City Market NW

Have you ever walked into a place and got the feeling "This place is so awesome, I just want to live here!"? Well I am foodie-freak and get that feeling about restaurants, bakeries, and food stores. The first time I recall ever strongly having that feeling was about two years ago when I first stepped into St Honore Bakery in Portland. Food is what inspires me and when I am around good food I simply don't want to leave. 

Another place where I have got that weird, "can I move in and just sleep next to the artichokes?" feeling was at City Market.  

City Market is a European style market located at 735 NW 21st Avenue in Portland. Instead of being a single business, it is actually a store that houses five separate businesses. The produce is supplied by Raw Raw Raw, who strives to sell only organic and local produce from as many as 20 local farmers. And let me tell you, their fruits and vegetables are gorgeous! 

Pastaworks supplies wine, cheese, salamis, and dry goods such as imported olive oils, vinegars, preserves and a great selection of sodas.  As one would assume by their name, Pastaworks also makes their own pasta as well as selling imported pastas. Their cheese selection is one of the best in Portland with good prices, and a great selection. They sell local cheeses as well as cheeses from France, Italy, Spain and the U.K. They are happy to give samples of any of their cheeses so don't be afraid to ask! 

 The meat counter at City Market is ran by Chop Butchery and Charcuterie. Their case is always stocked with locally sourced meats such as grass-fed beef, pork, poultry, duck confit, foie gras, quail, and housemade sausages. The staff takes pride in their meat and welcomes questions about how the animals were raised and what they were fed. Chop also makes sandwiches to order.

City Market devotes a large section of their store to seafood by Newman's Fish Company.  Newman's has been selling seafood in Oregon since 1890 and has a beautiful selection to choose from at City Market.
 
Lastly, City Market has a lovely display of flowers for sale provided by Quinn in the City Flowers.

City Market is open Mon - Sat 9:30am - 7pm, and Sun 10am - 7pm. 


Now the only question is, when can I pack my pink bags and move into City Market??

Where to Eat in Eastern Washington

 

Gyro at St. John's Gifts and Bakery

My spring break officially ends tomorrow. After lounging around my house in the morning and trying to make the most of the last few hours, I will pack up my embarrassingly large amount of pink bags and head back to school. Well, it was fun while it lasted!

This spring break has been one of the best yet, and good thing it was, because I only have one left! I still can't believe that I will be a senior in college next fall...wasn't it just last year that I was an awkward middle school-er? I guess not... 

If you read my last post you will know that I spent four days in Yakima Washington with my roommate Lydia. Her family has a gorgeous house there complete with four dogs, 2 chickens and 1 cat. I was in animal heaven!

Lydia spent the four days showing me around Yakima. She made a point to tell me that some parts of Yakima are a "little sketchy," but I didn't have to worry because Lydia surely knew where the good parts were! And the good restaurants! 

The first place we stopped was about an hour away from Yakima, in Goldendale WA.  While driving to Yakima Lydia told me that there is a convent on the side of the road that sells amazing baklava. Of course we stopped. St John's Gifts and Bakery is a little store on the side of the road run by Greek Orthodox Nuns. They sell a small supply of catholic icons and crosses, but the reason I was there was their baked goods. In addition they have a full espresso bar selling Greek coffee, and a great lunch menu containing Greek favorites like gyros, Greek salads, hummus, moussaka, dolmas, and spanakopita.  I got some baklava (delicious!), and actually ended up stopping there four days later, on my way home, to get a gyro. My mouth is watering just remembering it. It was the most authentic gyro I have ever had. The pita tasted like it was right out of the oven, and the tzatziki sauce was very flavorful! St John's Bakery is located at 2378 Highway 97, Goldendale, WA.

Once in Yakima Lydia took me to Cruisin Coffee, a drive through coffee, sandwich, milkshake stand. I had never heard of Cruisin Coffee before, but that is because it's a Washington thing; there are a total of 13 of these identical-looking stands in Washington. I was told by Lydia, her sister and her friend that I had to get the Mocha Milkshake, a drink the stand is famous for. As one would imagine, it was very good!

Me second day in Yakima Lydia's family took us all out to a very nice dinner at the Yellow Church Cafe in Ellensburg. Days before I had been told about this great restaurant in a darling yellow house. I had also been told of their "heavenly loaf" a delicious piece of bread topped with garlic and herbs, filled with cheese, and served warm, of course. Indeed it was heavenly, but I was advised to not use it as bread for a sandwich or burger, because the loaf itself is rich enough with adding meat, mayo or any more cheese! I had the cedar planked wild salmon, served with a berry beurre rouge and caramelized onions. The restaurant had a wonderful atmosphere and the salmon dish I had was incredibly flavorful and fresh.

Another really great restaurant we dined at in Yakima was Gasperetti's Restaurant. It is a very upscale restaurant in what seems like a bad part of town. The building itself is very nice and the restaurant has multiple dining rooms and bars. I had a "light" cream of asparagus soup (we all wondered how it could be light, but it was!),  fresh dungeness crabmeat salad, and for dessert we all split creme brule and raspberry crumble. The food was exceptional and I would recommend anyone looking for a nice restaurant in Yakima to start here!

For a special treat Lydia took me to North Town Coffee to get her favorite chai latte of all time! This coffee shop is in Yakima's historic district in a quaint little building. In addition to espresso they also serve pastries, gelato, sandwiches, smoothies, and have a large selection of unique sodas. The downstairs room is a great area for playing a game, going on a date, or listening to live concerts or open mic nights that North Town puts on regularly.

Last, but not least, Lydia took me to have her all time favorite Yakima meal. We started by going into a "hole in the wall" Mexican Restaurant called Mercedes 2 and purchased something called Strawberry water. Lydia mentioned to me that this is like nothing I have tasted before. It is along the lines of real strawberry lemonade, but without the lemons. Instead, it just tastes like strawberries--seeds included. It is my new favorite drink...I can't even describe it, you just have to try it!

 

Next we went next door to Victoria Continental, a "hole in the wall" Greek restaurant. Here we had Lydia's favorite gyro (two gyros in one week is always a good thing!). It was piled high with meat, vegetables, and sauce. It contained the traditional tzatziki sauce but also had a spicy sauce too that VERY tasty! The address of Victoria Continental is 5605 Tieton Drive, Yakima, WA.

French Apple Tart, a rainy day dessert...or is it?

It's a rainy day in Portland.

To escape the wet cold I jumped into one of my favorite coffee shops in downtown, Cafe Cello on SW Yamhill. Inside, I find myself drinking my usual drink, a decaf white chocolate mocha, listening to classical music, and wishing it was summer.

OK, I may be a little premature in dreaming of summer, but I wish it were a least a bit warmer. After all, I am on Spring Break. Is it too much to ask for a little sunshine while I have a whole week off of school for the purpose of sunbathing and enjoying "spring"? I guess I shouldn't be complaining since I spent the first half of my spring break in Yakima (the "Palm Springs of Washington") where is it sunny 300 days a year. As expected, we did have beautiful weather in Yakima, and on top of that I ate a lot of great food (that blog post is coming soon!).

Ironically, when I was in sunny Yakima, where it was about 70 degrees, my friend Lydia and I baked a dessert that would be perfect on a rainy Portland day like this. After searching through four Barefoot Contessa cookbooks (she is my favorite!) I decided on this French Apple Tart.

It seems the best baking usually occurs late at night, and this french apple tart was no exception. We started it at about 8pm and didn't finish it until a few members of Lydia's family had already retired to bed. We choose to make the pastry dough from scratch, which required an hour of refrigeration. But to save time--and maybe get it done at, say, 10pm--we could have purchased prepared pastry dough at any grocery store.

Granny Smith apples are the best for baking, however we used apples that we had on hand, Fuji apples. Even though Fuji is never "recommended" for baking, this tart still turned out delicious! Other apples that are recommended for baking are: Cameo, Cortland, Golden Delicious, Jonagold, Jonathan, and Rome.

Although I find myself craving this comforting apple tart on a stormy day like this, it was still delicious after a warm day in Washington. In my opinion, and I don't think many would argue, apple desserts can be served any time of the year. We ate this delectable tart right out of the oven served with vanilla ice, but it could also be served room temperature at a summer barbecue or picnic. This french apple tart is the perfect dessert, rain or shine!

French Apple Tart

From Barefoot Contessa’s Back to Basics Cookbook

For the Pastry
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced
½ cup ice water

For the Apples
4 Granny Smith apples
½ cup sugar
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, small-diced
½ cup apricot jelly or warm sieved apricot jam
2 tablespoons Calvados, rum, or water

For the pastry, place the flour, salt and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse for a few seconds to combine. Add the butter and pulse 10 to 12 times, until the butter is in small bits the size of peas. With the motor running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse just until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a floured board and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Roll the dough slightly larger than 10 x 14 inches. Using a ruler and small knife, trim the edges. Place the dough on the prepared sheet pan and refrigerate while you prepare the apples.

Peel the apples and cut them in half through the stem. Remove the stems and cores with a sharp knife an a melon baller. Slice the apples crosswise in ¼-inch-thick slices. Place overlapping slices of apples diagonally down the middle of the tart until the pastry is covered with apple slices. (I tend not to use the apple ends in order to make the arrangement beautiful.) Sprinkle with the full ½ cup sugar and dot with the butter.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the pastry is browned and the edges of the apples start to brown. Rotate the pan once during cooking. If the pastry puffs up in one area, cut a little slit with a knife to let the air out. Don’t worry! The apple juices will burn in the pan but the tart will be fine! When the tart’s done, heat the apricot jelly together with the Calvados and brush the apples and the pastry completely with the jelly mixture. Loosen the tart with a metal spatula so it doesn’t stick to the paper. Allow to cool and serve warm or at room temperature.

The Asian Bistro: Great Food for Under $6!

Ah, beloved Chinese Food! When picturing Chinese cuisine, many of us think of a familiar comfort food or our favorite childhood take-out our mothers would bring home when they didn’t feel like cooking.  According to 500,000 responses on AOL's House & Home Channel, Chinese is America’s second favorite ethnic food next to Italian.

In my opinion, when someone moves to a new city there are a few very important questions they need to ask themselves: where is the best grocery store, where is my bank, where is the best coffee shop, and where can I get good Chinese take-out? After eating at a few of the local Chinese restaurants, I have finally discovered where I would immediately recommend Newberg newcomers find great Chinese food!

When driving down highway 99 in Newberg, you may, or may not, have noticed a simple yellow sign saying: Asian Bistro. I thought this restaurant was fairly new, after all I didn’t even notice it until a few months ago, but in fact, the Asian Bistro opened in September 2008. After seeing their sign a few times, I finally decided to stop in and see what this restaurant is all about. I was curious what they meant by “Asian” bistro. Could I expect a pan-Asian cuisine consisting of a fusion of flavors from China, Japan, Thailand, and Korea? In the end, I was not at all disappointed to find that it is simply, and solely, a Chinese restaurant.

There is limited parking outside the Asian Bistro, but once inside, you will be glad you are there! The restaurant is very clean and has a nice atmosphere with friendly service. The menu is extensive and very reasonably priced. In my opinion, the lunch special at the Asian Bistro is one of the best deals in Newberg! You get your choice of almost any entrée, a fried vegetable spring roll, egg drop or hot and sour soup, and your choice of white, fried or brown rice for $5.95 or less!

But more important than anything else, the food tastes great! The entrees that I tried were delicious, but I have to admit, my favorite part of the meal was their brown rice—the best brown rice I have ever had! Often it is hard to find brown rice in Asian cuisine because traditionally, only the poor and lower class people ate brown rice. The wealthy could afford white, processed rice, and so it was deemed the preferred, desirable rice.

At the Asian Bistro, entree dinner prices range from $8.95 to $13.95 and include complementary rice. The portions are very large and can be enough to feed two people! A popular favorite is the Mongolian beef!

The Asian Bistro is located at 2316 Portland Road, and is open Monday through Friday, from 11:00A.M. to 8:30P.M., Saturday from 5:00P.M. to 8:30P.M., and Sunday 12:00P.M. to 8:30P.M. Check on-line next month because they will have a website with additional restaurant information and their menu. Enjoy! 

This article can also be viewed at The Crescent, my university's newspaper here.

7/28/10- I am sad to share that I have recently been informed that The Asian Bistro has closed.

Le Happy

The Top 5 Reasons Why I Love Le Happy:

1. The food is great (this should always be #1).
2. It's open late.
3. It's weird. Like Portland. 
4. It's the perfect spot for a date, or a group of friends.
5. They are not afraid to decorate with silk flowers. 

Who doesn't love crepes? They are warm, delicious and can be filled with anything anyone can imagine. What's NOT to like?!

After church, a group of us decided to go on a girls date to Le Happy- a creperie in downtown Portland. This was my first visit, and I had high expectations due to all the great reviews I had heard about Le Happy.

 Strawberry Nutella Crepe at Le Happy

On Saturday nights they are open until 2:30am (heck yes!), and we strolled in the door at about 9:30pm. The small restaurant was packed, and there was barely even room to stand and wait. But we could tell by the cozy and funky atmosphere that we were in the right place, and therefore we didn't mind waiting. The small restaurant is very dimly lit at night with the main source of light coming from candles and a disco ball that showers red spots around the room. Le Happy seems to be particularly fond of fake flowers, because there were entire walls of funky, brightly colored flowers.

Good thing we had to wait for seats, because it takes a while to take it all in at Le Happy. First of all, their idea of artwork is very "unique".  Several walls are covered completely with colorful silk flowers. Another wall contains eyeglasses hung as if they were artwork. Sitting on the bar is an area that appears to be a ceramic cat shrine. Upwards of twenty little ceramic felines--all unique--sit unassuming in the corner. Even the women's bathroom is something to behold. On the back of the door--looking at you while you pee--are almost one hundred tiny little pictures of men smiling back at you front of the fake-flower-wall. Creepy? A little.

The staff was really friendly and did their best to get the seven of us seated at a table quickly. Once seated I went straight to work on deciding what delicious crepe I would order. As you can imagine this was quite difficult. Le Happy's menu includes a full page of sweet crepes and a full page of savory crepes. As if that doesn't make it difficult enough, you can even create your own crepe from a list of mouth-watering ingredients. If you aren't feeling like a crepe (what is wrong with you?), they also serve steak and salads. After much thought and inner-turmoil I gave-up and ordered the same crepe as a friend as the table had ordered (which, by policy, I am usually against).

The strawberry nutella crepe I devoured was fantastic. The crepe itself was the perfect thickness and the filling was amazing. In my opinion, crepes and nutella go together like bread and butter. My friend ordered a simple savory crepe with caramelized onions and goat cheese, and it too was delicious.

After one visit Le Happy has instantly made it onto my list of favorite restaurant in Portland. You should try it out!

Bavarian Cupcakes

In May I am going on the trip of a lifetime. I am traveling with two of my best friends--along with 17 other students and two professors--to four European countries. We are starting in Italy, going through Austria and Germany and ending in France. Sigh! I can hardly stand to do marketing homework when I have a trip of this caliber coming in the near future. But I must study, and work, and do everything else normal humans do in the meantime (including EAT!).

In addition to going on this three week long adventure, us students are required to sit through a three hour a week class where we learn about the culture, history, and facts about these countries. It isn't as boring as it sounds...it is really exciting! The fact that I will be viewing this piece of art in the Louvre or that ruin in Italy in less than two months makes it very interesting right now, even at 9:00 at night.

My friend Nicole and I were assigned to research and report to the class on Bavaria. Ummm...what in the heck is Bavaria? We had no idea if it was a country, a city, or what. After doing some research we realized it is a state in Germany. To help myself understand it, I say Bavaria is to Germany what Oregon is to the United States. So, anyway, we were assigned Bavaria and told by the professor that if we brought in food with our presentation we would, nudge nudge, get an A.

Well of course we wanted an A, so behold! we created the Bavarian cupcake. 

It might have been a little more relevant to bring in authentic German food or something other than the very non-German cupcake, but since when did relevance impact my baking? Dessert is usually never relevant, but prides itself on being a fun, inspired creation of the baker. And plus, I did not feel like bringing in whole sausages for the class to chew on while we presented (and beer was clearly off-limits).

My idea started as a whole cake with the map of Bavaria on top, but I decided that I did not want to have to deal with cutting a cake when I was supposed to be giving an exciting presentation on the state of Bavaria. An easy solution to that problem is pre-portioned little cakes, topped with the perfect amount of frosting and individual maps of Bavaria: i.e. Bavarian Cupcakes. 

 

I baked German--which isn't German in origin--chocolate cake (the recipe is not included because, shhh don't tell anyone, I made it out of a box...Hey! I am a college student and did not have time this week to make cake from scratch). The frosting, however, was a homemade buttercream with about three sticks of butter and 1 1/2 lbs of powdered sugar and about 2 tsp of vanilla (sorry, I made it up as I went along...that's what working at a cupcake bakery will do to you...). Using a 6CS star tip I piped the frosting onto the cupcakes.

The little Bavaria maps may look very difficult, but they were actually not hard to make. Here are the instructions on how to make them: 

• Print out the desired size maps of Bavaria
• Tape them to something like a cutting board or a piece of cardboard
• Cover them with plastic wrap and tape it down
• Make royal icing in white (the recipe is below) 
• Put the royal icing in a pastry bag with a number 3 plain tip 
• Pipe along the lines of the map
• Turn some of the royal icing blue (the colors of Bavaria) and thin it down with a little water (*You want the royal icing runny enough that it can "flood" in the lines of the map)
• After the lines of the map dry a few minutes use a spoon to pour a little of the "flooding icing" into the lines
• Use a toothpick, small watercolor paintbrush, or the spoon and push the icing around until it fills in the area completely
• Let dry at least 24 hours before you gently peel it off and use it to top a cupcake!

In the end, after unfortunately losing a cupcake in the set-up process, the class loved the Bavarian cupcakes! They were very impressed that we had made the little Bavaria's and there were in fact edible! I know not very many people will have the need to make Bavaria cupcakes in the future, but this method can be used for any number of cute and personalized cupcake decorations!

Royal Icing 

*Recipe from The Decorette Shop

1/4 cup meringue powder

1/2 tsp. cream of tartar (optional) 

5 1/2 Tbsp. water (level with knife) 

1 lb. powdered sugar

Place in a grease-free bowl and beat until stiff.