Taste of the Nation

Have you ever had those moments that you ate so much good food that you couldn’t eat another bite? I will admit, it hasn’t happened often, but last night was one of those nights. One great bite of food after another. One great beverage after another and so on and so on and all for No Kid Hungry. It is a very worthwhile cause and we noticed that the silent auction items were bringing in much needed funds. Great auction items to be had, just too rich for my blood at this time.
As for the incredible food? Amazing, rich, tasty, insert whatever amazing food word you can think of and you’d be on point. There was nothing bad. I will admit I liked certain items more than others, but nothing was bad. It’s simpler to just list the restaurants that I had food from, then I’ll mention the highlights.
Aviary-​Soup Dumpling
Bamboo Sushi-​Kalbi Ssam House Kimchi Grilled Short Ribs w lettuce and rice
Batch PDX– Assorted Chocolates
Black Rabbit-«Ham & Eggs» Black Truffle Custard, Marsala Braised Duck «Ham» Fennel Jam, Parmesan Crostini
Boke Bowl-​Crawfish and Pork in Spicy Black Bean Sauce over Rice Tots
Departure-​Chicken Stewed w Peppers, Pickled Chilis and Plantains
Gracie’s– Medjool Dates stuffed with Spicy Marcona Almonds and goat cheese wrapped in Pancetta
Lardo– Grilled Mortadella w Provolone, Mama Lil’s & Mustard Aioli
Laurelhurst Market– Baked Macaroni and Cheese w House Smoked Hot Dogs & Potato Chip Crust
Olympic Provisions-​Various Charcuterie
Pacific Pie-​Strawberry Rhubarb Pie & Chocolate Bourbon Hazelnut Pie
Petunia’s Pies & Pastries– Mexican Chocolate Babycake
Produce Row-​Crispy Chickpea Fritter w Harissa and Cultured Cream
Restaurant St. Jack– Chilled Stinging Nettle, Vichyssoise w Crispy Chicken Skin and Chili Oil
Ringside Steakhouse-​Smoked Shoulder Tender
Salt & Straw– Pots of Gold & Rainbows Ice Cream, Salted Caramel Ice Cream
Smallwares-​Beef Tataki, Kimchi, Hoisen, Cilantro
Smokehouse 21– Pulled Pork w poached egg
Zeus Café– Pork Belly and Kimchi Croquette w Black Vinegar Aioli and Herbs
And you wonder why I couldn’t eat anymore. The two best single bites for me were the Soup Dumpling from Aviary that just popped in your mouth it was so good and the Beef Tataki from Smallwares which was just a simple and just full of flavor. Everything was great. I enjoyed the food from Zeus, Lardo, Black Rabbit and Smokehouse 21 as well. I was surprised that Bamboo Sushi didn’t have sushi! The food was good, but a bit of a letdown for me. I had some great local whiskeys, beer and wine. The whiskey from Big Bottom out of Hillsboro was sweet and mellow. Beer is always good and I had some good IPAs from several places but not many had any dark beer offerings. I also had some good red wine from a couple different wineries but I didn’t see a Pinot Noir anywhere, which is what I enjoy most often.
It was a great event and I’m glad I had the opportunity to go, I hope to attend more food events like this in the future. Thanks to Unilocal and Ana for letting me enjoy this night.

This is it. The mother of all food events. Representations from 50 gourmet restaurants, 20 wineries, 10 distilleries all at the same place, at the same time. Say whatt?!
I can’t even begin to illustrate how amazing the food, flavors, &environment was. And the chefs were all so kind. Each one carefully &proudly explained their dish of choice– making it even more delicious than you could hope for.
Favorite moments of the night (from what I could remember):
— Savoring my first bite of food at the event. I picked the Cattail Creek Lamb from the Beast to start the night out, and my tastebuds were in heaven.
— Indecisively looking over all the cupcakes offered at Saint Cupcake, ultimately to end up taking a sample of each one at the baker’s recommendation.
— Being struck with surprise when the chef at Bamboo Sushi busted out a tiny flamethrower to torch the raw albacore.
— Deciding to go for the ice cream at Lovely’s Fifty-​Fifty even though I had already eaten beyond my capacity and thinking «wow, this may be the best ice-​cream I’ve ever had»
— Being offered a large amount Chambord mixed with Champagne at the North 45 Cocktail booth &finding out I get to keep the glass as a souvenir.
— Seeing the Argyle Winery booth and thinking «hey I have the same pinot noir at home! I must have a glass!»
— Ending the night with a sip of Woodford Reserve Bourbon mixed with Orange Bitters & Soda Water from the Mint/​820 Cocktail booth.
I carried out 2 free wine glasses, a tequila glass, & a shot glass out with me & woke up the next day still too full to eat.
This event is phenomenal. To top it all off it’s a charity event– so if you’re going to give money to charity, why not do it while you are getting your fine food on? Although I got in free to the event this year (YAYY THANK YOU Unilocal &DON B.!!) I’m definitely going again next year & bringing all my buddies.
This event isn’t just local to Portland either, it happens at most of the major cities in the US& you can find out the dates here:

So next year I’ll be going to the one in LA. yayy!

Who knew I could eat so much? I did, that’s who. Good grief, but I’ve never had so much amazing food.
Greeted at the door with a little plate fitted with a hole for my wine glass, Tatiana M. and I cruised on into the Luxe Autohaus in our finery expecting bluehairs and a couple fingerfoods. Not so! I was glad to see the mass of people turn up for the event with both charity and cheesesteak on their minds.
Of limited supply were the offerings from Beast, Genoa, Gruner, Beaker & Flask and Thistle. Beast’s lamb with sour cherry jam, mint and candied hazelnuts was probably one of the best things I’ve tasted in quite some time. Yowza.
The other booths boasted desserts, fine meats, fine wines en masse and there was, in true Portland fashion, no end to the beer. Whiskeys and tequilas paired off with made-​to-​order albacore carpaccio from Bamboo Sushi (torched before my eyes) and white grape gazpacho from Davis Street Tavern. Lovely’s Fifty-​Fifty had homemade ice cream on hand (salted caramel oh my!) and Laurelhurst Market took my raw beef card with their steak tartare with vodka and chives.
And somehow I still had room for a taste of Montinore’s single vineyard pinot noir (not released yet, but look for it!) and Willamette Valley Vineyards’ pinot rose that gave me hope for pink wine. Head-​heavy pours of Brother Thelonius from North Coast Brewing and a cup of Sierra Nevada Summerfest topped it off. An amazing time was had by all, and all for a good cause too!

I am implementing new rules for myself if I get to attend Taste of the Nation again next year…
Rule #1: Don’t eat for the entire day. I would make it two days, but I just may wither away.
Rule #2: Wear flats or other comfortable shoes. While my Steve Madden Luxe peep toes are fairly comfortable, the added weight gain from eating the DELICIOUS food while meandering from booth to booth on a concrete floor took its toll. Had I had decent footwear, I would have been able to try everything instead of limp away to the car in slight pain from my horrible but fashionable footwear decision.
Rule #3: Get there EARLY so I can find a place to park. Seriously, it took like 15 minutes and I am a master of willing parking spots to the ‘ol GTI.
Rule #4: Bring more cash than the $ 3 I had so I could participate in the awesome raffles and the $ 20 Wall ‘o Wine. Awesome. I’m sure they will have the same or better offers next year.
The food was amazing and gave me ideas for the next restaurant to try, as I don’t branch out nearly enough. My faves were from Screen Door (how can you go wrong with ANYTHING bacon??), Urban Farmer, Andina, Simpatica, and Ruby Jewel.

This event is hands-​down amazing. There are few $ 100+/admission food events that I would say easily surpass value, but this is one of them, and I won’t hesitate to attend again and again, regardless of whether I have a sponsor pass or not.
Full disclosure, Unilocal was a media partner for this event, so I did get to attend free this year. Take that grain of salt with this review. Still, I was overwhelmed last year, and dramatically again so this year. And I wouldn’t hesitate to spend $ 125 to get in early next year.
50 amazing restaurants, many including the top echelon of the Portland culinary scene (Beast, Grüner, Beaker & Flask, Genoa, Accanto, Andina, Thistle, Jory, Urban Farmer, Bamboo Sushi, Laurelhurst Market, Simpatica Catering, Screen Door) as well as many, many high-​end favorites offering gourmet food (Pazzo, Cheese Bar, Davis Street Tavern, Ruth’s Chris, North 45, Bread and Ink, Nuestra Cocina, Firehouse, La Calaca Comelona, and many, many more) serve up top notch bites and tasters — more than any one person could eat, even on an empty stomach. Plus, and this is a huge difference from many other festivals, the aforementioned restaurants BRING IT ON harder than a bad cheerleader movie.
I think it’s a sense of one-​upsmanship combined with a pool of competition that’s so talent-​heavy that leads to the amount of pork-​infused, specially-​cured, paté-​ized foods that are mind-​bending in both quality and quantity. Each restaurant, faced with standing in the same room as Beast and other heavy hitters, pulls out all the stops, and the attendees (and the children) win. Plus, it’s what makes your $ 125 ticket fee so worth it. The food you’re eating is so high-​end and plenty, you get your $$ worth.
Every single dollar earned from the event goes to the charity (Share Our Strength — to feed hungry children), including tips in the coat check tip jars, proceeds from the silent auction, proceeds from the raffle, and the proceeds from the tickets. All $$ goes to feed hungry children. brilliant.
My only overall complaints would be a) it seems to rain every year (yeah, like they can control that), b) the warehouse space is… kinda… warehouse-​y (bright, flourescent, etc — but not any worse than the convention center), and c) parking is kind of a nightmare (see a, above — nobody wants to walk multiple blocks in the rain in their dressy gear). Other than these minor quibbles, it’s a well-​orchestrated event with tons of amazing food, great local wines (many are high-​end and small vineyard), tasty brews, great auction prizes, great raffle prizes, attentive staff, and a good cause. What more could you want?
Ok, one suggestion — get a valet service to donate their time, and offer valet parking with the Luxe or VIP level tickets. Or am I just dreaming?

So full… can barely type. Slightly drunk. Am I dreaming? I think that I just had food from every great restaurant in town and wine/​beer/​sake from the finest crafters around. I must be dreaming. Chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, smoked salmon pâté, fillet mignon, scallop ceviche, hibiscus bruschetta, catfish tamales, waffles with strawberries & lemon crème, scrumptious beef tacos, vegetable tortellini, praline bacon with crème on a biscuit, mini banana pecan tarts, fresh seared albacore sushi, toasted baguette with riclette & olympic provisions salumi & a gherkin. Food coma. And this doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of what this event offers. Please don’t pinch me ’til 2011 when I can do this again.