Flew up Friday and back Monday for a quickie trip over Thanksgiving weekend to visit our son. Chilly weather so a good time for bacon and brew.
Friday went to http://lardosandwiches.com for a quickie lunch - they specialize in pork sandwiches and craft beers. Had a Banh Mi and some dirty fries - potatoes, peppers and pork lardons fried together = pretty damn good!
Multnomah Whiskey Library https://mwlpdx.com for cocktails and turned into dinner. They have a ridiculous amount of whiskeys and a really cool place to hang out for a night. Kind of a private club for whiskey lovers and they let the peasants in when there is room. We reserved in advance for $25 per head. They have a small bar downstairs - the Green Room which serves a small portion of whats available upstairs. Cocktails were ridiculously good and small plate food was very good as well - lamb tartare, Prime Piedmontese hanger (insanely good). Most seating are couches and overstuffed chairs and a real friendly vibe. We met several sets of members and really enjoyed ourselves - if I was a local I would join because i love whisky.
Booked a suite at http://www.riversedgehotel.com through Jetsetters for $140 a day which was a deal! Huge room in a quiet part south of Portland on the Willamette. 6 min uber ride to downtown. Great little restaurant on the river for breakfast if needed.
Sat we headed out to Willamette Valley and met Kelley Fox http://www.kelleyfoxwines.com at her temporary digs at Maysara Winery outside of McMinnville. Spent a few hours getting to know Kelley and tasting her 15’s in barrel and a couple of her current releases. Really elegant pinots and I am on board with her style. On way out Maysara was having an open house so Kelley invited us to check it out. Glad we did. The winery is owned by an Iranian family and they had a big spread of mediterranean food to pair with their pinots and various whites. Fantastic wines as well - they were pouring some library wines that were really showing well.
Next stop Matello in McMinnville - met Marcus Goodfellow and tasted through his wines. Good stuff and really liked his current release chardonnay (13?). Stopped next door at http://www.valleycommissary.com for a quick bite before venturing on and food was excellent including chile and fried chicken/waffles.
Of course when Heater Allen is having an open house (rare) you have to stop in for a palate cleanse. http://heaterallen.com pils was a revelation - one of the better lagers I have ever tried. Hopefully they start some distribution to socal soon. Fun chatting with them for an hour or so.
Last stop of the day was http://www.bigtablefarm.com. Holy cow these guys are located in the middle of nowhere! They have a big beautiful winery building but hold their open house in the living room in their victorian home. This is a real live working farm and there is no doubt when you pull into the property. We got there about 20 minutes after the open house was to end (middle of nowhere takes forever to find) and place was still wall to wall people. Thankfully because the wines were absolutely fabulous. Owners were very genuine and easy to get behind these guys.
Stumbled back to hotel to rest up for dinner in Portland at http://www.theamericanlocal.com. Sat at bar and enjoyed more great cocktails and small plates. Highlights were salmon shoulder, octopus skewers, delicata squash tostada, brussel sprouts with pickled jalapeños and aioli. Brought a bottle of 13 Kelley Fox Mirabai and was wonderful with food.
Sunday brunch plans got squashed so had lunch at http://grassapdx.com which is actually connected to the downtown Lardo. Very good pasta bar/restaurant with everything made right in front of your eyes including the pasta.
Sunday night saved the best for last - dinner at Le Pigeon. First time for us and after reading all of the mixed reviews was prepared for either outcome. All i can say is this place was clicking on all cylinders on this night. Opted for 5 course tasting menu and started at a table but quickly moved to bar to watch the action. For those that have not been, the restaurant is very small (20 or so seats) and the kitchen is very minimalist with a chef and 2 sous chefs and there wasn’t much room for more. Food was exquisite. Diver scallop crudo with bone marrow croutons - very light and good start. Fois Gras and Uni on rice pancake with maple syrup - spectacular! Beautiful sturgeon dish. Beef cheek bourgogne with a seriously acidic risotto/pickled onion that worked so well together. I can’t tell you what the first dessert was but it was wonderful and wolfed down in no time (kind of a deconstructed apple pie), second was the fois gras profiteroles and they were too much at this point, but good. We started with a half bottle of Bethyl Heights Chardonnay off list which was stellar and brought a 13 Kelley Fox Maresh pinot that was sensational, so very elegant and was a match made in heaven on this night. Earlier at winery wine was not quite as impressive - but with food it came alive. Very subtle and powerful at same time. Great wine, great night.
Top dinner in last 5 years for me.
Of course had to stop at Tasty & Alder on way to airport next day - solid breakfast/lunch spot downtown. Split a frittata and potatoes brava dish. Delish!
The food/drink scene is thriving in PDX - can’t wait to get back.