Daily Feed - July 11-20, 2013

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	ABOUT ME: Name: Gutenberg Location: Somewhere near the Broadway Bridge. Occupation: BRPR (Bunrab public relations.)			the BUNRAB blog spot
				Do you need to answer back? You can send me comments if you want to. If I want to, I'll post 'em in this very blog. -Gutenberg

July 11-20, 2013

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Saturday, July 20, 2013
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Flapjacks at the 24 hour a day Hotcake House:

... rounded out our 3 egg breakfasts ($9.95).

The bacon:

... was crisp and cravable but the beef patty:

... was a parched protein puck. Over easies had nice runny yolks to moisten matters at this non-stop pancake pullout filled with carbo craving customers.

Original Hotcake House
1002 SE Powell Blvd.
Portland, OR
503.236.7402

Friday, July 19, 2013
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We set off for Roman Candle, the latest locale in the ever-growing Stumptown Coffee empire.

Pizza will not be available until next week, so we placated ourselves with their pastry offerings and some of their proprietary perks.

The scone wedged its way onto our plate with a currant of flavor but was overshadowed by the kougin aman ($3.00) with a salined caramelized crunch that was regally relishable.

The cannelle ($3.00):

... was a beeswaxed hive of custardy, vanilla-flecked perfection coerced from a copper mold.

We will definitely be back for more of these bullets of bronzed batter...and some pizza bianca.

Roman Candle
3377 SE Division
Portland, OR
971.302.6605

Thursday, July 18, 2013
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American Cheeses was the theme of this month’s subscription from The Cheese Store of Beverly HIlls.

Cave-aged Oregon blue:

... was a buttery wedge of tangy cow curdage while the espresso and lavender rubbed “Barely Buzzed” cow cheese:

... was mislabled.

We were wondering why this cheese (which we had eaten before) looked and tasted so strangely superior until we spotted it labled as the Pleasant Ridge Reserve:

The Pleasant Ridge was nuttily nuanced in a lovable lactose loaf from this cow-lection.

The Cheese Store of Beverly HIlls
419 N. Beverly Hills Dr.
Beverly Hills, CA
310.278.2855

Wednesday, July 17, 2013
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Grassa is the latest weighty warren from the Lardo people.

We ordered at the counter and swung by the extruder before settling in for a tumbler of red wine to accompany an oil and vinegared antipasti salad ($8.00):

... dotted with white beans. Planks of aged provolone and strips of salami were perked by peppers in this refreshing, oreganoey tumble.

Excellent meatballs ($7.00):

... were marvelous muscle mounds mingled with tangy tomato sauce. Definitely a reorder.

The carbonara ($10.00):

... was a misfire. All the elements were good, excellent al dente bucatini, smokey lardons of pancetta, good cheese and pepper. But the unusual move of frying the egg caused the dish to give up any cohesion. Nothing stuck to the pasta so there were good bits at the bottom and naked noodles on the top.

Radiatore ($9.00):

... radiated with whipped ricotta and tomato sauce sucked into the flavor folds of these semolina spirals. Bits of crisp chicken skin gave a crunchy counterpoint in this thermal exchange vittle vector.

Grassa may be green, but there is a lot to love about this noodle noshateria. We will be back to check out their strozzapreti and get more of those meatballs.

Grassa
1205 SW Washington St.
Portland, OR
503.2411133

Tuesday, July 16, 2013
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The shortrib Koja ($6.50):

... at Koja Kitchen:

... consisted of a rice “bun” of crispy crusted garlicy grain circles sandwiching cubes of sweet beef in a sesame vinaigrette lettuce-fringed, Korean/Japanese take on a hamburger.

This hand held beef bowl was a nifty nosh of fun fusion that hit the spot.

Koja Kitchen Truck
415.992.7394

From our Bunrab email, Emily writes:

Hi Gutenberg, My husband and I are planning a trip to Portland in September--our first since '07--and I would love to have any suggestions you can provide for your favorite restaurants. I know there are a ton of great places up there, so it's hard to narrow it down, but any advice would be greatly appreciated. We admire your taste in food and cocktails and only wish we could dine out as much as you do! Thanks so much! Emily

Gutenberg replies:

Dear Emily,

Thanks for your kind note. Here is a list of some of our current faves:

Roe - fancy seafood
Castagna - fancy modernist
Levant - Arab-esque
Genoa - fancy Italian
Clyde Common - happy hour burger and fries and brunch
Tasty n Alder - casual BLD
Podnah’s Pit BBQ
Olympic Provisions - charcuterie, hot dogs
Lauretta Jean’s - tart cherry pie
Alma Chocolate Cafe - chocolates and drinking chocolate
Tabor Bread - toast made from their wood fired, house milled flour bread and coffee
OX - grilled meat
Racion - Spanish modern
Bollywood Theatre - counter service Indian street food
Sen Yai - casual Asian noodles
Tiffin Asha - South Indian snack cart
Barista - top notch espresso
Teardrop Lounge - cocktails
Rum Club - casual cocktails

Hope that helps.

-G

Monday, July 15, 2013
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An amazing Valpolicella commenced our dinner at Corso where we were treated to a feast by friends.

We nibbled on marinated mushrooms and olives as we boned up on the menu from which we went with sating saladage before digging into branzino. This whole grilled sea bass was a marvelous marine morsel with dense, fresh flesh.

The t-bone steak was outstanding with a depth of flavor and tantalizing texture that led to a picked clean plate.

Sensational sides included Romano beans, spinach and polenta before we went up the hill to dig into a bubbling hot, berry crisp with ice cream that had the perfect balance of tartness to lead to seconds before we headed off filled with fabulous food and fun.

Trattoria Corso
1788 Shattuck Ave.
Berkeley, CA
510.704.8004

Sunday, July 14, 2013
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Bolinas Rod and Boat Club was the backdrop of the fine festivities for a friend’s birthday where we rang in another year of a renaissance man.

Rashers of revel-worthy bacon, sausages, eggs, potatoes, fruit and rustic bread:

... made for a delectable brunch for this reeling and buoyant collection of pleased party goers.

Bolinas Rod and Boat Club

Saturday, July 13, 2013
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Unlike Portland, San Francisco tends not to have a two hour wait for brunch. This refreshing reminder resonated as dined with pals at Dobbs Ferry:

... where a steak and egg tostada ($16.00):

... with roasted tomatoes, peppers and onions was a nice tostarter to baked eggs ($13.50):

... with spinach, goat cheese and shards of bacon with nice, crusty potatoes.

A fruit fringed waffle ($10.00) finalized our ferry fortification before we hit Smitten:

... for chilly churnage. The liquid nitrogen influenced bespoke balls rested on house made cones:

... to complete our contentment as we chowed with our chums.

Dobbs Ferry
409 Gough St.
San Francisco, CA
415.551.7700

Smitten
432 Octavia St.
San Francisco, CA
415.863.1518

Friday, July 12, 2013
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Shrimp in chili oil with garlic ($6.00):

... were satisfying seafood at Serratto:

... during their Happy Hour where we sipped on a couple potent margaritas ($5.00 each):

Calamari ($5.00):

... were standard issue squidage while the pizza ($8.00):

... was cheesey chompage with salami that was blonder than our preferences, but still okay.

The burger ($8.00):

... was juicy, bbq sauced beef with white Cheddar, crispy fried onions and aioli on a brioche bun. The fries were greaseless and good, but not the crisp crusted, starchy bellied type we prefer.

The friendly staff and solid burger made this a worthwhile happy hour stop.

Serratto
2112 NW Kearney
Portland, OR
503.221.1195

Thursday, July 11, 2013
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The salmon, scallop and avocado maki ($13.95):

... at Yama:

... was too mayonaisey for our tastes, but the chirashi sushi ($22.50 each):

... was more our thing. Sushi rice topped with an assortment of raw fish could have done without the stiff stubs of tamago but for the most part, it was sating sashimi sustenance.

Yama doesn’t threaten to knock Boxer or Hokusei from their lofty lead, but for vittles in the vicinity it did the trick.