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Obviously Miss Dish isn't the only one in the city more seduced by appetizers than entrees. Often when dining with her handmaidens, Miss D. will lead a charge to order a bunch of starters rather than hunker down with a main course. Sure, price has something to do with it; getting two apps for the price of one entree is savvy. It may also be the warm weather--who wants to eat a heavy, hot plate of food when you can nibble delicately on some noshables? Whatever the reason, small plates are the way to go, as our tapas-wielding friends have known for a while.
So, it's no shock, then, that XV, that Caribbean-inflected hotspot at 15 SW 2nd Ave., is going all app starting in August. Miss D. spoke with XV chef Lorenzo Daliana from his sick bed (he's currently battling a nasty case of pneumonia--send him a get-well card, won't you?), and he told her that "dinner isn't working for us." The solution Daliana and owner Marc Byrne came up with is to sell 90 percent appetizers, all under $10, based on the existing menus. It's been hard from the get-go for Daliana and Byrne to get the party crowd at XV to see the place as a restaurant rather than a watering hole. "For the most part, people don't even know that it's a restaurant," says Daliana. So, hopefully now that the menu's more in line with the drinking (and summer) lifestyle, the throngs will stop between mating rituals and notice Daliana's craftsmanship.
Speaking of Daliana, here's hoping for a speedy recovery for him, because a very well-connected little birdie told La Dish that Mr. XV is eyeing that prime spot on Alberta next to the new food co-op between Northeast 15th and 16th avenues. Looks like it's going to be good in the 'hood for sushi and Asian noodles before you know it.
!Item! Portland is notorious for latching onto food trends way after their wake has subsided in other presumably A-list cities. (Miss D.'s advice about these things is simply to ignore those trends that have passed us by as if we never wanted any part of it. Who wants to be A-list anyway?) So Miss Dish is hardly surprised that bubble drinks are just now making an appearance in the Rose City. These lava-lampish beverages that use tapioca drops to create texture in liquid were way big in San Fran a few summers ago. Now they can be had here at the TeaZone at 510 NW 11th Ave. To initiate potential bubbleheads, the tea shop is hosting what they call a "Bubble Tea Extravaganza" 2-5 pm Saturday July 28.
!Item! Fans of both Deschutes Brewery and light, summer beers will rejoice that the Bend sudsmakers have released their Pine Mountain Pils for taps and bottles.
!Item! Did you know there's an organization called the International Cake Exploration Society? Did you know it's hosting its annual convention and show here in the Rose City, Aug. 16-19 at the Convention Center? Did you know that each year the symbol of the gathering is a different faux Fabergé egg made out of sugary things that stands more than 10 feet tall and 6 feet wide? Well, now you know.
WWeek 2015