It’s 2008 today and it feels like a great time to reflect on last year and share what excites me for the year to come. Since I’m not one to make resolutions, I do not have any grand plans to join an exercise program or begin drinking or eating less. I will most likely avoid the gym over the next few weeks while many of those with resolutions get it out of their systems. My biggest disappointment for today was that I couldn’t find a good bakery to drop into to start out the New Year. I did manage to find a good coffee shop open (Stumptown) and grab a cappuccino. It would be tempting to have a few drinks today and perhaps some meat, too. Since I don’t smoke that’s about the most I could come up with.
Some of my foodie-related highlights and inspirations from 2007 included:
-Starting up a bi-monthly dinner club with 3 other couples where we’ve had a chance to experience Spanish, farmer’s market, Le Pigeon, and Italian nights so far
-Attending Portland’s Wordstock and hearing other food writers talk about their craft. It’s what inspired me to start the blog.
-Opportunities to enjoy other intrepid food writers such as Anthony Bourdain, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Jane and Michael Stern, Charles Ferruzza, Bill Buford, and James Sturz
A personal favorite read came from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall in an essay entitled “Give Me Credit” where he initially describes his discomfort with the term foodie. He quickly confesses he simply doesn’t have an option to backtrack as in, “I think I’ll stop bothering with nice food and just stoke up on rubbish, so I can concentrate on the more important things in life” and says it's not a sentence he ever expects to either speak or hear. And boy, did I agree. It’s not something you can really go back on - whether it’s easy to admit it or not!
My 2007 Food Faves (at venues in or near Portland unless noted):
BBQ shrimp at Acadia (so good, you’d drink the sauce from a hobo’s mouth), Nuestra Cucina, Pok Pok, Giorgio’s, Le Pigeon, Apotheke (sadly, no longer with us), amazing pierogi at this year’s Polish Fest, The Victory, Taste the Nation, breakfast at the Detour Café which while simple has the best house coffee I’ve ever had, Clay’s Smokehouse and their bbq sauce on almost anything, the waffle window at Bread and Ink cafe, spicy catfish at the Hawthorne or Corbett Fish House(s), Apizza Scholls, Veritable Quandary, cappuccino at Marino Café, The Berlin Inn, Ken’s Bakery bread, terrines from Viande, Navarre, Carafe, Malay Satay Hut, Petit Provence, shrimp with tasso ham and cheese grits at Heaven on Seven (Chicago) and Mio Gelato.
Looking to the Future
There were great opportunities for cooking in 2007. The standouts included opportunities to cook with or for others and my hope for 2008 is that there will be even more of them. I hope to dance more this year, even if it’s only on the inside. I plan to write and interact with other writers more! My cooking inspiration for this is year is southern food and I’m looking forward to trying out lots of recipes for things like Brunswick stew, all sorts of biscuits, greens, and buttermilk things, grits, fried chicken, and much more. I will need a lot of help sampling the wares and will definitely be in need of volunteers. Must bring an ample appetite and at times, a willingness to eat pork!
There are lots of opportunities for exploring food in Portland and this year I hope to check out:
Lauro Kitchen, Genoa, Nostrana, Sel Gris, more of Pok Pok, Carlyle, Por Que No, taco trucks, the Tin Shed, The Original Hotcake House, Helvetia Tavern, more wine tastings, Stanich’s, Bob’s Coney Island, Caprial’s Bistro, Toast, Mint, Broder, Jam, India Oven, more farmer’s markets, and that’s just to get started.
May this year find you healthy and happy and not too focused on trying to be good.
3 comments:
Funny you should mention Southern cooking in 2008 - we were so inspired by the January issue of Gourmet that we made 5 recipes out of it in the last 2 days: eggs with cream, spinach, and country ham; fried chicken with bacon and pepper cream gravy; pimento cheese toasts; potato casserole; and slow-roasted tomatoes. Everything was FANTASTIC! Breakfast shrimp & grits is up next...
What, no Toro Bravo in the list of places to try in 2008? Just kidding. I know you want to go there.
My plan for 2008 is to eat more sausages (real good ones, not the crap you usually get with breakfast), and to continue to spread the gospel of beer.
Nice work! Love your list of "dones" and "to dos". Great taste! I highly recommend that you keep us posted intermittently on great wine that you stumble upon (or after, as it may be)as you munch your way around the city in 08. As for me, I plan to plant a bigger garden this year and pick berries every other day after kayaking on Sauvie Island. That said, I'll be looking for 51 healthy ways to enjoy all of those anti-oxidants (# 52 is in a blender with some rum).
Keep up the good work! Eh, and the gym has not cleared the resolutioned ones yet...so don't waste your time.
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