Post 112: Portland - Chop Charcuterie and Eat: An Oyster Bar at the Hub Building (Portland: North Portland/Northeast/Boise)

While waiting for our breakfast board at Tasty N Sons, Angela and I wandered around the Hub Building where the restaurant is housed to explore and warm up our stomachs.  The Hub Building contains eateries, shops and even a small cooking school for those who might be inclined to learn about the dish they just ate.  Our first stop was Chop Charcuterie, a cozy butcher and sandwich shop located near the back door of Tasty N Sons.

Chop Charcuterie offers a variety of various sausages, smoked meats and unique pates made from guinea hen and venison.  From a charming chorizo to peppery picante sausage there is sure to be a delicious deli meat suited to your palate.

The shop makes sandwiches from the cuts of meat in the fridge case and even provides samples of the different meats to taste for those who are undecided.  We even noticed some dried pig snouts made for just for man's best friend too.

And even though I really wanted to take a pound of pate back to Southern California with me, sadly, there was a high risk of perishing at some point along the way.  I vowed to return.

Continuing through the back of the Hub Building and around to the front we came across Eat: An Oyster Bar, which had just opened its doors for the early lunch crowd.  We were treated with extra attention up at the bar counter since no other customers had ventured into the restaurant yet.

The daily oyster selection is posted on the chalkboard between the entrance and the bar.  There is a wide array of wine and beer on tap and contained within the old school refrigerators where the bartenders roam.  The environment is relaxed... chill, you could say.

We ordered half a dozen from both the East Coast and the West Coast to taste the difference.  Supposedly, oysters grown on the Atlantic shore are more briny and saltier than the ones grown in Pacific waters.  I haven't quite been able to distinguish the flavors of the oysters just yet, but I do know that I love a good, plump and jiggly sea creature when it's fresh.

The shreds of horseradish is a really neat addition to the oyster platter at Eat.  It sets this place apart from all the other oysters bars that pair their bivalves with simple mignonette and cocktail sauce.

As soon as we slurped down our final oyster, Tasty N Sons called us over for breakfast.  What great timing.  Stay until for more eats across Williams Avenue at the newly opened Kenny & Zuke's.  Let's get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20120914

Post 89: London Olympics Opening Ceremony Royal Potluck

To celebrate the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, I originally thought it would be fun to celebrate at a local pub and drink gallons of beer.  Somehow my thoughts of sitting on a bar stool and chasing Jameson with New Castle evolved into a British themed potluck with friends at my apartment.  This is the e-mail I sent out to my guests.  In case my poor attempt at Shakespearean English cannot be understood, colloquial English is provided in green.

HEAR YE, HEAR YE!  Listen up bitches.

From thine host to thee, the sirs and madams of Camelot, Arcadiashire and the Thames, might I trouble you to save the fifth day of thine work week for the royal potluck in celebration of the Queen's crowning athletes and the knights of the roundtable?  The awesome potluck to celebrate the Olympics will be on Friday.

Please grace us with your knighted presence and thine bountiful British booty at six hours past the time of the highest sun.  The jubilant stroll of our friends and foes begins at seven and two quarter hours past the time of the highest sun... sharp.  Please arrive around 6.  The Parade of Nations starts at 7:30 sharp.  Don't be late.

Details for the festive feasting will be distributed by the Royal Palace via electronic post by the hour of the Royal Prince's return from his laborious work in automotive data analysis with the peasants of Yorkorange County.  I will e-mail more details after I get home from work.

The invited guests have been knighted with the following names: Allison of San Diego Abbey, Catherine of Cerritobridge, Christina of Taipei Castle, Elizabeth of the Royal Family, Erin of the Southern Riverbend, Grace of Arcadiashire, Ken of the San Marino Cathedral, Ronbernie of the Land of Lettuce and Leprechauns, and Stephanie of the local district.  No peasants allowed.  These are the guests.  No assholes allowed.

The Royal Prince of Cambridge  Michael

And these are the dishes that the royal guests brought to the royal potluck.

Tea sandwiches by Erin of the Southern Riverbend,

a variety of finger foods (pinky up) with turkey and bacon, curry chicken, and sun-dried tomato... a dainty way to start off the night.

Sausage rolls by Catherine of Cerritobridge,

baked up plump American style as pigs in a blanket... maybe to show some national pride (USA! USA! USA!) before she weds Mr. Mulholland and becomes a Scottish man's woman?

Cottage pie by Christina of Taipei Castle,
a traditional British dish made of ground beef and minced onions topped with buttery, fluffy, mashed potato.  The lady of Taipei Castle used shallots as well as onions, grated carrots instead of chopped carrots, and zucchini to sub for peas (the lady of the castle hates peas).  And it was all simmered with a cup of Merlot.  'Twas bloody good comfort food.

Bangers and mash by yours truly, the Royal Prince of Cambridge,
using a fusion approach to the traditional English pub grub.  Rather than Cumberland sausage, I subbed in some spicy Italian sausage, and I simmered the onions using not only pinot noir and worcestershire but some soy sauce with a heavy dose of course ground black pepper as well.

English trifle by Allison of San Diego Abbey,
in individual cups with layers of pound cake, strawberries, bananas soaked in orange juice, and custard... homemade whipped cream and fresh blueberries adorned the top.  The clear cups made it easy to see all the colorful layers of trifle.  And it made it even easier to see all the ground beef and cottage pie stashed beneath the custard in my cup.  Christina of the Castle is quite the sneaky one...

Of course Ron of the Land of Lettuce and Leprechauns arrived with a little Olde English (well played, Sir), and Stephanie of the local district doused the potluck with a Jameson tea party.  The Newcastle and Guiness were good choices too.  Ah, and we closed the ceremony with some tea and cookies from Jessica of Arcadiashire.  We've eaten quite a bit of potatoes now, haven't we?

Although this is long overdue, we wish all of the olympic athletes well.  We will be cheering for the home team... USA! USA! USA! Until next time, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20120727

Post 11.1: Wurstküche (LA: Arts District)

Welcome to Wurstküche.
Wurstküche sits in the reviving Arts District just east of Little Tokyo.

A friend visited from Korea unexpectedly and had a craving for everything American, so we decided to grab lunch at Wurstküche. In retrospect, that wasn't the most American food that we could have eaten... but there are plenty of grilled German sausages alongside dozens of ice cold draft beer from Deutschland and its neighbors. Who's to argue over what's truly American? So on another rainy February day in LA, we found a haven in grilled sausages and ice cold beer.

The menu. Sausages range from your basic bratwurst to
more eclectic choices such as duck, rabbit, and alligator.

Having had a few of the classics (bratwurst, hot Italian) and gourmets (chicken apple, kielbasa) on previous occasions, we ordered decisively from the exotics section. A duck & bacon for me and an alligator & pork for her. To drink? BIER.

Single file.
A selection of mustards line up for their taste test.

We spent so much time trying to make sure that we had every type of mustard (ketchup + sausage combo is a no-no) that the fries were ready before we even sat down. Note to friends for next time: there are plenty of mustard squirt-bottles at the tables, so preemptively hording resources like squirrels is absolutely unnecessary.

Inviting interior.
 Although brightly lit at lunch, the dining room has a different feel at night.

The fries must have come from large potatoes because fries that are that thick typically are cut in wedges. These were fries. Crisp and golden skin encased the fluffy and steaming potato inside. For God's sake they were fried potatoes! We chose the chipotle aioli and bleu cheese with walnut and bacon for our dip.

Singing the bleus.
The bleu cheese dip with walnut and bacon is one of my favorites.

The tzatziki and the pesto mayo are good pairings with the fries too. Other frequenters of Wurstkuche opt for the white truffle oil glaze, but who were we kidding? It was a Tuesday afternoon.

Take a picture.  It lasts longer.

Halfway through chomping through my duck & bacon, I looked over at my friend. I almost choked. The two squares of the ends of the roll was all that was left in her metal container. Rina had already finished her alligator & pork sausage. Wiping crumbs from her mouth, she declared, "I want another one. Will you split it with me?"

Duck & bacon. With spicy peppers and grilled onions.

That was one of those pseudo-rhetorical questions that begs an unrequited response. Who's to say no to more sausages? "Sure, as long as you finish your beer!"

Alligator & pork. With sweet peppers and sauerkraut.

So Rina disappeared to the front of the house, and another sausage arrived: apricot & ginger. "I'm just trying to eat all the foods I miss before I head back to Korea for work," uh huh... By this time we were peeling the roll off the sausage the way you have to peel a banana to eat it. It was all about the sausage now. The bread didn't matter anymore... and neither did plans for the rest of the day. An inquiry: "You still wanna get cupcakes?"

Auf weidersehen.   If only Heidi served sausages here.

Until next time let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

Mentions:
Photography by Rina is featured in this post. Thanks for the socks!

ML - 20100228/20100209