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Calendar of Events, Wine Maker Dinners
and our Staff Reviews & Favorite Things!

Favorite Things

Davis Street Tavern
This avant garde atmosphere is one that only embellishes the food. A spectacular wine list is just the icing on the cake, but back to the food. Extremely inovative combinations that are shear joy to the mouth will make this dining experience one that will make you wanting to come back often. A beet and goat cheese tureen turned out to be a table favorite, lamb done to perfection, halibut not over cooked and scallops to die for where on the menu that evening when we savored the flavors. This restaurant uses what is fresh and available and the ever changing menu will keep us wanting to come back and see whats next. Although we have not made it to their happy hour it is only at our loss. The menu boasts a huge selection of local bounty which we can not wait to try soon. Hope to see you there.
Update: Possibly the best happy hour food there is! Don't miss the mussels in coconut milk or the seared steak and sauce with fries. Also the burgers - pork, sirlon and more - all exceptionally tasty!
Bo's Restobar
Although we've only indulged late at night and during lunch we have to write a little something about this downtown corner location. Besides the sheek atmosphere the service here is very good. The clam chowder with lemon grass is so delicious and a truly unexpected flavor that leaves you wishing you had ordered more. The Scallop Ceviche is a beautfiul presentation and in two words Simply Delicious. The spicy wings are indeed spicy and gooey goodness! Try it - we think you'll like it - and decide to come back again.

Thirst Wine Bar
Flight nights Wednesdays at Riverplace
Wine and Cheese Pairings:
Tuesdays - Complimentary Wine Tastings,
Need a neat place to have a party - check out the new wine entertainment and meeting room right on the river promenade - a great location! Visit us at http://www.thirstwinebar.com
Thirst Wine Bar & Bistro Hosting Free Tastings Daily, Free Live Music
 and New Resident Artist
Lake Oswego, Oregon
Thirst Wine Bar & Bistro in downtown Lake Oswego will now be hosting free tastings every day from 5-7pm and has new business hours Tuesday – Saturday from 4-10 pm. In addition they now have a resident artist, Erik Andrew who paints gorgeous wine and music related artwork.
Lake Oswego and surrounding residents can drop by Thirst Wine Bar & Bistro knowing they’ll get to tasting something free daily:
Tuesday: Samples of delicious artisanal, hand crafted cheeses-both imported and domestic. Thirst will feature cheeses not available at local grocery stores and have excellent pricing. It is also Wine & Cheese Night at Thirst: Three wines paired with three cheeses for $15.
Wednesday:  Complimentary wine tasting. Sip and learn with co-owner Gary Kneski as he leads guests through the tasting with hopes of expanding their palette and to answer any questions. Many Wednesdays the winemaker will be there too, to give you an inside look into the workings and techniques behind their wine.
Thursday: Enjoy a Chef’s sample appetizer tasting from the Thirst menu. Executive Chef Jon Sodini will be showcasing tastes of menu items ranging from his famed gnocchi to new and exciting menu items he has just introduced to the restaurant. It is also Flight Night at Thirst – Create a custom flight of 4 wines for $13.
Friday: Top off the work week with a delectable free antipasto bar and try a variety of salumis (from Seattle’s famed Salumi), gourmet cheeses, house marinated olives and other great bites as you wind down from a long week.
Saturday: Complimentary port and chocolate tasting; featuring chocolates from local chocolatiers as well as Chef Jon’s own creations. Enjoy free live music every Saturday from 7-9pm. Guests can Stick around after their port and chocolate and experience the wide range of talent musicians from around Portland have to offer. An eclectic line up of musicians will be entertaining wine lovers at Thirst- from the acoustic stylings of Mike Pardew, founder and owner of the Cadenza Academy in Southeast Portland, to the uplifting voice and lyrics of Marianne Flemming an aspiring new singer/song writer. Be sure not to miss the musicians joining us at Thirst who strum up everything from classical guitar to bossa nova jazz fusion to original sounds you won’t find anywhere else.

The London Grill
The Standard Sunday Brunch can be described in two words Absolutely Fabulous! An outstanding array of offerings puts this high on our lists of "must go." Well worth it anytime you can make it or need to impress! We also recommend it for a private semi - casual lunch or dinner location where the old world charm is evident in the decor of fine wood work and ambiance. One of only two four diamond restaurants the food speaks for itself. The London Grill also boasts one of the most extensive wine lists in the Northwest, with more than 10,000 bottles and awarded Wine Spectator’s 2007 Award of Grand Excellence. Over the past 50 years, the London Grill has become known for its table-side dining and numerous specialty dishes, including Dungeness crab cakes with roasted red pepper sauce and cilantro, dill-cured salmon served with cucumber and red onion salad, roasted rack of lamb, and the local breakfast favorite, Eggs Benedict. Chef Franz Popperl, the London Grill's new executive chef, has dedicated decades to creating award-winning cuisine. Make your reservations on line at bensonhotel.com

Our New Favorite Book - Order a copy Today! It's Awesome!!
Oregon Copies Coming Soon in Spring 2009!

Favorite Things continued ....
Our staff regularily visits great culinary stores and restaurants all over the country that we would like to share with others. We're known to drive across town for something we like without thinking twice. Here are just a few of our favorite things that we'd like to share with you! Keep coming back as we continue to uncover those gems in our marketplace.

West Cafe
Update! - The Twilight Tuesday Wine Dinners - we highly recommend - the best value in Portland we think!
On the corner of Jefferson and 12th resides West Cafe. Sleek and hip with a urban atmosphere. What a gem! We had occasion to try several of the dishes off the main menu that we think deserve a word of gratitude. The shredded pork wrapped in bannana leaf was tender and flavored with ginger and garlic, uniquely presented, along with a really nice red thai curry sauce, just a touch of heat in it. Very nice. The Morrocan half chicken with cardommon, apricots and dates was recommended by our wait person and so wonderful, full of palate pleasing sensations. The appetizer of prawns was tasty. Although there are only two prawns we were not unhappy we ordered it, the curry potato salad on the side was very very good. This tapas dish comes in a long narrow boat plate and although we wished it was a little bigger, we'll order it again for the flavors alone. We also had the cesare salad and it could use some zip but, all in all we will be back and plan on attending some of their jazz evenings and wine tasting evening already! Give West Cafe a try and we think you will not be disappointed! Every third Tuesday of the month the Twilight Tasting/Tapas Dinner - we attended 3 and can easily say you will not be disappointed - this is the best quality and food pairing for the price we've found so far.

Living Room Theater aka livingroomtheaters.com
Just back from our first experience at Living Room Theaters on 10th & Stark. What a great place. Groovy and open bar scene intices movie goers to stay awhile in the plush brown cube benches and chairs. We were sad we got there a little late and couldn't enjoy a cocktail there in the "lobby bar." Tthe hummus appetizer was a very nice portion and presented so you could make a kind of hummus,tabouli, baba ghanoush style pita sandwich for easier eating in the theater. The chicken skewers are tender and come with a nice noodle base. The pizzas are delicious if you enjoy an extra thin crust as well. This is definitely my new favorite theater in Portland and we already have plans to return soon so we can get there a little earlier and enjoy the entire location just a little bit more!

We just love Steves Cheese is now the Cheese Bar and located at 6031 SE Belmont . In fact we drive across town to visit his store. Why? Well for one we like to support the little guy once and a while, but, Steve deserves the accolades we've been hearing about. He is a wealth of knowledge and information, not to mention he picks out great cheeses that are seasonal which only compliment his many other staples in his case year round. Our favorites are the 4 Year Gouda, Ossau Iraty and you can't miss with the Rogue River Gold Blue, but we can't leave out the great Raclette that is in season right now or the fresh ewe cheese that comes in the cutest little jar. Also, you will want to buy the smoked sea salt he has - it is awesome on fish and so inexpensive. Now he has added beers and food to his new establishment - you have to check it out! We hope to be seated at the bar very soon.

We can't say enough good things about Fenouil. If you haven't been there you are missing out on a delightful experience. The service and the atmosphere are wonderful. We recommend the mussels and foie gras for appetizers. The onion soup is a oozing with the cheese and prepared the way you like it. Main courses that have become our favoirte are the duck, scallops and Kobe Steak. For dessert - take your pick but, we choose the port - whether its a tawny or the flight - what's not to like? If you elect to take a bottle of wine along - make sure you send a glass to the kitchen so you can return the love you'll get in every tasty and elegant bite of food. Recently we attended a Wine Maker Dinner at Fenouil with Goose Ridge Estate Wines. It was exceptional. Each course was paired perfectly and the food presented was done very well. It was a blast and all 20 of us left happy! Each month they have dinners that celebrate various georgraphic regions of the world. We are planning on attending some of those coming up.
Just a quick update here - you simply must get off your butts and attend one of the regional dinners that they do each month. The best value in town. It was fantastic we attended Bastile Day - and it was great......

Macadam Bar and Grill has become the favorit lunch spot of one of our close friends. The atomsphere is right, the food great - she likes the fish of the day and chips! Sea Bass just the other day - and the accompanyments are great. She didn't know what to expect and now has many casual business lunches there. Kudos to you Macadam Bar and Grill - thank god we finally have a great restaurant in that location on Macadam! O.K. our staff confirmed it - had a casual dinner party - and the food was really well done - in fact, we might have to say that their blue cheese burger is the best we've tasted. Thick, juicy and oozing with cheese! The pear slaw is to die for! The chicken penne was very nice with some sundried tomatoes that added just the right touch. What a great place to eat when you don't want to spend a ton but still want great food. The service was excellent as well. Enjoy!

Puddin River Chocolates! - if you have not placed one of their famous Mudballs in your mouth - you have never really had a gourmet chocolate experience! So exceptional! Teresa has her own shop on line or at the Thriftway store in Cuthford. What a fabulous hand made Holiday gift or - we even know people that give them to deserving students for graduation!

The Meadow - Possibly the only stop you'll need to make for a special gift or just plan fun!
O.K. so just when you think you might have the insider information on gourmet finishing salts from exotic locations you realize you knew nothing! Well, at least that is how we felt after visiting The Meadow. What an awesome shop - not only do they carry the most diverse collection of salt that we've found in the city - the owners also seem to know more and be more passionate about the earthly spice than anyone we've ever met. If you have some spare time and want to add something different to your next dish that will keep your friends guessing what you know - that they don't - stop by. Once you get past the salt displayed you'll find that this shop does have it all - for anyone, including yourself that deserves a "special" gift! Fresh flowers, yummy wines, exotic chocolates beyond compare and of course the salt and unique collection of salt and pepper mills provides a bounty of options in the gift department. We left with a sampler of finishing salts and a bag full of unique chocolates in very colorful and interesting packaging that we know will make the recipients feel special. We could try to describe what we think of each one and how it was packaged, but really you deserve to take the time to explore this shop yourself. It's somewhat of an abstract piece of art - a real treat! They are located just a couple of minutes from Broadway at 3731 N Mississippi. You need to stop by - you will not be disappointed.

www.nwfoodandwinefestival.com