Thursday, July 4, 2013

Will Travel For Food

Working as a television producer, I travel...a lot...wherever the subject may be. This can get tough...I miss my dog, I miss my man, and I miss cooking. Eating on the road every other week can get a little ridiculous, and so I try to embrace the local cuisine, be that hidden gems or well-established hot spots. 

FL has led me to the most delicious seafood, I found the greatest hole-in-the-wall pulled pork in TN, and this past week led me to Portland, OR, a place that I had never been to, but heard so many great...and strange....things about. 

Before we get into the food, can I just say that Portland may be the cleanest city I've ever seen? That downtown is pretty spotless. They may need a shower, but all those recycle-lovin' hipsters are doing something right. 

The first half of my trip to Portland was pretty busy, which means eating in the hotel. Luckily we stayed at The Benson Hotel, a very old, and very well-fed restaurant. Go for the breakfast buffet...and yes, grab the old-fashioned donut. Go back for a second. You'll forgive yourself. 


We wrapped up a little early on our last night. My cameraman is a big local beer fan, so I asked the bellhop for the best local brewery in town. He sent us to Deschutes Brewery. To that bellhop, I thank thee. 



Deschutes Brewery has a great space, large, open, with actual brew set-up visible in the back. And really good beer. I ordered the Deschutes River Ale, perfect for a hot day in July. Light and crisp, not too hoppy, and with enough body to take a big gulp and immediately feel relaxed. 

Now I usually play it light and healthy when eating on the road, but by the last night of a shoot, I gotta let it all go, so I ordered the Obsidian Stout Mac and Cheese with Tilamook cheddar AND sausage. If you go to Deschutes Brewery, you should get this, and share it with someone, cuz it's a lot. And it's delicious. 



With the curly noodles and sausage, this dish was a little reminiscent of hamburger helper, in the best way possible. In a nostalgic, I'm-a-grown-up-away-from-home-working-on-the-road-and-need-this-right-now kind of way. 

Cameraman wasn't too hungry and ordered the braised pork belly appetizer - which is basically a giant piece of delicious bacon. 



I really enjoyed Portland. Kudos to you Portlandians. You've got a great city. I'm hoping I can head back there at some point, in a non-work environment and do a little exploring. 

Any Portlandians out there, if you've got some other great places to suggest, let me know!

Now I'm back home, happy and cooking up a storm. 
Oh, and happy Fourth of July!



1 comment:

  1. Those curly noodles w/sausage look so yummy!
    www.shannonheartsblog.com

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