Beaker & Flask

Two days to go here in my beloved Portland, and I realized today that meant I had some serious prioritizing to do! Between Laurelhurst Market, Beaker and Flask, Evoe, and of course revisits to some old stand bys, I was faced with too many meals and not enough time to eat them in!

Let me emphasize how difficult this prioritizing was-- VERY VERY difficult. However, Beaker and Flask leapt to the front of the list when peckish-ness struck this evening because they have a fab happy hour and I am being cheap-o these days for quite obvious reasons. (I hear NYC is a bit on the pricey side, please let me know if I'm incorrect. I doubt I'll believe you though.)

Beaker & Flask was SUCH a disappointment because I am moving in THREE DAYS and I can only conceivably imbibe another three (four if I push it) of their dazzling cocktails.

THIS is the seductively named Night & Fog;



Cynar (pronounced CHI-nar), Oloroso Sherry, Ginger Beer, and just a splash of bitters. Savory, caramel and smooth all at once, I could drink these all night, especially at happy hour prices-- $5 is hard to beat.

As for snacks, which I believe I have mentioned are my favorite food, B&F outdoes itself. See?



Or if you really must have some greens, as I often must, lovely lettuce with creamy tarragon vinaigrette is passable I'd say, wouldn't you?



Stupidly reasonable price-wise, happy hour or no, these will keep you cocktailing responsibly until the wee hours.

Smoked Trout Deviled Eggs? Yes, please.



Beaker & Flask. If you have the means, I highly recommend a visit. It is so choice.

I am very inconsistent

DUH. I suppose that is a bit of an understatement. Poor morello, she has been so neglected, and I don't really like excuses, so suffice it to say that this move to New York at the end of August has really been taking its toll on me.

Time is flying these days, I'm in my last week of work at my very beloved Sahagun and I've begun to make packing lists. As I lie in bed waiting for sleep, I can't ignore the thought that my room will not be my room very soon. At least it won't be the room I've known and loved for more than 20 years. Blushing ballerina pink walls I chose at 5 will soon be stripped away in favor of something more adult. I suppose that's alright, I can't say it isn't time for a new paint job, but I also can't say my heart won't ache a bit when it happens.

It's not all heartache though, because I know now (just heard!!) that David and I will be moving to a fabulous new home in Brooklyn! Thanks to a WONDERFULLYGLORIOUSPERFECTLOVELY family friend, we will be subletting a sweet one bedroom apartment 1 block from Prospect Park in we-aren't-rich-enough-to-live-here-we-are-just-posers Park Slope!!!! It is rent stabilized and we are disgustingly lucky. I'll be in New York this weekend (yes, I'm a fab jet setter) to sign the papers to make it OURS! Hahahah! I'll try and take some drool-worthy pictures if I eat anything drool-inducing. On second thought, might be more cocktail focused than food. Have you read about NYC cocktail craziness???!! Very exciting, very overwhelming. I want to go to go everywhere at once but obviously I can't so then I feel stuck and like I should just not bother going anywhere. Which is silly, but you know how that happens. They all call to me, maybe you have a favorite? White Star, Milk and Honey, and Death & co, and PDT, Clover Club(my personal favorite, name-wise)...so many cocktails, so little liver!

On that note, I've missed you bloggy blog and readers (if you're out there). I'll try to be around more, and thanks for sticking it out with me. We're making some big changes around here, its nice to know that you're in it with me.

Food + Friends + Movie

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As a member of the service industry, my very longest and busiest day of the week is Saturday. I open up in the morning and am on my poor little feetsies for 9 hours straight. In truth, it flies by, and it is actually a very pleasant way to spend 9 hours, especially when the regulars come by and there are no wild rushes of demanding strangers. I'm sure you understand.



But, however enjoyable the day is, I am often a useless pile of hunger and grump when my very sweet (and by 7pm on Saturday, very well rested) dear David comes to pick me up. Try as I might, I never seem to believe that my mood is a bit compromised and I certainly haven't got a clue what I truely need to lift my spirits.



Hmm, yes that might work. . .

Thankfully, I find myself surrounded by people who know me better then I know myself- but don't quote me on that, especially right when I get off work as I have been known to bite. Anyway, I have these whacky people in my life who really seem to care about my well-being lovingly bring me back, defrosting my smile with the tried and true food and drink...




Warm summer night, windows open, family, friends, food. Is there absolutely anything better? So easily acheieved- a quick few phone calls, take-out, a few bottles of something cold and easy. I am one lucky lady.



Peace and happieness are truly attainable. May you find some of both tonight.

Paradigm Shift

That may be a bit extreme as titles so, but I'm trying something new here and I thought I'd try and catch your eye. Sorry to be so manipulative.

I think about food an awful lot- actually it's my job to think about it all day long, which I think is pretty great. Then, I go home and eat some food, and then read about it and think about it some more. I even talk to my friends about it, but only until they look like they can't stand it anymore and we absolutely must change the topic. Then we talk about something relevent, like if pink scarves look good with brown jackets (they do). Everyone has their limit, and I try to be mindful of that.

What I'm getting at here is that I want to be a better blogger, so I'm going to write more often, though it may not always be a pristine entry, and there will probably not be a picture with every entry because
a) it will take me a while to learn to carry my camera around AND more importantly

b) I refuse to be that person snapping pictures in a restaurant while everyone around me is trying to enjoy their meal. Now, I mean no offense to bloggers who choose to do that- if you are comfortable with that, by all means snap away. However, for me it is an issue of truly experiencing a meal body and soul versus frantically trying to capture it on film for all posterity at the expense of living a moment as it happens.

So, in the interest of being all quick and update-y, which is what this whole blogger/twitter/facebook/digg world seems to be all about these days, I want to share with you my dreamy dinner from tonight! First, a failed attempt to go to Laurelhurst Market--we were very sweetly turned away because they were still in soft-opening mode and I'm not awesome enough yet to go to that. I'll be back Simpatica Boys! Just you wait! I drink your sazerac! I eat your steak frites! I bet I will love it too so just take that!

Hungry and headed back to the 'hood, we wound up at 23 Hoyt. Why don't I go there every night? I have no good answer for that, and I'm not going to try to hard to find one.

Two plump sea scallops were salt-crispy on the sides, with juicy sweet centers. Pillows of brandade brought the deeper ocean. Hen of the woods mushrooms made it totally over the top. Actually, I thought they were so over the top they were sort of lost in the dish, but they were the thing that sold me on t dish, so what does that say? Good marketing idea, if not the most inspired addition flavor-wise? Or perhaps my palate sucks, and they're in fact absolutely necessary. Thoughts?

Burger is a burger, but this one was VERY much a burger. What I mean is that so many restaurants seem to want to mess with the idea Burger and put some sort of little extra on it that make it theirs. I'm an old fashioned girl when it comes to burgers, but that's all you need to know for now-- more on that later, I'd imagine. Anyway, the 23 Hoyt burger is blessedly straightforward. Medium rare came out very much on the rare side, which is more than fine by me, and the meat was just that- meaty. A little white cheddar, and some arugula- one lending salt, the other pepper. Perfect.

Finally, the mac and cheese. Blue cheese, gruyere, thick cubes of bacon. Heavy Cream. Crusty top, curly-Q pasta. Platonic ideal MAC & CHEESE. The pleasant and oh so clean burn of a Vesper and a Zefiro martini, respectively, proved quite helpful in polishing off the majority of this feast. I highly recommend their services.

That's the story, folks. Enjoy the spring, eat some pea shoots. Or some lemon cake. Or best of all, hop yourself over to Sahagun Chocolates and sip a Chile Limon soda, only the very most tasty soda there is in all of Portland! (Couldn't resist a little plug. . .)

I hope your Friday is full of fabulous flavors!

What do you call cheese that isn't yours?

NACHO CHEESE!!!


Sorry, I couldn't resist. Well, my friends, Lent is upon us and I have given up cheese. Thus, right now, all cheese is not my cheese. Do you realize how many foods have cheese in them? I'm learning, and trust me, the curve of said learning has proven steep. My cheese-free eating troubles have been compounded by the fact that my darling boyfriend has given up meat.

Together we are, dare I say, vegan. At least in all the important ways, like not eating bacon or cheeseburgers. Or steak. Fresh mozzarella. Chunks of gruyere. Oh dear, I have to stop.

Needless to say, dinner time has presented a challenge of late. But a challenge I believe we have risen to! Thankfully, I am more than happy to spend all day pondering my dinner. To be honest, I have little choice in the matter as it seems to be what my brain does whether I ask it to or not. But I digress.

Last Monday, all this pondering led us to one of the happiest evenings we have spent in a while. Maybe we really will go vegan!* We ended up having an absolute dream of a dinner at Pok Pok, a sort of Thai street food restaurant here in Portland. It is very well loved around town, in addition to getting boat-loads of national mentions. I've been dying to go there for ages, but have only grabbed a bite of take out from their little to-go hut (really, it's a hut) in passing. We are a little slow on the uptake.




Warm and buzzing, the cozy bobble of a space put me at ease instantly. We ordered with relative abandon, considering the aforementioned limitations. Our table was soon gloriously overrun with plates, mounds of this, steaming bowls of that. Even sweet little baskets of the stickiest rice that just begs to be eaten with your fingers. One for me, one for him.

A mellow yellow curry noodle soup with fresh coconut milk stole David's heart, while a deeply pungent wild mushroom salad swept me away. Three days later, eating anything else remains perfunctory. Limey brightness, Thai chili heat, and meaty beautiful mushrooms swirled together to make my mouth in those moments the most dazzled in the world.

What most tied the meal together for me was the fact that I was sipping vinegar all through it. As a child, I used to drink white vinegar by the capfull, and don't even get me started on pickle juice, so the thought of being able to drink vinegar in the grown-up world was quite exciting.

You see, at Pok Pok, they make these very special fruit-infused vinegars for drinking. They come in glass, 2oz of vinegar, and the rest spritzy water! Or, better still, make it boozy and add a shot of vodka. The waitress promised that was a popular way to go and who am I to argue? Kumquat vinegar & vodka? Yes please!

I am wholly enamored of this beverage, and I want to share it with you. However, I've come to the realization that I could never use words alone to begin to do it justice. Therefore, here in the Morellobello laboratories, we are working hard to bring you a recipe for making it yourself! I will be experimenting this week, and ask your patience as I attempt to bring you tangy perfection. Think tart, think fresh, bright, Spring! I'll have it for you before Spring is here, I promise!

Though I must ask you to wait on the beverage, I'll hop off topic for a moment and give you a little movie recommendation to tide you over. The perfect ending of a night whose theme seems to have been slowness on the uptake, we rented Vicky Christina Barcelona and lounged in our spice-soaked stupor. I highly recommend both! Happy almost Spring my lovelies!!






*Doubt it.