Portland's restaurant scene is all grown up, and that
means we get a fancy food festival to call our very own. Feast Portland,
the brainchild of former WW contributor Mike Thelin and PR consultant Carrie Welch, debuts this week and it's a bona fide big deal:
marquee chefs, national media attention, its own flavor of Salt &
Straw ice cream. It's pretty spendy and much of it is sold out, but we
couldn't let it pass without comment. If you are going, or just planning
to be in downtown Portland sometime over the next four days, here are
10 things to look for:
1. East Coasters
2. White guys cooking Thai food
3. The 15th best chef in the world
4. Andrew Knowlton being an expert on everything
Bon Appétit
The Next Iron Chef
and
5. Your tax dollars at work
6. The prodigal son returns
7. A really expensive Reuben
Reflecting Portlandâs love of gourmet
stoner food, the most expensive event at Feast is a $200-per-person
âshowcaseâ of high-end chefs doing comfort food. Among other things, the
program promises âa Reuben sandwich...made with Dungeness crab and
sturgeon caviar.â Fun fact: for the same price, you can give two ducks, a
pig, goat and sheep to a Third-World family.
8. Just these two barbecue guys; youâve probably never heard of them
9. Celebrity chefs galore
The Next Iron Chef
Top Chef Masters
Ace of Cakes
Cheap Bites
2 Dudes Catering
10. New York Times reporters working on their next big trend piece
Portlandia
GO: Feast runs Sept. 20-23 at various locations around Portland. Visit feastportland.com for more info.
WWeek 2015