Paulee: Wine Country Jewel

Located in Dundee, Oregon - the heart of Oregon's wine country - Paulee opened late last spring to quite a buzz. The idea was to become a gateway of sorts to eating in wine country (not that there aren't other excellent restaurants in the area, but this one brought in some big names and big ideas). They were going to grow much of their own vegetables in a farm on the other side of the parking lot and source everything else locally, but the farm hasn't taken off (reportedly because of a late start, so maybe 2013 will be different). Paulee was also going to build on the talents of chef Daniel Mondok (Sel Gris, Genoa) and become a true destination spot. 

It worked, for the most part. The Oregonian gave the restaurant an A- review in August and it was suddenly the place everyone was talking about despite a 45-60 minute drive from Portland. Being west-siders, of course we had to check it out. We went twice, both times for brunch rather than dinner, and found the menu is still quite enticing but cheaper and perhaps a little more accessible. 

Paulee resides underneath the Inn at Red Hills, just down the street from Red Hills Market (another solid destination for food and drink and shopping) and a short drive from many of the big name wineries (Sokol Blosser, for instance, is less than five minutes away by car).

The decor is casual and supposed to be comfortable, though the chairs are a little hard if you plan on staying longer than the typical time it takes to eat a meal. Since this is wine country and Paulee has an extensive wine list, grab an extra pillow, especially if you dine with friends.

We made  reservations for brunch - 10:30am on a Saturday - because we thought it was going to be busy. It was not. Only two other couples were seated the first time we went and about the same on our second visit, when we decided the reservations weren't necessary. For dinner I would recommend them, especially on the weekend.

Also, keep in mind there is really only one way to get to Dundee from the Portland area - Highway 99W. Just outside of Newberg this four-lane highway narrows down to two as it enters Dundee and after about 11am or noon on Saturday or Sunday that usually means snarled traffic for people heading out for wine tasting. Get into Dundee early or just plan on spending some time sitting in traffic. Your call.

Coffee comes from Portland's Heart Roasters. It's okay, not great, though with Heart's continuous rotation of bean sources it very likely could change from visit to visit. The fireplace is a nice touch in the dining room and on the opposite side is outdoor seating. We asked our server if the patio was dog-friendly and didn't really get a straight answer. He talked some about how people don't like sitting out there because it can be loud (Paulee is right on 99W) and then said people can tie up their dog and come and eat with no problems. That, sir, was not what I asked, but considering how long it took to come up with that answer I didn't press further. 

For our first visit we ordered non-breakfast type of food. My choice was the cacio e pepe (fettuccine, pepper and parm served with prosciutto and bread). I hadn't seen it on the menu of any Italian restaurants I'd been to in Portland and heard good things, so I had to get it.

Verdict? Damn good. Really, really good. I'd definitely recommend it.

Wifey ordered the Paulee burger with smoked bacon, egg, spicy tomato jam, lettuce, aioli, cacio di roma and onions on a potato bun, which came with fries.

Quite the spread. And check out how perfectly the egg was cooked.

Love the way the yolk exploded out of that. The fries were okay, but the burger...wow. Just wow. I mean, look at this thing!

Both of those dishes were a huge hit. In fact, the meal was so good we went back two weeks later, this time opting for breakfast fare. Remembering how good the smoked bacon was on the burger, I ordered a side of it for us to share.

It was bacon. I mean, it was good bacon, we enjoyed it, but it wasn't super special or anything. 

Wifey started us off with the Benedict, served with pancetta, egg, avocado and Hollandaise on toasted brioche with potatoes on the side. 

The Hollandaise and everything was good, but we didn't think the brioche was the best fit for a bread base. Also, the potatoes could use more time in the pan - they didn't see as if they were quite cooked through enough. Nice color, but still a tad undercooked inside.

I ordered the "Skillet" which is basically a hash. This one came with chorizo, potatoes, eggs and a very light spicy cream sauce.

It had potential, it really did, but it didn't measure up to the dishes we ordered for our previous lunch visit. We did decide to follow this meal with a dessert, the special bread pudding. That day's version was a chocolate peanut butter bread pudding with vanilla bean ice cream and came with drizzles of chocolate and caramel sauce.

It sounded amazing and looks very pretty, but the flavors really didn't do it for us. 

Overall we recommend Paulee. The lunch items seem better executed than the breakfast ones and much of the dinner menu looks outstanding. It is definitely not the place to go for a cheap meal - both brunches ended up being around $40 for the two of us, which no alcohol - though we did bring home leftovers each time. The service was pretty good, but maybe too chatty for my tastes. This is probably directly related to the fact the restaurant was so empty both times.

It will be interesting to see how things move forward with Paulee. It was recently announced Mondok has left the restaurant and the idealistic plans of building a farm still hasn't been proven. And there also remains a question in my mind about the viability of such a high-end restaurant in the area. Yes, there is Portland money that comes in, but only on the weekends - people aren't driving out there after work during the week. Is it sustainable for weekday breakfast and lunch? 

I hope that it is. It's an excellent weekend brunch option and someday we'd like to make it out for dinner.

Dog-Friendly? Well, again, still not sure. I wouldn't bet on it, but if they seem fine with leaving your dog outside while you it inside I find it hard to believe they wouldn't let your dog sit under your table while you dine al fresco.

On the Fringe of Feast Portland

A month and a half ago Portland hosted a food and drink festival that could be described with no word other than "epic." Feast Portland, in its initial year, brought in thousands of tourists and plenty of all-star chefs from all over the world to contribute in all sorts of tasting events and special dinners.

Check out the schedule of the four-day event - simply amazing, and every single event droolworthy. Just Google Feast Portland (or better yet, Google Image Feast Portland) and you can get a sense of how truly amazing this event was.

Wifey and I, sadly, did not attend any of the events for a few reasons. The first is they were very expensive, as you can tell by the prices. Attendees got plenty of food for the price, though, but one problem is we cannot physically eat enough food to justify it simply for the sake of food. Considering we are still both trying to reach our weight loss goals (oh so close!), we decided to pass for 2012 and hope the event comes back in 2013 (good news - it will!). Next year it's on.

I should say we didn't attend any of the official events. There were plenty of events at restaurants around the city of the unofficial kind and we did manage to hit a few of those.

Boke Bowl and Aaron Franklin

No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain is one of our favorite shows on TV. We love his snark and we love seeing all the amazing places he goes, people he meets, and food he samples. Not long before Feast Bourdain visited Austin, Texas, and there he met up with Aaron Franklin. Franklin owns, fitting enough, Franklin's BBQ, which has lines for hours every day just to get some brisket. His meat is smoked for hours and hours with no sauce and even Bourdain called it some of the best he's ever had.

Boke Bowl is a small shop, newer, down on Water Avenue in the central east side industrial area, near Water Avenue Coffee, clarklewis, Bunk Bar and Hair of the Dog Brewing. They got their start in popup events around the city (one of which we attended at Yakuza, then had their food at a fundraiser last summer) and they do ramen. Not traditional ramen, but a northwest version of it, with smoked meats, good noodles, and fantastic broths.

Somehow Franklin and Boke Bowl hooked up and one lone email from Boke said they would have brisket from Franklin for just one lunch run. If you get there after noon, they said, you'll probably be out of luck.

Well.

Since there isn't much of a chance I get to Austin anytime soon, I took a coworker and headed over there for lunch. Boke Bowl used the brisket for two dishes: as an add-on to their ramen and as a filling in a steam bun. So I got some of each, and after my order the woman at the register told me my order was the last one. I felt special, even before I ate it.

First to come out was the order of steam buns, which come three to an order.

The meat was melt in your mouth good and extremely flavorful, especially when you consider there is nothing added to it other than a little salt and pepper. No special spices, no sauces, just a good crust on fantastic meat.

Next up came the ramen. I wasn't thinking and ordered the regular pork ramen, which comes with a chunk of meat already, but whatever. I added an egg, too. (I do believe, that yes, I blew past my protein goal on the day.)

Here's a closer look, the food porn shot if you will.

The verdict? Completely damn awesome brisket. I don't know if I'd be willing to stand in line two hours for it, but it was very good. A couple people who also had it noted that Portland's own Podnah's Pit is on the same level, something Franklin noted himself during his visit, so I think that just means we need to go back there.

Also, Boke Bowl is very good. The Korean pot roast and fried chicken steam buns are also very good and while it may sound odd, order Twinkie for dessert - it's tasty!

Feast Specials at The Country Cat

The Country Cat is one of our favorite places in the city despite being just about as far from home as you can get for us without hitting Gresham. We already had a dinner planned (see below) for the Sunday of Feast weekend, but when the Cat posted these Feast-inspired brunch specials we had to go.

Guess which two we ordered? Yep, not the oysters. Wifey ordered the Cowboy Breakfast and I got the Steak & Eggs, which we, of course, shared. (Also, I have no idea why this is true but I love coffee there with a passion. It's just French pressed Stumptown, but it's really good. And if you have the stomach space the basket of cinnamon rolls are amazing.)

First up the steak and eggs. The steak was good, but it wasn't amazing. I actually thought the star of the dish was the bacon-wrapped potato cake. 

The brisket was excellent. Maybe not quite Podnah's or Franklin's, but well worth the order. Plus, I don't think anyone in the city makes better cornbread than the Cat. With a light sweetness it's moist but not cakey and complements meals very well. Both veggie elements were also good, though meager. (There was a time in my life not too long ago when that's how I preferred it, but not anymore. Give me some green stuff!)

As usual a visit to the Cat was well worth it. Even though the rib eye wasn't the best, it's still one of the better steaks around, especially at practically a steal of a price.

Baohaus at Ping

Both of the previous events we went to on a whim, but this one we knew about a little in advance and made sure to get reservations: Eddie Huang presenting Baohaus at Ping. Baohaus is a steamed bun shop in NYC started by Huang after deciding the life of a lawyer wasn't what he wanted. He also can be seen on various food television shows and has written a book about his life, coming out next year. Huang has also been outspoken about chefs doing cuisines not from their native lands - notably Western chefs doing Asian food - but even he admits Ping (and PokPok - our visit thoughts here) owner Andy Ricker knows what he's doing. Since Huang likes PokPokNY in Brooklyn, I imagine that's how he ended up taking over Ricker's Ping for the evening. (For reference, here's notes on our visit to Ping earlier in the year.)

Our reservation was the first of the night, but seating was very slow. In fact, I think we were seated about 20 minutes late because the kitchen was behind and food didn't come for at least 20 minutes after that. here's the card placed on each  plate, Eddie on the front.

And the menu on the back (click the pic to enlarge). Each person received one each of the baos, a choice from two entrees, and the dessert. Three courses, $35. Since it was Wifey and I we naturally each ordered a different entree, so we could try everything.

Lest you believe Huang is too big to work his own line, here is a pic of him trying to get everything going. This came after we were seated but before food started to come out. Needless to say, he didn't seem all that pleased at the delay, but then again it's hard to put blame on anyone when it's his food and his quality control being applied to a kitchen space that is not his and a staff working on dishes they don't usually make.

Here are the two baos, the Chairman with pork belly on the right and Uncle Jesse with fried tofu on the left. Both were very, very good. I really liked the crushed peanut aspect added to each of them. With the sauce and sugar I thought the Uncle Jesse even had a peanut butter and jelly kind of flavor, which will win me over every time.

Here's my entree, the beef noodle soup. Loved the broth and the meat was almost melt in your mouth. It also had some nice heat to it.

After mixing it up a bit you see the noodles. Again, very nice.

The Hainan lobster rice. I'm not normally someone who gets super excited about lobsters, but this was so well done I could have eaten two bowls of it. Really enjoyed it.

And the dessert, a fried bao with red bean, shiso (a minty leaf) and vanilla ice cream. It was...fine. A nice palate cleanser I suppose, but the shiso seemed out of place in the dish. I wouldn't order it.

All in all, this was a fantastic meal despite the bumpy start to the service. Then again it was our only our second pop-up experience and the first where we got the first reservation of the night - maybe that's normal in these kinds of things?

I will admit, $35 for the meal was a little steep, but at the same time we got to eat food from an acclaimed NYC chef without having to buy a plane ticket. And we enjoyed it. If we ever make it to NYC to eat - someday we hope to - Baohaus will definitely be on the list, so in that respect the meal was a success for us and for Huang.

We didn't get to attend any of the Feast events directly, but these three made us feel like we were involved. That, to me, is a key point. While the Feast events were ridiculously expensive and ridiculously gluttonous - which may not stop us from attending one next year - these were much more moderately priced and gave us a chance to experience food we otherwise wouldn't get.

Looking forward to Feast Portland 2013.