Category: Food and drink

Recipe – A neighborhood kitchen in Newberg, Oregon

On By Terry ChristophersonIn Food and drink1 Comment

screenshotNewberg, Oregon is the gateway to the Yamhill Valley wine country, which is the premier Pinot Noir location in the world. Oregon Pinots regularly surpass France and California; they make a native Oregonian like me proud.  Good wine cries out for good food, so allow me to introduce you to one of my new favorite restaurants – Recipe.

IMG_0255Recipe is housed in a former farm style house, they serve wonderful creative food, with local wines – what more could you ask for. Much of the produce is grown a block away in their middle of town garden. They are committed to local whenever possible, produce, meat, baked goods. Even the dining tables are reclaimed local barn wood.

IMG_0253One of my best recommendations for good eating is to let the server choose, Andrew, the front of the house manager, brought me crispy duck. How could he know duck is always a hit with me?

2010-Penner-Ash-Willamette-Valley-Pinot-Noir--750ml

When you go be sure to ask for advice on which wineries to visit. Andrew told us about Penner-Ash, which we fell in love with, planning to go back for a dinner in April.

Tablas Woodstone Taverna

On By Terry ChristophersonIn Food and drink, Happy HourLeave a comment

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The best part of Tablas Woodstone Taverna in Mill Creek, WA is the live Flamenco guitar. It is not a bad place, but as a frequent visitor to the sister restaurant, Dimetri’s in Edmonds, WA, I was expecting a lot more. We had a good experience, but based on our history with Dimetri’s and recommendations from Mill Creek locals it was not what I hoped for.

The Tablas decor seems a bit worn, sitting in the lounge you get the wonderful view of a messy bar, if you are going to have seating that allows patrons to see behind the bar then it is important to keep it meticulously clean, this was cluttered. The view toward the kitchen/server station was just as unappetizing  The food was good but then again not up to Dimetri’s quality, though I did enjoy the grilled sardines.

Most disappointing was the wine list, I know this is a Spanish theme, but please, we live in Washington, have at least something local on the list.

I loved the music, Flamenco is a weakness of mine, so that made it better, as did the bartender who was a pleasure.

In The Red Wine Bar

Thanks to Groupon we found a new place to hang out, In The Red Wine Bar. Located on Phinney Ridge in Seattle. They have a happy hour from 3-6 with small plates at prices from $5-8

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Think of sitting in a living room decorated with retro chairs and tables, a couple of overstuffed wingback in front of electric fireplaces.

Chad, the owner, escaped the corporate world of telecommunications to serve good food and wine at the only place of its kind in the area. Well worth checking out.

On By Terry ChristophersonIn Food and drink, Happy HourLeave a comment

Italian Sausage, white beans and tomatoes

On By Terry ChristophersonIn Food and drinkLeave a comment

Some meals are just too easy, and too good. This has quite a French country flair.

Brown Italian, or other smoky sausage such as a Polish. Remove and set aside. Then add two cups or so of small tomatoes halved, or quartered depending on size to the still warm pan, if too dry add a bit of olive oil. Add a clove of garlic chopped along with herbs, whatever is available, and two cans of white beans, drained, salt and pepper to taste. Turn heat to a low and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the sausage back and simmer for another 10-20. Its ready.

A red or white wine will work fine, but since today is rainy and cold it is going to be red, bon appetite’

Great meal at home

On By Terry ChristophersonIn Food and drinkLeave a comment

Went to PCC to get the makin’s of a great meal. They have free range, grass fed beef. That along with grilled tomatoes from our garden, Swiss Chard that I baked into think crisp wafers, and roasted Brussel sprouts from our garden made it great.

Then for dinner we had flat breads, mine had kalamata olives and anchovies, with mozzarella cheese balls that melted perfectly.

Souix Falls, nice evening

On By Terry ChristophersonIn Food and drink, Happy Hour, HotelsLeave a comment

Made it to Souix Falls and had a great abbreviated seminar day one. Went to Old Chicago last night and hung out. Had the $2.99 happy hour pizza, what a surprise, not a frozen-pop-in kind of thing but made to order – anchovies and kalamata olives, it was great! They even had Belgian beer in proper glasses, interesting people to talk to made it a good evening.

Stayed at SpringHill Suites and am so impressed. One of the more comfortable rooms I have had in a long time. A bit higher price than some I stay in, $101, yet have to say it was worth it.

Denver? How did I get here?

On By Terry ChristophersonIn Flying is the only way to fly, Food and drink, HotelsLeave a comment

This beautiful sunrise is my view of DIA – Denver International Airport, this morning. I am in a Ramada near, well as near as you can be, the airport. My room is graciously paid for by United Airlines, yes they still do that for mechanical delays in some situations. That small bump on the horizon is the airport.

My mantra when travel gets crazy is still “Let it be Hot!“ Getting upset just makes it worse, makes the customer service folks less likely to help, and does not do any good anyway. If there is something wrong with the plane I don’t want to be on it, so it is best that they find it before we are in the air.

I will take advantage of the further hospitality of United to have a French Brunch at Pour La France in the airport, then off to Souix Falls. The seminar will take a bit of tweaking, but Skillpath has called the hotel, connected with the attendees so all will be well. I will arrive with a fresh illustration of the challenges of Managing Multiple Locations, some times travel takes adjusting.

Morning tea and corn syrup

On By Terry ChristophersonIn Food and drink, HotelsLeave a comment

It is sunny here in Rapid City, SD, and thankfully yesterdays wind is gone, even the locals complained about the wind. I am sitting by the window of the Ramada Inn, conveniently arranged so that if you open the blinds you have no privacy, a frequent cost over function feature of the budget hotels I live in. People walk by looking straight ahead as is proper, only children look in.

I have my cup of tea with corn syrup in it, – well actually it is “non-dairy creamer.” The first ingredient is corn syrup and there is nothing in there that looks like it was ever near a dairy, the only connection to cream is that it is white. In Australia they are more honest, the simply call it “whitener.”

Interestingly the Lay’s potato chips I had last night had far less corn connection than I thought. Corn oil, and a corn sweetener was about it, why shoot they are almost health food!

Omnivore’s Dilemma – read it soon

On By Terry ChristophersonIn Books to read, Food and drinkLeave a comment

  Reading The Ominvore’s Dilemma, Tricia referd it and it is one of better books I have read in a long time. Michael Pollan explores where what we eat comes from, so far I have learned that most of what we eat is connected with corn in some way or another, I had no idea how much. I even thought that “citric acid” on the ingredient statement menat it had something to do with oranges, nope it comes from corn.

And “Corn fed beef” is not natural, cows cannot digest corn naturally, but corn is cheap and fast so we give them drugs to be able to digest it as it gets them fatter and bigger faster. Pretty much the closest we can come to a factory that makes beef.

Worth the read, yet I do think the book will leave me in a dillema, but at the same time it reinforces my commitments to eat local, true organic (technically organic just means it did not come from petroleum).