Portland Chefs

The New York Times has been running alot of great articles about food in Portland. The latest is about how chefs from around the country are flocking to Portland. NYTimes writes of Portland, "In the way New York drew artists in the ’50s, this city at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers seems to exert a magnetic lure on talented chefs who come from almost anywhere else and decide to stay right here...Portland has emerged from its chrysalis as a full-fledged dining destination."

I experienced this first hand last week when our church small group had a dinner, prepared by our leader's roommate, Mike, who is a chef at Milo's Cafe. It was so much fun watching Mike prepare with expertise the salmon that our group leader, Cam, fished out of the Willamette just days before. Mike prepared it two ways, 1) grilled with lemon and herbs to bring out the pure paste of the fresh fish 2) baked in a hazelnut and panko breading with blackberry bulee on top. We also had butternut squash with butter and brown sugar; orzo with roasted red peppers, artichoke, and feta; and bread from Grand Central Bakery. I volunteered to bring the dessert and of course I went to my favorite bakery in Hillsdale, Baker and Spice and picked up their Flourless Chocolate Cake(Belgian chocolate, butter, eggs, and a touch of orange liquor. Topped with ganache and white chocolate curls.) It was wonderful meal with good friends.