The Kimchi quesadilla - such a simple thing, but there’s definitely an art to making them. I’m obsessed with this spicy, perfect fusion of Mexican and Korean and order them wherever they are offered. 

My ranking for Portland’s kimchi quesadillas are as follows:

1. Voicebox : You wouldn’t expect excellent food from a karaoke joint, but I love the crispness they achieve with the tortilla.
2. Dots : Huge portion and great flavor, but they need to adjust on their kimchi/cheese ratio just a tad.
3. KOi Fusion (pictured) : The obvious go-to for this dish falls flat as the cheese dominates in an overwhelming ‘my arteries are definitely getting clogged’ ordeal. Pointers for the tasty sour cream, though.

blusterousiris:

White Whale Ale (Rogue Ales), created in collaboration with Powell’s, is actually brewed with a few pages torn from a copy of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick.

Reason 10,000 I love Pdx/Powell’s.

(via fuckyeahportland)

Important PSA: the current seasonal flavors at Salt & Straw are tea derived and sourced from Portland tea powerhouse Steven Smith Teamaker.

This is the first time I’ve ever gotten a flight at S&S as I am OBSESSED with tea. I selected (L-R) lotus seed matcha, pad Thai iced tea, peaches and marmalade, and Dragonfly chai. I also sampled the kombucha sorbet which was quite tasty, but I’m more into ice creams than sorbets.

$9 and worth every penny.

ALSO—today is Ben & Jerry’s free cone day!

Las Vegas edition: Pink’s round 2 at the more expensive LV outpost at Planet Hollywood. I believe this was a Vegas specific special but the deets are escaping me right now. Anyhow, it was packed with two wieners, chili, cheese, guac, onions, jalapeños, and mustard. Good thing I have a stomach of steel.

This idea literally came to me as I was half asleep in bed. Thai inspired flatbread!

You will need: flatbread—I used Trader Joe’s garlic tandoori naan, chicken—I marinated mine in sesame oil, S&P, paprika, cumin, and garlic powder and sautéed it with garlic, yellow curry sauce, fried tofu (found at most Asian grocery stores), cherry/grape/plum tomatoes, crushed roasted peanuts, red onion, and chopped basil. 

I love this because it’s a colorful, easy, and fun to eat dinner. Just stick it in the oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until it’s heated to your liking and serve! If you’re a vegetarian simply forgo the chicken and pile on more tofu!

Las Vegas edition: Here it is—Serendipity’s Frrrozen hot chocolate! It’s not quite the Golden Opulence Sundae (sold for $1,000 in a take home crystal dish), but it’s still rich, decadent deliciousness. For those with a never-ending sweet tooth, Frrrozen hot chocolate mix is available for purchase, so stock up.

Protip: If you’re a Foursquare user, Vegas is the city to visit. Almost all of the casinos have badges for the taking, and they all come with perks like free VIP status to the clubs for a full year. I unlocked a voucher from Caesar’s Palace that got me this free hot chocolate with dinner!

Strata is super easy, super delicious and super filling. This is an extremely versatile dish that can feed a group for breakfast/brunch, and all it requires is some quick prep work at night. I’m a very play it by ear kind of cook so I’ll bold the required steps of the recipe. You can adjust the measurements depending on how many people you’re feeding!

Cube enough dense bread—I like sourdough—to fill the bottom of your casserole.

Layer your choice of vegetable on top of the bread. I used arugula, but spinach, fresh basil, or broccoli are some other good options.

Brown a half pound of ground sausage and mix it into the casserole. I used New Season’s country sage sausage and I find that using sausage that’s already been seasoned greatly enhances the flavor of your strata.

Whisk together 5 eggs and about a cup and a half milk with seasonings of your choice. I threw in S&P, a random Trader Joe’s spice blend, and some paprika.

Pour the egg mixture over the contents of the casserole. At this point, I like to go in and do a little adjusting with a fork to make sure everything is getting soaked by the egg. Don’t worry if your casserole isn’t filled to the brim with liquid!

Saran wrap that sucker and refrigerate overnight! 

IN THE MORNING…

Remove the strata from the fridge and let sit at room temperature for half an hour

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Lightly cover the casserole with aluminum foil and bake for half an hour.

After half an hour, I took my strata out of the oven and sprinkled a layer of cheese on top. Of course, you are more than welcome to mix your choice of cheese into the egg mixture the night before or use it as a layer in the strata.

Bake for an additional 25-30 minutes or until visibly puffy/lightly brown.

Impress your friends and family at brunch!

aaaaaand onwards to…

Las Vegas edition! (this is still a Portland based food blog, I swear): I never have time to visit Serendipity while I’m in NYC, but I finally went there for dinner in Vegas. As you probably know, Vegas is home to the outposts of many legendary NYC spots such as 1 Oak, Mesa Grill and Il Mulino, with more real estate. I’m glad I stopped off at Serendipity simply because it’s such a fun restaurant to eat at! It kind of feels like you’re eating on the set of Mary Poppins, or something.

The rich, decadent A.B.C. (avocado, brie, caramelized onions) has basically everything I need in a cheeseburger. The accompanying fries were crisp, just the way I like ‘em; they make perfect little breaks in between inhaling your burger. I was sad that I was getting too full to finish it, but obviously I had to save room for Frrrozen Hot Chocolate! 

Friday in real time: Side St. Tavern’s Pabst menu. I sure hope ‘gimme shelter’ comes with a full size umbrella ‘cause $4 sure is steep for a paper one.

Yogurtland was seriously testing my loyalty to Pinkberry.

Oh, and this is the “craziest” I’ve ever gotten with my froyo.. I usually play it safe with only one or two toppings ‘cause I’m a purist that way.

Their chocolate totally sucks tbh, but the shop itself is pretty cool!

uncharted-territories:

S’mores and compost cookies happened.

The s’mores ones are pretty straight forward (although, we’re gonna mix graham cracker crumbs in them next time), and the compost/garbage cookies contain rolled oats, potato chips, mini pretzels, mini M&Ms, Heath bits, and coffee grounds!

L.A. edition: My trip to Pink’s was a dream. I suspect it was the whole going slightly after lunchtime on a weekday that did it. I seriously got parking right in front of the place, and stood in a 5 person line (I took a photo of it lest no one believe me). Everything people said would happen didn’t happen!

I decided to go classic for my first Pink’s experience and had a regular chili dog. It was definitely the best chili dog I have ever eaten in my entire 23 years. I don’t think I’ll be able to eat a chili dog from anywhere else ever again. The wiener itself has a little ‘snap’ when you bite into it and is super juicy. To be honest I wanted another one immediately after but I knew I would make myself sick :/

L.A. edition: L took me to Kitchen 24, the chicest 24 hour diner I’ve ever been to for our favorite—burgers. 

I was glad that we were decidedly there for burgers since there were so many other yum yums on the menu that would’ve had my indecisive self there for hours.

I had the K24 bacon burger and it was so substantial that it took me a while to get through. So delicious, though. We also split our seasoned fries and sweet potato fries for double the fun. Finished off with a red velvet cupcake, and THAT’S a meal.