Tag: Laughing Planet

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Four Things I Learned This Week (September 23)

Portland Fermentation Fest will not happen in 2022. The organizers behind Portland’s own “Stinkfest” announced they are now holder the Fermentation Festival this year: “The three of us (volunteer organizers Wanpaku Natto, Liz Crain and Urban Cheesecraft Kits) will re-evaluate for 2023. Time will tell. Thank you so much for your support over the years and patience in the last couple of years. We miss our sweet stinkfest and we miss you!”

It’s a great festival (see my writeup from 2019) and I do hope they will return in 2023.

Red Sauce Pizza will open their dining room. It’s coming, and for that I’m glad: the Red Sauce dining room is opening … soon. I’ll be there. 4641 NE Fremont Street, Portland

Future Days will pop up in the old Handsome Pizza space. Kiki and Casey, former employees at Handsome Pizza/Seastar Bakery, are popping up in their old digs this weekend as Future Days. They’ll be making pizza that was a hot ticket item during their time in SLC. Head there Sunday September 25, 5-9pm. It will be nice to have that oven working again. 1603 NE Killingsworth Street, Portland

Kalesa Coffee opens tomorrow morning. Head to the new brick & mortal space of former popup Kalesa Coffee tomorrow morning from 9am to 1pm for their grand opening party. There will be coffee, of course (their own roast), with Filipino flavors (ube, for one), plus breakfast sandwiches, toast, and sides from Balong. Definitely check them out! 7024 N Richards Street, Portland

Bonus: NYC’s Cevallos brothers custom made a sign for Laughing Planet in PDX. You can read about these brothers originally from Ecuador who work with many Queens businesses (in Jackson Heights, among other neighborhoods) to make hand-crafted signs as promotional tools. I have to admit I am delighted to see when Queens and Portland intersect. You can check out the sign here.

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Where to Get a Big Salad in Portland

hercules-salad-garden-monsters-portland-oregon

A big salad from Garden Monsters—The Hercules with chicken

Over the years, I’ve heard people ask, “So where can I get a big salad in Portland?” If they are a New York transplant, they are probably thinking of those chopped salad and panini spots that were (are?) ubiquitous in Midtown Manhattan. Or the kind of “Big Salad” referred to in Seinfeld. But really—sometimes you just want a big salad, no matter where you come from. 

Here are some places where you can get the classic “Big Salad”—but instead of a bowl of “big lettuce, carrots, tomatoes like volleyballs,” a la Seinfeld, you can get a mix of diverse ingredients that will be delicious and satisfying—enough for a whole meal (sometimes two, if you play your lettuce cards right—Romaine stands up better overnight compared to mesclun greens).

Canteen

Photo credit: Yelp

Self-described at a “​​world famous organic juice and smoothie bar,” the food here I would say is nutrient dense, healthy, and fresh—the kind of place I like to go when I need to nourish myself. They offer two substantial salads at their SE Stark location: 

  • Walnut Taco Salad: mixed greens, carrot, red cabbage, avocado-curry sauce, walnut taco crumble, pico de gallo, cashew nacho spread, avocado, green onions.
  • Quinoa Confetti: quinoa, curried cashews, currants, apple, celery, mint, cilantro, lime, balsamic vinaigrette. (Add a bed of balsamic dressed greens for $2.)

I usually get a smoothie with my salad (The Orange One is a fave). I love eating here. Definitely put it on your list of tasty healthy crunchy food spots. 

2816 SE Stark Street, Portland. http://www.canteenpdx.com/

Continue reading “Where to Get a Big Salad in Portland”
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Portland Salad Week – Salads We Like, Part One

The title says it all: these are the salads we like in the Portland area. It’s by no means definitive. Want us to know about a salad you like? Fill out this form and we’ll share them at the end of the week.

Key: 
JR = Judith Rich
MC = Meg Cotner

Caesar Salad: Apizza Scholls

Photo credit: Sherman’s Food Adventures

What’s in it: Whole leaf romaine, parmigiano-reggiano, house-made croutons, with house Caesar dressing.

A classic done right, I highly recommend trying Apizza Scholls’ version, which pairs beautifully with any one of their pizza pies. Try it with a meaty sensation such as Apizza Amore or their version of the Amatriciana. The salad dressing is creamy and rich, and a little goes a long way. For those who aren’t anchovy fans, you can ask for them on the side or to simply omit them. –JR

4741 SE Hawthorne Boulevard, Portland. http://apizzascholls.com/ 

Continue reading “Portland Salad Week – Salads We Like, Part One”
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Best Health Wishes To All

Well, it’s been a little quiet around here since the arrival of the novel coronavirus crisis and its accompanying demon COVID-19, which has dealt a pretty severe blow to Portland’s restaurant world. I’ve also spent a month under the weather with some other kind of virus, which has squelched my own sense of inspiration; being sick is a drag. But, I’m finally feeling better and happy to post to this little blog.

Big shout out to some great spots we’ve eaten at during this crisis, in the current to-go/pickup/contactless reality we all live in: Red Sauce Pizza, Laughing Planet, Sa Bai Thai, Burrito Azteca, and Xico. Your food has been awesome with solid social distancing practicies.

I hope each one of you reading this is feeling well, and I send every good wish for continued health. Now, on to the Shake Shack news.

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Four Things I Learned This Week (March 30)

I’m spending a little time outside of Portland this week and next, so first-hand experiential tidbits are halved this time around. Still, here are four things I learned this week about (mostly) Portland food:

Tempeh! When I was in Laughing Planet recently, I asked about their crazy delicious tempeh and how they cook it. I was told they bake it, a treatment I had never considered. It’s wonderfully savory, and perhaps what is essentially roasting helps draw out delicious flavors (I think they must use a marinade of some kind, too). Another thing I learned from the staff is that if you steam tempeh first, it makes it easier to work with. Brilliant! I plan to try this soon.

French press your nuts. And by nuts I mean those ground up nuts you use to make nut milk (yes, this all sounds vaguely dirty). In the recipe for strawberry almond milk over on 101 Cookbooks, Heidi recommends one way to extract the milk—by using a large French press coffee maker. I think that’s a really smart idea. When strawberries arrive at the Hollywood Farmers Market, I’ll be making some strawberry almond milk for sure.  P.S. Thanks to reader Lindsay Ingalls of Running With Tongs for alerting me to the availability of nut milk bags at People’s Co-op.

New brunch menu at Jackrabbit. After participating in the March For Our Lives + Rally last Saturday, I decided to have a solo brunch at Jackrabbit. The bartender told me that they had launched a new brunch menu that day. I enjoyed the Braised Pork Sugo—a base of soft polenta topped with pulled pork (rich, porky, and a bit sweet with vinegar notes), two poached eggs, and a dusting of grana. I think next time I’ll try the savory waffle. Jackrabbit is located at 830 SW 6th Avenue.

Eight restos just say not to straws. Over on Portland Food and Drink I learned that eight restaurants in Portland, members of the Independent Restaurant Concepts hospitality group, “will no longer be serving plastic straws as of Earth Day 2018.” This is great news! Conventional plastic straw are a negative on the environment, so they’ll be serving drinks with compostable straws (and sometimes no straws at all). Yet another step forward toward sustainability in our fair city.