King Biscuit Boy

Posted on January 15, 2013 by Val

Pine State Biscuits
Portland, Oregon

The simple, unimposing Pine State Biscuits in Portland OR

The simple, unimposing Pine State Biscuits in Portland OR

Tread lightly, for you are embarking down a craggy spiral on a journey from which the only return is through the cardiologist’s office. It is 6:59 AM and you are standing out in the damp, brisk air of a Portland morning, breathing into your hands to restore the circulation, a function that will cease after ingesting the artery-clogging behemoth that lies behind the weather-beaten wood and glass door. One of the young employees works the lock, and you can tell by the smile on her face that she is invincible, the rest of her life stretching out before her like the interstate – unless she falls prey to the come-hither of the home-style Frankenstein monster that goes by the seemingly harmless moniker of “The Reggie”. The incandescent lights dangling from ancient fixtures give an eerie glow to the single room in a tiny box, a nondescript structure that may have served as a barber shop in a previous life. There’s a counter hugging the wall and several tables that hint that as the morning progresses they will become communal. You have entered the belly of the beast with a goal to escape triumphant, celebrating your victory over The Reggie with another notch in your belt (and trust me, you’re going to need that extra notch) – you are at the counter at Portland’s Pine State Biscuits.

Time to make the biscuits

Time to make the biscuits

If you have some level of difficulty finding the words “biscuits” and “Portland” to be a match made in heaven, fret not; Pine State Biscuits is the brick-and-mortar child of Tar Heels Walt Alexander, Brian Snyder, and Kevin Atchley, transplants with white gravy flowing through their veins who took shelter indoors in 2008 after introducing Portlanders to the powdery flour cakes at the Portland Farmers Market. It is highly recommended to arrive early – seating is at a premium and the dining area fills up remarkably fast. The blackboard menu dangles from chains above the counter, a chest-high wall that offers a view of the staff whipping up batches of the day’s biscuits surrounded by massive sacks of Shepherd’s Grain flour like doughboys behind sandbags in the trenches of Bentonville. Like many Portland restaurants, the doors stay open while the morning’s supply starts to dwindle; once the biscuits are gone, so is your opportunity to conquer The Reggie.

The deadly delicious Reggie at Pine State Biscuits

The deadly delicious Reggie at Pine State Biscuits

Pine State Biscuits offers a fleet of biscuit-based dishes, some with cryptic names like the McIsley and the Chatfield, others with formidable titles such as The Moneyball and the Double Down – of course, for the traditionalist there’s the tried and true biscuits and gravy. Deciphering the mind-numbing variety of options can be overwhelming, but your first visit should feature Pine State’s most popular selection, The Reggie. This colossal biscuit sandwich is Pine State’s most popular plate, an imposing biscuit structure that was reduced to rubble in Guy Fieri’s gaping maw on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives”. The dish starts with one of the super-sized, flaky and sturdy buttermilk biscuits. The bottom half is blanketed with a spicy slab of fried chicken which is then covered with cheese and strips of crispy bacon before being smothered in white gravy and capped with the top half of the biscuit. This gastronomic Mount St. Helen spews forth floes of hot, spicy magma in a cataclysm of Southern-style ecstasy that demands the use of a knife and fork. If you feel like taking a walk on the wild side, there’s The Reggie Deluxe – the same cholesterolic Biscuit of the Apocalypse accentuated by a fried egg.

Pine State's menu seldom changes

Pine State's menu seldom changes

The Reggie is big on taste, reaching through your rib cage and kicking the crap out of your heart with a barrage of rich flavors of the South all whistling Dixie on your palate – the thick gravy adds moisture without making the biscuit soggy; the thin filet of fried chicken is light with a thin crust that would make a great standalone dish; the bacon adds flavor and texture while not going hog wild and stealing the chicken’s thunder. One has to wonder about the degree of experimentation that took place before settling on a recipe for the biscuits that makes them the star of the dish, but Pine State Biscuits got it right – like the South, the biscuits are gonna rise again.

Pine State Biscuits
2204 NE Alberta Street
Portland, OR 97211
GPS Coordinates: 45°33’32.29″N 122°38’33.85″W

NOTE: The location where Val ate (at 3640 SE Belmont Street) has closed; a new Pine State Biscuits will be opening soon on SE Division Street 

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Cafe Noir Is The New Black

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Val

Cafe Noir

Santa Monica, California

The dark side of French cuisine, Cafe Noir

The dark side of French cuisine, Cafe Noir

Santa Monica’s Cafe Noir stealthily hides in the open, a converted ninja bistro dressed in black and only slightly hinting at its former life as Madame Chou Chou on artsy and hipster Main Street. One look at the restaurant, inside and out, and the words of the philosopher Nigel Tufnel come to mind – “How much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black.” – the black matte walls feature what look like some chalk Art Nouveau line drawing vs. Aubrey Beardsley mash-up; an opulent, low-wattage, pink-hued chandelier dangles from the ceiling taking up most of the upper real estate. Instead of a simple banquette, the space is bordered with a long, plush sitee bordered in what looks like segments of a massive gilded and flourished frame.

After the demise of Madame Chou Chou, the bakery cases were scrapped to make room for tables, adding twice the service of its previous incarnation. Vincent Carneau remains on board as owner and Executive Chef – the dishes are reinventions of what he likes to think of as traditional European bistro fare. Some dishes change according to whim – rather than trying to appeal to the American palate and expectations of what French-inspired cuisine should taste like, Chef Carneau lets his heart be his guide. He is honest to a fault, and when asked about an appealing sounding menu item, he may respond with, “I find it boring”. The room is small, but with plenty of elbow room, and when Cafe Noir begins to fill up, the experience spills out into the enclosed patio.

Cleverly disguised sushi-style paella

Cleverly disguised sushi-style paella

Some of the dishes are small, tapas-style offerings (particularly during happy hour), but the entrees are luxurious and hearty. A roasted beet salad features dove-tailed medallions of red and golden beets topped with a crumble of French St. Agur blue cheese and a slightly sweet and tart raspberry glaze – even carnivores will enjoy the salad, as it doesn’t impart that earthy reminder that typically accompanies under-processed root vegetables.

One dish featured a single halved beef bone lined with bubbling bone marrow and flanked by large slabs of crostini crowned with a rich and flavorful duxelle of shitake, Portobello and chanterelle mushrooms; the bouillabaisse was packed with PEI blue mussels, Manila clams, shrimp, baby squid and chunks of fish in an aquatic wonderland of saffron lobster broth that begged to be sopped up with the freshly baked bread.

Chef Vincent Carneau manages the dining room

Chef Vincent Carneau manages the dining room

What was billed as sushi-style paella is a bit of an oddity – a block of paella rice is fried with a dark brown crispy crunch, with hamachi crudo laid to rest on top and garnished liberally with pea shoots, making the components of the dish almost visually unidentifiable. The saffron flavor of the rice is unmistakable, but the texture takes you to another place; the hamachi hides beneath the ample greens, only occasionally showing itself and making its presence known. A slab of very fresh-tasting hazelnut-encrusted trout leans on a mound of fingerling potatoes and spinach with the vegetation nicely accompanying the fish.

The bounty of the sea in Chef Carneau's bouillabaisse

The bounty of the sea in Chef Carneau's bouillabaisse

For the carnivore connoisseur, a hefty club of braised lamb shank guards toothy couscous and carrot slices, but with the tender meat falling off the bone like a melt-away pot roast, the accoutrements get largely ignored. Pork abounds – on the brunch menu, one dish features “pig juice”, which I am informed is pork jus (although I prefer the aforementioned moniker and imagine a hot steaming mug of pig juice accompanied by a straw); the ample pork belly entree is thick with slightly crusted and unctuous fatty layer, and served with white beans and spinach it takes on a soul food vibe that is all delicious.

Cafe Noir is refined without being stuffy, traditional sans pompousness and with a creative flair. One visit and you will be seduced by the dark side.

Cafe Noir

2518 Main Street

Santa Monica, CA 90405

GPS Coordinates: 34° 0’10.04″N 118°29’4.64″W

GALLERY: See images from Val’s visit to Cafe Noir in Santa Monica, California

NOTE: This cost for this meal was provided by the restaurant. The content provided in this article was not influenced whatsoever by the organizer of the event.

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Find The Salami

Posted on December 9, 2012 by Val

Coppa Enoteca
Boston, Massachusetts

Boston's unassuming Coppa Enoteca

Boston's unassuming Coppa Enoteca

Boston’s Coppa Enoteca occupies a thin sliver at the end of block of South End red brick townhouses, easily several hundred years old. The narrow gastropub is subtly identified by a simple, gold leaf-lettered “COPPA” in the front window – on approach, one would easily overshoot the runway were it not for the flat metal pig hanging high above the doorway. The rustic interior, antique light fixtures and historic location belies Coppa’s youth (a mere toddler, having been opened in 2009), but the venerable appearance is befitting of the fare offered. Although Coppa is lumped into the category of Italian restaurant, it would be completely out of place in the North End – the dishes are tapas style and although influences and treatments from the Old Country abound, it flaunts a unique personality.

A representative sample of Coppa's salumeria

A representative sample of Coppa's salumeria

The workaholics behind Coppa Enoteca’s “nose-to-tail” philosophy are co-owners and Executive Chefs Jamie Bissonnette and Ken Oringer, who have a history together as helmsmen of sister ship Toro (a Spanish tapas restaurant opened by Oringer in 2005, also in the South End), as well as the recently closed (and highly acclaimed) KO Prime at Boston’s Nine Zero Hotel. Both chefs oversee a vast empire or eateries throughout New England, and if the unique and innovative cuisine at three year-old Coppa Enoteca is any example of the bill of fare at their other venues, Bissonnette and Oringer appear to be poised for global gastronomic dominance. Chef Jamie Bissonnette was bestowed the prestigious title of Rising Star by StarChefs, while Chef Oringer was three times James Beard-nominated as Best Chef Northeast (handily winning the award in 2001) and reigned victorious during appearances on Iron Chef America and the Food Network’s Ready, Set, Cook.

The small but comfortable Coppa in Boston MA

The small but comfortable Coppa in Boston MA

Reservations are recommended – with under a dozen tables and as many spots at the bar, it’s remarkable how quickly Coppa fills up early in the evening. Unless you don’t mind paying Boston parking rates or walking the brisk half-mile from the Tufts Medical Center Orange Line station on the T, know that since Coppa is in a residential neighborhood, street parking nearby is at a premium. While your dining companion may prefer a table in the bustling pub hub-bub, if you’re flying solo I highly recommend a spot at the bar, where you can watch the preparation of the small stuzzichini dishes (such as the Panino di Riccio di Mare – sea urchin and lengue panino with mustard seeds; and Ostriche – oysters escabeche with cranberry verjus and apple), antipasti and charcuterie/salumeria (the restaurant’s name derives from another name for Italian capocollo) while you select from a dizzying selection of Italian wines.

Rich and hearty tripe and pork belly stew

Rich and hearty tripe and pork belly stew

Items on the menu rotate in and out, although some of the more popular dishes are featured regulars. My indulgent foray through Coppa’s repertoire began with a delicate tuna crudo that virtually dissolved on my tongue – although the squares of ahi were topped with chopped green olives and capers, razor-thin radish disks, chili shavings, and an olive brine dashi, the tart and acetic accoutrements did not kill the fish’s light flavor.

Coppa offers small wood-fired pizzas with house-designed combinations such as the Pepe Bianco (populated with clams and bacon); a white bone marrow pizza with beef heart pastrami and horseradish; and, a hearty pumpkin pizza with the pureed gourd substituted for tomato sauce and finished with fresh burrata and a fried egg. For you Roberto the Builders, you can engineer your own creation with a variety of toppings including blood sausage, fried egg, arugula, and mortadella at a mere $2 each. Although the pizzas being rocketed out of the kitchen from atop a small staircase at the far end of the restaurant looked and smelled wonderful, I opted for some of the dishes utilizing cuts of meat Fergus Henderson would be proud of.

Colorful and tasty Coda di Maiale (roasted pig tails)

Colorful and tasty Coda di Maiale (roasted pig tails)

Dishes are brought out as they’re prepared, so don’t expect the wait staff to show up with a truck tire-sized tray with the table’s entire order in tow – the first of my selections to arrive was the Trippa alla Collinsville, a crock of tripe and pork belly stew with heirloom garbanzo beans that was cooked down into a chili-like consistency (the comparison was further accentuated by the rich, spicy tomato and garlic-based sauce). I had expected to bite down on chewy pieces of rubbery tripe but was astounded to find that it had cooked down to be indistinguishable in texture. The hearty and warming bowl cut through the chilly late-November afternoon, making me wish I had eaten it last before heading back out into the street.

Sous Chef Kathryn Christensen breaks down a rack of ribs

Sous Chef Kathryn Christensen breaks down a rack of ribs

The Coda di Maiale was outstanding; a small stack of fire-roasted pig tails were frolicking in a bowl topped with a moustarda glaze featuring thick chunks of candied vegetables and fruit – one such unidentified bit tasted like a cross between yellow squash and grapefruit, with many of them bearing a similarity in taste and texture to the sweet peels used in fruit cake. The pork corkscrews had a delightful smoky flavor; even though the moustarda was prominently sweet and sour it did not overpower the pork. The fatty meat was tender and moist, easily separating itself from the tiny, interconnected tail bones with a little deft tongue work.

Coppa is an unpretentious bistro that could easily be confused for just another neighborhood bar were it not for the superb Italian-influenced cuisine that carries forth the nose-to-tail philosophy in a casual and boisterous atmosphere, and that’s no baloney.

Coppa Enoteca
253 Shawmut Ave
Boston, MA 02118
GPS Coordinates: 42°20’36.27″N 71° 4’7.05″W

GALLERY: See images from Val’s visit to Coppa Enoteca in Boston, Massachusetts

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It’s Creepy And It’s Kooky, Mysterious And Spooky

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Val

The Offally Spooky menu at Wood and Vine
Hollywood (Los Angeles), California

Check out the stars outside Wood and Vine

Check out the stars outside Wood and Vine

Spooky is a relative term; as it applies to cuisine, offal, entrails and otherwise questionable animal parts may evoke a gag reflex from Fear Factor contestants, while I find these “organic” cuts to be flavorful and enticing. Some folks will sit bolt upright in their room with all the lights on after watching The Exorcist, while I have to side with Beetlejuice who proudly boasts that he’s seen The Exorcist about a hundred and sixty-seven times, and it keeps getting funnier every time he sees it. A recent invitation to sample Wood and Vine’s Offally Spooky menu this past Halloween was too good to pass up for several reasons: for starters, the menu was heavily laden with charcuterie and dishes utilizing what was historically throw-away cuts; secondly, Wood and Vine casts its shadow upon the stars on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame (a prime Halloween destination second only to Salem, Massachusetts); and, finally, this gastronomic fright-fest was to be Executive Chef Gavin Mills’ swan song, as the dinner was scheduled a week before his departure to helm Tavern in Westwood.

A British expatriate, Chef Mills hit these shores in 2002 to ply his craft at his uncle’s now dearly departed Sage and Onion restaurant in Santa Barbara – after riding the wind to Charleston, and New York City (which included an appearance on The Food Network’s “Chopped”, where we took home the gold in the Chocolate, Mussels and Figs challenge), Mills returned to Southern California as Sous Chef at Bastide before landing the gig at Wood and Vine as Executive Chef in 2011. Like many of his fellow countrymen, Chef Mills is well-versed in the art of charcuterie and a staunch proponent of the nose-to-tail movement (as indicated by his Twitter handle, @snout2tail).

For those who have not experienced Wood and Vine, the ambiance merges the air of an established gastropub with the feel of an old British haberdashery. The dining area in the back courtyard is both confusing and fun – rough-hewn wooden shingles cover the wall to an upright arm’s height; past that, sheer wall rises up over a hundred feet to give the impression that you’re dining at the bottom of a deep box, and the occasional buzz of helicopter blades from the heliport directly above contributes to the quirkiness of the space.

Blood sausage from the Halloween menu

Blood sausage from the Halloween menu

The dinner began with a headcheese variation that bore the awkward name of “shaved pig head” (which sounded like a member of a roving porcine skinhead gang). Missing was the collagen-rich gelatin that typically holds pressed cranial bits in suspension, although he slices were ringed in a layer of pork fat while thin ribbons of leathery pig ear membrane ran along one side. The cold slabs of pork product were like savory luncheon meat with alternating pockets of creaminess and chewiness. The dish was lightly accented with chopped olives, parsley leaves and lemon, and if this was any indication of what the meal would be like, it was proving to be about as spooky as a Bubble Guppy (although on second consideration, those aquatic pipsqueaks are somewhat creepy). To appease the vegetarian sensibilities of a segment of our dining party, a roasted red and golden beet salad was ordered off the regular menu, and the fresh and colorful dish acted as a diversion from the onslaught of animal parts to follow.

Tender beef sweetbreads

Tender beef sweetbreads

Chef Mills’ lamb brain ravioli was mellow and about as frightening as Captain EO (well, probably a lot less frightening than Captain EO). The entry-level zombie food was encased in a thick layer of al dente pasta, and between the flavors the bacon, sage, lemon and parmesan imparted one could barely taste the morsel of grey matter within. A pyre of horizontally halved marrow bones offered some familiar flavor, but there was no new ground broken here – the marrow was prepared in a manner that maintained some substance without having the beef butter melt into a liquid mess.

One of the menu’s high points was Chef Mills’ take on the classic British black pudding, albeit more savory and moist. Wedges of candied apple accented the flavor and took the metallic edge off the blood component, and scoops of the creamy pureed potato bed that the blood wheels rested on also helped take the edginess out of the dish. Of all the dishes on the Offally Spooky menu, the superlative entry was the fried sweetbreads. These colossal nuggets were packed with flavor and had the texture of fresh, perfectly prepared scallops – each lump of thymus was easily cleft with a fork-edge. I can state, with a high degree of confidence, that these were by far the best sweetbreads I had ever eaten.

Wood and Vine's well-stocked front bar

Wood and Vine's well-stocked front bar

The more substantial meats were brought out towards the end of the meal. Beef tongue was smoked for two hours and finished on the grill, the thick slabs of meat providing an experience unlike any tongue I’ve ever had in my mouth. Each bite was incredibly moist and required very little chewing, although the skin seems to take on a different quality than the melty flesh inside. The calf’s liver was a little more daunting – although it was accompanied by candied bacon and sherry brown butter, the other ingredients did very little to mask the strong taste. Even the steak and kidney pie (which often has an off-putting fragrance and flavor) was delicious, the steak having been broken down to stringy muscle fiber like a slow-cooked pot roast). The savory meat was sheltered by a thick, flaky crust that complemented the pie’s filling admirably.

A pumpkin bread pudding with a ghostly orb of sage ice cream perched on top was the perfect foil for the entrail-fest. Paired with a sturdy cup of coffee, the dessert evoked the comforting spirit of autumn more so than the headless horseman’s cranial substitute. Although the meal barely dipped the needle into the green on my spooky meter, I can see how some of the dishes could be intimidating to diners unaccustomed to consuming offals. I know that Chef Mills will bring his flair for making art of underutilized cuts with him to Tavern, and Wood and Vine will undoubtedly carry on his legacy after his departure – to think otherwise is just plain scary

Wood and Vine
6280 Hollywood Blvd
Hollywood (Los Angeles), CA 90028
GPS Coordinates: 34° 6’5.37″N 118°19’34.53″W

GALLERY: See images from Val’s Halloween encounter with the Offally Spooky menu at Wood and Vine

NOTE: This cost for this meal was provided by the restaurant. The content provided in this article was not influenced whatsoever by the organizer of the event.

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Everybody’s Gone Surfin’ – Surfin’ Montréal

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Val

Habitat 67
Montréal, Québec, Canada

The impossibly stacked apartments at Habitat 67

The impossibly stacked apartments at Habitat 67

While climbing aboard your calèche along Rue de la Commune in Montréal’s Old Port, you may catch a glimpse of what looks like brownish-grey freight containers hastily stacked about 12 layers high across an artificial harbor in the Fleuve Saint-Laurent. A closer look will reveal windows, at which point you will come to realize that the haphazard concrete Jenga blocks are actually apartments. This conglomeration of cubes comprises one of the most iconic and recognizable structures in all of Canada – Habitat 67. The dwellings are easily accessible from Old Port via Rue Mill or Autoroute Bonaventure, but keep a sharp eye or you may end up on the opposite side of the Ste. Laurent. Habitat 67 sits close to the end of a tapered man-made peninsula called Cité du Havre that juts out into the river, and as the apartments are occupied (and difficult to get into), you’ll need to park on the shoulder of the turnaround on Pont de la Concorde.

The view of Old Port and Downtown Montréal from Habitat 67

The view of Old Port and Downtown Montréal from Habitat 67

One might ask, “With all the historic sites and cultural activities that abound in Montréal why would one bother to gawk at an apartment complex”? The simple answer is that Habitat 67 is a historical and cultural experience that is often overlooked in Canadian tourism guidebooks with more than immediately meets the eye. The structure itself was originally designed as a thesis by architectural student Moshe Safdie while attending McGill University; it gets its name from being sponsored as a project to construct a pavilion for Expo 67 (the 1967 World’s Fair). When initially built, it was intended as temporary residence for heads of state and visiting dignitaries attending Expo 67. The structure was initially financed by the Canadian government but in 1985 its tenants formed a partnership and purchased the property; Architect Moishe Safdie owns one of the penthouse apartments and continues to oversee and advise tenants on restorations and changes to the property in an effort to maintain the integrity of the original design.

Habitat 67 as seen from Old Port Montréal

Habitat 67 as seen from Old Port Montréal

There were originally 158 apartments which used 354 identically-sized concrete boxes, but over the years some of them were integrated into existing apartments; there are currently 146 apartments utilizing anywhere from one to 8 cubes each and having between 225 and 1,000 square feet of living space. You can’t get a feel for how precariously stacked the cubes appear to be until you walk around beneath them in the common areas on the ground level and some of the lower levels accessible by stairs (there are elevators built into the design that take occupants to the upper floors, but these are secured and inaccessible to tourists, unless you somehow manage to sweet-talk one of the tenants to give you the nickel tour). Because of the location, most apartments are afforded spectacular views of Old Port, Île Sainte-Hélène, Île Notre-Dame and the Ste. Laurent River, which brings us to Montréal’s hidden secret associated with Habitat 67.

Surfing the stationary wave at Habitat 67

Surfing the stationary wave at Habitat 67

There is an area of the east side of the Saint-Laurent at approximately the middle of Habitat 67 where the rapid flow of the river is thrust up by underwater rocks, causing a stationary wave of anywhere from 6 to 9 feet in height; it has been given the name Habitat 67 in recognition of its location and has become an international surfing destination. Imagine a wave similar to the type you’d see on a cruise ship about 100 feet off the banks of the river; surfers portage along the banks from the open field north of the complex and paddle their boards out south of the wave. The flow of the river takes them into the wave and the big dogs can ride for a while before they surrender to the wave’s force and shoot northward up-river. There is a fair amount of courtesy afforded to fellow surfers; most of them don’t hog the wave since it only accommodates one or two people, and the line to drop in can sometimes back up. Canadian kayaker Corran Addison was the first surfer to tackle Habitat 67 back in 2002, and now as many as 500 surfers travel from across the globe to catch the wave (on the day we were there we struck up a conversation with a Peruano who made several passes on Habitat 67).

Although Habitat 67 lacks the historical lineage of many of Montréal’s colonial sites, it is a must-see as both an architectural marvel and a great place to watch the mateos, kooks, kahunas and gremmies catch a beauty wave.

Habitat 67
2600, avenue Pierre-Dupuy
Montréal, Québec, H3C 3R6
GPS Coordinates: 45°30’3.65″N  73°32’37.77″W

VIDEO: Watch surfers tackle Habitat 67 on Montréal’s Ste. Laurent River

 

Surfing Habitat 67 on Montréal’s Ste. Laurent River from Trippy Food.

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