Scoop ice-cream "truck" at the north-station food cart pod

image courtesy: scoop's facebook profile

This past friday night, some friends and i bike-posse'd over to the north station food cart pod on Greeley and N. Killingsworth.  The turn out was decent, the weather was grand, but unfortunately my veggie burrito from the El Rancho Mexican Food was not nearly as good as the poblano burrito i had just a week prior.   I don't expect 3 star dining from a food cart.  But some flavor and value would be nice.  This burrito was underfilled, they forgot my sour cream, and it was mostly rice, flavorless rice.

Being disappointed, i needed more.  I needed something to write about that was positive, hopefully.  In addition, i remained hungry due to the diminutive burrito.  Enter "Scoop", the organic ice cream truck.  When I'm at blend, next door, i often seem to see people walking around with ice-cream, a good sign.  I had a single scoop of "salted caramel" in a waffle cone.  No matter how one pronounces caramel, this scoop was marvelous.   Just the right amount of salt to offset the sugary, creaminess of this delight.  It was smooth and almost buttery.  While the cone was way too big for a single scoop, i highly recommend that as well.   Amanda Rhoads, the proprietress, makes them right in the cart!  This was only my initial visit, so i'll abstain from a full review for now.  Suffice it to say, i'll be back, soon.  No cheery ice-cream truck music here, this truck is stationary with a willing and eager audience.

American Flatbread: delayed yet again?

It looks like the American Flatbread Portland location has been delayed to "later this year" yet again.
Being from VT, i'm torn on this one.  We have some great pizza around Portland.

When i was in VT, seemingly not a month went by that we didn't eat in the Burlington location.   Tons of veggie options, large-party seating opportunities, local and small farm ingredients, in house brewed beer.   Tasty to the point of fighting over the left-overs!  Some of the best sicilian-style i'd had since grimaldi's in Brooklyn.

How will this location compare to the two original VT locations?  i can only imagine.  How will it compare to Ken's?  Apizza Scholls? Only time will tell...
Will that time ever come?  It's been over a year, recently we've heard that their space was cleared out and all that remains is the oven.  This doesn't bode well, especially with a Via Tribunali location comin' in hot from seattle.

you say catsup i say ketchup

I've been making a lot of ketchup recently.  I'm trying to perfect my recipe.  sweet, but not too sweet.  should i add in more herbage?  more vinegar?  to sieve or not to sieve?
While heinz is my benchmark, it's certainly not made from ingredients i would want in most of my food, nor is it local, nor is it organic (there is a small distribution of heinz made without HFCS).  It's tastier and cheaper to make it yourself.  Not to mention you know exactly what is in there and you don't waste yet another plastic bottle. Cup and Saucer make their own for their dining room.

My ketchup recipe isn't ready for the primetime.  When it is, i will share it here.  But i must have started a trend: Portland chef Micah Camden, of DOC and Yakuza fame, has started his own ketchup brand. I'm not sure i can compete without a good source of hemp for my recipe.  Just look at that snazzy bottle!

Ketchup has its time and place.  And its certainly a required condiment in most refrigerators.   I'm certainly going to get a bottle of Camden's Catsup. Even if i do use <gasp> mayo, or <gasp> hot sauce more often these days.

prison "nutraloaf": i wonder if this is vegetarian

nutraloaf; photo: boingboing

several blogs have been posting about this stuff: "nutraloaf".   Apparently, it's so uniform and flavorless that prisons use it to punish some inmates. 
I highly doubt it's vegetarian, considering how cheap meat can be. 
Can vegetarians get special consideration under "religion" if they go to prison? I believe Muslims can get meals made without pork.  I guess if i can't do the time i shouldn't do the crime.

please post info on nutraloaf, if you have any, in the comments.

exploring lunch at Clarklewis

Clarklewis: baby green salad and carrot soup

Vegetarians like food, right?  Clarklewis is a bit meat-tastic, and many of Portland's finest dining establishments are animal-heavy.  After-all, many chefs don't really care for vegetarians.  We have "underdeveloped tastes" and "overdeveloped morals", which can lead to boring dishes at the hands of some.  That being said, many modern chefs seem well up-to-the-challenge of catering to the distinctive, yet vegetarian, patrons' taste.  However, I didn't go to Clarklewis and expect tons of options.  Indeed, the menu is posted at the door.

Clarklewis is certainly no exception to the meaty-rule.  I've been there multiple times, yet I've never been there for dinner.  Call me crazy: I don't want to pay through the nose for a few apps.  On occasion these may be the best things on the menu. But, this would take a special occasion, and some serious lack of options. 

Lunch.  Lunch is a different story.  While today they didn't have main lunch courses without meat, they do have several satisfying and tasty first courses to satisfy the meat-disinclined.
I had the carrot soup and "Kingfisher [farms']" baby green salad.  The salad was good, with well-dressed and flavorful greens on a chilled, clean, white plate.  It tasted like i plucked them from a talented gardener's glove that very minute.

Clarklewis: amazing house-made chips

The carrot soup, which turned out to be vegan, (no cream, too bad.  veggie broth), and was a bit lacking in flavor and lacking in savory for my taste.  It did have a nice drizzle of oil and some almonds and i ate almost all of it.

My lunch companion had the Reuben, which looked amazing, albeit clogged with pastrami.  He has a very refined palette which leads him to ask the server a myriad of MCAT level, top-chef questions prior to ordering. 
He also had the foresight to order a side of chips.   They were, quite simply, amazing.  Obviously fresh, with just a sprinkling of vinegar, fresh herbs and salt.  He took to guarding his dish so i could not partake in more than my share.

The menu changes often, but it might be worth a look for lunch or happy hour.  This is especially true considering the caliber of food and chefs they seem to retain.   I probably won't find myself there more than a few times a year, but I'm sure the chefs are okay with that.
Clarklewis for lunch:  

• Food Quality: * * (2 stars, high quality, when you can eat it)
• Vegetarian menu: 0* (some cursory menu items listed as vegetarian)
• Vegan menu: 0* (i got lucky with the soup)
• Service: * * (standard, a bit slow with the drinks and check)
• Atmosphere * * (pros: open-air wall, wood grill, white table cloths)
• Green: * * (pros: local ingredients, cloth napkins, wood grill; cons: lots of meat)
• overall: * (great food, lack of veggie options)

****=Extraordinary, ***=Excellent, **=Good, *=Fair, 0* (no star) = Poor, Below average.

repost: Bunk Bar is open!

no idea on hours nor menu yet.  supposedly open late for the food industry crowd as well as lunch.  1028 SE Water.

update: I dropped in today (thurs 26Aug2010).  They are open 3pm-2am "most" days. 

as seen on:
pdx.eater

drop a comment if you have more info!

south on north mississippi

Miss Delta's BBQ tofu po-boy

Is it just me, or when nearby, does everyone think of N. Mississippi's recent sordid past?

Recently I've been frequently finding myself on N. Mississippi: The Rebuilding Center, ¿Por Que No?, and sometimes: Miss Delta.

Miss Delta is chill and fun.  It's not the best food in portland, but it's convenient, tasty and cheap.  They have a fantastic and inventive cocktail selection and cheap beer.  The vegetarian menu is very decent and recently got even better.  Jen usually gets the sampler with mac & cheese, vegan rice and beans, and vegan collards.  The rice and beans are nice and smokey.  The greens have that nice vinegary kick, which isn't overpowering.  Unfortunately, on this visit the rice was very undercooked.  Some would even call it crunchy.  The only other issue is they seemed to be out of forks and i had to wait for the dishes to be done to eat my cole slaw.

Food-wise, I opted, which i frequently do, for the BBQ tofu po-boy sandwich.  It is seasoned, and what appears to be fried, tofu with plenty of BBQ sauce, mayo and pickles.  The tomatoes were incredibly fresh and juicy.  The bread, as per usual, had just the right amount of crust without squirting its ferry all over the table.   The drink selection is so good that i don't think i've ever gotten the same thing twice.  The classic Mint Julip is my usual summer stand-bye. My recent go-to is the old-fashioned.  This day i cleansed my palate with their "Outlaw" which is nearly a bourbon and ginger-lemonade.

Here comes my first attempt at a standard review.  Please remember, this is a food review we're talking about here, which tend to be over-rated on the interwebs as a whole.  I'm trying to stick to the "Association of Food Journalists" method which sums up as the following: ****=Extraordinary, ***=Excellent, **=Good, *=Fair, 0* (no star) = Poor, Below average.

 Miss Delta (0 to **** (stars), higher=better):

• Food Quality: * * (2 stars)
• Vegetarian menu: * (many prominent items on the menu listed as vegetarian)
• Vegan menu: * (most vegetarian options available as vegan, many vegan options listed directly on menu)
• Service: * * (cons: kinda slow, kinda rude in that cayote ugly way, server walked across dining room with my bare fork in her hand)
• Atmosphere * * (pros: visible kitchen, southern-ish kitsch, exposed brick, tin ceiling, varied seating & tables)
• Green: *  (cons: paper napkins, non-recyclable to-go container)
• overall: * * 

time for coffee...

Blend's Iced Soy Latte

I've been getting steadily and increasingly back into the coffee kick ever since i moved to portland.  coincidence?  perhaps.   
Insert witty comment on NW coffee and/or rain here.

There are at least two great coffee shops within a mile of our house.  There used to be a great breakfast/lunch/coffee spot within a few blocks.  But, it is closed. Many have mourned yet continue to deeply miss its unique presence in north portland.

in the afternoons these days i usually head to Blend on N. Killingsworth & Greeley, right next to the food carts.   It's comfy and relaxed, with a steady business but never without seating for myself, my coffee beverage of the day, and my book and/or laptop.

today was a double iced soy latte and a copy of my-buddy-from-highschool's, aka Rosecrans Baldwin's book You Lost Me There.  The coffee was a good balance of unsweetened soy and clean yet textured espresso, the crowd was quiet yet busy and friendly, and the book is touching and engaging.

UPDATE: 30August2010: i had a pastry today at "Blend".  It was a cinnamon twist thing and looked like an elephant ear combined with a croissant.   It was tasty despite having obviously sit in that case all day, at least today.  And of course i had my usual summer iced soy latte.

re: 10 Reasons To Never Eat Free Food

Mmmm... Free Food

I'm a pretty heavy serious eats follower.  Recently they had a link to Darya Pino's site summertomato.com.  It seems like a great site, focusing on healthy and local eating. This article by Darya Pino entitled "10 Reasons To Never Eat Free Food" intrigued me.

Having spent more time than most in school i think i have an over adept predilection to free food.   This is ironic, considering i never or rarely look at prices at the market.  However, i still think there is a time and a place for attempting the consumption of "free food", even for us self proclaimed "foodies".  Sorry to those who dislike that term, please suggest a new one.
I'm sure i agree with her, in general, and if you are eating free food, when you wouldn't be eating otherwise, then they are indeed "empty calories".   I'll respond to her various arguments where i think there can be exceptions.  My point of view may not be quite as "healthy" as hers:

1. It’s cheap.  Not all cheap things are bad.

2. It’s flavorless.  If it's flavorless: 1. stop eating 2. don't continue eating it 3. take note.   doesn't this go for all food?   this is when eating "free" food can be valuable.  sometimes lessons can only be learned the hard way.   For instance the $5 large "pizza" i recently couldn't help purchasing when domino's changed their recipe.   It only made me appreciate how good even terrible pizza can be relative to that garbage.  $5 and i had lunch, empty and sad lunch, for days.
Now i don't have to try domino's again for another decade (or more).

3. It’s bad for you.  Lot's of wonderful things are bad for you.  like all things, use judgment and in moderation.  Again, i appreciate her healthy point of view, i just don't share it all the time.

4. You aren’t saving money.  She says because you'll just eat again because this experience was so bad.  This might be true, when in doubt see my number 3 above.

5. You’ll feel gross later.  This is probably true, IF the food is bad.  Not all free food is bad.  She must be talking about food that shows up on carts at meetings and the like.  There is lots of other types of free food.  Anyone ever eat food at google?  it's free.  it's not terrible.  or so i hear

6. It screws up your metabolism.  It can.  walking fast to the mailbox does too.  see my number 3.

7. You’ll gain weight.  isn't this her number 3? see my number 3.

8. You’re eating empty calories.  isn't this her number 7 which is her number 3?  see my numbers 3 & 5.

9. You don’t need it.  I'm starting to think she doesn't like food nor adventure.

10. It isn’t worth it. probably right.  but sometimes the juice is worth the squeeze.  

while i disagree with a lot of her arguments, i agree with a lot of it too.  This stems from different points of view, i suppose.  i'm fairly healthy, I try to not eat to excess and I will try just about anything once.

I ate the leftovers of my breakfast from saturday for lunch, yesterday.  It would have gone in the trash if i hadn't brought it home.   Does this make it free?  i thoroughly enjoyed it on both saturday and yesterday.

go check out her site, some real thought provoking articles and info

a few good veggies

In my old age, i'm all of 33, it seems i've become enamored with food. Some could argue and have, that vegetarians, by definition, can not be wholly in love with food. I tend to agree with this sentiment. I have been known to fawn over pictures of A Hamburger Today. I'm sure foie gras is marvelous, but i've never had any. So let's just say, i'm vegetarian, for many reasons, and i love all food, but only eat some of it. Now we can move on.

My intent is to post pictures and experiences eating in and around Portland, and most of these will be purely vegetarian meals, depending upon with whom i'm dining.
I'll probably also post responses to food blog posts i've seen.

please feel free to constructively criticize my grammar, writing, and photos. However, I am fairly capitalization agnostic and toss them around like so much compost.
i hope some find this useful, but if i'm the only reader, that's fine too.





thanks for the photo foodcartsportland!

I leave you with a picture of "El Rancho Mexican Food" from the food carts near me on Greeley and N. Killingsworth. I quite enjoyed the Poblano Burrito. I was told it was vegetarian. It wasn't the most authentic Mexican experience i've ever had, but the fried poblano, beans and oaxaca cheese were fantastic all wrapped up with cilantro and pico de.