Blueplate Diner: Comfort Lunch

Blueplate Diner, in downtown Portland at SW 3rd and Washington, is novelty in this city. They don't do breakfast. They don't do dinner. They don't do brunch and, in fact, aren't open on the weekend at all. Because of the limited parking and the fact they are only open from 11am-4pm on weekdays they have decided to cater specifically to those working downtown who want a comforting lunch. And it works. Oh, does it work.

Peruse the menu and you'll see what I mean. This is not health food, but it's food made from excellent ingredients that will stick to your ribs - in a good way. In addition to the food Blueplate is an old school soda fountain with all sorts of flavored milkshakes, sodas and some throwback combinations. Just check out these menus:

The diner itself is small, seating around 25 people at a fountain bar and a few small tables. Check out the fountain.

And this where the cooking happens. Everything is cooked to order at a couple small stations.

Normally this isn't a place I'd ever be able to get to for lunch since it's a long, long walk from my work and only open during the week, but a coworker and I went while attending a conference nearby. I ordered the Northwest Sliders with Tillamook cheddar and basil spread. Tomato and bacon are complimentary additions, so yes, absolutely I ordered those as well. As if that wasn't enough it comes with a side Yukon Gold mashed potatoes. All that for $10.

Everything was perfect. The potatoes were moist and buttery, like they should be. The burgers meaty and cooked well, dripping with cheese, and the tomatoes crisp. The buns were soft and held together well.

Besides, look at that thing!

Wifey and I will have to return on a vacation day because so many items on the menu sound good. Stroganoff? Meatloaf? Sloppy Joes? Pot roast? Yes, please. And we definitely need to try a housemade soda. Or shake. Or both.

Dog-friendly? No outdoor seating.

Do Not Miss: Mucca Osteria

A new Italian restaurant is open in downtown Portland, Mucca Osteria, on SW Morrison between 10th and 11th, right on the westbound MAX tracks. The chef, Simone Savaiano, is a native of Rome, but moved to the U.S., married an American from Los Angeles, worked in Santa Monica for five years, then they traveled. On that trip they came to Portland, loved it, and moved here.

I am, selfishly, glad they did. The restaurant is two levels, with stairs that go up to the second floor balcony (you can see the railing in the picture below). There are tables on the main floor and a few seats at the bar of the open kitchen. (As always, click on the picture for a larger version.)

Wifey and I visited on a Friday night, arriving just as they opened at 5:30pm (they are also open for lunch). We were first, but the restaurant had tables available for anyone who may have walked by. The staff was very knowledgeable, helpful with questions, and gave us space while at the same time very attentive. Mucca's menu is online, but don't take it as gospel - the actual menu was slightly different, and they have chalkboard specials.

First we were brought housemade bread, two slices each of a ciabatta, a sourdough, and a dark, nutty bread. All of them were excellent, and even tastier with the wonderful olive oil provided for dipping.

We decided on an appetizer of burrata (see here for a definition of burrata) with heirloom tomatoes, olive oil, fresh basil, and balsamic vinegar.

This entire dish was fantastic. The balsamic, in particular, really made everything pop, and the burrata was a revelation. I may never be satisfied with "normal" fresh mozzarella again. See the dark spots on top? A black salt, perfect for the dish. I could eat this all day.

Wifey ordered gnochetti with gorgonzola cheese, Italian sausage and walnuts (watch Simone make it!) These small puffs of pasta were not overpowered by the flavor of the gorgonzola, a mistake many restaurants can (and do) make. The sausage had plenty of flavor, providing welcome bursts of spice.

I ordered the spaghetti amatraciana with guanciale and San Marzano tomatoes. Again, fantastic flavors. The sauce had a pleasant creaminess to it, with the guanciale providing punches of meatiness.

I knew I wanted a glass of wine with dinner, but looking at the long wine list all in Italian I didn't know what to choose (well, actually, by the glass there are only two whites and two reds to choose from). At the suggestion of the staff based on the pastas we ordered, we went with a red: Cannonau di Sardegna d.o.c. Feudi della Medusa 2007 (from Sardegna). This was the smoother of the two and it was very pleasant on the tongue, almost velvety. Great flavor as well.

One note about the pastas: Depending on how much you normally eat and how hungry you are, it may not be enough. They are created with fantastic flavor and an exceptional level of skill, but the servings may be considered small compared to other restaurants. Don't worry about it - order an appetizer too.

Or two desserts, like we did.

The first was a vanilla bean panna cotta with fresh blueberry sauce. Panna cotta is something we love to order (especially if it's vanilla bean) and so fancy ourselves amateur experts; this may be the best we've had in town. Look at the picture below - see how the panna cotta holds its shape? Usually it seems to be served in a dish and if I had to guess there is no way it would stay together served on a plate like this. And yet, it still has all the soft creaminess necessary for a great version of the classic. The blueberries were a nice addition and the vanilla flavor was, well, perfect. I'd go back just to eat one of these. Or two.

The other dessert, almost as good, was a flourless chocolate cake with strawberry reduction and balsamic vinegar drizzled around the plate. Dense and moist, the chocolate tasted of high quality and the strawberry added the perfect amount of sweetness to go with the rich dark chocolate. One bite of all three flavors is about as close to the perfect dessert as one can get.

With our desserts we were also served complimentary glasses of a white dessert wine. It was a moscato called Dinderello from the Maculan winery in Veneto. We were told it had fig flavors, which I am not a fig person so I don't know, but it has a wonderful smell and a flavor to match. Sweet, but not too sweet like most dessert wines, especially the local ones. Oregon has a great, young wine industry, but it's going to be a long time before they can realistically compete with the centuries old vines from the old world.

Dinner wasn't cheap, but not crazy either. $69 for an appetizer, two pasta dishes, two desserts, and a glass of wine isn't that bad, but I would pay this gladly every single time. There was not one thing we didn't like about the meal or the service and we plan on making this a regular stop.

There's just one thing that's bothering me. They need more customers! We walked in on a Friday night in downtown Portland and were seated right away. Sure, it was early, but when we left over an hour later, we still would have been seated immediately. Mucca is quickly becoming a food favorite and has been written up in The Oregonian (see above), but they still aren't that busy. Don't get me wrong, I don't necessarily want a line out the door of my favorite restaurant so cumbersome I decide to go elsewhere or work my schedule around it (like, say, Toro Bravo or Tasty n Sons), but more customers to assure Mucca's continued success would be nice.

By writing this and telling people about the virtues of the restaurant I'm doing what I can do to help them out - even though the number of people who will read this I can count on my fingers and toes (yep, toes too, moving on up...) - so hopefully it's enough to convince people to give Mucca a try. I guarantee if I help get you in the door, Mucca will do the rest to ensure you return and tell your friends.

Dinner at Shigezo Izakaya

You know there is much love here on the blog for Japanese izakayas - just have to click back to our reviews on Syun, Yuzu, and Biwa (and Biwa again, and finally again) to see that.

So when a new one opened in the city you knew we were going to hit it up. Shigezo opened just a couple weeks ago in downtown Portland. It's a chain, actually, but this is the first location for them on the U.S. mainland; there is one in Honolulu and over 60 locations in Japan.

We walked in on a Friday night with no reservations - actually not sure if they take reservations - and were given a booth right away. It was busy, but there were still a few other tables.

You actually have a few different seating options. There is a bar area, with stools; there are regular American restaurant-style booths; there are tatami rooms with floor seating around a table; and then there is where we sat. It was a booth, but we were sitting on the floor of the booth, which was a step up from the restaurant floor. You must take off your shoes, to get in the booth, and Shigezo provides some slippers in case you need to run to the bathroom (which, I have to say, is damn tiny). Inside the booth there is a microfiber covered beanbag-type chair. It takes a little maneuvering to get comfy enough so you don't think you will fall over, but it's okay. Personally I prefer a chair with a back. The booths have backs, but if you lean back you probably can't reach the table. Well, at least, I wouldn't be able to.

So what to order? Wifey and I came for ramen for sure, which we heard was supposed to be very good, but decided to start off with a stick of grilled ribeye.

I'm not sure the picture does it justice - this was fantastic. It was topped with a daikon mixture that perfectly complemented the nicely cooked beef. At $6.95 for the one stick it wasn't cheap, but it was melt-in-your-mouth goodness.

The next item we ordered was the tonkatsu tonkotsu ramen. (Just an aside, but they spell it "tonkotsu" on the menu and so of course the American servers who don't know Japanese pronounce it that way. Why do they spell it wrong? Is there a reason? Is this really something different and not tonkatsu, like everywhere else in the world writes it? Drives me insane.) (See comments below for perfectly reasonable explanation. Lesson, as always, I'm an idiot.) This comes in two sizes and we opted for the small because we ordered other items as well.

Well. Apparently this is small. It was more than enough for two people to split. Heck, if you aren't very hungry two people could split a small and likely be satisfied. As you can see in the picture the meaty broth - which was pure salty porky goodness - was topped with green onions, kikurage mushrooms, and a generous piece of pork. I'd go back just for this, it was that good.

Shigezo also provides smaller bowls so the big dish can be shared. Here's a look at a small amount I dished out for Wifey.

The noodles, which I believe they make themselves, were very good. Solid, but not overly so, and not so weak they are overpowered by the other flavors. Every item in the bowl brought a distinct flavor and was only enhanced by the broth.
The next item was okonomiyaki, which came stuffed with a little squid and pork. I also swear ours had some octopus tidbits in it, though the menu doesn't cop to that. Just look at the presentation here - don't you want to dive right in?

I'll admit to being a bit of an okonomiyaki snob. We make it at home kind of often and we ate some in Hiroshima during our trip to Japan - and this was pretty dang good. Ideally for me it comes with some noodles and an over easy fried egg (one of many traditional styles, that's just MY favorite - this is another), but that wasn't an option. The squid/octopus pieces were a tad chewy, but not any more and actually perhaps less than I'm used to. Solid flavors, but would have liked just a tad more crunch on the "pancake."

Our final dish was gyoza. Shigezo, apparently, doesn't adhere to tradition when it comes to gyoza. Typically this Japanese pot stickers are made from a round wrap, filled with a pork and onion mixture, crimped shut, and fried to a nice crispiness. Shigezo does it differently by using larger, square wrappers. The filling and cooking style is the same - and flavor generally is too - but just be prepared to have to explain this if you eat there with a traditionalist or an actual Japanese person. Trust me on that.

They look great, actually. And they were good, though I think the pork to onion ratio was a bit off - too oniony in my mind.

Overall this was a good meal and we would go back. Heck, they gave us a coupon for 10% off our next visit, so there is no reason not to. Also, despite the cost of the ribeye skewer, the total cost for the meal was only $34 including tip - not bad at all.

I read on the PortlandFood.org posting for Shigezo it was referred to as a "Japanese Red Robin." After going there I can see it. Lots of families there, large menu with all sorts of things - something for everyone, and the food may be a little mainstreamed rather than traditional. That's not a negative, it's just on observation I can agree with.

Like I said, we'll go back and would recommend it to others as well.

September Tasting/Drinking Notes

Pastrami on Rye - Reuben, pastrami - This food cart at the 4th and College pod near Portland State serves up a pretty damn good sandwich. People claimed it was the best in Portland and while I agree it's pretty good, I still give that edge to Kenny and Zuke's. I will say, though, that these were half the price and more of a single serving, so it really depends on what you want. I really liked the marbled rye bread they offer though.

Gladstone Pizza and Coffee - Mocha, sausage and pepperoni - We've been meaning to try this pizza place for a while because foodies kept claiming it was as good as any of our favorites, like Nostrana, Ken's, Apizza Scholls, Dove Vivi, and Lovely's Fifty-Fifty. Well, they were wrong. It's not that this pizza is bad. It's not. It's likely better than some of the middle tier places and I'd put it in the same category as Pizzicato, Hot Lips, and Pizza Schmizza. However, their prices - it was $24 - put them in the top tier category, so that's what they get measured against. And it's just not as good. I didn't hate it or anything, it's just not anything special. Neither was the mocha.

Chinatown Restaurant - normy gai, #5, pork shew my - Wifey and I split all of these dishes and we really liked them all. Next time we'll try some of the seafood they are supposedly known for. Normy gai is sweet rice with chicken, sausage, BBQ pork, bamboos shoots, and mushrooms all wrapped up in a lotus leaf and this was very, very good. The shew my literally melted in your mouth. The #5 dinner combo contained fried shrimp, pork chow mein, sweet and sour chicken, pork fried rice, and a spring roll. I have no complaints...though next time we probably won't get a combo. Sadly, they were out of baked BBQ pork baos. Our waitress offered steamed instead, but it's not the same. Next time.

Addy's Sandwiches - duck confit and cranberry, turkey and brie - I've been to Addy's before so the fact these were outstanding wasn't a surprise. I wanted to try the duck because that confit wasn't anything I've had before, but the flavors were excellent. The turkey and brie was likewise well balanced. And her bread...it's very, very good. Of course it is - it comes from Little T.

Ziba's Pitas - meat burek - Once again Ziba's burek was awesome. I keep getting recommendations to try the spinach one or the cheese one, but it's almost impossible for me to order anything else because this is so good. Perhaps next time. Maybe.

September was also our month to go back to places, apparently. In separate posts, all with pictures, we returned to:

The Country Cat | Biwa | Apizza Scholls | Screen Door

DRINK!

Adding this section new this month. Apparently we (well, mostly me) drank a decent amount. Oops. Some of these may have been from August too.

MandaRossa Nero d'Avola (red) - We found this wine at Taste Unique. Nero d'Avola is apparently a grape specific to Italy and this wine tasted very mature. That's a good thing. A medium level of tannins with red fruit and a taste of licorice if you really search for it.

Sokol Blosser Evolution (white) - We had never tried a Sokol Blosser wine before, but had been meaning too. Then this wine ended up being used on an episode of Top Chef (by Angelo), so we decided to give it a try. It's excellent. In fact, this might be our favorite wine we have ever tried - so much so we went out and bought two more bottles. Very crisp, you get flavors of citrus and supposedly pear, but we both really pulled peach out of it. Excellent wine.

Sokol Blosser Meditrina (red) - We ended up buying this one because it right next to Evolution at the store. Shrug. It's okay, but we like it better cold, which goes against all wine people will tell you. Why? Cold we can pull out the berry notes, but as it warms up it gets more and more tannic, in my mind, and pretty soon all I can taste is leather and alcohol. That's not good.

Conundrum (white) - We came across this wine online while researching Evolution. Supposedly, the claim was, if you like Conundrum you would like Evolution. Well, we liked Evolution so we figured we might like this. It wasn't bad, but it's not something I'm going to go out of my way to find again (like we did this time, finally finding it at Barbur World Foods). The flavors were okay, but it just didn't have the fruit-forwardness of the Evolution. And it's more expensive.

Full Sail Brewery - Old Boardhead 2010 - I picked up the 2010 version because I thoroughly enjoyed the 2009 version. Unfortunately, 2009 enjoyment did not predict 2010 enjoyment. This year's version was way, way too hpppy for me. Will I try again in 2011? Maybe.

Goose Island Brewing - Matilda - I've just about given up on any beer with fruity notes in it - see the next entry - but this one was very well balanced. the citrus notes were just barely there, but there was enough of malt and yeast flavors to not allow it to be overpowering. I'll try more from them.

Dogfish Head Brewery - Festina Peche - Hands down this was one of the worst specialty beers I've had. All I could taste was peach. Of course, I bought it because it promised some peach, but the peach overpowered everything else in the bottle. It ended up tasting like peach juice with all the elements of cheap beer. This was my first Dogfish beer and I will try others, but I'm going to keep an eye on the fruit content.

Laurelwood Brewery - Espresso Stout - I really enjoy Laurelwood's Porter - which they need to get in bottles rather than just being on tap - so I thought this might be good. It uses Portland Roasting beans in the brewing process. The results were, well, a tad too strong for my tastes. The coffee flavors weren't robust and fresh - it tasted like bad coffee.

Great Divide Brewing - Smoked Baltic Porter - I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from this. I mean, I like porter generally but hadn't had a Baltic one before and wasn't sure what to make of the smoked malt idea. Turns out it's fantastic. Absolutely one of the best beers I've had in a while, and one I'll be buying more of. Also, I'll probably try others from Great Divide. As a side note, I picked this up at John's Marketplace in Multnomah Village. I had never been there before and heard they had tons of specialty beers - and yes they do. Belmont Station is pretty nice too, but that's an extra 10 miles further for me from this place. Definitely worth a stop if you like beer - or wine, actually. They have a ton of that too.

Little Etta

I may have eaten at one of the best food carts in Portland this past weekend.

There is a new restaurant coming to the downtown area, just west of the Fox Tower, called Violetta. Their restaraunt space is currently being worked on, but instead of waiting around for it to be finished they decided to open up a food cart - called Etta - in the new Director Park, very close to where the restaurant will be.

Director Park is new - it's similar to Pioneer Square (two blocks away) in the sense it's wide, open, and can be a nice gathering place. The seating is plentiful, the architecture is pleasantly contemporary, there is a water feature, and I believe it's set on top of underground parking. Given the proximity to central part of downtown shopping and business, it's the perfect location.

Violetta's motto is "slow food, fast." What does that mean? It means you get food made to order with high quality, locally-sourced ingredients, and they do it in a timely manner. The menu has burgers, breakfast foods, salads - all fairly basic, but with freshness. That's not to say you won't get this quality in other food carts - absolutely not true - but with them it's a point of pride.

Etta's has been open for a few months now, but this past Saturday was their first weekend day. They did it as a test run to see if anyone would come - and it must have worked out because they are going to be open this Saturday as well.

Wifey and I read over the menu online before we went and ended up deciding we were going to be getting quite a bit of food to try it all out. The first item we ordered was going to be a breakfast sandwich with bacon, but they had a Saturday special of eggs benedict for (I think) $8.50, so we had to get that.

One thing about eggs benedict is the eggs can be messy. Sticking a fork into them can cause yolk to run all over the place, and this being take-out food that could have been a problem. Instead the eggs (there were two in an order) were cooked perfectly to where they still had a bit of softness to them but didn't run all over the place. The hollandaise sauce had great flavor, and the wheat English muffins had just the right amount of crunch. Not only that, they held that crunch even after sitting under the egg and hollandaise sauce for a bit. Two thumbs up for the eggs benedict for sure.

The second item we ordered were the beignets. They come with either espresso chocolate sauce or apple butter, and we - of course - opted for the chocolate sauce. They were wonderful bits of fried dough, with not too much powedered sugar and not greasy at all. A bag of them contained about 10 for $6 - we had a few then and took the rest home to have with afternoon coffee where a few seconds in the microwave were all they needed to be perfect again. While these were excellent, it would be nice to be able to get half the amount. Unless you are sharing 10 of these little guys can be a bit much. Still, very yummy.

Finally we ordered a burger and fries, thinking we'd take that home and have it for dinner later. We did that with the burger, but in retrospect we should have known better thinking we could do that with the fries. We decided to eat the fries with the eggs benedict, since taking them home would mean eating them cold, nuking them and making them soft, or putting them in the toaster oven and probably burning them; none of those options would do justice to their flavor. And these are really good fries. They are handcut from Yukon gold potatoes - our favorite - and fried just right so not be too greasy. Excellent flavor, perfect crunch, and the small order ($3) was plenty with our brunch.

Then there was the burger - wow. Full disclosure: we did not eat this fresh; instead we took it home, put it in the fridge, and then heated it up for dinner. And it was still damn good. They have plenty of options, but we opted for half-pound bacon and cheeseburger for $10 (hey, we were splitting it). Even though it wasn't fresh this was one of the best burgers I've ever had, and I don't give that praise lightly. The pasture-raised beef was cooked just right for both of us, which is amazing since I lean towards preferring my meat medium while Wifey prefers only a slight bit of pink - this was right in the middle (it was probably pinker fresh, but the microwave cooked it a tad too). The accompanying bits - pickles, lettuce, onion, tomato - were fresh, tasty, and nicely proportioned so not to overpower the star, the meat itself. The bun, a brioche from Grand Central Bakery, was also pretty dang good.

The service was excellent too - and like their slogan, fast.

The only thing I didn't love about the cart was the coffee. However, since the French-pressed Caffe Vita was free last Saturday to all customers, I can't exactly complain about it either. I'm not sure if it was the blend, if the beans were a little burnt, or if maybe I just don't like French-pressed coffee, but it seemed bitter to me. It was free though.

And yes, this was the most I've ever spent at a food cart, especially for two people, even if it ended up being two meals and an afternoon snack for both of us. It's handy, though, that they take credit and debit cards - most carts are cash only. It's a little more expensive than other carts, but the quality of the food justifies the cost.

I absolutely, whole-heartedly recommend making Etta a destination on your eating travels. When Violetta opens (website says late May or June), Wifey and I will be there as well. If it stands up to our first trip to Etta, this could very well become our go-to dining option in downtown Portland. Go there. You will like it.

Soup Is Good

Like a lot of people I ate a lot of soup when I was growing up and even in college - and like a lot of people that soup began and ended with the Campbell's brand. It's cheap, it's filling (well, the Chunky stuff anyway), and it's also absolutely horrible for you because it's so packed with sodium. Due to the unhealthiness of it all I'd stayed away from soup up until the last couple years because I guess I just didn't know how good it can be. Plus, for some reason, I just didn't even think about soup as an option for a meal - a sandwich or a burger just always sounded so much better, so much more complete.

Of course, that's a bunch of crap too. A good soup has protein, great taste, and a fantastic amount of vegetables, and if there is anything my diet could use more of its vegetables.

When I hit the food cart pod on 4th and College the other day I didn't have anything specific in mind, until I saw the Portland Soup Company cart. That cart itself begs to be noticed, with the nicely painted and stained wood on the outside it really welcomes you in. Plus, they had tomato soup as one of their four soups of the day, and if I'm a sucker for any soup it's tomato. Plus, they do sandwiches, so I figured I'd try a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

The first cup of soup ($4 each) I ordered (and all of this I brought home to share with Wifey) was Roasted Tomato Reggiano. It's basically a classic creamy tomato, but with cheese and chunks of bread mixed in - and it was pure creamy goodness. A cup of soup comes with half a ciabatta roll too, so there was plenty of bread to go around. There was plenty of tomato flavor and the cheese really came through - and you could tell this was made with some good dairy.

The second cup of soup was a Braised Beef...something. I say something because I can't recall what exactly it was called and nothing on the list of soups on their website sounds right. This soup had a moderate hotness to it (which was a little exacerbated when you ate a whole peppercorn) and amazingly moist beef. It wasn't nearly as thick as the tomato, but wasn't watered down either, and had some peppers and tomatoes mixed in with it.

Both soups were fantastic - not only would I highly recommend them, I'd absolutely get them again (this time in a bowl, which is $6).

The sandwich may have been just as good. They had a couple different options ($4 half, $6 whole - I got whole), but I chose the Slow Smoked Pork Butt sandwich, which also had cabbage and apple slaw. The meat was fantastic. Seriously, I'm not sure it gets much better, honestly. I loved the light smokiness to the meat and it had just the right saltiness as well. The apple slaw lent good sweetness. The bread was solid - not the greatest bread ever, but good enough not to detract from the ingredients. Actually, maybe that's the best choice, so it doesn't take away from the star of the show.

Will I be going back to the Portland Soup Company? Absolutely - I can't wait. You should go to. And as you can tell from Yelp and the review on Food Carts Portland, I'm hardly the only one pleased with their meal. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

Crema PDX - And Hawaiian!

This past Saturday we decided to hit up a coffee shop and bakery we've been meaning to get to for awhile - Crema Bakery and Cafe. Supposedly the coffee was pretty good, but the baked goodness was supposed to be even better.

It's almost funny we hadn't been there yet, considering how close it is to Alma's chocolates and very close to Ken's Artisan Pizza on the corner of SE Ankeny and 28th.

Just a note, but Saturday late morning is not the most ideal time to go - the line was 12 deep when we got there and all the tables were full. For us that was fine, since we habitually get our food and drink to go anyway.

First the drinks. Crema serves Stumptown coffee, so I ordered my standard mocha and Wifey ordered a Caramel Sutra - which was pretty much a caramel latte. Both of the drinks had very well-done espresso, but the chocolate and caramel flavors were almost too subtle. That's not a bad thing, necessarily, just something I'm pointing out.

Then the treats...oh wow. We ordered an earthquake cookie, an apricot scone, and a raspberry cream cheese danish. All the treats are made in their own kitchen and I have to say, I could have ordered one of everything it all looked so good. The scale wouldn't have been nice to me the next day, but my tongue and tummy would have been ecstatic.

The cookie was rich, soft, and chocolatey - probably the best rendition of that style I've ever had. It was thick too, so the baking had to be just right to make sure it was fully cookied without overdoing the outside. The scone was also well baked, not overdone as scones can sometimes be. I personally could have used a tad more apricot, but I'm not going to quibble about something like that.

The danish was excellent. Lots of flavor, plenty of creaminess and fruit flavor to go with a nicely flaky crust.

I'd recommend all of these to anyone, plus all the things I didn't try because I'm just about 100% positive they'll all be good. We'll be going back for sure.

After stopping there, we decided to get some lunch. That wasn't initially on the schedule, but Wifey wanted some chicken strips from Side Cart. The other day when I stopped by there at lunch time (when I ordered the Loco Moco burger from Brunch Box - also excellent), they were out of strips.

Well, it turns out that they were having a special. For $5 you would get chicken strips and two side dishes from a Thanksgiving-like menu. How could we pass that up?! So we ordered stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, and the chicken. All of it was good stuff, especially if you are anxious for Thanksgiving to come.

But on the way to Side Cart from the east side, we drove past this new cart - Ninja Plate Lunch. It's a Hawaiian place, serving kalua pork, loco moco, shoyu chicken, spam musubi, and hamburger steaks - the meals being $5 and coming with rice and mac salad. Basically, it's a huge amount of food for $5. We had read about it on Food Carts Portland, but didn't know it would be open on a Saturday. We like Hawaiian food, so what the hell?

We picked the Loco Moco lunch, something I had never had and Wifey hadn't had in a while. It's a tiny little pink cart, but the food was really good. Then again, I don't think I've ever had bad Hawaiian food in Portland. This was just as good - maybe even better - than Portland staples like Noho's and the Bamboo Grille, but at roughly half the cost.

Plus, you get Dum Dums with your meal - how can you top that?!

All in all, another successful Portland food romp, replete with three more places to recommend to others (four if you count Brunch Box).

Get out and eat! :)

Mini Cart Crawl

Last week I decided to surprise Wifey with dinner from some of the foodcarts downtown, so I headed over the carts on 9th and Alder just before lunchtime.

My first stop was Nong's Khao Man Gai. This was a return trip because it was so good the first time and a place Wifey had been subtley hinting she wanted food from again. I think I got there at about 11:15 and there was only one person ahead of me already getting their food. This time I made sure to order extra rice - such a great set of flavors - so there would be plenty to share. Good thing I went there first; by the time I got my food the line was four people deep with more coming. Highly recommend you get here early.

The next stop was also a return trip, to Spella Caffe. I promised I'd give them a second chance after not being horribly impressed despite rave reviews from every corner of the planet. Of course, silly me, I just ordered the same thing. This time, though, I put some thought into drinking my mocha, trying to pick out flavors. I think - and this is far from scientific - that the coffee part of the drink I liked; it was the chocolate element that I'm not agreeing with. I may have to ask them what they use, because it tastes to me like a bitter powder. It's not that that one shouldn't do that, just doesn't seem to match my tastes. I will go back - and get an espresso or capuccino - something that doesn't use the chocolate. Maybe I'll even buy some beans to bring home and put to work myself.

The final stop, and the second half of what became dinner, was The Whole Bowl. I'm wary of vegetarian food, I admit it. I prefer to get my protein from meat and eggs even though beans are an excellent source. I'm also admittedly not a brown rice fan. However, I wanted to try something different this time, and this place comes highly recommended. There isn't much to ordering - you basically say you want one. That's even less thought than what is needed at Nong's. What you get is a bowl full of brown rice, red and black beans, avocado, olives, salsa, sour cream, cheddar cheese, cilantro, and their special Tali sauce - all for $5.50. They do have tortilla chips to go with it for $1, so I got a bag of those too. This is really out of my wheelhouse, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was good stuff. When you mix all of those ingredients up in the bowl you get quite the nice meal, with excellent flavor from all over the spectrum. You also get a crapload of food, because this thing is guaranteed to fill you up with goodness.

Wifey was ecstatic when I brought home the food and it proved to be plenty for the two of us for dinner. Probably more than plenty - we were both stuffed. Good thing we worked out beforehand, otherwise the results might not have been pretty.

Nong's remains a must-visit. Spella, I'm still doing my research. The Whole Bowl, my first vegetarian adventure? I'd definitely do it again, but being a self-professed carnivore I do need to be in the right mood. A true vegetarian would probably love it on a daily basis, and I think even with the sour cream and cheese it's a pretty healthy meal.

Ten 01 - Portland

Not too long ago Wifey and I were downtown late in the afternoon on a Saturday and had a craving for burgers. Portland Monthly magazine did an article an issue or two back about the best burgers in Portland - most of which we hadn't tried - so that's been in the back of our mind as we have been planning our food adventures.

I mean, who doesn't love a good burger, right? Sorry vegetarians...I'm not quite as anit-veggie as Anthony Bourdain, but I love me some ground beef on a bun. Over the course of the next year or whenever, we plan to hit everywhere on Portland Monthly's list, as well as some they may have missed (Grilled Cheese Grill?).

So there we were, hungry in the Pearl District, and realized Ten 01 was only about a block away. Now, Ten 01 made the list on the best non-beef burger section, which to me is a little weird, but a chorizo burger sure sounded good.

Later in the afternoon there was no wait, especially since we were fine just sitting at the bar. By the way, is it weird to sit literally at the bar, on a stool watching the bartender make drinks, and not order alcohol? Or, really, anything other than water? Probably, but we had done some wine tasting earlier and really all we wanted was food. They didn't seem to mind. But it's still a little weird - to me at least.

The bar menu has all sorts of interesting looking stuff on it in addition to the chorizo burger, which we already knew we were ordering. We decided what the heck, let's get the regular burger as well, which comes with an option of bacon and your choice of cheddar, feta, or bleu cheese. Bacon and bleu cheese on a burger? Yes. Hell yes.

The chorizo burger also has a fried egg on it and came with fries; the grass fed beef burger did not come with fries. However, we saw other people order fries by themselves - has an option for truffle oil - and they looked pretty dang good. Ours were excellent.

What about the burgers?

The beef burger was good - perfectly cooked. We asked for medium well and that's actually what we got - it seems like that usually means medium or medium rare in most restaurants, so we recommend asking for exactly how you like it. In our case that would be medium, but it was hardly overcooked - it was exactly what we asked for. The bacon strips were thick and not overly fatty. Overall it was an excellent blend of flavors.

It's very difficult to describe the chorizo burger. It definitely had some kick - as chorizo is bound to do - but the egg, pickled shallots, and provolone provided a nice balance so you never really noticed that this burger had the spicy bite. If you are open to your burger being something other than just ground beef, this is where you need to go.

Which one was better? Hard to say - that's like comparing apples and oranges, really. If you want spicy and want to be a tad adventurous, go chorizo. If you want a classic, that was excellent too.

The best in Portland? Ten 01 has to be on the list for sure, but the list is long and we're just getting started.

PDX Sandwich Throwdown

When you talk about finding a good sandwich in Portland with foodies the conversation will inevitably turn the Big Three: Kenny and Zuke's Delicatessen, Bunk Sandwiches, and Meat Cheese Bread.

All three of these places use premium ingredients and are slightly different - and there is much debate on the blogs and messageboards about which one is the best. Only one way to decide, right? Yep, Wifey and I got a taste of all three (though not on the same day).

Meat Cheese Bread: We went here for the Park Kitchen, a flank steak and bleu cheese mayo sandwich. The owner used to work at Park Kitchen, a Portland restaurant, and this meal was an afterhours staple for kitchen workers (so the story I've heard goes). When cooks eat something, it's usually good stuff. And this was good stuff. Well done, despite being so simple - but with a name like Meat Cheese Bread you have to expect simplicity. That's good when done well, and this place does it well. Our sample size is admittedly small, but we'll definitely go back and try some of the other items on the menu. No sides with the sandwiches included. Oh, and check out some of the pieces from Xocalatl de David - fantastic chocolates. With bacon. Yes, it's that good.

Bunk Sandwiches: The Bunk menu is long, but the online version of it is only a guide - you have to go into the shop to see what they have on a given day. And get there early, because you will be standing in line. Sandwiches start being served at 11. We actually went there twice. The first time we got there too late and the line was about 30 long - we didn't feel like waiting. The second time we got there at 11 and there were only four people in front of us. What we went there for - the pork belly with sauerkraut, Russing dressing, and gruyere - wasn't on the day's menu, so we went with another pork belly Cubano sandwich (which is not online and this was two weeks ago and I have a bad memory and I should really write things down). So good! The sandwich came with chips too. The menu is chock full of things I don't normally associate with sandwich food, but given the first experience - admittedly limited - and how much people love them, I'm going back. I'm intrigued by the tongue - but I'm nowhere near ready to attempt tripe. Maybe someday. All in all, I'd stand in line for them again - maybe even at 20 deep, which isn't unusual for them at all.

Kenny and Zuke's: At the other two places we ordered one sandwich each to go, but here we actually sat down and had lunch. Known for their pastrami (this is a Jewish delicatessen, rare on the West Coast), Wifey ordered the specialty of the house - a classic pastrami Rueben. Me, apparently with eyes bigger than stomach (no jokes, please) ordered a meshugaletta. And what, you may ask, is that? It's a double-decker sandwich with pastrami, salami, roast beef, and turkey. Both came with pickles and a side - Wifey got potato salad and I got the cole slaw (which was really good and not mayo-based). Word to the wise: that sandwich was a monster. As in huge. As in I wish had brought my camera to memorialize it. If you click on the Menu page on their website, the picture opposite the different menus is of the meshugaletta - and that's how I felt too. But you know what? Both sandwiches were amazingly good. Awesome good. And three meals each. How's that for good?! We also orderd an Egg Cream, billed as a NY Chocolate Soda (no actual egg involved). That was - um - not something that met our tastebuds happily. Not yummy - but apparently New York "real." (If you want to see some thoughts and pictures from someone who knows about these things, click here.)

Perhaps as much fun as the sandwiches is the deli portion. We've been back a couple times and ordered various things, from rugelach (a sweet filled pastry), salt bagels (soft and yummy), New York cheesecake (literally the best we've ever had), to an onion bialy (very good). Everything has been wonderfully good.

Kenny and Zuke's actually has too locations, with a smaller SandwichWorks shop deeper in NW (the main place is just off Burnside downtown). The day before we went to Crater Lake we were in the area so decided to get sandwiches from here to eat at the lake. Wifey ordered the Italian Grinder and I went with the Hood River (intriguing mix of apples, cheese, and ham). Both came with chips and pickles, which was nice. And both were, again, awesome. We ate them not too far from the visitor's center at a point where we could look almost straight down the rim to the clear blue water. Good times.

Also, one of the owners, Nick Zukin, runs a very good blog about Portland food along with a fantastic message board community. He will routinely chime in there on just about any topic.

***

So is there a winner here? I mean, after all of this I should pick one, right? That's the whole point of having a "throwdown" isn't it?

Well, I can't. See, in my view all three of these places - while all serving sandwiches - fill a different niche, a different craving.

Meat Cheese Bread is perfect in its simplicity, the place you go when you don't want something out of the norm but still want it to be good.

Bunk fills the need to challenge your taste buds, to present you with the chance to try something you never thought you would eat, or maybe just never thought of putting on a sandwich.

Kenny and Zuke's is the place to go for variety, the place that harkens back to what many people think a sandwich shop should be (and after experiencing it, not having been to one in New York, it's hard to disagree).

All three of these places also serve various breakfast foods which I have not tried, but plan to at some point.

In all honesty, it just depends on your mood and what sounds good - all three are excellent and will make your stomach happy.

Gun to my head? Okay, I suppose I can choose one then, if it's really got to be that serious. I'd take Kenny and Zuke's, for the old style feel and flavors as well as the huge variety both on the menu and in the deli case.

Still, I plan on doing plenty more research...

Vacation: Lovin' PDX Food Carts!

Believe it or not, one of our goals on vacation was to hit some of the food carts around Portland, hopefully ones that are only open during typical work hours during the week. There are something like 400 carts around Portland, so we had do some research (really, we have spreadsheets and stuff - it's very scientific) to determine what would make the cut. I mean, after all, you can only eat so much in a couple weeks, right?

In the end we didn't get to all the ones on our list, and we hit some that weren't on the list, and we hit some that didn't qualify for the "only open during work hours" clause, but whatever. It was fun. And yummy. We still can't get over the quality of the food you get at these places, the variety of the food, and how cheap it is overall. I never really thought about how much of a restaurant price is based on rent, but it must be about 50% considering the cheapness and quality of the food at the carts.

Who needs restaurants anyway?!

So here's a hitlist of where we went (you knew I was getting back to food at some point).

Moody's: This tiny donut cart is hidden behind the Rocking Frog Cafe near 25th and Belmont. We hit it up and got a chocolate and vanilla doughnut to go with a mocha from the Cafe. The doughnuts were solid grub. They weren't greasy or oily and had nice flavor, but they weren't the best I've had or anything. Would I go back? Maybe if I was in the neighborhood and had a hankering for doughnuts, but I don't see that being very often. The mocha was just okay.

Spella Caffe: This coffee cart downtown deals in various espresso drinks as well as gelato (Italian ice cream). Plenty of people called this the best espresso in the city, so of course we had to try it. We ordered a mocha and some stracciatella gelato (vanilla with hard chocolate - an Italian standby) to see how it compared to our favorites. The mocha was solid, but I didn't think it was the best in Portland. The gelato was good and may be one of the best in Portland, but I confess to not having tried very many - yet. Would I go back? I would, I think. Next time I might just try a plain old espresso, since people who talk about this place say that's what they love. Mark Spella down as "needs more research." Hey, someone has to do it.

Maximus / Minimus (Seattle): Yep, hit up a food cart in Seattle too. This place is started by the same people who run Beecher's Cheese (Sugar Mountain) and it's pork. And the cart is designed to look like a pig. Seriously, how could anyone NOT check this out?! We hit up the cart just after the lunch rush, so it wasn't too busy. Actually, we got downtown during the lunch rush and there was a huge line, but by the time we found a parking spot (Seattle, you suck for downtown parking) and hiked our way back to the cart, no line at all. Um, yay us?

One thing jumped out immediately as we ordered our sandwich with slaw and Beecher's Flasgship cheddar added on (honestly, I think we went minimus - sweet instead of spicy - on the flavor): these people are efficient. In Portland when you order at a cart you typically wait for your food for a bit and you may pay when your order or when you get your food, just depends on the cart. Here the cart actually had what I can't really describe as anything other than a waitress with a handheld computer. You gave your order, she punched it into the machine, and then she swiped your credit card. The receipt then printed on another machine on the side of the cart, managed by another employee, who gave it to you with your order number. In short, this place was designed for high volume traffic, something none of the carts I have visited in Portland have done on par. Is that good or bad? Neither, really - just different.

Oh yeah, the food. Even though we went light on the spice with our sauce, that little sandwich still had some kick to it. And it was good, but it wasn't amazing or anything. If you go, which you should just for a picture with the pig (which I might do next time), don't bother getting the cheese. Honestly, I couldn't taste it at all. I'm not sure if that was because there was so little of it or the pork and sauce just overpowered it. The slaw was excellent - no mayo, which for me is a plus with slaw. You know, because I'm obviously concerened with calories. If I lived in Seattle and especially if I worked downtown I'd check this place out repeatedly, but coming from out of town I think it's a one-time thing - too many other places to check out.

Brunch Box: Brunch Box is a cart that has got a lot of love nationally for what they do - burgers and breakfast. It also made some best burgers in Portland lists and caught my eye with something called YouCANHasCheeseburger (funny for those lovers of LOL cats - one of my favorite sites). It's basically a regular burger, but instead of a hamburger bun it's stuck between two Texas toast grilled cheese sandwiches. Brilliant! Why not?! I mean, more bread and cheese with my cheeseburger? Of course! Lay it on me! When it came time to order, though, I went with something called a Redonkadonk, which is basically the same as a YouCANHasCheeseburger plus a OMG Burger - added fried egg, spam, and ham. And yes, lord, it was good. I wouldn't recommend this to precede an afternoon run, but if all you are going to do it sit on your ass, it's good stuff. Oh, and it's huge - we made it four servings I think. Oh yeah, I'll go back. I need a YouCANHasCheeseburger.

Sidecart: Right next to Brunch Box, and opened and operated by the same person, is Side Cart. In what is simply a stroke of genius Side Cart specializes in all the side dishes you'd love to have with your hamburger or breakfast sandwich that are, conveniently, made by Brunch Box right next door. We opted for tater tots and seasoned curly fries - both very good, not too greasy, good flavor - and we'll definitely go back for those mac and cheese bites or cheesy tots. We ordered a side order instead of a full order and that proved to be a good choice - it was still the size of a medium take-out Chinese food container, more than enough food. A full order is probably a meal in itself.

Grilled Cheese Grill: Grilled Cheese Grill has almost a full lot in Northeast Portland on 11th and Alberta, with eight picnic tables and a converted old school bus to sit and eat if you like, in additioin to the trailer they make the food in. Honestly, it's a nice setup. Plus, you can sit on the opposite side of the lot and still hear when your order is ready because they announce it over a PA system. Oh, and they take credit cards here - I love not having to use cash, but most carts don't take cards. The idea of this cart just blew me away, honestly. An American classic, the grilled cheese sandwich, spiced up with all sorts of flavors and ingredients. Check out the menu to see what I mean. Wifey ordered a Jalapeno Popper, which had jalapenos, cheese, cream cheese, and tortilla chips on the sandwich. Good stuff. Not too spicy, but plenty of flavor. Me? Well, when someone has something called the Cheesus Burger, you know I'm having to get that. Like the Redonkadonk at Brunch Box, the burger buns are replaced with grilled cheese sandwiches. And you know what? Just as yummy. It's actually a bit smaller (no egg or pork), but still two meals. Given the size of their menu I don't know that I would necessarily order it next time, but I wouldn't rule out getting it again. It was yummy for sure. Oh, and how the menu said you don't have to eat again for two days? They aren't kidding. But in a good way.

Ziba's Pitas: Question for you, dear readers - Have you ever had Bosnian food? Do you even know what Bosnian food is? Yeah, neither did I - so that's why we went here. Why not try something completely off our radar? We ordered a Burek, which is a meat pita. And when you read pita, don't expect anything like a Greek gyro - these are completely different. They come similar to a sandwich, but there are multiple tubes in the bread filled with meat. I'd love to see how these things are put together because I don't get it just by looking at them. We ordered the full meal, which I recommend because the sauce that comes with the cucumbers on the side as well as the ajvar (grilled vegetable sauce) make excellent dipping for the pita. Again, very, very good. I'm a fan and I'll definitely go back. However, a word of warning: Don't eat this if you are working out in the next six hours. Probably not a good idea. I don't know for sure, I'm just guessing - it's a heavy meal.

Nong's Khao Man Gai: To be truthful, I had never heard of this Thai cart until a friend from Seattle came into town and said this was a place she absolutely had to go to. We were like - um, what? Don't you hate it when someone from out of town comes to your city with something like that, a place they have to eat or something they have to do that you have never even heard of? For me, that was Nong's. After our friend went there and then proceeded to rave about it, calling it one of the best places she ate in Portland - and she was here for four days expressly for food - we had to hit it up. Actually, I think Wifey knew about the place and she probably told me, but it probably slipped my mind because the menu didn't really jump out at me. Why? Because Nong does only Khao Man Gai, which is basically chicken and rice. And honestly, who doesn't like chicken and rice? Especially perfectly cooked chicken and wonderfully flavored rice, with a soy bean sauce (a delightful kick for mixing), and a Chinese winter squash soup. For $6! $6! A deal! And honestly, this was the best chicken and rice I've ever eaten. Wifey wanted to go back the next day despite our list of places to go back to, it was that good - and I can't disagree. I shrug at the soup, but it did provide some balance to the spicy sauce. When we go back we'll opt to spend $2 for extra rice. So good though... And neither of us had any idea we liked Thai food. Apparently we do. And Bosnian.

El Masry: And, apparently, Egyptian. As I think I mentioned, one of the things we wanted to do was step outside our comfort zones a bit, hence the forays into things like Bosnian, Thai, and Egyptian cuisines. El Masry has a huge menu, but we ordered the chicken schwarma (that might be spelled wrong, I've seen multiple spellings) and it came with seasoned fries. The schwarma was wrapped in a pita with a myriad of vegetables and a sauce, not overly dissimilar from a gyro in presentation but a decidedly different flavor. And excellent. We'll definitely go back at some point because there were about 20 other things on the menu that looked good as well. Thumbs up.

Funny story. When we hit El Masry it was on 9/11, just before the lunch rush. We placed our order - didn't pay yet - and were waiting for it to be made. Wifey and I were the only ones there that early so we were talking when this other pair comes up to us, man and woman, dressed in business clothes (we were on vacation, so probably looking like we were going on a hike or to the gym, I can't recall which). I paid them no mind until I realized they were talking to us. Here's my inexact but generally legitimate rendition of the conversation:

Woman: Have you paid for your lunch yet?

Me: Um, what?

Woman: Have you paid for your lunch yet?

Me: (Silence...just looking at this lady trying to figure out why the hell she would be asking that. I mean, that is weird, right?)

Woman: We're doing a sort of pay it forward thing in rememberance of 9/11 and we want to buy your lunch.

Me: Umm...

Woman: We don't want anything in return, no strings attached. We'll buy your lunch.

Me: (looking at this lady like she is a bit weird, perhaps with three heads) That's okay.

Woman: It's just something our ad agency is doing, a pay it forward thing, to say thank you and do something nice.

Me: (shaking head no)

Woman: (looking suprised)

Me: No thanks.

Woman: Are you sure? I mean, no strings attached, we just want to buy you lunch.

Me: I appreciate that, but it's not necessary.

Woman: (clearly surprised) Well, okay then. Have a good day!

Me: You too.

Was that weird I turned them down? That I said no, I'll pay for my own food? I agree on the surface it probably seems silly on my part, but it just felt wrong, you know? I mean, we don't break the bank or anything but we do okay - it's not like we NEED anyone buying our food for us. And an ad agency? That part is probably what got me more than anything, though I probably would have turned it down even it was just some random person.

Here's the deal though. If they really wanted to do a good deed, we were in downtown Portland. There are plenty of homeless people trolling the streets - there were probably some nearby in that part of downtown - so why not by THEM lunch? Why the middle class couple who can obviously afford their own food? Buy food for the homeless guy, give him a nice Egyptian meal, and have that be their special 9/11 remembrance good deed. Why rely on some theory of pay it forward, when you can help someone who is literally right there in front of you?

That's not something I'm going to do. I'm not a big believer in the goodness of humanity - Wifey jokes I'd be the one to end this kind of chain (and she's probably right) - but if I was some company who is doing this for a reason, shouldn't you at least find people that need the help?

I just didn't get it. And I didn't need it. So I turned it down. Wifey laughed when they left, saying they'll go back to their office at the end of the afternoon and tell people they made the offer to 200 people and only one person turned them down. I'm sure I'm some kind of weird story in that office. Oh well.

Fun times at the Portland Food Carts!

Koi Fusion - Unique and Yummy

I'm not a connoisseur of Korean food at all - let's just get that out of the way up front. My experiences are limited to an occasional piece of Korean BBQ from the past here and there. I did have a Korean roommate in my house senior year in college and he cooked for us a couple of times (the short ribs on the grill around graduation were fantastic - good times), but a few of the things were too hot for me, like his homemade kim chee. I'm not talking about too spicy, just literally too hot - like scald your throat and peel your stomach lining hot.

So when I started to read about this new food cart in downtown Portland called Koi Fusion, which meshed Korean and Mexican flavors, I really had no idea what to expect. However, the reviews were favorable and I was intrigued, so it went on the list.

Then on their Twitter feed Koi Fusion mentioned they were trying out a new item for the week, the K-Burger. It was a burger infused with bulgogi flavors and topped with kim chee.

Intrigued, I walked up to the cart on 6th and College for lunch the other day. I decided to get the burger and some tacos, so I ordered the spicy pork, the spicy chicken, and the bulgogi beef tacos.

When I was handed the burger they asked me to let them know how it was and on their Twitter feed I saw they wanted real honest feedback, like they were deciding whether or not it should be added to the menu, so I gave it a good taste test.

Yummy. The meat was perfectly cooked and had a nice sweet bulgogi flavor. The kim chee added a nice balance of kick to the sweet without being too hot, which was something I was a little cautious about. Would I get it again for $6? Definitely. On top of the fact it was good, it was also pretty good-sized - definitely a solid meal all by itself. And that's what I told Koi Fusion when I dropped them an email.

The tacos were excellent too. They came on fresh corn tortillas (seriously, does anyone know where I can buy these?) with generous helpings of meat topped with fresh vegetables, including onion and a slice of fresh cucumber. They were so full it was hard to wrap them up and eat, but that's never a bad thing. I topped each taco with a little bit of the green chile sauce they had out plus freshly squeezed lime - again, excellent. The tacos were $2 each and the three of them was the perfect amount.

They also sell a couple other kinds of tacos and burritos - and yes, I'll be going back at some point to try everything.

Well, not all at once. Probably. Maybe. Depends on how hungry I am...

Two thumbs up to Koi Fusion, a fresh mix of flavors that will open your palette!