Fatten Up

This Labor Day, put some Fatdog on your hot dog.

FATDOG MUSTARD AND FATCAT PRETZELS
By KELLY CLARKE

Jason Sohn makes great mustard…in part to finance his love of motorcycles. The part-time United Airlines luggage loader and his wife Mandie received the recipe for their signature condiment as a wedding present from one of the groom's relatives in 2005; nowadays it has turned into a family obsession that also happens to fund Sohn's passion for road and dirt bikes. This stuff is magic: thin, hot and super vinegary with a nose-clearing horseradish and pepper kick courtesy of the cayenne and serrano peppers the couple grow, dry and grind themselves for each batch at their Northeast Portland home. It's more like a mustardy salad dressing than a paste; the perfect consistency for smearing on a ham sandwich, using as a marinade or sucking directly off your fingers. It comes in a little 8-ounce glass Kerr jar with a stick-on label proudly featuring the couple's 9-year-old chocolate Lab, Skater (the O.G. “fatdog”). 

But as good as the mustard is, it's made better with the addition of a bag or two of the Sohns' Fatcat Pretzels ($6 for a 1-pound bag). They sprinkle the crunchy little homemade knots with cinnamon-sugar for their addictive Cinnamon Toast blend or coat the snacks with a tongue-tingly cayenne and serrano mix. The pretzels are light, not at all dry, and oily enough you'll ruin your shirt in your haste to devour the entire bag. Really, this is the ultimate beer snack trifecta; every single bar in Portland should carry them. If they do, Sohn will be able to buy his custom orange-and-black Yamaha R6 all that much sooner—"in the same colors as the Fatdog label, of course," he says with a laugh.

EAT: Fatdog Mustard and Fatcat Pretzels are available at Portland-area Made in Oregon stores and the Hollywood and Montavilla farmers markets, among other locations. Find a full list at fatdogmustard.com. Visit the website, or call 250-3749 for larger volume orders and deals.


Headout Picks

WEDNESDAY AUG. 31

[COMICS] JUSTICE LEAGUE No. 1
Today marks the beginning of DC Comics’ ambitious (and desperate, considering slow sales as of late) reboot effort, “The New 52,” which finds the publisher restarting 52 superhero titles from issue No. 1. Justice League kicks things off, but each Wednesday in September will feature about a dozen rebooted titles (Swamp Thing and Batman: The Dark Knight among them). See your local comics shop. 

THURSDAY Sept. 1

[CLASSICAL] OREGON SYMPHONY, PORTLAND YOUTH PHILHARMONIC
The end of summer outdoor concert includes familiar fare (Tchaikovsky) but also less cliched stimulation by George Gershwin, Sibelius, Mozart and Wagner, plus a guest turn by dancers from Oregon Ballet Theatre. But you’re not really coming for the program. The real question is: Will there be cannon fire? Yes. Tom McCall Waterfront Park on Southwest Naito Parkway, just south of the Hawthorne Bridge. 5 pm. Free. 

FRIDAY Sept. 2

[MUSIC] BROTHERS OF THE SONIC CLOTH, NORSKA, MORE
Seattle’s Tad Doyle is a grunge-era legend, though he’s likely not a fan of the words “grunge” or “legend.” After all, he’s still making loud, inscrutable and excellent music with his new band, Brothers of the Sonic Cloth. Don’t miss them. Plan B, 1305 SE 8th Ave., 230-9020.
8 pm. $8. 21+.

SATURDAY Sept. 3

[MUSIC] DARYL HALL AND JOHN OATES
You’ve sung their songs at karaoke bars across the city and used their greatest hits album to soundtrack your workout montages—now is your chance to repay the men who wrote “Rich Girl” and “Maneater.” Isn’t it time you asked not what Hall and Oates can do for you, but what you can do for Hall and Oates? Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, 248-4335. 7:30 pm. $79-$105. 

TUESDAY Sept. 6

[MOVIE ART] OREGON STILLS
It’s the opening reception for an exhibition of photographs from the sets of local movies Meek’s Cutoff, Cold Weather and Some Days Are Better Than Others. Stumptown Coffee, 128 SW 3rd Ave., 255-6194. Closes Sept. 30.

WWeek 2015

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