Eats

[July 25th, 2007]

Best Reason for Lushes to Buy Local

It's no secret that Portlanders love their beer, especially when it's brewed here at home. In fact, the Portlandian love of beer led to a 16.5-percent increase in production of Oregon brew in 2006 . That, you lush, means we made 113,000 more barrels of beer (about 3.5 million gallons) than we did in 2005. The executive director of the Oregon Brewers Guild, Brian Butenschoen (a good name for a beer expert, don't you think?), attributes the boom to an increase in overall microbrew sales in the United States, as well as the fact that Portlanders like drinking local. "People have expanded their interest in trying new flavors and styles. Oregonians are fiercely loyal to their local products," he says. Breweries in the city—more than three-dozen and counting—have stepped up production with the demand. While another boom this size is unlikely, it wouldn't be surprising, either, given the way this town loves to hit the sauce. Bottoms up.

Best Bike-Thru

Because sticking the front tire of your 10-speed in a metal rack and clicking your U-lock is too cumbersome, Black Sheep Bakery & Cawffee (833 SE Main St., 235-1419, blacksheepbakery.com) makes buying your eggless breakfast bagel and cup of Peet's even easier. The vegan bakery and wholesaler , whose maple-sweetened cookies and brownies are found on coffee-shop counters around town, offers a bike-up window for those talented enough to balance a giant pumpkin-applesauce muffin on their handlebars while maneuvering across the Hawthorne Bridg e. Mornings at owner Amanda Felt's bakery are busy regardless of whether you pedal up to her window or elbow your way into the cramped storefront, but hell, why not suck up one of the few perks that'd make your motorized friends jealous?

Best Grounds Transport

Although the hegemony of Stumptown is so deeply entrenched in Portland's espresso culture that any upstart coffee roaster is destined to face some heavy, caffeine-addled opposition, Joel Domreis—the mastermind behind Courier Coffee —is going to give the haters a run for their money. His beans, which he hand-roasts at home and delivers to local businesses by bicycle, have some serious kick : A cup on an empty stomach will have you buzzing all day long. To get your hands on some Courier, pop into Half & Half (923 SW Oak St., 222-4495) or the Acorn Cafe (539 NW 13th Ave., 227-2690). Or, to get a jar of beans delivered to your house, just call Joel (545-6444).

Best Pita Pedestals

At downtown lunch spot Habibi (1012 SW Morrison St., 274-0628), incense lamps hang over streak-free mirrors while matching hookahs stand at attention on the carpeted staircase. The restaurant is not only orderly to owner Mazan Khoury's liking, but evocative of his Lebanese origins and Mediterranean-influenced cuisine. That is, as long as you ignore the Bride of Frankenstein pedestals embracing your warm, slightly crisp pita bread . The bizarre head of porcelain hair staring down at your baba ghanouj is an odd contrast to the antique gold platters piled with tabbouleh and grape leaves. But never fear, Khoury's a traditional man at heart, serving lamb majadra (brown lentils and rice) and honoring his parents on the menu with a full-page tribute (picture and all!) for raising him well and keeping us all well-fed.

Best Way to Get Coffee People to the People

When Starbucks bought out Coffee People last year, it seemed Starbucks' long onslaught toward world coffee domination might run unabated. But a small band of local rebels promises to buck that trend. One of the former Coffee People locations in Beaverton that Starbucks failed to snatch is now Java Nation (4130 SW 117th Ave., 643-3053). Owner Mike Smith bought the coffeehouse and decided to keep the store's former CP employees. "I was the general manager of the Coffee People of this location for four years," Smith says. "I wanted to give this to my employees." Smith also retained the shop's unique ambience and continues to use local vendors to supply his shop.

Best Bada-bing Bread Baker

We're pretty sure that Dave Dahl, the burly ex-con behind the hearty whole grains of Dave's Killer Bread , hasn't killed anyone. The bread—an increasingly visible line (see daveskillerbread.com for store locations) of moist, organic loaves with names like "Rockin' Rye" and "Good Seed"—plays on Dave's jailbird past with tongue-in-cheek bag illustrations of nuts 'n' grains in the clink, and his impressive criminal record is recounted extensively on his website. (Sample: "I decided to make a run for it. I wrestled with two cops and a can of pepper-spray for about a minute and a half, according to the police report."). The "killer" in the name only refers to the bread's taste. Probably. We hope. Oh, no. What have we done?

Best Garden(s) of Eatin'

It doesn't matter what time of year you dine in the outdoor garden at Meriwether's Restaurant (2601 NW Vaughn St, 228-1250)—plants will be blooming around you. There are shades of greenery for each season, and seating to match: There's an open area when skies are sunny; a patio with a clear roof on rainy days; and a copper-topped gazebo with a gas firepit when the weather isn't so merry. And come fall, Meriwether's is adding a different garden of eating—Skyline Gardens, their own working farm in Scappoose . Meriwether chef Tommy Habetz is stoked to get fresh produce to cook with. "We're growing stuff specifically for how I cook," says Habetz, who co-owned, and chefed it up at, the late Gotham Bldg. Tavern. Habetz is also psyched to work once again with his brother-in-law Spence Lack, who's heading the farm with what Habetz calls "a chef's way of thinking."

Best Refueling Station for Weary Travelers

While other hotels load you up with toiletries and towels, the Inn at Northrup Station (2025 NW Northrup St., 224-0543) is one of the best places in town to get a complimentary sugar rush . Inside the lobby of this ultrahip hotel, each table is equipped with cornucopias of candy. Piles of neon-bright Starburst Fruit Chews are topped with fructose blooms of Tootsie Roll Pops . Walk-ins should note, however, that this sugary indulgence is intended for guests only. According to Lisa Vinavong, director of sales and marketing, Northrup Station goes through two to three boxes of candy a day. Talk about a sweet tooth.

Best Vanity Vintners

Think of it as a Hallmark card you can drink. Based in Kirkland, Wash., Northwest Cellars (northwestcellars.com) produces custom blends with a variety of Washington and Oregon wines, making for a truly individual drinking experience. But what sets Northwest Cellars apart is the opportunity to design your own labels . It's an easy way to make a simple gift a little more personal. Each bottle bears the emblem, logo or photo of your choice . And what does all that extra attention cost you? Cases of 12 range from $143 to $297. There's a $75 "setup fee" for the labels, but after that you're welcome to slap your ugly mug on as many bottles as you see fit in the future, no extra charge. They offer discounts for nonprofits and distribute locally through Signature Wines (1822 NE Grand Ave., 281-1737).

Best Live Coffee Show

Front-row swivel chairs are always available for Din Johnson's one-man show at Ristretto Roasters (3520 NE 42nd Ave., 284-6767). Johnson is no stranger to stealing the spotlight—in the '80s he used to bake shirtless in a storefront window along Northwest 23rd Avenue as one of Delphina's infamous "nude" bakers. But the real star of this performance is the eight types of medium-roasted beans pouring out of his steel Probat roaster. Nearly every weekday from 6 to 10 am, java voyeurs can catch all the action courtesy of the Plexiglas wall separating the coffee maker from his customers. "I've always liked to sit at the bar of an open-kitchen restaurant and harass the people making my food," says Johnson. "I felt my place should be no different." Just don't ask him to strip down; his bare-chested days are behind him.

Best Reason to Graze the Roof

If Alexander Calder, Al Gore, Dwell magazine and Paris Hilton had a baby, Rocket (1111 E Burnside St., 236-1110) is what it would look like. However, there's more to this place than just its looks . A metal ladder just past the bathrooms leads to a scenic rooftop space with Rocket's own veggie garden . Here, chefs grow and harvest the herbs, lettuce and onions that fuel Rocket's bold and often outrageous culinary repertoire. Owner Leather Storrs' gold card/green thumb combo lures even fancy westside folk across the stream to mingle with their funkier eastside brethren. From the four-story balcony, a dolled-up clientele enjoys unrivaled views of downtown, currently framed in part by KEX radio talk-jock Paul Linnman's fabulous hairstyle and smiley mug, sprawled on a billboard that stays lit until last call at 1 am.

Best Food Orgies for Old Fogies

Directors casting Grumpy Old Men III could do worse than visiting a Chinese greasy spoon on North Lombard Street. A year ago, several retired guys decided they needed to get together weekly. That gathering of four has now become 41. Called the ROMEOS (Retired Old Men Eating Out), the men gather on Friday mornings at the Northside Restaurant (1730 N Lombard St., 289-2144), where, as founder and jazz lover Ralph Carter, 77, puts it, "The food is good and the price is right." Would-be ROMEOs must be retired "at least once," but if you've gone back to work part-time, they'll still let you in. Watch out, boys, because Thursday mornings at the Northside now feature the JULIET s—Just Us Ladies In Eating Together.

Best Sister Act

Portland's Two Tarts (call 503-910-6694 for orders) know that size matters. Well, small sizes, especially when it comes to perfect, tiny cookies . The Tarts in question are sisters Cecelia Korn and Elizabeth Beekley , a pair of crumb pushers who credit their sweets chops to growing up baking in the claustrophobic confines of an 11-child family in California. Their appropriately downsized cookie operation, which flaunts rows of silver-dollar-sized wares at the Portland Saturday Market as well as the Wednesday Park Blocks and Thursday Ecotrust outposts, is new to the market this season, but is steadily gaining a super-sized legion of fans. That's because even though these two may bill themselves as tarts, holy angels couldn't bake better nibbles. Their tollhouse chocolate chip cookies are spiked with spicy candied ginger. Cinnamony hazelnut linzers burst with marionberry jam. And the peanut butter creams... sweet Jesus, just eat one. Not that you can stop at one. Rarely more than and inch and a half in diameter, only 50 freakin' cents each, and with 10-12 miniature flavors available each day, the temptation to eat yourself into a heavenly, wee cookie coma is dangerously high. Although they currently sell their dynamite cookies (they're baking around 400 to 600 dozen a week nowadays) to Busy Corner and PastaWorks, Beekly let WW know that the pair is currently looking for a retail storefront to turn into Two Tarts HQ this fall. And how does one become a cookie queen? Well, Beekly—who also owns PDX's Square Deal Wine Company with her husband, Dan—trained at the Culinary Institute of America in New York, but admits that she's still behind her sister, who, "being six years older, has the advantage of six additional years of being a tart."

Best Free Free-Range Samples

While some of us know the locations of the stores with the best free samples in town, some of us prefer to nibble outside. Need some fennel? What about raspberries? No need to haul your cookies out to Sauvie Island: UrbanEdibles (urbanedibles.org) lists free fruit, herbs and veggies available for the taking in every 'hood. Anyone can contribute to the site through a wiki. Click along the map to find out if there's rosemary in Roseway or figs off Fremont. Most fruit trees and plants are found in abandoned lots, but for those that aren't, take the site's advice and ask first. It doesn't get any fresher than this, folks.

Best Local Liquor Liquidators

Like microbrewing before it, microdistilling is taking off in PDX. Liquor consumption is up all over the country; it was only a matter of time before the DIY-liquor crowd took the reins. The drink of choice? Vodka. Three of Portland's six in-town distillers make variations of Mother Russia's nectar. House Spirits (medoyeff.com) cranks out the popular high-end Medoyeff Vodka . New Deal Distillery (newdealdistillery.com) cooks three varieties: the gourmet New Deal Vodka , the slightly cheaper (and stronger) Portland 88 and the pepper-infused Hot Monkey . Indio Spirits (indiospirits.com), with offices in Portland, recently moved its Southeast PDX distillery to Cottage Grove, where master distiller John Ufford produces some truly unique flavors. Along with its regular vodka, Indio offers variations infused with blood oranges, lemongrass and wasabi . "Vodka is huge and growing, and people will keep infusing, because the drinks are great," says Ufford. With more distilleries on the way, PDX could become the screwdriver capital of the U.S.

Best Man to Handle Your Meat

The owner of Victor's European Meats (13500 SW Pacific Highway, Tigard, 684-2580) is so obliging that he's never corrected the thousands of customers who've mispronounced his name. "Everyone thought I was saying 'Victor,' so I just made it easier for them," says Witold Lunkiewicz , who's been smoking meats at his Tigard shop for 16 years. Despite being hidden in a jungle of strip malls, Victor's attracts customers who are "half Oregonian and half from around the world"—Lunkiewicz has shipped 20 pounds of turkey jerky to fans in Beijing and stocked up on 8,000 pounds of sauerkraut to complement his variety of Hungarian, Yugoslavian and Romanian sausages . The Polish-born meat maker—who grinds, shapes and smokes his varieties daily—has nothing to hide, even offering tours of his kielbasas in the making.