PETA has finally said something with which we can all agree. The normally dissident organization compiled a list of the country’s best faux-meat spaghetti toppers and listed Southeast Portland’s own Portobello Vegan Trattoria as one of the best. As reported only a few weeks ago, WW fully agrees.

The restaurant’s zucchini noodles in a tomato-basil sauce topped with a giant meat-free ball of vegetable protein showcases “all the flavor of traditional meatballs” without any of the “cruelty or cholesterol” of its swiney, beefy cousins, says PETA vegan campaign coordinator Kate Brindle. Brindle further praised the restaurant, saying “This eatery is a great example of the growing number of restaurants that are satisfying America’s hunger for healthy and humane cuisine.”

Unfortunately for us, the dish is not currently on the menu–Portobello’s selection changes weekly. One can only hope that it will grace the menu again soon.

Other high-ranking contenders came from as close as Seattle (Ike’s Place’s Vegan Meatless Mike and Not So Sloppy Ike) and as far away as Ashbury Park, New Jersey (Twisted Tree Cafe’s baked tofu meatball wrap). For a full list of all the winners, check out PETA’s VegCookingBlog.

Image: Portobello’s Chef Aaron Adams in the kitchen by Darryl James.

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Indeed, the Top Chef application (available for download from the Top Chef website) not only asks about restaurant experience, but also about potentially heated topics like restaurant cliches, most embarrassing moments and bragging rights. These questions are intended, Braun insists, to hone in on pride, not to create a dramatic cast. “It’s not drama that we seek. We want people who are going to have pride in a dish. I think that sometimes pride can get confused with drama.”

As any Top Chef fan knows, much of this drama… er… pride… comes from the elevated levels of accomplishment amongst the contestants. Each season, the selected cast enters with more honors than the season before. This year, for example, there are chefs who have worked under tapas master Jose Andres (Michael Isabella), seafood god Eric Ripert (Jennifer Carroll) and restaurateur extraordinaire Charlie Palmer (Bryan Voltaggio), as well as a James Beard nominee (Michael Voltaggio). “I think that maybe executive chefs who were afraid to apply in the first couple of seasons realized that the competition is serious now, so we’re definitely having a higher level of chef apply … and we are probably having fewer home cooks apply for sure,” says Braun.

It is logical, then, for a show focused on rising talents to end up here in Portland. Braun said he was hoping to meet “really cool” creative and sustainability-minded chef. “I definitely think there’s something unique about Northwest chefs… Not every city has a clientele that will appreciate unique and inventive food, but it definitely seems that in Portland, the restaurant goers and the foodies are willing to try new things, so that makes the chefs more inventive as well.”

Braun explains that this focus on talent is what sets Top Chef apart from other reality television. “You can’t fake culinary ability, even if it is on TV.” So what did they find in our proud little foodie burg? Braun stayed mum on Sunday’s casting call at the Benson Hotel but he did tell us this: “Portland’s favorite restaurants are tucked away in so many different neighborhoods all over the city, so we’ve had a blast bouncing around town to seek out the best and brightest chefs,” he says. “We’re thrilled with what we’ve found!”

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Thanksgiving—it’s the time of year when we all come together at a table creaking with the weight of pure American gluttony. Spending hours stuffed into a chair, shoving forkful after forkful of turkey and pie into our mouths, is pretty freaking fantastic—unless the days and days of cooking have already made you sick of stuffing. Take it easy this year and let a professional do the work for you. Here’s a list of all the best lazy-day Thanksgivings, from restaurants serving dinner to food carts selling pie. If you’ve got more suggestions for excellent take-out joints, markets or T-Day dinners, leave ‘em in comments or email kwilliams@wweek.com and we may add them to the roundup.

RESTAURANTS SERVING THANKSGIVING DINNER

Jake’s Thanksgiving Buffet at the Governor Hotel
Yes, you can eat a full Thanksgiving dinner at Jake’s Grill at the Governor Hotel (or Jake’s Famous up the street, or any other of McCormick & Schmick’s Portland outposts). But if you wanna go big, reserve a seat at the local chain’s grand buffet at the hotel. From tom turkey, cedar-plank salmon and New York strip steak to whole stations devoted to chilled seafood, salads, side dishes and desserts, this meal’s so big it has to be served in a ballroom. It’s like a wedding where the bride is dinner and you’re the groom (or vice versa). Visit mccormickandschmicks.com for a list of the chain’s other Portland seafood restaurants, all of which are serving T-Day dinner. Governor Hotel, 614 SW 11th Ave., 224-3400. Reservations begin at 11:30 am and end at 3:30 pm. $29.95 adults, $7.95 children 6-12, 5 and under free. Call 241-2125 to make your reservation.

Thanksgiving Dinner at the Heathman Restaurant
An overwhelming assortment of traditional Northwestern eats, from roasted turkey with sage stuffing and pumpkin cheesecake to bouillabaisse and smoked salmon, for both sit-down eaters and buffet lovers. Prix fixe dining-room service 11 am-9 pm. Holiday buffet 11:30 am-5 pm. The Heathman, 1001 SW Broadway, 790-7752. $39.50 per person ($18 for kids under 12) for prix fixe dining. $46.50 per person ($18 for kids under 12) for the buffet. Call to reserve seats.

Thanksgiving Dinner at Meriwether’s
Chef Earl Hook prepares a family-style feast with ingredients from the restaurant’s own Skyline Farm this Thanksgiving. Meriwether’s, 2601 NW Vaughn St., 228-1250. 1-5 pm. $45 per adult, $20 children under 10.  Call 228-1250 to reserve seats ASAP.

Thanksgiving Dinner at Salty’s on the Columbia
Nothing says “Thanksgiving” like Dungeness crab, prawns and seafood chowder. Get your seafood on with a mega holiday buffet at this riverside classic. Don’t worry—there’ll be turkey and all the trimmings as well. For the extra-lazy, they’re offering an extensive to-go menu. Salty’s on the Columbia, 3839 NE Marine Drive, 288-4444. 10:30 am-5:30 pm. $39.95 per person. Call for reservations. To-go orders must be placed by Nov. 22. Visit saltys.com for menu.

Thanksgiving Buffet at The Resort at the Mountain
Need a little vacay on your turkey day? Head east to Mount Hood for a buffet dinner at the resort. Along with the requisite turkey, there’ll be items as varied as roasted halibut, croissants and even an omelet station! Oh, and dinner comes with champagne—if you need to get a room, the resort will be happy to put you up (you’ll even get a turkey sandwich to go at checkout). The Resort at the Mountain, 68010 E Fairway Ave., Welches, 622-3101. 11 am-6 pm. $36 per person ($15 for kids). Call to reserve seats. For hotel rooms, visit theresort.com.

Thanksgiving “Two Ways” at Urban Farmer
In case you need to stuff yourself twice in one day, the downtown restaurant will be offering its traditional brunch (which includes rich delicacies like wagyu beef brisket hash and fried chicken and waffles) on Thanksgiving morning, followed by a four-course prix fixe, slightly more traditional meal filled with your choice of meat (or mushrooms for the veggie types), salads, sides (from mashed potatoes to giblet gravy) and desserts in the afternoon and evening. Oh, gluttony. Urban Farmer, 525 SW Morrison St., 222-4900. Brunch 6:30 am-2 pm. Prix fixe meal 2-9 pm. $49 per person ($29 for kids under 12). Call to reserve seats.

Aquavira True Oregon Thanksgiving Buffet
Eat a totally local meal right on the river at Aquavira. It’ll be filled with the likes of Heritage Farms turkeys, Sauvie Island potatoes and artisanal cheeses. Aquavira, 0470 SW Hamilton Court, 802-5850. Noon-6 pm. $40 per person ($20 for kids under 12). Call to reserve seats.

Peruvian Thanksgiving at Andina
Have a cross-cultural meal at the renowned Peruvian restaurant this year. You can snack on over 30 different tapas plates, Peruvian entrees or their own special take on turkey (served with quince-huacatay chutney, lucuma gravy, corn-pumpkin humita and swiss chard). There will also be live music from Nelson Salazar and the Danny Romero Trio most of the day. Andina, 1314 NW Glisan. 228-9535. 1-9:30 pm. $55 per person ($27.50 for kids under 12). Call to reserve seats.

Thanksgiving Feast at the Country Cat
Gorge yourself on chef-butcher Adam Sappington’s carefully carved meats served with locally sourced soul food like chanterelle soup, truffled deviled eggs and bacon-braised collard greens. The Country Cat, 7937 SE Stark St., 408-1414. 2:30-7:30 pm. $40 per person. Some sides are $5 extra. Call to reserve seats.

Huber’s Thanksgiving Dinner
Have a traditional meal at Portland’s oldest restaurant. It offers your choice of soup or salad, a big helping of turkey and your choice of pumpkin pie or bread pudding. And then there’s the Spanish coffee…. Huber’s, 411 SW 3rd Ave., 228-5686. $18.79 per person. Limited reservations still available. Call to reserve seats.

THANKSGIVING SUPPLIES FOR YOUR HOME TABLE

Salt Fire and Time/Abby’s Table
[FRESH BIRDS, TAKEOUT MEALS] The community-supported kitchen is offering a special T-Day menu full of whole-food, nutrient-rich delicacies like celery root and wild mushroom soup ($4 per serving), stuffing with sage and chestnuts ($6 per serving), and mashed potatoes and parsnips ($6 per serving). Abby’s Table is providing raw, vegan and gluten-free options as well—like cured kale salad ($4 per serving) and raw pumpkin pie mousse ($4 per serving). It will also be selling sustainable (and oh-so-delicious) turkeys from Deck Family Farm ($7.50-$8.50 per pound). To order prepared foods, stop by Salt, Fire and Time/Abby’s Table. 609 SE Ankeny St., 208-2758. To order turkeys, contact Deck Family Farm, 541-998-4967. Specify that you want to pick up at Salt, Fire and Time. Orders must be placed by Nov. 20 and can be picked up Tuesday or Wednesday, Nov. 24 or 25.

Sassafras Catering
[TAKEOUT MEALS] This catering company is creating a Southern-inspired Thanksgiving for the ultimate comfort meal. Its turkey is roasted in herb butter and served up with apple chutney and cranberry-peach relish ($25 for half bird, $50 for full). Sides ($3 per person) include a root vegetable mash, stuffing with your choice of oysters or mushrooms and bacon mixed in, beer-braised collards and apple pie studded with crystallized ginger ($25 for full size, $5 for mini). Call 369-0599 to order. Meal pick-up all day Wednesday Nov. 25 at the kitchen. 5222 NE Sacramento St. Delivery is available in Portland area on Tuesday Nov. 24 or Wednesday Nov. 25 for $25. Orders must be placed by Friday, Nov. 20.

Elephants Deli Thanksgiving
[TAKEOUT MEALS] This PDX deli has a wealth of to-go Thanksgiving options. But Elephants’ menu ranges beyond the bird and trimmings to include soups, appetizer platters, salads and gift baskets. See a full menu at elephantsdeli.com. Call 224-3955 or order at elephantsdeli.com. Orders for whole turkeys must be placed by Wednesday, Nov. 18. All other orders must be placed by Monday, Nov. 23. Elephants Uptown, 115 NW 22nd Ave., 299-6304.

Kenny & Zuke’s
[TAKEOUT MEALS] You won’t get any pastrami with your turkey, but you can trust the sandwich-makers to throw together a killer dinner. They’ll be offering turkey stuffed with wild mushrooms ($13.75 per pound), along with sides like cornbread stuffing ($9.50 per pound), twice-baked truffled potatoes ($4.50 each) and three different pies ($16.50-$19.50). Call 222-3354 or email catering@kennyandzukes.com for full menu and to order by 3 pm Monday, Nov. 23.

New Seasons
[FRESH BIRDS, TAKEOUT MEALS]: RAW: The Portland-based grocer offers Diestel Family Turkey Ranch birds ($1.69-$2.99 per pound, more for special heirloom varieties). Plus, they’ve got an actual Turkey Hotline (473-8695) you can call to order—and generally talk about birds—9 am-8 pm Monday–Friday, 9 am-5 pm Saturday-Sunday. Or just order online at newseasonsmarket.com. Also, there’s goose ($5.99 per pound) and duck ($3.99 per pound) to be had. COOKED: The market offers a slew of prepared dinner options, sides and desserts, including full traditional T-Day dinners for two ($39.99): Diestel boneless turkey breast with your choice of stuffing, buttermilk mashed potatoes, turkey gravy, cranberry sauce, choice of vegetable, Parker House rolls, and pumpkin pie. Visit holiday.newseasonsmarket.com to place an order by Sunday, Nov. 22.

Whole Foods
[FRESH BIRDS, TAKEOUT MEALS]: RAW: Diestel Family Turkeys ($2.99 per pound) and Pitman Farms Mary’s organic birds ($2.99 a pound). COOKED: Whole Foods has pretty much the same lineup on offer as New Seasons, with traditional takeout dinners for six to eight people in regular ($99.99, turkey, stuffing, green beans, gravy, cranberry relish, rolls, pumpkin pie) or organic ($120). There’s a vegetarian dinner for two to four for $40, too. Check out the bounty at Whole Food’s Portland store page. Wholefoodsmarket.com/holidays, order online by Sunday, Nov. 22.

Gartner’s Country Meat Market
[TURKEYS] This old-school meat market is pretty much a protein mecca. Find an excuse to get your behind out here for the cheap, fresh housemade pepperoni sticks (10 for $5), even if you’re not ordering a turkey. Gartner’s has got competitive prices on both fresh and house-smoked birds ($1.69-$3.49 a pound) as well as stuffed game hens ($8.99 each), prime rib roasts ($8.98 per pound) and sugar-cured hams ($3.98 per pound). Gartner’s, 7450 NE Killingsworth St., 252-7801.

Nicky USA
[TURKEYS & MORE!] When a turkey just won’t do, local wild-game purveyor Nicky USA has all your weird protein needs taken care of. Squab! Rabbit! A partridge in a pear tree! Prices range from $7 to $13 per pound. Order online at nickyusa.com or by phone at 234-4263. $75 minimum on all orders, and no walk-ins.

PastaWorks
[TURKEYS] Get thee to PastaWorks for “broad-breasted white” Northwest Natural turkeys  ($3.75 a pound). They’re already out of their heritage-breed turkeys, so place your order quickly. The store also offers a range of delicious holiday ingredients to bulk up that bird. Call 232-1010 to order ASAP.

Meirav Catering
[KOSHER TAKEOUT] Need a more kosher meal? The local Jewish catering company will provide a five-course kosher turkey dinner—complete with gravy, mashed potatoes and pie. Everything will be cooked in the Shaarie Torah kitchen so you know it’ll be legit. Email meriav@comcast.net or call 740-7050 for menu and pricing information. All orders must be placed by Sunday Nov. 22.

Pix Desserts
[DESSERT] Bring a little ooh-la-la to the table with dessert from Pix Pâtisserie. The traditional pumpkin pie gets a cheesecake makeover with a spiced pecan crust ($24-$32) while the pecan pie goes glam with the addition of Spanish almonds, cashews, hazelnuts and bittersweet chocolate chips (the Nutcracker, $28-$34). Most intriguing? The macaroon cornucopia: “Four dozen colorful French macaroons in assorted flavors overflow an edible cornucopia of caramelized almonds.” And that’d be an $85 wow. Pix on Division will be open for pickups 9 am-noon on Thanksgiving Day. Pix Pâtisserie, 3402 SE Division St., 232-4407.

Random Order Pies
[PIE] This season, Random Order Coffeehouse is ready with desserts like brandied pears with dark chocolate and candied ginger streusel, and pies such as pumpkin, boozy pecan, pear-cranberry-blackberry and old-fashioned apple. Nine-inch rounds ($28) serve around six to eight people. Visit the shop or call to order. Check out pie list at randomordercoffee.com. Random Order Coffeehouse, 1800 NE Alberta St., 971-340-6995. Orders must be placed by Sunday, Nov. 22.

The Sugar Cube

[DESSERT] Only in Portland could you order Thanksgiving dessert from a food cart. The Sugar Cube is dishing out spiced buttermilk cornbread muffins with meadowfoam honey (6 for $10, 12 for $18, 24 for $25), port cranberry jam ($6 for 8 oz or $10 for 12 oz), pumpkin gingerbread cupcakes (6 for $15, 12 for $30, and 24 for $60) and four different Lauretta Jean pies (rum spiced apple, pumpkin with gingersnap crumble, bourbon and ginger pecan, and coconut cream) for $30 each. Call 890-2825 to order by Monday Nov. 23. Sugar Cube pick-ups noon-4 pm, Lauretta Jean pick-ups 11 am-2 pm, Wednesday, Nov. 25, at the Sugar Cube. 4237 N Mississippi Ave.

THANKSGIVING FARMERS MARKETS & EVENTS

Thanksgiving Farmers Market—Beaverton
The Beaverton Farmers Market gets ready to make merry with a Thanksgiving supply blowout this Saturday. The market is promising tons of local produce, table arrangements, root veggies, local breads and cookbook author Ivy Manning. Beaverton Farmers Market, Hall Boulevard between Third and Fifth streets. 643-5345. 8 am-1:30 pm Saturday, Nov. 21.

Portland Thanksgiving Farmers Market
Beaverton too far away? The Portland Farmers Market also gets ready to make merry with a Thanksgiving supply blowout the Saturday before T-Day. The PSU market is promising chanterelles, heirloom squash, wreaths, cheese and pies, plus tips from guest chefs. Portland Farmers Market, South Park Blocks between Southwest Montgomery and Harrison streets. 9 am-2 pm Saturday, Nov. 21.

Thanksgiving Reunion Market
Still not fully stocked for Thursday’s revelry? Portland Farmers Market is giving you one last chance. It’s holding a “reunion market” at the Eastbank Farmers Market site. Local produce shall abound, but we’re going for the free hot cider. Mmmm. Eastbank Farmers Market, Southeast 20th Avenue and Salmon Street. 241-0032. 1-5 pm Tuesday, Nov. 24.

Thanksgiving Wine Weekend
Willamette Valley wineries and vineyards—even many appointment-only outfits—throw open their doors to local winos for cheap bottle deals and special tastings. Highway 99W gridlock and purple-toothed revelry ensues. Visit willamettewines.com for a list of participating wineries and directions. Most wineries open 11 am-5 pm Friday-Sunday, Nov. 23-35. Tasting prices vary.

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Wow. Now, Budnick (who was a staffer at WW years ago) is really just using Yancey’s story as a window into the bigger battle brewing between the state government, who is starting to take a closer look at ingredients and Oregon farmers markets vendor practices in the name of food safety, and local vendors and farmers selling at markets, who totally want ODA to leave ‘em alone. He also mentions other clashes up in Portland, where “Sarah Broderick, manager of the Hollywood Farmers Market, said the department warned vendors that having a dog in their booths would lead to immediate “closure” of the booth — even if the vendor was unaware of the four-legged intruder.” And now, irritated vendor grumblings have made their way to Salem:

[Some] vendors and market managers are not happy with the agency’s recent decision to take a close look at markets — and the critics have found a friendly ear in the Oregon Legislature. Rep. Brian Clem, D-Salem, who heard complaints while shopping at a market in Portland, has invited representatives from the farmers markets as well as the Agriculture Department to testify at a hearing on Wednesday.

But still… outlawing love? Have a heart ODA.

You can read the whole story at bendbulletin.com (if you’re a subscriber).

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Updated Friday, Nov. 6: Okay, taste-tested and approved. Aside from all the pre-opening hoopla, it’s clear that the Sugar Cube’s still got some major sass, from the lava hot, savory-sweet explosion of its smoked salt-topped Ovaltine to its ridiculously rich “Beer.Cheese.Bacon” (see above)—a super-moist Guinness cake topped with ice cream, praline bacon and salty-good white cheddar. Jensen promised to try and use larger shavings of cheese next time for an extra salty punch. These cart desserts are special, and not just because they’re served on real china. Fun, newish PDX food blog Under the Table with Jen has an obsessive rundown on The Sugar Cube’s first day, here, so I’ll just let you read that for more details. Instead, here’s some pics of the new cart—inside and out—complete with gold cabinets and jeweled drawer pulls, and a unicorn begging for tips. (Sorry about the quality of the photos, WW’s digicam was damaged by a AirSoft rifle during Portland’s recent Zombie Apocalypse combat simulation. I’m serious.).

The Sugar Cube owner Kir Jensen with her first dollar.

Blatant attempt to curry favor with fantasy genre fans.

Inside the cart.

•••••••••••••••

Original post:

As you might have heard, celebrated local baker Kir Jensen’s cute-as-pie downtown dessert cart The Sugar Cube—home of the addictive Highway to Heaven and Amy Winehouse cupcakes—is back from the dead after a seven month absence. But, oh what, you ask, does she have in stores for Portland’s sugar and fat junkies this time around when she opens up shop tomorrow, Thursday, Nov. 5 in her new pink cart (see photo below) at the Mississippi Marketplace food cart pod? Well, it involves beer and True Blood, of course.

Here’s some menu teasers (around $3-$7), straight from the redheaded Chicago gal’s mouth:

“Beer.Cheese.Bacon: Warm Guinness and ginger stout cake, topped with Fifty Licks vanilla bean ice cream, praline bacon crunch, shaved white cheddar, buckwheat honey drizzle. Booyah!

Cupcake of the week: First up? A homage to my favorite character on True Blood…”The Lafayette.” Red velvet cake, topped with vanilla bean cream cheese frosting…and a gold lame thong garnish. [Update 10 am Thursday, Nov. 5: Jensen says that The Lafayette will not be available today. She's still "searching for gold lame thong."]

Spiced, freshly pressed apple cider: infused with vanilla bean and ginger served with cinnamon stix, nutmeg and other goodness. Comes hot with a Tonali’s old fashioned glazed doughnut.”

Oh holy christ. As Jensen would say, that sounds like a “sugargasm.” The baker also promised some Thanksgiving take home specials later this month. We’ll report back after tomorrow’s opening. Follow The Sugar cube on Twitter for more updates.

The Sugar Cube at Mississippi Marketplace, corner of North Mississippi and Skidmore, www.thesugarcubepdx.com. Noon-closing (whenever she runs outta goods) Thursday-Sunday. Photos of Sugar Cube logo and new cart courtesy of Kir Jensen.

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It’s Oregon’s first cannabis café (a concept common elsewhere around the globe) and it will be run by Oregon NORML

It’s scheduled to open Friday, Nov. 13, naturally at 4:20pm.

Sadly, only members both of the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program and NORML can partake in the experience (the café is legal under the guidelines of the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act), but maybe they’re accepting applications for servers. Snacks and items from sellers like Stoned Made will be available, along with a full range of pot to sample. The café will be a resource for the medical marijuana community, and Oregon NORML also hopes to provide seminars and classes there.

Friday, Nov. 13, 4:20pm. Rumpspankers, 700 NE Dekum St, Portland. For the Grand Opening, the entry fee will be $25, which covers the first month of membership and an all-day entry pass.

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Nine businesses on North Killingsworth Street are throwing a Halloween crawl to benefit Ethos Music Center. Participants can buy tokens at Atomic Pizza, Saraveza or Hop & Vine (10 for $30) that can each be redeemed for the following:

Yorgos - Tater Tots, Well Drink or Draft Beer
Sagittarius – Chips & Salsa, Draft Beer or Well Drink
Atomic Pizza – Pepperoni/Cheese Slice, Salad or Beer
Hop & Vine – Mini Dessert, Small Bacon Wrapped Dates, Draft Beer or House wine
Eddie’s Pizza – Savory Pinwheel, Slice of Pizza or Draft Beer
Saraveza – Half pasty, Bowl of Soup, House wine or Draft Beer
Ducketts - Small Side Dish, Well Drink or Draft Beer
Red Fox – Cupcake or Spooky Vodka Drink served in a Pumpkin!
Chapel Pub – Cheese Burger, Gardenburger or Draft Beer

That’s a ton of food and booze for $3 a pop.

Looking for a fancier way to spend the weekend? There are still four seats left for Sunday night’s dinner with Cathy Whims at the Robert Reynolds Chef Studio. Whims rarely cooks for groups of fewer than 80 since she opened Nostrana, and this Venetian-themed four-course dinner, which includes pairings of Cameron Wines, is a chance to revisit the intimate meals she served at Genoa. Robert Reynolds Chefs Studio, 2818 SE Pine St., 544-1350. 6:30 pm Sunday, Nov. 1. $85.

The biggest day of autumn for lovers of hefty beer is coming: On Tuesday, Nov. 3, Deschutes Brewery releases the 2009 run of The Abyss, the Bend beer-maker’s extraordinary imperial stout. Thick, black and seriously high-proof, this is a special-occasion beer to be reckoned with. Deschutes celebrates with parties at both the Bend and Portland Public Houses. Enthusiasts line up down the block every year, and the Pub’s supply usually runs out within three hours. 210 NW 11th Ave. 2 pm Tuesday, Nov. 3.

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Oregon Lottery Director Dale Penn today made a lengthy argument [PDF] for renewing the current commission structure paid to retailers.

Penn’s conclusion that lottery rates should stay the same over the six-year period after the current contract expires next June is a big win for the Oregon Restaurant Association, if the five-member Lottery Commission agrees with him. The association represents more than 2,000 bars, taverns and restaurants that carry Lottery’s video poker and line games.

The current commission structure pays retailers about 23 percent of the take. In 2008, Lottery sales reached an all-time high of $895 million but have slumped 20 percent this year.

About two-thirds of the net proceeds goes to K-12 education and so schools advocates have long argued for lower retailer commissions.

Those advocates have gotten some of what they wanted—although not all of it. The average commission has fallen from 33.5 percent in 1998 to 23.6 percent last year. Despite that dramatic drop in compensation, the number of retailers has increased every year and in a recent interview, Penn told WW that retailers basically never dropped Lottery machines because of lower commissions.

In his report released today, Penn attributed the 20 percent decline this way: “there is a smoking ban reducing sales, Oregon is burdened with high unemployment, and our country is facing the worst economic environment since the Great Depression.” He offered no evidence that lowering commissions as education activists have asked him to do, would lower the state’s take.

Penn’s strongest argument that retailers are in trouble—the fact that the number of new retailers signing up to carry Lottery machines is only half what it was last year—is not exactly a strong argument that increasing the state’s take would endanger the golden goose.

Still, the ORA managed to convince Penn that lowering commissions now would be “too risky.”

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Willamette Week’s 2009 Restaurant Guide is out today, inside every issue of this week’s paper. We had a blast, as always, putting the guide together, and noticed a few things along the way that didn’t make it into the guide.

First, turnover. The following restaurants that were in last year’s guide have either closed or undergone such drastic changes that they might as well have: 23Hoyt, Alberta Street Oyster Bar, Alu (since reopened under new ownership), Banh Cuon Tan Din, Cava, Encanto, Fife, Genoa (reopening in November), Nutshell, Roux. Between the 2007 and 2008 guides there were only four closures. Openings appear to be holding steady, with 17 restaurants in this year’s guide that opened in the last year versus 14 in 2008.

Some trends: Padrón peppers, already ascendant last year, are everywhere. I ate them at six of the 16 restaurants I reviewed. Poached eggs have also become ubiquitous, on salads, pasta, sandwiches and anywhere else cooks can stick them. Particularly frequent is arugula, lardon and poached egg salads. The best one I had was at Laurelhurst Market. Lots of panzanella. Plenty of venison and boar, too. Charcuterie plates are now ubiquitous. Everyone has a happy hour.

The most-mentioned ingredients in our reviews this year are, in order: pork, wine, chicken, cheese, tomatoes, lamb, bacon, potatoes, bread, beans, corn, sausage, salmon, beef, onion, pasta, egg, peppers, crab, garlic, fish, fries, chile, lamb, oil, butter, duck, arugula (all occurred more than 10 times in the guide). Want a visual illustration? Here’s a word cloud.

Finally, there are a great number of restaurants slated to open by the end of 2009: Grüner, Chris Israel’s “Alpine-themed” restaurant; American Flatbread, a Portland branch of an artisan pizza chain based in Vermont; Anju, a Japanese pub that opened a few weeks ago in the space that used to be Nutshell; Genoa, coming Nov. 22, with the addition of a lower-priced cafe; Lovely Fifty-Fifty, a pizza and ice cream parlor from the owners of Lovely Hula Hands; Olympic Provisions, the charcuterie-making facility and restaurant from Clyde Common’s Nate Tilden; a dive bar from Bunks Sandwiches’ Tommy Habetz and Nick Wood; Slappy Cakes, a grill-your-own pancake joint on Belmont; Soluna Grill, a new venture in the Fife building; Suzette, a new crêpe joint taking the place of two failed crêpe joints; Spints Alehouse, a gastropub in the space that was the doomed Cafe 401; A Pok Pok bar, across the street from the restaurant; Big-Ass Sandwiches (yes, really) downtown; and a new venture from the Caprials in inner Southeast.

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2. Restaurant Guide 2008 —BEN
3. Restaurant Guide 2001– other oregon [] think

Home cooks adore him. Bloggers can’t stand him. Foodies call him simultaneously brilliant and boring. On his relentless path toward culinary perfection, he has certainly stepped on a lot of toes (especially when critiquing the ever-growing food blogosphere, which he recently blamed for the demise of Gourmet magazine). Yet Chris Kimball, the studious, and perhaps obsessive, creator of America’s Test Kitchen on TV as well as the magazines Cook’s Illustrated and Cook’s Country, really just wants to keep America cooking, and cooking well (Internet or no Internet). WW sat down with the self-proclaimed expert over Blueplate pot roast last week, while the author was in town promoting his new cookbook, to talk test kitchens, food journalism and the Grateful Dead.

WW: So tell me about your new books.
Chris Kimball: More Best Recipes is all the recipes from the last five years that weren’t in New Best Recipes. It’s a companion piece. It’s sort of like Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volumes 1 and 2. We did a contest for Lost Recipes. We were surprised. We got 2,800 recipes submitted and I would say about 20 percent were really, really interesting, which is a really high percentage for a recipe contest. Usually you get people making chocolate chip cookies with like, M&Ms in them or something. These, these were really quite good.

Would you actually cook from that cookbook at home?
Yeah, we actually cook a lot from Cook’s Country…. I like those recipes. We don’t really do a lot of fancy cooking.

What other kinds of things do you cook at home?
Well, it’s pretty boring. We eat out of our freezer. We raise our own beef and pork, chickens for eggs. What we eat is mostly whatever we have in our freezer. New England boiled dinner is a dinner I love. And yeah, sometimes we’ll cook out of Cook’s Country or once in a while just make something up. I would say that we mostly eat what we produce—it’s clean, it’s organic, the pork is much better than the crap in the supermarkets. So, I’m not an adventurous cook. That’s why I go out to restaurants. I don’t want to do Thai food at home.

What’s your favorite restaurant?
I used to be really picky, if you can imagine. But now, you know, the reason I go out to restaurants is I want to try something new. So I’ll go out, and I’ll eat anything. So no, I don’t have a favorite. But this [Blueplate] is the kind of place I like. I like neighborhood restaurants. On the other hand, I love Le Bernardin in New York, but uh, that’s not a neighborhood restaurant. I guess I really hate—well, I don’t like—pretentious, overdesigned, fancy designer food.

Like molecular gastronomy?
Well, yeah, like that. Frozen foam [makes a face]. I do like Le Bernardin. Even though [Eric Ripert] can be adventurous, he actually knows what he’s doing. I also like Nopa in San Francisco. I really like that.

Speaking of San Francisco, what are your thoughts on Alice Waters and her scene?
Give her credit. She started a huge trend and she’s really worked hard on the whole garden thing. You know, her daughter went to Yale and helped them [start the sustainable farm]. She’s done a lot, you know. It’s just the whole Berkeley thing. It’s not my cup of tea, but some of her books are quite good. I like her vegetable book. It’s a really good book. But, either you’re from Berkeley, or you’re not.

Do you have any favorite cookbooks that aren’t part of Cook’s?
Yeah, um, I like In Nona’s Kitchen, that book came out about 10 or 12 years ago. I like the Union Square Cafe book. He’s a really good cook. All of Jacques Pépin’s stuff works. It’s solid stuff. There was a little book on Mediterranean street food that came out a couple years ago that I really liked.

Ever want to subject recipes in cookbooks to your recipe-testing standards?
No. I used to. I used to review cookbooks. But, uh, nobody in the food world would talk to me. I’d piss off everybody. The problem is, I think [cookbook testing] was a flawed idea. I don’t think people buy cookbooks expecting most of the recipes to work. I think they buy them for inspiration.

Speaking of pissing people off, could you tell me a little bit about the Gourmet editorial shenanigan?
You know I wasn’t saying that all digital blogging and other food talk isn’t useful. I was saying that it’s not subject to the same degree of scrutiny and value of something that’s printed. So, just because you have an opinion, doesn’t mean…anything. It’s easy now to have an opinion and write something about it, but so what? I want someone who knows what they’re doing. I want Julia’s voice, I want Jacques’ voice, I want Alice’s voice when it comes to vegetables. I’d rather listen to somebody who actually knows a lot about a particular thing, has an opinion and can offer a fresh perspective. I like the other thing too, but I don’t think we should get rid of experts. I think that the democratization of the media actually works sometimes and works well, but sometimes I think it’s good to have experts. I think you need a balance of both. I don’t care what 1,000 people think, necessarily, about brownies.

But you do have an online presence right now. What do you see changing with America’s Test Kitchen online in the next few years?
We have a lot of plans. I do think the Internet is going to change cooking—you have video, you know you have thousands of photographs, you have print, you have different ways of presenting a recipe that are nonlinear. I don’t think that many people cook off a computer screen right now, but I do think the more portable devices may make it easier to actually cook from them. So we want to definitely be there.

What about getting involved in the new trend of wiki recipes?
I didn’t think it would work because everybody’s kitchen is different. You need a more regimented approach to testing, and then ultimately it’s about what people do with the recipes when they go back to their kitchen. You know people substitute ingredients in recipes, or the oven’s off 100 degrees. It’s about what happens in their kitchen, it’s not about what happens in the test kitchen. That’s really the secret of recipes. What is someone going to do with a recipe? Figuring out what they’re going to do with it before they do it, that’s how you teach someone to cook. You figure out, like, eight stupid things they’ll do, like melt butter instead of creaming it or they use, instead of top loin, they use sirloin or whatever. I still do stupid things. We all do stupid things.

What about online recipe contests like Amanda Hesser’s Food52 project?
Well, I think you can do an encyclopedia that way. I don’t think you can do recipes. For example, we did a pie crust recipe a couple years ago and we used vodka. It was transformative. It was brilliant. It completely changed pie crusts for me. Well—no one’s gonna come up with that using the Internet. What you’re gonna get is someone saying, “I swapped all-purpose for cake flour,” or, “I changed the amount of liquid,” “I baked it in a different pan,” or “I used a different kind of chocolate.” What you’re not going to get is the, “Gee, I wonder if Wondra flour and cornstarch together will make crispy french fries?” That only comes through a lot of research and 50, 60 or 70 tests, and finally something pops up.

Tell me about these french fries.
Our kitchen’s got four or five french fry recipes that we use. None of them I’m really happy with. There’s one restaurant in Burlington, Vt., that makes the best french fries. And I keep going back year after year and I finally got ahold of the chef, and he said the secret was half Wondra flour and half cornstarch. Well, how do you get to that point? We had spent hundreds of hours making french fries. We did french fries using the Robuchon method starting in cold oil, which actually works pretty well. We never came up with that. We’ve been trying for 20 years now. And now I have another clue.

I think that one of the best things about the Internet is that it seems like there are more people cooking now because of it, and it’s kind of funny to think about this observation in comparison with statements from people like Michael Pollan who say that no one is cooking anymore.
If you look over the last 100-plus years at the decrease in cooking from six hours to one hour, what’s changed is that we have the dishwasher and you can go to the supermarket and you don’t have to actually buy 100 pounds of green beans. You don’t have to use a coal or a wood stove. You have an electric mixer. So if you had to whip eggs with a whisk versus a mixer, how much of that six hours to one hour is simply technology? And wow, we’re really only cooking one meal a day. So, OK, that’s less cooking, but the world’s changed. In the 1980s there was that big move into the workplace. That’s when the big shifts happened. So that’s kind of stabilized now. If anything, there might be a slight reverse trend. I think cooking at home has stabilized in the last three to five years. I think it’s going to keep going up now. It’s really not going down.

How much of that do you think is based on Food Network and other pop food culture things?
I don’t like Rachael Ray’s cooking, but God bless her. It’s what I say about Emeril. Emeril brought men into the kitchen. I want as many media properties out there as possible to promote cooking. The Food [Network] is not my kind of cooking, but Paula Deen brings people in. She’s got that great persona, and you know, I’m not gonna probably [cook] her food, but it’s great advertising for cooking. [It used to be] at book signings, mostly everyone there was between 45 and 65. Now I see kids—8-year-olds, 5-year-olds—who watch our cooking show. I see a lot of younger people. But this [Internet] food revolution, you know, once it’s started, you can’t stop it, and nobody knows what’s going to happen in the end. So you can often end up destroying a lot of great things along the way. You may end up in a better place, eventually. Like with the French Revolution, we got French restaurants. So that was good, but then we got Napoleon.

What does the young generation of foodies in Portland need to know about you?
I really believe in this test kitchen process. I guess the question I ask people is, “How much is one good recipe worth to you?” For me, it’s worth a lot. A great pie crust recipe? It’s worth the price of a subscription for me, because I make it all the time. But whatever you like, if you ended up with a recipe that would really transform the way you make it, and not just the spices or the texture, but something that really was transformative in that recipe—for me, that’s the goal. We don’t always get there. When we do, it’s great. Those kinds of recipes get you in the kitchen and the outcome is predictable and wonderful, and when you make them, you really feel great. So for me, that’s the joy of cooking. And it’s not me. It’s the recipe. It’s the recipes that get you from an average outcome to a spectacular outcome.

I have a hard time not wanting to take credit for a dish that I’ve made when it’s straight from a recipe instead of something I’ve made up.
That’s a pet peeve of mine that everyone wants to be creative in the kitchen. I don’t have any pride of authorship. If the recipe works—if it’s Lydia’s recipe or Alice’s recipe or one of my test kitchen chefs’ recipes—I don’t feel a great need to take credit. It’s sort of like, I have a little band, we play like once a year and we like to do covers, so I don’t feel bad that I’m playing “Eyes of the World” or some other Grateful Dead song. I don’t feel terrible that we’re not writing our own music. But I mean, yes, sometimes you like to be creative. If the food’s good, I’m fine.

So wait, you’re in a cover band?
Yeah, I’m a Deadhead, a major Deadhead. I have a little band, we play at a pig roast we have every year in Vermont. And we play, we just get everybody together and we play Grateful Dead music. But again, I’m perfectly happy that Jerry Garcia wrote the music to “Eyes of the World.” It’s not terrible that it was his idea.

So to cook great recipes, what are three things every kitchen should have? Anthony Bourdain says you just need a knife.
I would say you need a knife sharpener. That’s more important. You need a Chef’s Choice model 139 sharpener. Without that, you’re dead. A sharpening steel doesn’t really work. No one knows how to use a sharpening stone. So I would say that a knife sharpener is No. 1. The second thing is a really good 12-inch skillet, fully clad, probably an All-Clad. The third thing is an instant-read thermometer. I do all my cooking with a thermometer—and a timer, ’cause no one ever remembers.

I don’t ever use a timer unless I’m cooking eggs.
I’ll forget. I always use a timer. I’m terrible.

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