Make Olive Oil, Not War

[December 11th, 2002] GENTLE READERS,
Oil. It's on a lot of people's minds. True, certain regions seem to have a stronghold on the stuff, making us slaves to their affections. And while olive oil may not seem worth having a battle over or anything, it does merit shooting off guns in celebration of its seasonal pressing. "Make Olive Oil, Not War." Has a nice ring to it. Who's going to silk-screen the T-shirts?

Help celebrate the first extra-virgin olive oil of the season and check out one of the more interesting little wine bars/small plateries to open recently, Navarre. Genoa's Cathy Whims joins Navarre owner-chef John Taboada (who also used to cook at Genoa) on Sunday, Dec. 15, to create a feast of traditional Umbrian dishes to complement the just-pressed Bettini extra-virgin olive oil (the local sheik of this stuff is WW food writer Jim Dixon). The cost is $50 per person. Call Navarre for reservations.

(Navarre, 10 NE 28th Ave., 232-3555. 7:30 pm Sunday, Dec. 15.)

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The Tao of Tea has added to its leafy empire with a new outpost at 2112 NW Hoyt St. Open 11 am to 11 pm every day but Monday, call them at 223-3563.

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A clarification is in order: The announcement in a recent Miss Dish column of the opening of new pie emporium Pizza A Go Go may have been confusing. While one of the owners of Bella Faccia pizza (2934 NE Alberta St., 282-0600) has opened Pizza A Go Go (3240 N Williams Ave., 335-0300), there's other no relation between the two joints besides celebration of gooey, crusty, tomatoey goodness.

SEASON OF GIVING This column celebrates
culinary delights and, let's face it, behaving like
a goddamn pig. Miss Dish, more than anyone, appreciates the inclination to snort your way through the holidays, but she also respects the idea of reflecting on those less fortunate--and the idea of a nice tax write-off to boot. With that in mind, Miss Dish would like to call to your attention two deserving food-related charities.

First is the Oregon Food Bank. Oregon has one of the highest rates of people going hungry in the nation, and for every dollar donated, OFB distributes $10 worth of food. Miss Dish has personally toured one of its warehouses and was more than impressed with the how well-run this nonprofit is. You can give money online at www.oregonfoodbank.org, or call 282-0555. If you want to drop food off, hit 'em at 7900 NE 33rd Drive.

The second charity of note is Loaves & Fishes, which provides hot meals to senior citizens. Recently Miss Dish volunteered to deliver lunches for an L&F fundraiser. As she waited in line to collect the meals, she eavesdropped on a conversation between two sprightly men pushing 70. They were talking about how the lunch they get at an L&F center is often their only meal of the day. These guys--in snappy windbreakers and khakis--hardly fit the mold of what you'd expect someone counting on food from a social-service agency to look like--which is the point. There's a lot of need out there, and this organization does an admirable job trying to fill it. Call 736-6325, or drop a line to info@lfcpdx.org.