Tag: Portlandia

Restaurant Review: The Sugar Cube

November 8, 2013February 5, 2017

Not too long ago, The Sugar Cube was a little pink and brown cart, sitting outside Lardo’s eastside location. It was good, but you couldn’t do too much in the space of that cart. It was smaller than most that you see around Portland, and I certainly can’t imagine trying to frost a cake in there.

Now, The Sugar Cube has taken over a small, bright space on NE Alberta. (Warning: my grainy, dark iPhone pictures don’t quite do it justice.) There aren’t a lot of seats, but it seems to be enough, and coming here on a weekday morning to meet a friend for coffee and pastries, when it’s relatively quiet, makes you feel like you’re in on a very delicious secret. I was more than excited when my friend Elaine suggested it for coffee and pastries.

The Sugar Cube // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler

The best part of their new shop is that the kitchen is twice the size of the front room, meaning pastry master Kir Johnson now has the space to make sugar sing. And boy, does it hit some high notes. I was there for breakfast, so I didn’t get any chocolatey or dessert-y treats, but I did indulge in the spiced buttermilk cornbread.

More like a slice of spice cake, but with the perfect notes of cornbread, it was doused with a unique salty molasses butter, which balanced out the sweetness perfectly with some more spice and salt. Elaine had the savory strata with mushrooms, heirloom tomatoes, and both goat and cheddar cheese. Delectable. And of course I brought Jonah home a couple of jammers – one was oat filled with strawberry rhubarb jam, and the other was poppyseed filled with a lemon curd.

Next time, I’m going for the sweets no matter what time of day it is. The ultimate brownies with olive oil and sea salt look too good to pass up.

Weekend Finds 10:5:13

October 5, 2013February 5, 2017

I’m writing this weekend finds post from my mother’s living room in Seattle, where she has been surprised for her birthday by myself, Jonah, and my older sister (yesterday at about 5) and then again by her mother, sister, brother-in-law, brother, and sister-in-law. I love seeing the absolute joy on her face when she is surrounded by her family. Her boyfriend really pulled off an incredible surprise. How fun.

Now let’s get to the finds!

1. Pok Pok Wings

Weekend Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler — Pok Pok’s Famous wings with Uncle Ike

The time has come. The recipe for the chicken wings that launched a thousand ships has finally been released, as part of the publicity for Pok Pok’s new cookbook. It certainly seems like a bit of work, but man oh man, if they taste anything like the original, it’s so worth it. And hey, I’m lucky enough to live in Portland, so if it’s too hard, I’ll just drive across town and pay to have someone else make them for me.

2. It’s Pumpkin Time

It’s officially October, which means we can officially start obsessing over everything pumpkin. While some people love their pumpkin spice lattes, I am a bigger fan of pumpkin bread, pumpkin soup, and maybe if I get really ambitious, this pumpkin cheesecake.

3. Holiday cocktails

Maybe you’re a member of one of those families that all gets together and doesn’t drink at all. I am not a member of one of those families. My family likes their wine. And their cocktails. And occasionally their beer, too. And the holiday themed cocktails are starting to appear. This pisco apple sour and this apple pie cocktail with cinnamon meringue look like a perfect place to start.

4. How to Fry an Egg

No, it’s not the title of a chapter from How to Cook a Wolf or An Everlasting Meal. This egg frying tip is seriously about to change lives. When you crack your egg into your pan, add a bit of water and a lid – the water will steam the top of the white that’s over the yolk that never gets cooked otherwise. It’s a perfect solution to a serious problem.

5. Miso-creamed Kale

A friend of mine recommended this miso-creamed kale recipe from the now shuttered Wafu, a ramen restaurant in Portland. While I wasn’t crazy about their ramen, I was crazy about their small plates. This dish looks delicious and fairly easy to make.

Weekend Finds 9:29:13

September 29, 2013February 5, 2017

Well, it has been officially windy and rainy in Portland this week (downing trees and outing power and everything!), so the time has come to hunker down, put on those shawl collar sweaters, and bring some of these weekend finds to life.

1. How to Make a Good Crockpot Meal

First and perhaps most importantly, let’s revisit slow cookers as it gets colder. I never know which recipes on the internet to trust, but one resource I always listen to is Bon Appetit. This is a great little reminder of the do’s and don’t’s of crockpotting.

2. Pumpkin Time!

Portland is certainly getting into the fall swing of things, as many bakeries are featuring pumpkin on their menus. This article from Portland Monthly tells you who’s falling for what fall treats. Pumpkin streusel muffins, pumpkin caramal ricotta tart, pumpkin cupcakes with molasses butter cream… how can I decide? It’s also inspiring me to revisit some of my favorite pumpkin recipes…

3. Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Ok, admittedly, all of these breads from A Subtle Revelry look beautiful, but the cinnamon raisin loaf really stood out to me. I grew up eating cinnamon raisin bread, toasted, slathered with cream cheese. I remember how good it would make the kitchen smell in the morning before I went to catch the bus to school. Imagine how heavenly the house would smell if you made a whole loaf. From scratch.

4. Leif

This online shop has some beautiful tabletop items. I’m particularly into the dip dye place mats, the dipped mini bowls, and the agate platters, which would make for an AMAZING cheese spread, and you know it.

5. Buttermilk Bacon Grease Cornbread

I can’t even. This buttermilk bacon grease cornbread from Local Milk sounds so effing good, I have a feeling that once I make it I’ll hide it from everyone else and eat the whole dish, still warm, slathered in butter and honey. Ok, maybe not, but I’d like to do that. There’s another variation for Coconut cornbread in her post that also sounds scrumptious.

Restaurant Review: Que Pasa Cantina

July 22, 2013February 5, 2017

Mexican food and I are relatively new friends. Growing up, I loved a good plain quesadilla as much as the next kid (occasionally I would even put shredded chicken in it), but beans and tomatoes and onions? Gross. Hated it. Blech. The texture of beans in general is still something I’m working on. But Mexican food has slowly creeped in to my life in the past 6 years or so. In high school, I would’ve way rather gone to Vietnamese or Indian than Mexican.

Here in Portland we’ve got some killer Mexican food. You want a hole in the wall with the most amazing tacos you’ll ever have? Go to Tienda y Panaderia Santa Cruz in St. John’s. You want a line out the door for a delicious bowl of rice and beans and meat and some mystery amazing sauce? Go to Porque No. You want a crazy good Mexican style brunch? Definitely go to Autentica. But a relatively recent discovery has made my go to Mexican list: Que Pasa Cantina.

First let’s talk about the margaritas. Because, let’s be honest, margaritas (margs for short) are delicious, thirst-quenching, and I love the combo of salty and sour. The margs at Que Pasa were great – strong, sour, and just straight up good. Could you ask for more? Yes – at happy hour their house marg is only $5. Don’t want to go traditional? Don’t worry, they’ve got margs with jager, seasonal fruit, grapefruit juice, jalapeño, and of course all different kinds of tequila.

Before I get to the food, I want to tell you about one of my favorite parts of going to Que Pasa Cantina. Aside from the Potatoes Olé (you’ll read about them later), this restaurant also has possibly my favorite waiter in town. He has served us both times we’ve gone to the restaurant, and I don’t know his name, but he’s hilarious. He’s a little quiet, but very suave and with a stellar sense of humor. You can tell the guy is having a great time and doesn’t take anything too seriously. I want to be his friend.

The first time we went to Que Pasa, I had recently discovered pastor (thanks Eliza!), so I ordered their traditional pastor tacos. Pastor is thinly sliced pork that has been marinated in a spice rub of chilies, cumin, and other delicious herbs. The bonus is that these tacos came not only with pastor, but also with pineapple (not uncommonly served with pastor), which is a serious weakness of mine. I have a tendency to, if there’s pineapple around, eat so much that my tongue starts to get numb and little bumps appear. This may be because I have a geographic tongue… but we’re getting sidetracked. Anyway, these tacos were awesome. First, any good Mexican restaurant knows to double wrap their tacos – 2 tortillas please! That way if one ruptures, you’ve got a backup. Makes the whole affair far less messy. Second, the pastor was so packed with flavor and had the nice fruitiness from the pineapple – I was in heaven. My next trip I ordered some chorizo tacos, which were super tasty, very flavorful, and spicy. Loved it.

The first time we went to Que Pasa was with Peter, the producer of Jonah’s new album. Peter told us the greatest secret of Que Pasa. With your dish, don’t get the usual side of rice and beans. Why? Because you can choose to replace those beans and rice with their Potatoes Olé, mashed potatoes with carrots, sweet white corn, jalapeños, sour cream, cheddar cheese, and jack cheese. These potatoes are to die for. I know, they aren’t super healthy (potatoes, sour cream, and hella cheese), but hot damn. I now have bouts of serious cravings for these potatoes. They are so creamy, and I love the occasional crunch of the corn and carrots, and the little bit of spice from the jalapeño. These are definitely on my list of dishes to attempt to recreate.

So there you have it, folks. If you want some bomb.com Mexican food with a side of probably the best mashed potatoes you’ll ever eat, do me a favor, and visit Que Pasa Cantina (just north of the Hawthorne food carts on 12th ave).