Thanks to all of you who wrote in with suggestions for our anniversary dinner! I'm looking forward to trying some of the places where I've never been, and revisiting some where it's been way too long!

We did end up going to Miyake, basically because we just love it so much. It's really the most amazing place. Every time we visit, we try something that's a revelation.

This time it was sardines...marinated and then dried, so that they looked like stained glass and had a rich, full, but not fishy flavor, and then sprinkled with sesame seeds.

My next favorite dish was the simple and sublime Maine Hamayaki-- Maine lobster, Maine scallops, and Maine crab served on a bed of rice and topped with some sort of mayonnaisy-truffle-oil-yum sauce and then broiled.

We also had my two regular favorites: black cod, simply broiled, and the tai ceviche roll, full of light and citrusy flavors.

That's not all...we certainly didn't hold back in our ordering-- by the end of the meal we were utterly sated and happy. (Although we did go to Local for a glass of wine and a slice of cake. An anniversary isn't an anniversary without dessert!).

It was truly a wonderful meal and a special way to spend our 6th wedding anniversary. The space at Miyake is not fancy, but it is welcoming and friendly and relaxed, which was what we felt we needed after a fairly stressful spring semester at school for me and a busy work season so far this summer for Otis.

So, it's Otis and my wedding anniversary this weekend, and we're having a difficult time deciding where to go for dinner. So, my loyal readers... where should we go?

Inspired by this recipe from Gourmet, we made chipotle cheeseburgers for dinner on Sunday. I forgot to take photos, and then again Otis ate his two (yes, two) in about two seconds flat. I guess I could have done something timelapse... that would be cool.

Anyway, I modified the recipe (slightly). They were very delicious.

Ingredients

4 chipotles in adobo
2 T parsley
3 cloves garlic
3 shallots
1 lb ground pork
1/2 T salt
4 slices Hoffman's Super Sharp (get at the deli counter)
onion rolls
1/4 cup mayonnaise
juice of 1 lime

Preparation

1. Chop the chipotles, parsley, garlic, and shallots finely (I used my mini-food processor)
2. Mix with pork and salt in a large bowl. Let sit for an hour or so in the fridge.
3. Form into 4 patties.
4. Grill until cooked through; add cheese and melt on top.
5. Mix the mayo and the lime juice.
6. Toast the rolls.
7. Spread the mayo on the rolls and top bit cheeseburgers.

OK, so clearly I have not been on the top of my game in the month of May. I vow to be a better blogger in June.

So, everyone's talking about El Rayo, it's the thing to do. Otis and I went there for lunch with friends the weekend it opened, but I wasn't very hungry so I only ate a wee bit, and drank a michelada (which I was very happy about), so I really don't want to do a full post until I go back and have a burrito. So there. In general, thus far, I concur with Brad.

I do want to report, however, on the phenomenal meal we had at Caiola's on Saturday night. It's really always a pleasure to go there-- Lisa (the co-owner who runs the front of the house) is incredibly welcoming, and the staff lovely. When we arrived for our reservation outside on the patio I realized that my special issues (aka extreme coldness) would prevent me from having a pleasant meal there after the sun went down, so we moved inside and sat at the bar. The bartender, Randy, did a great job serving us while balancing the ten trillion other things he apparently had to do, and all the while keeping up a conversation with some other customers about his new dog (a subject that is always interesting to me as well).

And our food was, as usual, just really really delicious. It's never overly fancy or precious, just perfectly flavored and balanced and slightly rustic-feeling. The portions are always generous as well (an issue that is always a concern for Otis wherever we go).

We started with a terrine of olive tapenade with goat cheese, capers, caperberries, and orange, which was so good I think we devoured it in about two seconds flat.

Otis enjoyed a whole black sea bass with chorizo and clams, including a very cool looking razor clam. It came with fiddleheads and some haricots vert.

I had one of the menu staples (on a menu where many dishes change daily)-- a hangar steak with red wine reduction. It was served with a tasty little mashed potato cake, some grated carrot, and broccolini. Per usual, the steak was exactly medium rare and tender, and the the red wine reduction complemented its rich meatiness perfectly.

Caiola's has been open for four years now, and although it never seems to get the press that many other restaurants in Portland get, I continue to believe that it is one of the best restaurants in our city, especially when you consider the friendly atmosphere and great service.

by Ravinder Kingra

Apologies, fellow cocktail devotees, for the lack of postings from yours truly. I trust no one's been standing empty-handed and parched-mouthed at the bar waiting for a new recipe lo these many months.

I've waited to put pen to p. until I could be certain that we wouldn't wake up to find ourselves under a blanket of late season snow. Hopefully I'm not welcoming the wrath of Mother Nature (or Gaia, if one is so inclined) by taunting her like this but I think we're safely in the throws of Spring. So, now that the Sorels and snowsuits are safely stashed in the attic one can concentrate on adding some spring to one's cocktail menu steps, as it were.

Nothing says spring like rhubarb. So that's where it all began; well, there and also with a tipple I'd had at 555 as inspiration. Infusing gin with rhubarb imparts the former with the slightly bitter, astringent, herbal and, not to put too fine a point on it, pink qualities of the latter. The red wine gastrique adds tartness and acidity that balances the sweetness of the simple syrup. The black pepper adds spice and warmth; and the walnut oil contributes a luscious mouth feel and appearance in the form of glistening droplets of oil on the surface of the drink.

I'll insert a disclaimer here for those of you eager to shake up a pitcher tout de suite. The main ingredient requires some planning, namely a one to two week steeping of gin and rhubarb. If you must, simply must have a drink right away, you can muddle a few slices of rhubarb in the shaker before adding the rest of the ingredients. You might need to increase the amount of simple syrup if you follow this route, since the bitterness will be slightly harsh (or forward, in today's wine enthusiast parlance.)

So let us celebrate the thawing of frozen soil, the budding buds on the trees, the tweet and/or twitter of song birds, and so on and so forth, with the Resurrection. Thus, it is risen.

THE RESURRECTION

4 oz. rhubarb-infused gin*
2½ oz. fresh lemon juice
1½ oz. red wine gastrique
1 oz. black pepper simple syrup (or plain simple syrup and a few grinds of pepper)
⅛ teaspoon (a dash) walnut oil
freshly ground black pepper (optional)
sugar (optional)

If using, combine sugar and black pepper in a shallow dish. Rim two martini (or other cocktaily) glasses with the mixture and set aside.

Combine remaining ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake for 20 seconds.

Strain into prepared glasses.

Serve.

Yields two cocktails.

* To make rhubarb-infused gin add two cleaned stalks of rhubarb, diced, to a 750mL bottle of your favorite gin. Let it sit in a cool, dark place for a week or two. Strain rhubarb out of gin and return gin to bottle. Use in your favorite gin recipes, not just in the Resurrection. Note: If you don't have rhubarb-infused gin or the time to make it, muddle three of for slices of rhubarb in the cocktail shaker before adding the rest of the ingredients. You may need to increase the amount of simple syrup by a teaspoon or two since muddling the rhubarb will bring out more bitterness.

So, I'm still in the depths of finals (urgh! argh!) so I am going to be brief, but I wanted to relate a couple of experiences I've had lately that have led me to do a lot of pondering about customer service and its role in how a customer feels coming out of a restaurant.

So, about a month ago Joe and I met at Hot Suppa for breakfast. it's a restaurant I go to periodically, and I am always pleased with the food-- it's nothing fancy, but it's always cooked well, and menu features creative touches like fried green tomato Benedict and a bacon-of-the-week. The service is always quite friendly and prompt; again, nothing fancy but the staff are always thoughtful.

Anyhoo, on the day I met Joe there I was feeling a bit more lunchy than breakfasty, and they had a sandwich special that sounded delicious. It came with tomatoes on it. Now, I have nothing against the tomato, but raw March sliced tomatoes are usually mealy and unappealing, in my opinion, so I asked for the sandwich without the tomatoes.

"I'm sorry," the waiter said. "The kitchen won't allow us to do substitutions."

So, whatever.... I didn't really care-- how hard is it to take the tomato off of a sandwich? Not at all, clearly. So I said fine, got the sandwich, took the tomatoes off, and went on my merry way. (It was a very tasty sandwich, for the record.)

But ... there was just something about that response, and such a fixed policy, that just sat wrong with me. I couldn't quite figure out why it bugged me so much, though.

It came into focus a couple of weeks ago. A friend was visiting Portland in preparation for her move up here, and doing some househunting. She's a vegan, and although we had made plans to brunch during her visit, I was a bit anxious about finding her an adequate vegan meal. It's not like Portland, Oregon-- when I lived there very single breakfast place kept tofu in stock for tofu scrambles.

Anyway, I wasn't sure where to go, and I asked a few people, and heard a few different options, none of which seemed absolutely perfect. So, I figured that because Local 188 has so many salads on the menu for its brunch, it would be a good spot just in case nothing else worked. (Also, in general, their brunch is one of my favorites in town. The huevos rancheros es muy delicioso! But that is not the point of this story. And I do not speak Spanish.)

We met and sat at the bar. Of course, any vegan worth her salt is used to having complicated food-related conversations with servers about what the restaurant can and can't provide-- so I must admit, I was probably more anxious than she was about whether she'd find something that she could eat.

And it was so easy! Nathaniel, the bartender, once he heard that my friend was vegan, was happy (excited even!) to go check with the chefs and see what they could rustle up. They ended up making a beautiful-looking veggie stir-fry with garlic, and potatoes on the side, and some slices of French bread. It never seemed like anyone in the restaurant felt put out in any way-- in fact, they all seemed thrilled to have an opportunity to figure out how to serve the customer in the best way, and make her happy.

Quite a contrast to a policy that the kitchen can't leave a slice of tomato off a sandwich, I thought.

I don't want to be overly harsh on Hot Suppa-- I know they have a small kitchen, with probably limited staff, and as I said I've always had tasty meals and good service there.

But the experience at Local 188 was so pleasant, and lovely, that it reinforced to me how important it is from the customer's perspective to feel like the goal of the restaurant is to provide you with a meal that you enjoy. It's not that complicated, and it truly makes a difference in you emotional connection to the restaurant, and how much time you want to spend there.

Rob Evans from Hugo's was named the Best Chef in the Northeast at last night's James Beard Awards.

Hey all.

My commentary here's going to be minimal for a while, since I am deeply and fully swamped with studying for finals. In the meantime, here's a funny little vignette for all you Top Chef fans.

As promised, here's a more complete rundown of the most recent Deathmatch Experience.

The theme: what would you eat (and drink) for your last meal?

It was definitely one of the best Deathmatches yet, in my opinion, both because the food and wine were amazing, but also because the crowd was uniformly in ridiculously cheerful moods and having a great time.

The run-up was a bit stressful for me because, like an insane person, I agreed to prepare a 32 page + cover book for the party. This book was made up of photos of the chefs (most taken by Zack Bowen, and a few others taken by Katie Selva-- both of the photographers did a great job with the shots), their answers to Joe's "what would you eat at your last meal" questionnaire, and the complete song list for the party, submitted by the guests, who could each choose three songs.

So, because of the time pressures of my trip to France, Joe's trip to Argentina, and Zack's very busy schedule, the turnaround time on the book was literally three days. Have I mentioned I am in my second year of law school, and coming up to finals? I had the book, two papers, and the beginning of studying for finals to do, and at points I felt like I was losing my mind. However, amazingly I managed to lay out and have the "client" (aka Joe and Dietz) proof the whole thing in three days. We went to press on Monday the 13th, and thanks to the incredible speediness of my friend Kirk and his team at Creative Imaging Group, we had very good quality books, printed on a digital press with great color, by Friday afternoon. (For those who care about these things, we had them perfect bound as well, and they looked great.)

Anyway. Nobody really cares about the books if they haven't seen them, I imagine. Sorry, I got a little off track. Let's get to the food.

That's a photo of Gerry enjoying Leslie's homemade tagliatelle with Broadturn Farm butter, sea salt, and white truffle. That was one of my favorite dishes, along with Leslie's fonduta-- essentially melted cheese with truffles, and crostini to dip in it. Both dishes were incredibly homey and comforting, as if Leslie were my Italian grandmother making me a meal after a long plane ride.

Sadly, I completely missed some of the dishes. It was a particularly chaotic evening-- there was a tent (and the bar) set up outside, but it became colder and colder as the night wore on, so some people were inside, some outside, and the serving of the dishes ranged from someone walking around with a tray, to people lining up outside the (very small) kitchen (with broken plumbing-- that's another story) waiting to be served.

So if I miss mentioning a dish that's why. Everything I had was really quite incredible.

1. Erik from Evangeline did a very simple caviar service of American caviar on a potato chip with a dollop of creme fraiche. Lovely, simple, the perfect way to start the meal.

2. Joe Ricchio, one of our hosts with the most, made a tortilla soup. I seriously think he would make a fortune if he started a soup-making business. His soups are uniformly fantastic. Perfect balance of spice, smoke (from the smoked peppers), and acidity.

3. Jamon iberico de bellota. I mentioned this in my previous post. Dietz (most host #2), like Leslie, pretended he was my grandmother. In this case Spanish.

4. Peruvian ceviche, by Joel. Two styles of ceviche-- the first with a more traditional (to us) lime base, and the second with a coconut milk base, which was new to me, but according to Joel very common in Peru. Fresh fish, great flavors.

... I missed quite a few courses here ...

5. Leslie's dish... discussed above...

6. Nolan made a maple candied pulled pork and a popover. It was kind of like a little sandwich of pork. Num num, and the perfect size. Too much more and the sweetness would have overwhelmed, but the size and the contrast between the popover and the pork balanced it.

7. Feijoda finale + caipirinhas, by Johnny D. and John Myers, respectively. There seems to be a theme here-- Johnny D. was also channeling a grandmotherly comfort food, in this case a stew from Brazil.

8. Deconstructed BLT with hot mayonnaise in your mouth. Josh and Kate from One Fifty Ate (one of my favorite places in the city, which I keep meaning to write about) did this one. If you take a look at one of the other bloggers' recaps of this meal you will learn more about this dish. I don't really like mayonnaise, at least in any sort of large amount, and was worried that if I sat down and had a naughty schoolgirl squirt mayo in my mouth a) someone would take a picture of me, which would be used as evidence of unfitness to join the bar, and b) I would throw up. So, um... no. The process was quite amusing to watch though.

9. Shortrib pot pie by Stephen and Merry. This was hands down my favorite dish. These were teensy little pot pies with a perfectly flaky crust, and just the right amount of rich filling with shredded beef and tiny little cubes of carrot. Just impeccable. I could have eaten 5 in a row. (I want Merry to come over and school me in crust-making.)

10. Sweet & sour balsamic braised short ribs, salt & vinegar fries, by Jason. Also a delicious treatment.

At this point I started getting really, really full and missed a couple of dishes. I took a break, drank some wine, and danced like an idiot, which was quite fun.

Eventually it was time for dessert, which included ginger pudding with chocolate sauce by Jodi, croquembouche by Krista of Bresca (which I tragically missed, I don't know what happened!), pound cake from Samantha (of Rabelais), and heaven and hell chocolates from Meg. All were amazing (I am SURE that was the case with the croquembouche...wipes tear from eye), but I have to say, keeping with the grandmother theme, that Sam's pound cake, served simply with whipped cream, was the perfect dessert to my last meal.

Actually, I ended the evening standing in the kitchen sticking pieces of pound cake end in the whipped cream bowl. Mmm.

So, yeah. Pretty phenomenal dinner. I'd really suggest checking out Zack's photos. Mine ended up being kind of sparse because there was such a crush in the kitchen that I had trouble grabbing shots of the food.

And, to wrap up... here's the drink list:

The Wine: (More than 92 bottles worth if you do the math!)

12 x Broadbent, Vinho Verde N/V
Bellenda, Brut Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene "San Fermo", 1.5l
Bellavista, Brut Franciacorta Cuvée, 1.5l
Perrier-Jouët, Brut Champagne Cuvée Belle Epoque "Fleur de Champagne" 1990, 3.0l (Jeroboam)
6 x Lustau, Amontillado Jerez Puerto de Santa Maria "Almacenista Jose Luis Gonzalez Obregon" N/V
Georg Breuer, Riesling QbA Rheingau Rüdesheim Berg Schlossberg 2004, 3.0l (1 of 30 Produced)
Dr. Bürklin-Wolf, Riesling Spätlese Trocken Pfalz Forster Kirchenstück 1997, 1.5l
St. Michael-Eppan, Sauvignon Alto Adige "Sanct Valentin" 2004
6 x Bodegas Aragonesas, Campo de Borja "Coto de Hayas" Rosado 2007
Estancia, Meritage Alexander Valley 1989, 1.5l
Tramonti, Chianti Classico 2004, 3.0l
Nicolis, Veronese IGT "Testal" 2001, 1.5l
Poggio Amorelli, Toscana IGT "Oracolo" 2003, 3.0l
Domaine Henri Perrot-Minot, Chambolle-Musigny Vieilles Vignes 1999, 1.5l
Domaine Jean Chauvenet, Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Rue de Chaux 2001, 1.5l
Louis Bernard, Châteauneuf-du-Pape 1999, 1.5l
Domaine de Vieux Télégraphe, Châteauneuf-du-Pape "La Crau" 1997, 1.5l
Château Lamartine, Cahors Cuvée Particulière 2004
Bodegas Alejandro Fernandez Tinto Pesquera, Ribera del Duero "Janus" Gran Reserva 1995
Château Musar, Bekaa Valley 1999
Hanzell, Pinot Noir Sonoma Valley 1990, 1.5l (Signed by Bob Sessions)
Marchesi di Barolo, Barolo "Grande Annata" Riserva 1988
William Hill Winery, Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 1990, 5.0l (Imperial)
Librandi, Val di Neto IGT "Gravello" 2003
Tenuta Il Poggione, Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 1997
Ridge, "Geyserville" Sonoma County 1999, 1.5l
Fauchon, Sauternes "Réserve" 1995, 375ml
Foreau, Vouvray Moelleux Domaine du Clos Naudin 1995
Wegeler-Deinhard, Riesling Spätlese Mosel-Saar-Ruwer 1990
Friedrich-Wilhelm-Gymnasium, Riesling Beerenauslese Mosel-Saar-Ruwer Trittenheimer Apotheke 1989
Fonseca, Reserve Porto "Terra Bella" N/V
Château de Montpezat, Coteaux du Languedoc "Palombières" 2003
Condado de Haza, Ribera del Duero 2001
Mt. Difficulty, Pinot Noir Central Otago 2004, 1.5l
Etude, Pinot Noir Carneros 2004
2 x John Duval Wines, Shiraz Barossa Valley "Entity" 2005
Niebaum-Coppola, Zinfandel Napa Valley "Edizione Pennino" 1999 (Signed by Francis Ford Coppola)
Masciarelli, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo "Villa Gemma" Riserva 2000
Marchesi di Barolo, Barolo Cannubi 2004
Jean-Luc Colombo, Cornas Les Ruchets 1998
Bollinger, Brut Champagne "La Grande Année" 1999

The Beer:

G. Schneider & Sohn, "Wiesen Edel-Weisse" Hefeweizen, Kelheim, Germany, 20l (1/6 Barrel)
St. Bernardus, "Abt 12" Quadrupel, Watou, Belgium, 20l (1/6 Barrel)
Harviestoun, "Ola Dubh Special Reserve 12" Old Ale, Clackmannanshire, Scotland, 40l (Cask)
Castle Eggenberg, "Samichlaus Bier" Doppelbock, Eggenberg, Austria, 3.0l
24 x Geary's, "Wee Heavy" Scottish Ale, Portland, Maine, 12 oz. bottles
24 x Geary's, Imperial IPA, Portland, Maine, 12 oz. bottles
12 x Anheuser-Busch, "Bud Light Lime" Beer, 12 oz. bottles (F'n Spider)
6 x Falstaff Brewing Company, "Ballantine XXX" Ale, 16 oz. cans (F'n Gerry)
Lots x Pabst Brewing Company, "Pabst Blue Ribbon" Beer, 12 oz. bottles, 12 & 16 oz. cans

The Hooch:

Lillet, Apéritif Blanc, France
Cointreau, Triple Sec Liqueur, France
Cock-Russell & Co., "Boodles British Gin" London Dry Gin, England
Lucid, Absinthe "Supérieure", France
Leblon, Cachaça, Brasil
Herredura, Tequila "Silver", Mexico
Don Julio, Tequila "Reserva de Don Julio" Blanco, Mexico

(John Myers made Corpse Revivers and Caipirinhas).

Coming soon-- a full report on Deathmatch Last Meal, which went into the history books on Sunday night. As usual, crazy, exhausting, fun, and delicious.

Here's a photo of Jon carving the Jamon Iberico de Bellotta. This ham was indescribably delicious. It tasted so amazing. Jon made us all drink a glass of sherry with it-- an Amontillado del Puerto-- which brought the flavor experience to a whole 'nother level.

Johnny D. has some photos and info over at eGullet.

Also, check out Zack Bowen's incredible photos!