Here Comes Summer

There is a time and a place for drinking Charles Shaw out of the bottle. First Thursday at the Goldsmith Building.

Taste of the Nation

Many thanks to Lance Mayhew for tix to Taste of the Nation, which I hit up with P-Co last night. There was so much great food from many of the best local restaurants, and fantastic wine and spirits. Also, I got to meet Lucy Brennan. It was all I could do not to ask for an autograph.

Some highlights:

Caprial’s Bistro
Pecan Blondies Layered with Chocolate Mousse and Topped with Sugar Honeycomb - I love blondies, and these were perfect and dense, with deep flavor from brown butter.

Clarklewis
Grilled Monterey Bay Calamari Salad with Poached Kingfisher Potatoes, Castelvetrano Olives, Wild Greens and Piment d’Espelette Oil - the calamari was uncommonly tender and flavorful, and the whole dish tasted so fresh and pretty - it made me get excited about squid again.

Fenouil
Salmon Tartare with Absinthe and Crème Fraiche - Absinthe is getting really trendy but its herbiness worked really well here.

Pazzo Ristorante
Fig Bellinis; Cold-Smoked Marlin-Wrapped Asparagus - Did you know Pazzo makes their own bitters? They were in the bellinis.

House Spirits
Corpse Reviver #2 - I love this drink. It makes me think of a bride rising from the dead.

Sake One
Moonstone Asian Pear sake (pictured) - I was skeptical but this is a well-executed sake. It's not sweet or cloying, and the pear melts into the creamy, round, mellow flavor of the sake creating a deep, complex yumminess.

P.S. Taste of the Nation is a benefit that fights hunger. You can also fight hunger for free by clicking at The Hunger Site.

The Aviation Blooms

Violette, impossible to find not all that long ago, has been back for awhile, but for whatever reason I haven't crossed paths with it much - probably because whenever I'm at 50 Plates I feel compelled to order a daiquiri, and whenever I'm at Ten 01 I usually end up with something closer to brown.

All this by way of not embarrassing myself when I say that upon finally cozying up to a Violette-laced Aviation last week, I rediscovered one of my old favorite cocktails, in a completely new light. With Violette, the Aviation has all of the fresh-bitter complexity, with an added delicate prettiness creating a fuller, more decadent flavor profile. It's like hearing a new album by one of your favorite bands, or seeing a good friend dressed up fancy for the first time. And the cocktail turns the most exquisite color. Definitely worth the wait, and a reminder that I’ve really got to drink more often.

Beans and Rice

I haven't been going out much, but I have been cooking a lot. Well, calling it "cooking" might be going a little far. Here is some of what I am excited to eat these days. And please, spare me the lecture about making beans from scratch and using fresh-grated parm. I don't care.

Spaghetti w/ Sausage

1. fry up 1 lb. bulk spicy Italian chicken sausage
2. add cheap pasta sauce from a jar
3. pour onto al dente linguine noodles
4. top with parmesan cheese from a green can

Beans and Rice

1. make some rice
2. open a can o' beans, rinse, heat up in a pot with some salt and crushed garlic, which may or may not come from a jar
3. optional: add shredded leftover chicken
4. top rice and beans with shredded pepper jack cheese, BBQ sauce, and/or sriracha

Intermission

I don't have internet access at home. So this blog is on hold for now. Thanks for reading.

Recession Proof Mixology - Tonight!

Ryan Magarian and the other House Spirits fellows are joining Kelley Swenson at Ten 01 for the first in the Recession Proof Mixology series, tonight from 5-7pm. Cocktails will be inexpensive and, most important, bound to be amazing. It looks like this is going to be a regular Wednesday night thing for House Spirits (rotating to different Portland bars), so whether you are trying to stretch your unemployment check or need to forget about the job you still have, these nights will give a nice little shot of decadence to your week.

Here's tonight's menu:

The Old Fashioned Gin Cocktail
Locally renowned as the “Oregon Fashioned”, our exact recreation of the original cocktail as noted on May 13th, 1806 in the Balance and Repository Newspaper of Hudson, NY
Aviation Gin carefully balanced with a note of sweetness and healthy dashes of Regan’s No.6 Orange and Peychaud Bitters.


The Cloister Cocktail
First spotted in the 1977 cocktail recipe encyclopedia, the Jones Bar Guide, this drinks is a complex and refreshing balance of Aviation Gin, Yellow Chartreuse, freshly squeezed lemon and grapefruit juices.


Botticelli
Medoyeff Vodka and Aperol Italian Bitters make sweet music with house made clover honey syrup and freshly squeezed grapefruit juice. Served up with a mere suggestion of prosecco and aromatized with a short burst of grapefruit oil.


Corleone
Hand pressed green grapes and fresh citrus bathe in an ocean of Aviation Gin and Clear Creek Distillery Grappa. Finished with a single magical dash of Regan’s No.6 Orange Bitters


The Trident Cocktail
Our good friend Robert Hess’ most notable contribution to the liquid arts.
Krogstad Aquavit carefully balanced with lengths Dry Sherry, Cynar, and Fee Brothers Peach Bitters

Local Liquor: Always Appreciated

If you need to buy someone a present, nothing is more widely appreciated than a bottle of booze. And if you are going to give booze, get it from the source: House Spirits, one of my favorite local producers.

House Spirits makes Aviation gin as well as a handful of other small-batch artisan spirits. They just released a subtle and complex ouzo as part of their new Apothecary line, with other delights to follow, including a rum. If the unfinished rum I tasted at their workshop recently is any indication, this is going to be a really delicious product. My New Year's resolution is to drink more daiquiris. Anyway, here is the info:

The House Spirits Apothecary will be open this Saturday (tomorrow!), December 20th, from 11AM - 5PM for shopping and tasting, and every Saturday starting January 3rd, 2009:

HOUSE SPIRITS DISTILLERY & APOTHECARY
2025 SE 7th ave, Portland
Open from 11am-4pm
with tours at 12pm and 4pm
Tours limited to 20 ppl per tour
Please contact to hold a spot
tours@housespirits.com
503-235-3174