More Trashy Mexican Food...

Is there anything better than trashy Mexican food? Sure, the French Laundry was a meal I'll never forget... and Verre was pretty darned awesome... but, more often than not, when I'm obsessively craving some specific type of food, the type of food in question is trashy Mexican food... I think this phenomenon began as a result of living in Australia for two years and thus being denied access to anything resembling the fantastic trashy Mexican food that I had developed an addiction to when I lived in Southern California. It got so bad that I would stop at the Mexican restaurant in the LAX international terminal every time I flew back to Melbourne just to get one last fix (typically the chile rellenos and a margarita) while I had the chance...

Today's venture into Portland's trashy Mexican food scene was a bit of an accident. My mom and I were out running errands when we realized it was getting to be lunch time and we decided to stop for Mexican food on the way home. The not-so-trashy place we were planning to visit is apparently only open for lunch on the weekends, so we ended up going to the nearest place we could think of, which we had just driven past on our way to the closed place: Ole Frijole (located in the old Mr. Burger building on Killingsworth).
We ended up ordering a few things to share (and, due to poor impulse control, also ended up with way more food than two people could reasonably consume). First up was the Chile Rellenos combo plate. Chile Rellenos are one of my very favorite foods, so I'm more choosy about them than I maybe should be. These were pretty good, but not the best I've had. (I strongly prefer the Super Cuca's version, and actually sort of prefer the LAX version...)
For the sake of comparison amongst restaurants (while Stanley is a Chimichanga man, I'm a Carnitas Combo Plate chick) we also ordered a Carnitas combo. This dish (and this whole meal overall, actually) was much less greasy than what I'd tried with Max and Midge at La Sirenita, but the carnitas was a bit dry and not as flavorful as the La Sirenita version (I'm hoping that's not just because it was less greasy...).
Because we are crazy people, we also ordered a couple tacos just to get an idea of the different meat options. My mom went with a carne asada hard taco (below, left) and I tried the chorizo soft taco (below, right). The carne asada was reportedly pretty good, and improved with the addition of hot sauce. I liked the chorizo taco much better than the ones I've tried at La Super Rica (in Santa Barbara), again, in large part, because it was so much less greasy. I was definitely a fan of the chorizo taco...
In summary, this isn't necessarily going to be the winner in the Emily's Favorite Trashy Mexican Food in Portland category, but I think I would try it again for two reasons. First, it's possible they were just having an off day on the carnitas. If they're not typically this dry, I think I would be a big fan of the Ole Frijole carnitas combo (given the lack of greasiness and the fact that I liked the tortillas and the general construction of the plate). Second, as I was leaving I saw somebody's Chimichanga order come up. That thing looked crazy. I may have to use the Stanley standard for further evaluation before I form my final opinion...

SNOW!!!!!!

I don't want to alarm you, but it is totally snowing in Portland right now... It's been a few years since I've seen snow in person, so this is pretty seriously awesome... Woohoo!

Evolution of a Sunset...

You know what's awesome about being on vacation at the beach? Sometimes you have absolutely nothing more pressing to do than to sit around watching a kick-ass sunset develop over the ocean...

That’s More Like It…

Before the crushing sadness of Monday night, Monday started out as a pretty good day (even featuring a morning rainbow on the horizon…).

We started at the Lincoln City Library, where there is free wi-fi and where there is also a book sale on Monday mornings. The books are both ex-library and donations, and they’re on sale for $1 each. For those of you who know me, you know that I can’t pass up such things… I ended up with about 12 books, but we also ended up spending a lot more time at the Library than we’d originally planned, so all this book-shopping threw a wrench in our lunch plans. (It was already 1pm, but we had two more stops to make before we headed back to enjoy the lunch waiting for us at the beach house…)

We decided that, since we need groceries anyway (don’t get me started on the fact that you can’t buy a papaya anywhere in this city…), we would get lunch at the McMenamins across the street from the big grocery store. This turned out to be a very good idea. McMenamins is a chain of brew pubs, but each pub has a slightly different menu than the others. Because I was still a little sad about our icky crab cakes at Georgie’s, we decided to do a Dungeness Crab Cake appetizer on the menu here along with a small order of fries.
These were seriously delicious crab cakes, with lots of sweet, fresh crab and was served with a really nice wasabi sauce. Just what we needed to banish memories of the bad crab cakes… The fries at this McMenamins were superior to the ones we had at Kennedy School, as well. Awesome. For lunch, I saw that the menu listed “blue cheese dressing” as an ingredient on the Captain Neon Burger (which is the traditional awesome version, not the lame “blue cheese” of Kennedy School that had disappointed me recently). Sure enough, my Captain Neon came with delicious creamy blue cheese, making it a bit messier to eat than the Kennedy School version (which just has lame crumbled blue cheese), but also infinitely more delicious… Good stuff.
After lunch we stopped at the outlet mall to do a bit of Christmas shopping, then finally drove back home. As we were coming around a sharp curve in the road near the beach house, we encountered a mail truck driving towards us entirely in our lane. My dad slammed on the brakes and we came to a stop less than a foot away from a collision. Whew. I was very happy not to die on the way home to watch what I (wrongly) thought would be a great football game (sigh). Good to know the brakes in my car are functioning so well.

Below are some more beach pictures (sunset last night before my heart was broken above, sunrise this morning below), which I don’t seem to be getting tired of taking.

Off to a Great Start…

After my grandma’s birthday dinner, we got back on the road to drive down to Lincoln City, where we would be staying at a beach house owned by friends of the family. They rent the house out to their friends for a nominal fee, and it was always one of my favorite places at the beach when I was growing up. Since then my parents have acquired a fancy time-share down at Depot Bay (about 20 minutes south of Lincoln City), but it’s still cool to have a bit more of a quiet, rustic experience here…

Things were going pretty well on the drive (view out the front window of the car shown above), and we were in fairly high spirits (after working through the entire collection of “oldies” on my iPod) when we pulled into the driveway of the beach house at 10pm only to find… there was a car already there. After noting the lights on inside (thus determining that this wasn’t just a neighbor’s car, we called the owner to ask what was going on. He was sure these people were supposed to have checked out earlier in the day, but when we spoke to them (to determine when they would be leaving) they were convinced it wasn’t their fault. I’m pretty sure they’re the ones to blame, but maybe I’m still just bitter because they made it impossible for me to get settled in at the beach house that night and wake up there in the morning.

Since we weren’t going to drag a couple 80-year-olds out of the beach house at 10pm, we went off to find a hotel for the night. We found a pretty cheap place, and you could tell it was classy because the microwave in the room had a marble finish:
(The view from the room the next morning wasn’t that bad, actually, but it’s still not as good as being at the beach house…)
The old people weren’t planning to be out of our way until noon, so we decided to drive in to Newport for a little brekky. There’s a restaurant there called Georgie’s where my parents had had great experiences previously. It’s a nice-looking place, with great ocean views from the tables:
I’d heard stories of the amazing Crab Cake Benedict, which consists of a couple perfectly poached eggs served atop crab cakes and topped with a Creole Hollandaise sauce. The dish looked gorgeous…
…and tasted… pretty crappy, actually. I wasn’t a big fan of the Hollandaise (that’s a lot of parsley for a kid like me), but the real issue was with the crab cake. Last time they were here, my parents had big lumps of gorgeous crab meat in this dish, but on this trip it was just a ground mush that tasted sort of like old canned crab with onions and bread crumbs mixed in. We asked if the crab was fresh and the waitress told us they “don’t do it one by one” and that they “have a mix”… Not sure what that means, but the result is the worst crab cake I’ve ever had. Sigh… Before this meal I never knew crab cakes could actually taste bad (rather than just not great)…

Thus, our vacation was off to a fantastic start… After lunch we drove back to the beach house and found the driveway nice and empty. We got unpacked and settled in to relax and watch the storms out on the ocean. It felt extra-awesome to be here after the way our first 18 hours of vacation had gone.
For dinner that night we fired up the grill and made some seriously delicious Southeast-Asian Turkey Burgers, which are one of my very favorite meals. I really love bright fresh herbs with grilled meat that’s been marinated in lemongrass and shallots… So tasty…
Sunday was a football-watching day, where we made some awesome homemade Bloody Mary’s with our leftover fresh horseradish and watched the Giants get beat up by the Eagles. I have this dream of the Giants dropping 3 of their last 4 to give the Bucs home field throughout the playoffs (including the Super Bowl). Now that they’ve lost the first and will be up against Dallas and Carolina next, I don’t think that’s too far-fetched. My parents also got the pleasure of hearing me yell at the TV when the announcers kept saying that the NFC South is up for grabs, when clearly the Bucs have things under control. I guess they’ll see that on Monday night…
After the Seahawks showed some serious pride against the Pats my parents were working a puzzle and I was playing one of the versions of the totally-awesome Diner Dash video games, when my dad looked out the window and drew our attention to this awesome sunset... After a rocky start, things are definitely looking up...

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

I was in Kuala Lumpur when my grandma had a giant party to celebrate her 80th birthday, so I wanted to make a nice meal for her while I was in Portland as an (Extremely-Belated) Birthday Dinner… Since my grandma had recently moved and no longer has access to a full kitchen, it was important that everything could be prepped in advance and be re-heated for service with only a microwave and toaster oven. I was already thinking I wanted to do Braised Oxtail as the main course, so this was actually no problem… (If Steph and I can cook in the Motel 6, I can certainly cook in a big apartment that’s just lacking a full kitchen…)

We loaded up my car for our family trip to the coast and left for Salem (which is about halfway between Portland and the beach). For appetizers we served a dish referential of my time in Australia: Trio of Dips (below). I know I should have made one with beets to truly reference our Aussie restaurant experiences, but that’s never been one of my favorites so instead I went with (clockwise from top) a Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Dip (recipe top secret so as not to steal certain people’s Super Bowl Party dip-making thunder), a Spicy Spinach Dip with Pine Nuts, and a Smoky Chickpea Dip (roughly like this one). We served them with toasted sliced baguette, but I wish we’d had Turkish bread to be more traditional…
The main course was Braised Oxtail with Red Wine Reduction Sauce and Celery Root Mash (topped with yummy fresh-grated horseradish). I really love to make braised dishes like this in the winter, and this is maybe my favorite braised dish I make. (We were even lucky enough to find pig feet that weren’t too hairy, which makes prep much easier and way less icky…) Turns out my grandma really likes braised meat and is also a big fan of celery (celery root, for those of you who haven’t tried it, is a big white root that tastes like an earthier, more intense version of celery), so this ended up being a good choice for her special meal.
My grandma is more of a lemon fan than a chocolate fan, so dessert was the lemon bars I posted about over on my recipe page a few days ago. They are seriously the best lemon bars in the history of baking. Please go make yourself a batch if you like lemon bars (or lemon in general). You’ll be glad you did… They’re shown here served on my mom’s “Special Plate,” which she always gave us on our birthdays when Stanley and I were kids…
After dinner we headed on to the coast… which is another post altogether… But it was really nice to get some quality time with my grandma and to have an excuse to make (and eat) such yummy food.

Trashy Mexican Food in Portland...

So, being in Portland also means getting to hang out with Max and Midge. We got together for some trashy Mexican food last night and decided to try Taqueria La Sirenita thanks to a recommendation from Stanley. This is by far the best trashy Mexican food I've had in Portland, but I'm a bit torn as to whether it can beat out Super Cuca's for the top place in my heart...

After we'd ordered our main meals, we decided to also order some chips and salsa. The woman at the counter asked if we wanted them "with everything else on them" (how do you say no to that?) so we ended up with what was essentially a non-melty plate of nachos (below). While we waited for our orders we also explored the condiment tray, which featured some totally awesome grilled onions (and by "grilled" I mean "cooked in lots of grease on the griddle") and some interesting pickles and hot sauces.
For my dinner I went with the Carnitas Plate (below) so that I could make a direct comparison to the Carnitas Super Plate at Super Cuca's. I found that the Carnitas itself is vastly superior at La Sirenita, but that I prefer the overall construction of the Super Plate at Super Cuca's (where I think there's a perfect balance of rice, beans, cheese, and pico de gallo). The homemade tortillas at Super Cuca's are also more impressive than the tortillas we had here... but, damn... That was some good Carnitas. I think I will still have to do some exploring in Portland to see if I can find a trashy Mexican joint that can best Super Cuca's, but I am glad to have tried La Sirenita...
After dinner it was only 8pm, so we decided to grab a beer at Kennedy School before calling it a night. We decided to check out a new bar in the building called The Boiler Room (which was formerly a storage space and, as the name suggests, a boiler room), and it turned out to be one of the more awesome bar spaces I've seen in Portland. (Check out the photo gallery in the link above to get a better idea of the space, but picture it being darker...) There are pool tables as well as shuffle board, but it also has just a really cool bar space and restaurant seating. Kennedy School was in serious need of a bigger bar (with lines into the hall of people trying to squeeze into the Cyprus Room on the weekends), and this place fills that need while also being totally pimp. Nicely done, McMenamins.
I'm leaving this afternoon for a week at the Oregon Coast (staying in Lincoln City at what was probably my favorite place to stay at the beach when I was a kid), which should be really nice... I'm hoping for rain storms, which the Oregon Coast usually has no trouble delivering at this time of year.

Sequel-Fest 2008: Part One

Being in Portland means getting to hang out with my friend Maggie, and hanging out with Maggie means (among other things) cheesy girl movies (or movies starring Snoop Dogg) and espresso milkshakes... Brandon will be joining us for Sequel-Fest as well, since he secretly loves these movies (even if he pretends he doesn't)...

Because themes make everything better, we decided to hold Sequel-Fest 2008 on this visit, which we determined will have to extend over a couple nights since neither of us has 8 hours free to devote to watching cheesy movies in one sitting... For Part One we went with Step Up 2: The Streets and Center Stage 2: Turn It Up, both of which made us long for the originals a bit but were entertaining in their own right... (And, yes, I've already seen both of these a few times, but Maggie hadn't and I enjoy repetition, so it all works out...)
Step Up 2 starts incredibly slowly, due in large part to the fact that neither of the leads can really carry a movie, but once Moose (above) is introduced things start looking up. I can't wait for Step Up 3-D (coming in 2010), which may in fact be a Moose star vehicle judging by the fact that he's been out promoting it. That would so totally rock. Center Stage 2, on the other hand, doesn't have anyone as hilariously adorable as Moose, but it does have the more traditionally adorable Tommy (below) with his Boston accent and his quest for the fire. (Fire, of course, being a 2-syllable word when he says it.) I love me some adorable Boston accents... which I guess makes it convenient that I'm moving to Boston...
To make sure we could stay awake for the entirety of Center Stage 2 (we are old ladies and would be watching until past my bedtime) we made the traditional Maggie & Emily movie-watching beverage: Espresso Milkshakes. We'd experimented with these a few times in the past (I think it's been several years...), but this was our best batch ever. Mmm... Coffee...
For Sequel-Fest 2008: Part Two, we'll be checking out Another Cinderella Story (which I haven't seen yet) and Bring it On 3: All or Nothing. So very very awesome... I think we're also going to have to hold a screening of Take the Lead (starring Antonio Banderas!) and The Clique (produced by Tyra Banks!) at some point before I head out... Who knows how long it will be in Boston before I meet people who share my taste for cheesiness and caffeine? I have to take advantage of having such awesome people around while I can...

The Whole Point of Thanksgiving Dinner?

Leftover turkey and cranberries. Toasted sourdough bread. Arugula. Triple-cream brie. Mayonnaise and Dijon.
As far as I know, this sandwich is the best reason to go to the trouble of making Thanksgiving dinner in the first place...

Moving On and a Happy (and Lazy) Thanksgiving...

I had almost two full weeks in Santa Barbara but, especially as my flight back to Portland approached, that time moved incredibly fast. Santa Barbara still feels so much like home to me. I really enjoyed my life there, and every time I go back to visit it breaks my heart a little bit to leave. I know I'll have an awesome time in Boston and I'm excited about that, but for several months before I left Melbourne I thought I would be moving back to Santa Barbara rather than to Boston, which I think made the nostalgia hit me extra-hard this trip when the time came to leave. I know I'll be back to visit in the future, but still... sigh...

Anyway, we tried to make the most of my last few days in town. Steph and I had meals planned for my last two nights: one to help us take care of some Cab and Syrah that needed drinking, and one to take care of the insanely delicious Cotes de Tablas Blanc that we bought together at Tablas Creek in Paso Robles. Unfortunately (for the plans, not for me), my PhD advisor invited me to attend dinner at an awesome steakhouse with him and some lab buddies on Tuesday (my last night in town), so we had to improvise a bit.

Thus, on Monday night we needed to find a way to drink both an amazing white wine and a big hearty red. For an appetizer, we decided to throw together a white pizza to eat with the Cotes de Tablas Blanc. We topped the crust with ricotta, thyme, roasted red pepper, smoked ham, and goat cheese before baking, then topped it off with fresh baby arugula. With a sprinkle of red pepper flakes, this turned out to be pretty delicious and was a nice accompaniment to a wine that I cannot find words to properly express the awesomeness of...
Our main course was a classic Emily & Steph recipe: Grilled Rib-Eye Steaks with Blue Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms. This was delicious, as always. We tried both a Cab and a Syrah with this and found that the Cab stood up better to the mushrooms, which overpowered this particular Syrah (unlike the 2000 Curtis Crossroads Syrah, which was the wine that inspired us to make this dish so many times before... I taste these mushrooms and I immediately start wishing I had a glass of that Syrah with me...)
Tuesday night brought dinner at Lucky's in Montecito. I never understood why people would "waste" $50 on a steak until I ate at a good steakhouse for the first time. (My budget typically prohibits me from going to steakhouses unless invited for business dinners...) The steaks at Lucky's are very high quality and cooked to perfection, and pretty much everything on the menu is delicious. On this trip I went with Diver Scallops in Escargot Butter and a Charred Bone-In Rib-Eye with Horseradish Sauce (sauce not pictured):
We ordered several sides for the table, all of which tasted great, but I forgot to take pictures because by then I was focused on my steak, which was very much the star of the show. First, though, the scallops made me very happy. I'm such a sucker for fresh scallops, and I try to order them every time the opportunity arises... These were incredibly fresh and cooked to perfection. My steak, too, was perfectly cooked and so very very tasty. Mmmm... Steak....

After one last lunch at Super Cucas on Wednesday (I ordered the totally awesome Chile Rellenos but was too excited about eating my kick-ass lunch to remember to take a picture), I headed back to lab for a few goodbyes. I sat through the crazy 101S traffic (Santa Barbarans panic when it rains (as it did my last two days there) which combined with Thanksgiving traffic to make for lots of sitting in gridlock during my last two days in town) to get back to Steph's so we could say our goodbyes before she headed off to see her parents and I headed out to the airport.
My flight got me back to Portland at 1am, just in time to go to bed and wake up to sit around watching horribly boring football games while my wonderful mother slaved away in the kitchen preparing a feast. I'm such a control freak that I usually end up either being in charge or heavily involved in the preparations for such things, so it was a special treat (especially given how exhausted I was) to just sit back and let my mommy make me a bunch of delicious food... (Thanks, mom!)