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The barricades are going up at Pioneer Courthouse Square. Feast Portland is back and, of course, almost completely sold out.
The city's most decadent and expensive food festival begins Sept. 17, a four-day parade of lamb charcuterie and cocktails at after-parties and after-after-parties that find food folk from all over the country downing industry wine and digging wooden sporks into complicated tiny plates in rooms that smell like meat.
But while Feast is so huge it seemingly takes over the whole city, it's also priced at stratospheric levels—the sandwich event is $95—and this year almost every event is sold out. It's like the Soup Nazi is out there holding a ladle the size of Portland, yelling "Not for you!"
Well, it still can be. Like South by Southwest, Feast now has unofficial side parties timed to take advantage of traveling gourmands. Here's the rundown.
Thali Supper Club
Sure, this falls into the exclusive-prix-fixe-dinner category, but Leena Ezekiel's regional Indian pop-up dinner, timed during Feast, is quite literally made for kings, yet cheaper than any Feast main event that's not a farmer's bazaar. She'll be serving 10 courses of the Hyderabad cuisine made for the royal families of India, from slow-cooked biryani to almond cardamom lamb to cauliflower with figs and cumin. Din Din Supper Club, 920 NE Glisan St., 754-6456. 6:30 pm Saturday, Sept. 19. $65. Tickets and details at thalisupperclub.com.
Bunk After-After-Party
Bunk is throwing Feast's official "Fuck It!" fest, an after-after-party that's open to anybody and costs nothing to get in. Along with live-band Karaoke From Hell fronted by Tres Shannon of Voodoo Doughnut, Bunk will also be slingin' 6-inch party subs made with Olympia Provisions meat and serving up artisanal Jell-O shots along with cocktails made with fine D.L. Franklin vodka from Dogwood Distilling. Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water Ave., 328-2865. 10 pm Saturday, Sept. 19. Free.
I'm in a Cult
This is one of the very few Feast-related events that's not sold-out as of press time—but it probably should be. Sarah Pedersen of Saraveza, along with Paul Clarke and Joshua Bernstein of Imbibe, Andrew Knowlton of Bon Appetit, and local beer writer Lucy Burningham are picking out rare beers and explaining the cult that surrounds them—and then they'll let you drink them in the art museum. Beers include Surette's Crooked Stave, Deschutes' the Abyss, St. Bernardus' Abt 12, Goose Island's Bourbon County Stout, and "surprises." Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW Park Ave., 226-2811. 2 pm Friday, Sept. 18. $45. Tickets at feastportland.com.
Kotori Oysters and Teriyaki
For Feast, Biwa will be expanding its summerlong outdoor yakitori grilling pop-up Kotori to include half-shelled oysters from Jarret Foster's Oyster Social, along with Champagne and cocktails and live music. Kotori, Southeast 9th Avenue and Pine Street, biwapdx.com. 4 pm-sunset Friday and Saturday, Sept. 18-19.
2-for-1 Oysters at Little Bird
Little Bird is offering 2-for-1 oysters ($1.50 apiece) to all Feast attendees during the fest, but will also open up the deal to everyone during happy hour from 3 to 5 pm Thursday-Friday and after 10 every night. Little Bird Bistro, 215 SW 6th Ave., 688-5952. Thursday-Sunday, Sept. 17-20.
Barley's Angels Harvest Dinner at Rogue
Rogue Ales will host a ladies-only âagri-fermentersâ beer-pairing dinner at its Pearl District distillery and public house, with halibut ceviche paired with wet hop ale, salmon-stuffed mushrooms paired with pumpkin patch ale and ancho-cayenne-coffee-rubbed flank steak paired with its chipotle ale and whiskey. Rogue Distillery and Public House, 1339 NW Flanders St., 222-5910. 5 pm Saturday, Sept. 19. Tickets $25 at barleysangels.org.
Oregon Fermentation Festival
This first-time fest was set up smack in the middle of Feast, billing itself as the "biggest fermentation festival the Pacific Northwest has ever seen," with a grip of fermenters, cider companies and mead producers on a 68-acre farm on Sauvie Island. Up to 2,000 attendees are expected. That it has scheduled this without apparent reference to Feast makes this our favorite festival of the weekend. Kruger's Farm, 17100 NW Sauvie Island Road. 10 am-5 pm Sunday, Sept. 20. Tickets $29 (12+) and $39 (21+) at oregonfermentationfestival.com.
GO: Feast Portland runs Sept. 17-20. Most events sold out, but some tickets—including the Oregon Bounty Grant Tasting, Sandwich Invitational and drink events—were available at press time. See feastportland.com/schedule for available events.
WWeek 2015