Things we’ve been eating

I have been quite lax in posting these days.  Even worse about documenting what we’ve been eating or cooking, since there has been quite a lot of both going on.  I do have a post in the works about an amazing (amazing!) meal we had in Portland, which leads into another amazing meal we had in San Diego.  For now, I’m reverting to bullet form and apologies.

We took a long weekend trip to Portland in mid-January and ate really well.  I don’t know what you do or see in Portland, but I can tell you what to eat.  And you can do it all without a car – just a transit day pass and some good walking shoes.  According to my pedometer, on our longest day, we racked up over 22,000 steps.

• As soon as we checked into the hotel, we went in search of food trucks.  We found blocks of them all over the place, but my favorite dish came from Nong’s Khao Man Gai – chicken and rice.  In the same block, we ate spam musubi, yakisoba, and a belgian waffle.  Yes, in the same day. And meal.  It was glorious.
• We visited Voodoo Doughnuts twice and it was just okay.  It was great because there weren’t any lines, and the maple bacon doughnut was delicious, but the other ones we tried were too sweet and not mind-blowing enough to bring home.
• We tried to visit Pok Pok, but they were closed for renovations.  Luckily, right across the street was another gathering of food trucks, including a pie truck!  We ate some argentinian food and pie inside the beer truck’s heated tent.  So fun!
• Hair of the Dog Brewing Company serves a pickle plate that is to die for.  I wish we were hungry enough to sample the rest of their menu along with the beers, but you have to try their pickles.  Also, they are really close to the bridge to take you back into downtown, so it’s pretty walkable.
• East of the river, right off the #15 bus line, is Pine State Biscuits.  It is tiny, with 3 or 4 tables, and you order at a counter and then wait for heaven on a plate to be delivered, but you have to go.  Soft, buttery biscuits; crispy, moist fried chicken; and drool-worthy sausage gravy. I recommend the one with apple butter on top.  DELISH.
• The last morning in town, we had breakfast at Kenny and Zuke’s and ended up bringing home bialys.  The pastrami was delicious and the garlic bialy was worth the garlic breath.  Much better than our breakfast at Byways Cafe.  If we’d had more time, I would have lobbied for a repeat of fried chicken biscuit sandwich.
• We ate a lot of donuts, to the point where Travis stopped wanting to eat any more donuts, and I’m starting to wonder if maybe I’m just not a donut lover.  I didn’t fall in love with any of them.

Then we came home and celebrated my birthday, which happily falls during Restaurant Week.  We tried to go to Cucina Urbana when we landed, but it was way too busy (at 9 pm!!) so we ended up at Banker’s Hill where we had delicious short ribs and salted caramel pudding.  We did get to have dinner at Cucina Urbana on my birthday, where beet salad and chocolate budino was greatly appreciated.  The ricotta gnudi they had on the SDRW menu was also delightful.

Travis bought me a temperature controller for my birthday and a new cookbook, so we turned my crockpot into a sous vide chamber and made 36-hour short ribs, pork loin, and various veggies.  It was quite fun and I’m looking forward to playing with it all more.

Burgers and a cinnamon shake at Smashburger killed some time as we waited for a new baby to arrive (love you, baby K!)

On Super Bowl Sunday, I learned that Travis fries up perfect wings and that I enjoy hot wings more than I ever though possible.  Crispy, tender wings in a buttery hot sauce that you get to eat with your fingers?  Perfect snack food, I think.  I am a blue cheese dipper, not ranch.

I don’t know what we’ll do for Valentine’s Day, but it will probably be something at home.  No crowds or high-priced menu packages to deal with, plus I get to collapse onto the couch in my comfy pants afterwards.