. End with brushing the top with more melted drawn butter. Cut into diamonds.
Bake at 300 degrees until golden. Remove from oven. Spoon COLD syrup over the HOT pastry.

Best Thanksgiving Ever

I experienced my first authentic Thanksgiving this year. It was the real deal: lots of people, football, champagne, wine, many hands in the kitchen, coziness, activities afterward. It was so much fun!

My parents bought and stuffed the turkey, and brought it over for us to roast.

We have a big kitchen, but we managed to cover every surface with cooking accoutrement, food, mess. It hasn't been this big of a disaster since we first moved in and were trying to organize our stuff.

Liz, and Joe's controversial cream-laden scalloped potatoes.

The turkey was a success!

Scenes from our dinner.

Guest List:
Liz
Joe
Bruno
Me
My Parents
Bruno's Mom and Sister

Menu:
Roast Turkey
Mushroom Olive Stuffing
Apple Fennel Stuffing
Gravy
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Scalloped Potatoes
Ginger Cranberry Sauce
Green Bean Casserole (from scratch)
Baby Greens and Arugula Salad with Gorgonzola and Sweet Potato Croutons
Pumpkin Pie
Apple Pie
Baklava