Gagit

location-422 W.8th Avenue,Portland ,Oregon

Cuisine-New American

We had a reservation at Le Beast for our last night in Portland but we listened to our Foodie Friends at Le Pigeon who insisted we try Park Kitchen,and we changed our plans.We enter the cool space into an open kitchen ,which seems to be Portland Standard,shown.We are greeted and shown to our table by two charming ladies ,Elizabeth and Mary as happy to serve us tonight.

I start the night with a local Oregon  Vodka,Organic Nation shown  ,but  not up to my Russian Vodka standard.Foodie has a nice glass California  Merlot ,Pino’d out:)We order from the Small Plate/Large Plate tasting menu $50pp and enjoyed everything served in  the selection,all shown.The first starter a real highlight,healthy maybe not but damn good, Fried Green  Beans and Bacon,Tarragon Aioli . Along with that  starter ,we were served another cold small plate,watermelon , Tuna sashimi,and greens.

The next two starters  were served,Crispy Duck Blini,lavender ,bacon bits.,yum,and the last starter , Pork Belly and green beans, crispy  and crunchy.The mains are now served, Pork shoulder,cooked to perfection,served with salsa and the ever present green beans,a little over served tonight Chef.As a second main, a healthy plate of Cauliflower, Broccoli,with Humus and Lavash,perfect with the Pork main.

We are now still served two desserts ,which were both full portions and really  almost up to Hedy Goldsmith standards. Juniper Grove “Dutchman’s Flan”pickled cherries ,check out the Sesame Chips and Summer berry brioche pudding,rose chantilly ,the berries in Oregon are spectacular and this dish was a perfect example of how good they really taste.On the side, we were served a scoop of Basil Ice Cream which really surprised me or texture and flavor.Macciatos at the end to cap off the last meal in Portland, and another one to remember.

Let the Truth be Told, the restaurants in Portland not only have great variety ,reasonable prices and quality but also great warmth.We felt like we were  enjoying gourmet food at home with our friends. Park Kitchen and staff just added to that experience and after we finished our last meal, we vowed we would be back Portland.

[rating:3.0]

location-820 Elm Street , Forrest Grove, Oregon

Cuisine-Sake Tasting and Festival

The Gagit’s have looked forward to their Portland trip , and one side trip to  the SakeOne Sake facility for a Sake Tasting . The Saturday we were there was the Annual Sake festival and there were upwards of 1000 Sake lovers on the grounds that day.SakeOne founded by an American who evolved into a Sake Visionary after experiencing the best Sakes in Japan and realizing that the best  pure water ,one of the key ingredient in Sake is offered in Oregon.He founded  SakeOne  in 1992, in conjunction with Momokawa Brewing Company in Japan.

In 1996,SakeOne became the only American Kura(brewery). With strong ties to its Japanese  roots, SakeOne is a  leading producer of “Ginjo”(premium)grade sake in the U. S. A.Let the tasting begin, after of course ,I had a Misubi ,yum, a Spam Sushi,shown above what better way to start the Sake tasting.

The friendly and knoweledgable servers could not have been more helpful in taking us through the 9 course tasting menu,all shown, and thanks to the help of Dewey  Weddington, V. P  Marketing . My favorite Sakes the unpasturized  Namasake and the G ,with Carmel and Butterscotch flavors, and I had both sent home to remember what a great experience we had at SakeOne.Let the Truth be Told,I was looking forward to get to SakeOne on this trip, now after experiencing such a special place ,I would recommend it on any trip to the Portland area ,and try all the Sakes ,as long as you have a driver ,like we did

Location-619 W.Randolph, Chicago,Ill.
Cuisine-New American/Boring American

Monday night in Chicago, no Next, no Schwa, no Rustin ,no Frontera Grill but Blackbird is open and since Paul Kahan has been a chef nominated twice for James Beard Best Chef and winner of Midwest Best Chef 2004 ,we look forward to his talent.We enter the almost empty and quiet restaurant on this perfect August night and have an opportunity to sit outside ,what a treat,see picture above. However,we are greeted by our server whose deadpan personality gave me the impression he was serving at a wake.In fact, the manager as well as all the servers that night left that same wake impression .
Perfect night outside, Foodiechic starts out with glass of Red Wine not much choice but Ridge Edge Bench Dry Creek Zin,pretty nice for $13.00 glass:)I need to cost average and have a nice Smuttynose,Big A ,IPA, Portsmouth,N.H.as I study the menu for something I want to try.Foodiechic passes on a starter and I order the Blue Hill Bouchet Mussel soup with whitefish,saffron ,garlic and basil,shown above. We still cannot decide on our mains so enjoy the Amuse,shown, and study the menu more. My starter comes and it superb as shown, the flavors are as good as as any mussel soup I have tasted.We are still deciding on our mains, no help from the staff who just tout everything without any enthusiasm and we at last we decide although the choices are limited. I guess we are spoiled by the small plate /large plate of MGFD and Sugarcanerawbar.
After another round of drinks our mains arrive and both are shown,Foodiechic has the poached Alaskan Halibut with fava bean panisse,braised rhubarb,hoya santa and red wine jus. As you can see ,the halibut is lost in the plate and the sauces are totally lost in flavor although,sounding so flavorful for only $35.My dish which I ordered for want of enough choices,roasted farm chicken and blue prawns with tasteless quinoa,grilled snap, peas,and mish mish .This dish besides looking like mish mash tasted like mush mish.There was no flavor in the Blue Prawn, in fact ,they tasted frozen from a package, the quinoa overcooked , but the chicken pieces were at least moist for the $33 charged.The servers clean our plate and really thinks we would want dessert, however we are still hungry so order one to share for only $11.
The dessert arrives and I almost embarrassed ,carrot cake,ice cream, nuts , really a mish mash.Let the Truth be Told, I cannot remember a worse meal especially for presentation since the Forge. The only redeeming fact for the Forge was that Shariff bought the drinks. We leave the restaurant after paying the outrageous bill without a thank you. I know realize the reason no one is smiling ,they know they buried another customer.
[rating:1.0] Sitting outside was worth 1.

Location-933-955 W.Fulton St.,Chicago,Ill.

Cuisine-Cocktail Tasting and Bites

In this trip to Chicaga, Foodiechic and I had a few musts to do during the day  but unfortunately on Monday and Tuesday nights , Next was closed and the next best alternative is The Aviary,”Grant Achatz’s foray into the world of cocktails.”

We enter the unassuming Aviary entrance ,as shown, into the world of cocktail creativity by the genuis  of Alinea,Grant Achatz.We are led to the cocktail kitchen and are seated at our own private table to watch, eat,and of course drink. The bar  in front of us,above, and we are introduced to our server for the night Jonathan,also above, and the drink and bite parade begins right in front of us in all the shaking and stirring splendor   and all are shown .

We are first served  a Watermelon Amuse served  before  Champagne Cocktails, with lovage and strawberry,nice flavors  along with a bite of Cantalope and bacon. We next get  a drink/ bite of Watermelon,granita,lime,tequila in a ice cream cup. Next, Margarita, ,paychaud’s,fresno chile cube and tequila,  liquid fire,and a Chowda bite to wash it down with. We now get Ginger , icey bits of paychaud’s,shiso,lime, with celery stick stirrer and Karlsson’s gold Vodka,distilled  once only for premium  taste,along with Crab bites,the end of the starters:)

The next rounds are the mains;Dark & Stormy,bottled home grown ginger and black seal rum in home made paper bag,what gingerrr flavor and served with pork belly and lettuce bites,Blueberry, an amazing drink presentation ,with verjus,sweet vermouth, Pappy  Van Winkle Rye,(I Wish),the drink gets stronger and darker as it sits,pics above, with this we are served Wagyu bites, perfection,and Bitter,amaro,bonal,apple brandy and cognac ,with potato bites ,whew need  breadsticks  to stay upright ,Jonathan.

The desserts are now served;Peach,maple sap,angostura,white port ,wheat whiskey filled with flavored ice balls and served with a peach bite,White Russian ,milk ,restretto ,rum with chocolate Brioche bites,Cream Soda,Distilled  vanilla, rummmm,and the last and my favorite Cold Chocolate,JTS Brown Bourbon, Finet Branca,Equadorean chocolate,vanilla ice cream cubes ,and Tobacco smoked foam for that cigar flavor on top. The video below shows the making of this drink as well as the experience of the Chef’s table with Jonathan  giving us  the Aviary’s  personal service.

Let the Truth be Told, we would have opted for a spot at Next if it was open but the experience at Aviary was the next best thing:)The only complaint I might have that with all that alcohol ,I might have appreciated it  if we could BYOBread, to keep us fully sober to the end,instead of needing a slice of pizza on way back to hotel.

1 of a kind experience priceless!!!

Location-738 East Burnside Street, Portland ,Oregon

Cuisine-French Bistro

I usually write up the Gagit’s vacation based on the order that we dined, however, Le Pigeon was so outstanding that I want to share the meal experience  with all my friends as soon as possible.We enter the restaurant  with the Pigeon on the door,see above, and into one of the most comfortable restaurant settings we have experienced.We are greeted by the smiling friendly Jennifer, and shown to the only two seats left at the communal table.We had hoped to seat at the Bar in front of the Chefs,again above, but the communal table turned out to be  the ultimate Foodie experience.

We order our drinks from our server for nite, Tom Bird, really forgot his name so called him Tom. Foodiechic orders a  Pilsner  Urquall  and I order one of my new drink favorites,Aspall  British  Draft Cider,see above. We are  wined out from our Pinot tasting this afternoon.We are having a tough time selecting our starters and mains,and are looking or staring at our neighbors food ;   Echo and her mother Dawn,shown, also with  Dad and friends. .This began the beginning of our first Foodie friendship at Le Pigeon.The family treated us as we were all friends from  South Florida Foodies .They really explained all their favorite dishes and we were also joined by Chef Gabriel Rucker,Rising Star  Chef Award Winner this year  James Beard in helping with our selections.

All the dishes we selected are shown above as we continue our Foodie conversation with our new friends,on where and what to eat in the area.The starters arrive, my dish the Quail, pepper stew,saffron,potato chip,a wow dish to say the least with the crispy skin of the quail  coming through among all the other flavors. Foodie orders the fresh water Eel,watermelon , sweet corn,lightly pickled mushrooms ,cilantro vinagrette ,very appetizing but the Eel did not deliver the flavor  that Foodie had hoped for.

And the conversation continues with our new friends, try Podnahs Pit for BBQ , the Naan Food truck for Chicken and Rice,and the Park Kitchen from Dad.Our mains now arrive,Foodie gets the Burger with Strawberry Mountain Farms Beef with Tillamock Cheddar on Chibitta Roll,aoili  and onion,ketchup,djon mustard,iceberg lettuce slaw.This is served with Salad on side with sherry vinaigrette.This is not a Burger  ,this is a main course of the first magnitude and only  $12 bucks This also would be a tough to beat in the Burger Bash at SOBEWFF,@Lee_Shrager. My main  now arrives, Sweetbreads,cherries,veal,bread pudding,with slaw on top, this is a wow wow dish.The Sweetbreads moist ,tasty,and of course filling ,and the cornbread ,cherries ,slaw  a perfect pairing.

The conversation continues as one set of Foodie friends leave and new friends arrive, Doug and Jeanne from San Diego.Foodies who ask us now for advise on what to order and where else to go,Pok Pok, Park Kitchen and Tasty n sons.They add The Little Bird and tommorow night ,they are going to Le Beast a reservation we cancelled in favor of Park Kitchen. We now are served our dessert, Foie Gras  Ice  Cream Profiteroles,caramel sauce, sea salt,Chocolate Shavings  this is wow wow wow and the best dish eaten on our trip to Chicago /Portland,dessert or main.

Let the Truth be Told, the trip to Chicago/Portland was one of the best vacations the Gagit’s have had in the U.S.The meal at Le Pigeon assured this  not only for the food and  service,but for the new friends we made , a true  Foodie experience,wow wow wow,and wow.

[rating:4.0]

4 wows ,Thank you Le Pigeon !!!!