WineandPoker's Profile
Need Portland Recs for Manly Birthday Dinner this Sat Nite
Post on the Portland board for more answers. A couple notes:
1.) Jeans and shoes is dressed up for Portland. No problem there.
2.) Try to get a reservation at Beast . www.beastpdx.com
kegs of root beer in Portland
Not sure, but try Deschutes. Their root beer is heavy on the sarsaparilla and very good.
Best restaurant in Portland??
Where are you coming from? If coming from outside the NW, you might want to focus on NW cuisine. If coming from within the NW, it might change the suggestions.
For NW cuisine, I like Higgins. If not looking for any specific cuisine, my go-to is Toro-Bravo. Not exactly authentic Tapas, but really good food. Plenty of other choices including Paleys, Carlyle, etc. I know I'm in the minority, but I have yet to be impressed with Laurelhurst Market. Actually, I should clarify a bit - I have yet to be impressed with the entrees at LM. Their apps rock. I haven't been back to Ten01 since Park left and will be going shortly, but I had taken them off my list as their quality had diminished. A new chef turned the restaurant around before and I'm hoping that the result is the same this time. For a little more funk with great food and amazing cocktails, Beaker and Flask is a great option.
Walleye? Wherefore art thou, Walleye - in the Great PNW?
I can't remember the name of that spot in Snohomish either, but if you let them know ahead of time, you can also buy live crawfish in bulk to do boils at home. (In addition to growing up in the Midwest, I also went to college in New Orleans and crawfish boils are now a necessity!). I just use a turkey fryer with a seafood basket to do them. You can also get them live at Pike Place. I was surprised to learn that Washington and Oregon rank among the largest exporting crawfish states in the nation. They are different than Louisiana crawfish...bigger and not as sweet up here, but still work great for boils and plenty of the heavily spiced cajun crawfish dishes, whether etoufee, gumbo, etc.
Walleye? Wherefore art thou, Walleye - in the Great PNW?
I grew up on walleye in the midwest (go figure). Growing up, it was typically fried (light flour / cornmeal breading) and I still think that is the best prep, but that may partially be sentimental. It is a very delicate white fish which should definitely have a slightly sweet flavor. As the fish grow larger, that sweetness disappears and while still good for frying, you start to notice subtle taste differences if prepared other ways. Growing up, we rarely saw fish over 14 inches in length. Fishing the Columbia, its rare to see a fish that aren't considerably larger than that. Roosevelt is still a good place to catch lots of small fish. Now, I certainly eat more halibut than walleye and just based on the differences in preparation, I don't think its really fair to compare them. Halibut is a much denser fish and requires much different preparation. Fried halibut, IMO, is a crime.
Walleye? Wherefore art thou, Walleye - in the Great PNW?
Potholes and Moses Lake walleye get the "muddy" and "mushy" characteristics a couple times each year. Compared to the other walleye waters in the Northwest, Potholes and Moses Lake are very shallow so the water gets warmer than the other bodies. Also, there are a couple native bug hatches that the walleye spend time feeding on by digging through the mud. That contributes to the muddy flavor. If you soak filets in milk in your refrigerator for a day, the muddy flavor should disappear and the flesh will regain some firmness.
Walleye? Wherefore art thou, Walleye - in the Great PNW?
For the most part, they are kept out of the commercial fishery bounty. That said, the tribes use gill nets in the river and walleye are often a by-catch. Depending on where the nets are at that point in the year, I have seen walleye show up in some of the local higher end grocery stores. The fish are advertised as Columbia River fish and based on the large size, I believe them.
There are quite a few people in the NW with freezers full of walleye. Walleye waters include the entire Columbia from the Canadian border down to Kalama. I've heard reports of walleye caught lower in the river, but I've only fished as far down as Kalama with any luck. Banks Lake, Moses Lake, Potholes, Scooteny, Billy Clapp all have solid walleye populations. Every year there are walleye fishing tournaments on many of those bodies of water. Not sure where you are in the Puget Sound, but there is a Western Washington Walleye Club where you might be able to find more info, or drop by northwestwalleye.com. Even if you can't get out, might not hurt to know the people who are!
Walleye? Wherefore art thou, Walleye - in the Great PNW?
The PNW: Where walleye grow huge and no one fishes for them.
PDX this weekend...the goods?
Ten 01 has taken a hit with the chef transition IMO. The execution isn't as good and I'm pissed they did away with the Power Lunch.
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Ten 01
1001 NW Couch, Portland, OR 97209
A case of wine to last 21 years (at least)
I've done this for friend's kids and will do it for my own when the 09s roll around. First thing, what year are we talking about? That can have a huge impact on the decision.
Just a couple general thoughts:
1.) There are Washington wines which will last the 21 years. They are going to be fairly scarce and difficult to obtain, however. If having a local wine is important to you, don't let that deter you though. Difficult is definitely not impossible. Obviously Quilceda Creek and Leonetti come to mind, but there are a number of top Walla Walla producers whose wine should fit the bill. 05, 06, 07 were all good vintages.
2.) I love Oregon Pinot and it currently makes up over 30% of my cellar. That said, it will be more of a crap shoot as to how the wine will age. 21 years is quite a while for Pinot. No doubt, there will be some, but tough to determine which. Again, vintage may matter. If 08 is really as good as the harvest and barrel tastings indicate, there may be more to choose from. I'd stay away from 07.
Outside the NW.:
In 05, BDX and Burgundy were easy choices (although nothing wrong with Cali Cab either)
06 was more difficult but I took a shot at CdPs.
07 was an easier decision: CdP and Sauternes. Top CdPs can easily be had in $60-80 range and you can get good sauternes if willing to spend the same money for 375mls. 07 Cali Cab would be another good bet.
Still don't know about 08 yet. WA might be a good bet. Oregon Pinot is more of a long shot, but if you're going to take a shot on Oregon Pinot, this should be the vintage to do it. Obviously, plenty of French pinots age well past 21 years.
Best Burger in Portland?
The Higgins burger was left out of the Portland Monthly article. It's a great burger!
Go around to the side entrance and sit in the bar and order a burger and beer and be happy.
Eating in Columbia Valley
No doubt about it: You can certainly spend the day at the wineries and then return to Portland for dinner. Sometimes this works well simply because the wineries close at 5 or before and who wants to eat at 5? Nevertheless, I think there are restaurants in the Valley that would give many of Portland's restaurants a run for their money.
You certainly don't go to Woodinville for the scenic wineries, but there are some high quality winemakers there. Then you can just grab dinner at the Herb Farm and forget about the warehouses.
Eating in Columbia Valley
As mentioned, Saffron Med. Kitchen and Patit Creek are probably the best you'll find in southeast WA. The Marc Restaurant in the Marcus Whitman can also be quite good, as can 26 Brix, but the latter can be hit & miss. If you're going to spend time at some of the Walla Walla wineries, I can't recommend grabbing some cheese and salami at Salumiere Cesario
enough. Amazing selection including quite a few Salumi imports. That's a must stop for any trip to the area for us.
In the Tri-Cities, you're very limited. Anthony's is probably as good as it gets. Just how good that is often depends on how much you've had to drink. Sorry.
Don't know much about Prosser. Chuckar Cherries is usually the only time we slow down around Prosser.
Yakima dining is quite depressing. We were just there a few weeks ago and on the recommendations found on this board, we tried dinner at Greystone. It would have been difficult to be more disappointed. Absolutely no redeeming value in this place. I'd suggest setting the expectations of fine dining a little lower and hitting The Barrel House: Simple menu but they do it better. If you need a big, greasy breakfast to soak up the wine and get you started, try Waffles Cafe. Thats exactly what you'll get. If you need a dive gutbomb while you're in the area, hit Miner's for a really good diner burger.
Hood River - Hit the brewery.
In the Willamette, you've got much better choices. Most of which have already been mentioned. You really can't go wrong and I'll throw Tina's in there as well. But, imo, it's The Painted Lady and then the others. All are enjoyable, but the Painted Lady (actually in Newberg on College Street) stands out.
For wineries, you can do well throughout the Willamette. Plenty of great ones to try. Likewise, quite a few great wineries in Walla Walla within a very small area. Outside of town to the west, I'd highly suggest making an appointment at Longshadows.
Between Walla Walla and the Willamette, there are a lot of wineries, but the quality is much lower. You can do pretty well on Red Mountain (Tapteil, Fidelitas), but as you travel west towards Yakima, you will end up hitting a lot more touristy wineries making bad wine. Exceptions to this are Sheridan and Cote Bonneville (The Dubrul vineyard - you'll need an appointment), both of which making some exceptional wines. I'd consider Agate Field and Wineglass to be the 2nd tier in the Yakima. After that, meh.
Best restaurant for dinner in Willamette Valley?
Another vote for the Painted Lady. Great food!
Crawfish Restaurant in Puget Sound
Alligator Soul in Everett does a crawfish boil from time to time. If you get on their mailing list, they'll inform you whenever the next one is coming around. (Looks like June 21st may be their next boil).
Nanaimo Squares Recipe
only 4000 miles between nanaimo and Prince Edward Island. But, as long as its a canadian thing...
