Postcards from Sisters, Oregon

After lunch at Pok Pok Noi in Portland, we drove south and west to Sisters, Oregon. We spent one night on our way to Bend, in the little town just north of Bend.


Our little cabin at Five Pine.

We're big believers in the restorative value of spending some quiet cabin time, preferably in off-the-grid locations. The more remote the better. So heavily populated resorts are not usually our thing. But I have to say that we were impressed by Five Pine Resort's little cabins and the privacy they afforded nestled among the trees side by side. Five Pine is a relatively new resort and they have given a lot of thought to detail. Our cabin was beautiful, luxurious, sparkling clean, and the perfect antidote to a day of thousands of miles of travel. The cabins are beautifully decorated in Craftsman-style furniture. There's a fireplace (did I mention that temps were in the 40s at night??), a patio with a view of the woods, one of most comfortable beds we've ever slept in, and a spa bathroom that included a deep, deep soaking tub. Best bath ever!! The property is covered in wildflowers and the sounds of a little stream that runs through the buildings.


The inside of our Five Pine cabin.

Five Pine offers a free breakfast buffet which included yogurt, granola, muffins, and gluten-free safe items like fruit and boiled eggs. This made for the perfect light breakfast before we headed to Five Pine's Shibui Spa for massages — a surprise treat from my husband. Five Pine also has an athletic club with indoor pool and hot tub that guests can access for free, it's own movie theater, and a couple of restaurants. We tried the casual Three Creeks Brewing Company for dinner. The gluten-free items on their menu were clearly marked, making ordering easy for me. The food was very fresh and perfectly prepared. We tried the spinach salad, and a steak with veggies and mashed potatoes. The restaurant was packed with families waiting in line, but the two of us were seated right away. Five Pine also has a higher-end restaurant, Thyme, which we didn't get a chance to try.


The counter at Angeline's Bakery in Sisters.


A gluten-free treat from Angeline's Bakery: marionberry coffeecake.

After our massages, we took a few minutes to walk through Sisters and have lunch at Angeline's Bakery. They have vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free items, including the marionberry coffee cake that I tried. I don't get to indulge in baked goods very much anymore, unless I make them myself, so this was a real treat. I love marionberries — a kind of blackberry that is larger, juicier and sweeter than ordinary blackberries. The cake was rich and dense but not too sweet, a good vehicle for the marionberries.



Next up, more photos and adventures from Bend.

Five Pine Lodge and Resort
Angeline's Bakery
Three Creeks Brewing Company
Shibui Spa

Thai Food at Pok Pok Noi in Portland

Our trip to Oregon last week landed us in Portland. We've spent time in Portland before, and wanted to focus on exploring Central Oregon and particulary, Bend, this time. But it took steely determination not to get distracted by all the food carts, restaurants, and groovy shops that Portland has to offer. We did take time for lunch, though, on our way in. On our last trip, I'd read about the Thai restaurant Pok Pok, but we didn't get to try it. So this time, we went to Pok Pok's little sister restaurant, Pok Pok Noi.

Chef Andy Ricker, winner of this year's James Beard Foundation's Best Chef Northwest award, started the original Pok Pok at his own house. His focus on Thai grilling and street food led to lines around the block. Now there are several restaurants, including Pok Pok Noi, where we ate lunch.* This outpost of the Ricker empire is a little neighborhood joint with a few seats at the counter and a patio out back, complete with heaters at every table. (The staff offered to turn on the heater at our table and we politely declined. Just off the plane from Austin, we were still radiating heat and enjoying the cool breezes.)



I was eager to try everything on the menu, but apprehensive that there might not be many gluten-free offerings. But I shouldn't have worried. I asked about gluten-free options and was offered a special list noting the dishes that used common allergen ingredients, including gluten. Their menu also includes vegetarian options. Here's what we tried:



•  Kai Yaang (half bird): game hen rotisserie-roasted over charcoal; stuffed with lemongrass, garlic, pepper and cilantro; served with sweet and sour sauce and tamarind sauce. This is one of Pok Pok's signature dishes. The half bird was the perfect amount for the two of us to share. The meat was juicy and very tasty. We really like it dipped in the sweet tamarind sauce.



• Neua Naam Tok: salad of spicy flank steak with shallots, lemongrass, mint, cilantro, toasted rice powder, and fish sauce, lime and chili powder dressing. Get your mouth ready. This one will blow your taste buds away. It's hot and spicy from the chili, earthy and pungent from the garlic and fish sauce. Loved the texture of the toasted rice powder. Big flavor!



• Pork braised in soy sauce and sugar served over coconut rice with a salad of long beans, tomatoes, peanuts, Chinese celery, cilantro, dried shrimp, garlic, lime, palm sugar and fish sauce. This was our favorite dish and the one we want to try replicating at home. It was the perfect contrast to the stronger flavors of the beef salad. This one was softer and rounder. The pork was addictive. It was smooth, softly sweet and comforting, with the coconut in the rice adding another layer of flavor. The salad added a bright zing and crunch to the softer textures of the braised pork and rice.

• sticky rice (in the little baskets)

• Thai tea with lime (instead of sweetened condensed milk; it was incredibly flavorful and refreshing)

Pok Pok has been the object of much hype and discussion and it's a hot spot. So I was curious if the food would live up to its billing. And it did. It was such a gift to be able to indulge in the flavors of Thai food again without worrying about the gluten in soy sauce making every dish on the menu off limits for me. The flavors were big and bold and powerful. Next time we're in Portland, we'll be back. Until then, I want to experiment with that pork dish at home.

Pok Pok Noi
1469 NE Prescott Street, Portland
503.287.4149

*Note: I just noticed on their web site that starting Aug. 1, Pok Pok Noi will no longer be serving lunch. Get dinner there 5pm-midnight, 7 days a week.

Stay tuned. More from our trip to Bend coming up.

Salumi and more Seattle

I have to share a few more bits and bites from our explorations of Seattle...



Don't miss Armandino Batali's (yes, Mario's dad) Salumi in Pioneer Square. Artisan cured meats. That's all my husband needed to hear and this stop went to the top of his list.



We made the pilgramage. We stood in line. We squeezed into the tiny shop. The gods of porcine pleasure were looking out for us and we even scored a table to sit down and eat our otherworldly meaty wonders. Our only heartbreak — the porcetta sandwich sold out. Get there early!


He had a sandwich piled with porky goodness.


I had the lamb ragu: pure comfort.



Of course, we also explored Pike Place Market. It was torture not to have enough time to shop and cook and fully experience what Seattle had to offer by cooking for ourselves.



Beecher's Handmade Cheese shop was our favorite stop here. Their cheddar is just so much more than any other I've ever had.



Do not, I repeat do not, miss their mac and cheese. It took great effort on my husband's part to pause long enough for a photo once it was in his hands. And it lived up to the hype of being the world's best. (Recipe here - but be sure to make it with their cheese. In Austin, look for it at Central Market.)


Belltown graffiti

Seattle is a visual and taste paradise. A couple of other places I have to mention: Branzino Italian restaurant in Belltown. It was too dark for photos but the food was very well prepared. We had lamb sausage, spinach-mushroom-walnut ravioli and an asparagus, arugula and kumquat salad. And last, Uwajimaya Asian Market for everything from ceramics to sauces to fresh rice noodles to an incredible array of Asian produce. I'd be shopping here every week if I could.



Salumi
309 Third Avenue South, Seattle (Pioneer Square)
206.621.8772
Tuesday - Friday 11am - 4pm

Beecher's Handmade Cheese
1600 Pike Place, Seattle (Pike Place Market)
206.956.1964
daily 9am-6pm
Order online here.

Branzino
2429 Second Avenue, Seattle, (Belltown)
206.728.5181

Uwajimaya
600 5th Avenue South, Seattle (SoDo)
206.624.6248

Vancouver's Granville Island

Friends who had honeymooned in Vancouver told us before our trip that we must, must, must go to Granville Island to the public market. And they were so right. (Thanks for the tip, J&K!) We spent our first full day there exploring this foodie mecca.

Vancouver's Granville Island has a long and storied history. Sandbars in a tidal flat in False Creek eventually formed Granville Island in the late 1880s. Local First Nation peoples used the sandbar for fishing. Years later, False Creek was dredged to form a island for the mining, construction, forest and shipping industries. The Depression shuttered operations there, turning Granville into a shantytown until World War II, when it had another industrial heydey. But after the war, the industrial output declined again, and False Creek had become polluted. In the late '70s, Granville was reclaimed and cleaned up. The Island is still home to a concrete plant, but otherwise has transformed the industrial spaces into a public food market, artisans shops and galleries, a kids market, performance spaces, the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, a maritime market, and kayak and ferry rentals. (Learn more about Granville's history here.)

Here's a little sample of our explorations at Granville.



We started our exploration at the public market, taking in the overwhelming arrays of produce, seafood, baked goods, any food item you could think of is on offer here.



There are also plenty of shops full of everything you could ever need for the kitchen from cookbooks and tools to specialty ingredients and packaged goods. South China Seas was one of my favorite stops. This little shop was crammed with all kinds of intriguing tidbits and a particularly well-curated collection of cookbooks. I got lost there for quite awhile and came away with several new Donna Hay Essentials cookbooks that I haven't been able to find in the U.S., and also some very tasty ginger-infused sea salt. Can't wait to try it on stir-fry. (See the Donna Hay books here, here, and here.)



Another shop that fascinated me was the Stock Market. They have everything you need to jump start a cooking project. If you're looking for a shortcut - don't have time to make your own lobster stock? – come here. They have everything from soups, broths, dressings, dips, marinades, and ready-to-eat dishes... all homemade. You can watch them chopping the veggies.



We also stopped at Maiwa Handprints. Maiwa Handprints started the Maiwa Foundation as a trust to help practicing and re-emerging artisans develop their skills in emerging nations. The foundation works to end poverty in rural villages by promoting self-sufficiency. Maiwa Handprints sells the works of these artisans from India — the semi-nomadic Banjara produce beautifully embroidered clothing, the Khatri community in Dhamadka and Ajrakpur produce Ajrakh blockprints, the Bagru village near Jaipur also produce blockprints, and the Regar Samaj community of Rhajastan do leatherwork. You can find incredibly beautiful handcrafted treasures here — from clothing to bedding to table linens to jewelry to leather goods. I was seduced by the table linens. You can learn more about the Maiwa Foundation here.

There is also a food court in the back of the public market with all kinds of offerings. There were lots of tasty offerings here, but the star of the show is the view from the patio...




Granville Island Public Market
open 7 days a week: 9am-7pm
map
directory
guide

South China Seas Trading Company
Granville Island Public Market
604.681.5402

The Stock Market
Granville Island Public Market
604.687.2433

Maiwa Handprints
Granville Island Net Loft

Hope Farmers Market & Retro Bizarro

Usually, I dread going grocery shopping. But I always look forward to strolling the offerings at any of our local farmers markets. In Austin, our big farmers markets are on Saturday morning. I don't know if you're like me, but Saturday morning is my GET STUFF DONE day. Lately, I've been working too much on a big project, so getting to the Saturday morning markets is a long shot.

But now, we have a Sunday market. The Hope Farmers Market is in East Austin at East 5th and Waller. It runs from 11am - 3pm, so you don't have to race out of bed in the morning to get there. (Can I hear an amen, brothers and sisters?!?)



The market is a project of the HOPE — Helping Other People Everywhere Campaign. HOPE is an "energy-conscious non-profit focused on involving artists and their contributions in campaigns, programs and events to support existing social projects that promote education and peace around the world." You can learn more about them here.

So expect to see not only farmers and food vendors, but also local artisans and community groups among the tents and tables.



One of the vendors I wanted to check out was Retro Bizarro. They make old school snack cakes and candies from scratch with local sustainable ingredients. Check out their table at the market where you can sample their treats. This is such a great idea! They take the guilty pleasure favorites we all grew up with and transform them with quality ingredients — elevating them to gourmet treat status.


Last week, we tried their chocolate saucers and yurtle bizarro bars - to which they had added some Cornucopia popcorn. This is my new food infatuation. These things are like candy crack!

Here are some samples from their current menu:
• saucers: chocolate snack cakes with fillings like Big Red frosting
• snickie: the ultimate snickerdoodle snack cake with cinnamon cream
• yurtle bizarro bar: candied pecans with honeyed caramel and dipped in chocolate
• porky bizarro bar: bacon jam on cocoa nib shortbread dipped in chocolate



Retro Bizarro is brought to you by Omni pastry chef Mike Joyner and his wife, Amanda. Find them Sundays at the market or for a real snack cake emergency, you can place an order with them by phone at 512-547-7336 and they said they'll even deliver!


Hope Farmers Market
East 5th & Waller
Sundays, 11am - 3pm

Retro Bizarro
512.547.7336

Adventures with Amar

Our friend, Amar, was here this week visiting. He's originally from Bombay, has lived in Texas, Japan, Morocco, and now lives in Annapolis, Maryland. The blizzards in the northeast stopped long enough for him to leave his snowbound car behind and fly to Austin for a little sunshine and some really good food.

After Amar arrived, we met his friends Samantha and Eric for some Eastside exploration. Eric, on a rare day off from his chef gig at Wink, wanted to check out some places he hadn't tried yet — East Side King and Justine's.


Ordering at East Side King. (Photo: Amar Shekdar)

East Side King is a food trailer on the patio behind Liberty Bar (1618 East 6th). We grazed on Thai chicken karaage (spicy Thai friend chicken with basil, cilantro, mint and jalapeno), poor qui’s buns (pork belly with hoisin and kimchee in a steamed bun), beet fries (with Japanese kewpie mayo and togarashi), curry buns (fried buns with peanut butter, curry, basil, cilantro, mint and jalapeno), and peanut butter cookies kissed with curry. I'd be hard pressed to pick a favorite among these. I loved them all.


Curry buns, pork buns and fried chicken at East Side King. (Photo: Amar Shekdar)



(photo: Amar Shekdar)

Then we moved on to Justine's, a little French bistro a short drive away (4710 East 5th). We sampled a fantastic housemade charcuterie plate, a couple of salads, steak tartare, escargot, and a plate piled high with their frites. This is some seriously rich food. I must confess that French food is often too rich for my blood, but every single dish we had was luscious. Despite being really full, we couldn't stop eating the fries. Finally, Eric asked the waiter about them and we found out why they're so amazing... they're cooked in duck fat.



Amar at Sushi-a-Go-Go

Later in the week, Amar and I made a pit stop at Sushi-a-Go-Go. Amar was initially reluctant to try sushi from a trailer, but after chatting with the Japanese chef behind the counter, he was game. We had my favorite, the Sunshine Roll (salmon, mango and avocado) and a veggie roll. All the sushi is freshly made to order and tastes it. I occasionally pick up a sushi roll at Central Market or Whole Foods. These are about the same price, but so much fresher.


Chef at Sushi-a-Go-Go (photo: Amar Shekdar)


That snack powered us through some grocery shopping at Central Market and then MGM Indian market (7429 Burnet Rd.) This was my first trip to MGM and Amar was the perfect guide. We walked the aisles and he showed me his favorite brands of spice mixes, pickles, flatbreads and more. We filled a basket to overflowing.


Amar fakes exhaustion carrying our loot to the register at MGM Indian Market.

Amar was then kind enough to give us a cooking lesson of some of his favorite Indian dishes. I'll share these recipes with you in the next post.



Boggy Creek Farm

And just before heading to the airport, we managed to squeeze in an early morning visit to Boggy Creek Farm to meet Eric while he picked out produce for Wink.


Eric adding up his tab at Boggy Creek.


Amar and Eric at Boggy Creek

I picked out some beautiful tender greens, bright green cauliflower, and carrots. Then Eric introduced us to one of the owners of Boggy Creek, Carol Ann Sayle, and gave us a tour of the farm and a little history into it's background. Boggy Creek is a little farm oasis in the urban landscape of East Austin. They are open to the public on Wednesday and Saturday mornings. Pick up some fresh picked goodness to brighten your table.


Boggy Creek carrots


Boggy Creek cauliflower


Boggy Creek Farm

It was an action-packed extended weekend full of some of Austin's best flavors. Thanks, Amar!! Next up, an Indian feast and cooking lesson.

Austin's Modern Home Tour

Yesterday, we spent the day roaming around town on the Austin Modern Home Tour. There were sixteen houses in all, some for sale, in a wide range of prices, all showcasing the work of modern architects.

Most of the houses were very crowded, so it was tricky trying to shoot photos. But I wanted to share a couple of my favorite kitchens. The kitchen in our old 1950s house, is still very much in the before stage with its original linoleum and pine cabinets, so I'm always looking for ideas for renovation.



This house on Nickerson at Annie in South Austin, was designed by Kevin Alter of Alterstudio. I really liked the white countertops and island with the dark cabinets and pop of lime green. There is plenty of workspace and the kitchen is a part of the living area, not segregated.





See more photos of the entire house on the Alterstudio web site.





This house, on Live Oak, was designed by M J Neal. There were a lot of thoughtful details in this house, our favorite on the tour. The kitchen featured German cabinets and a wall of storage. The bathrooms in this house were also stunning.





The private outdoor patio and fireplace would make for great dining al fresco and nighttime star-gazing.





The house doesn't appear on the architect's web site, but Dwell did a feature on it and you can see more photos in their slideshow.