Bánh Cuốn Tan Dinh is gone

Jeff rolls his own (salad rolls) at the now-gone Tan Dinh

I love Vietnamese food.

As a general rule I don’t have favorite foods because there are lots of things I really *like* and I think most foods have their time and place. That said, if I had to choose a last meal for myself Vietnamese food would be a top contender.

Sadly, while Vietnamese food is abundant in Portland it is seriously lacking here in the middle part of the state. This means that one of our first priorities when rolling into Portland is to find some salad rolls. Lately our favorite stop was Banh Cuon Tan Dinh in the Fubonn Shopping Center and we were thisclose to heading there last week but decided against it since it was in the totally wrong part of town. Then today I came across this thread at portlandfood.org reporting it had closed.

Sad days. The menu there was so varied and the people were so nice, I’m really sorry to see it go. Best of luck to the family who owned it; I hope to find you in new digs sometime soon!

If you write the word “pumpkin” enough it starts to look very strange.

One more reason eating seasonally is a good thing: if pumpkin milkshakes were around all year I’d be in serious trouble.

In the absence of widespread leaf-turning, my beginning of fall used to be clearly demarcated by the arrival of pumpkin soft serve at the local Dairy Queen. For a few sweet years they even used to serve it with one of those candy-corn pumpkins on top. Now Dairy Queen’s pumpkin soft serve has been replaced by the pumpkin pie blizzard that in no way replicates the deliciousness of the soft serve. Also, the Dairy Queen in the small town where I grew up was replaced by some kind of non-chain burger joint. A soft serve era has come to a close.

Luckily Burgerville, a Pacific Northwest fast food chain, has a pumpkin milkshake that fills the pumpkin soft serve void, if only for a minute. In fact, it does the soft serve one better by using local pumpkin from Stahlbush Island Farms. If you’re lucky enough to be in the Portland area before they switch to the Christmas flavors (mmm, eggnog) you should definitely pick one of these up. If you’re really lucky you’ll get to enjoy it in the company of my awesome cousins from Married With Chickens, but even if you have to drink it alone this is an opportunity you don’t want to miss.

How to eat on election night

Kona Mix Plate's Loco Moco

Although I had planned to cook tonight, we decided we wanted to celebrate. I know there’s lots of champagne flowing and plenty of cocktail options (I was also amused by this suggestion of Baked Alaska) but in the end we decided to go for Hawaiian food.

Interestingly, Bend is home to not just one, but two Hawaiian restaurants. We headed for our favorite, Kona Mix Plate where I ordered something new to me, Loco Moco (change, already!) Note the green salad added to make me feel better about eating a hamburger patty on rice topped with mushroom gravy and fried eggs.

It was surprisingly good. I sort of expected some kind of pre-formed burger puck, but was happy to see the cook put a handmade patty on the grill. Also, they use a real grill with flames poking up, not one of those flat things. Jeff had a mix plate with Bulgogi, Mahi Mahi, and Kalua Pig and Potato-Mac salad and rice on the side, and everything on his plate was delicious (I checked, of course, just to be sure.) I was a little disappointed to see paper plates and plastic utensils, both because they’re not fun to eat from and because it’s just a waste, but despite that Kona Mix Plate is worth a visit if you haven’t tried it already.

Hawaii, we owe you big time.

Just in case you needed a(nother) reason not to eat at Burger King

In addition to the impact big agriculture has on the nutritional value of our food and its impact on the environment, it also has a serious human impact on the people who work to move the food from the fields to the table. It can be easy to forget this sometimes, but Eric Schlosser’s editorial about tomato pickers in Florida in today’s New York Times is an unforgettable reminder of the real work that goes into food production as well as the true costs of cheap food. The article outlines a refusal by the Burger King Corporation to pay just one cent per pound more for the tomatoes they buy, a refusal that also undermined agreements Taco Bell and McDonald’s had made to pay the penny a pound.

While my first reaction to the behavior of both the tomato growers and to the Burger King Corporation was disgust, the well-developed skeptic in me wanted more information. Schlosser’s article raised some questions, so I spent some time this evening reading about the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a group that has been working for almost 15 years to improve the working and living conditions of low-wage workers (mostly farmworkers, mostly immigrants) in Florida. I also spent some time looking at the webpage for the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange. It’s hard to know what to believe, but it’s very hard to believe that it’s “not about the money,” as Burger King officials claim in this Miami Herald article. It also seems highly unlikely that the legal problems cited by Burger King and the Growers Exchange went unnoticed by Taco Bell and McDonald’s when they agreed to the 1-cent per pound increase earlier in the year. It’s perhaps hardest to believe that last year’s average hourly wage for Florida tomato pickers was $12.46 an hour. It seems unlikely folks making that kind of wage with any regularity would find it worthwhile to fight for an increase of $.01/lb.. The PR put out by the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange was enough to make me dig deeper, and I’m sure I still don’t have the whole story, but something about their story just isn’t right. The only thing I’m fairly certain about is that fast food just isn’t worth it.

I think the greed upsets my stomach more than the grease.

Eating my way through Victoria, BC

OK, I’ve been sitting on this unfinished post for awhile.

I’m all about food when I travel (heck, I’m mostly about food when I’m home!) and traveling for a half marathon only adds to the eating fun. Victoria BC has both the Canada thing and the British connection thing happening, so there are some fun food options that aren’t easily available on this side of the border.

First off, no trip to Canada is complete without a bar (or two, or…) of Mackintosh’s toffee. I’ve occasionally been able to locate this in the states, but I’m really glad I can’t find it more often. Once I smack the package and start eating those toffee shards it’s all over–it gets sticky if you save it for later! There is also something hilarious about the French version of the tagline “On craque pour Mack.” Yeah.

In contrast to my toffee addiction, I’ve made it in and out of Canada at least 10 times without ever trying poutine. I have used the excuse that I have not yet been to Quebec, but also poutine just didn’t sound very good to me. Of course I was wrong–it looks nasty, but it tastes fabulous. This version comes from the Canoe Brewpub where we also had reasonably priced food, excellent service, and good beer. Worth seeking out.

Back to Victoria’s British influence: Murchie’s is another required visit when we hit Victoria. Folks on Chowhound will tell you to head to the White Heather Tea Room in Oak Bay for high tea, but we didn’t have time for that on this trip. Besides, the tea at Murchie’s is really, really good–I wasn’t there for the finger sandwiches–and I did enjoy my little lemon meringue tart. Competition for a table was fierce, but I’m sure that was at least partially because we were there on Canada’s Thanksgiving weekend.

My cousin Matt had Red Fish, Blue Fish scoped out before we got off the boat. This is a restaurant built in a re-purposed shipping container on the dock with a menu dedicated to sustainable seafood and other locally-sourced products. Their take out containers are all recyclable, and there’s even a garden growing on the roof of the container to help regulate the temperature inside. They also make a really yummy “Pacific Rim” chowder, hand cut fries with delectable dipping sauces, and lots more good stuff we didn’t get a chance to try. If we had stayed in the marina any longer I would have worked my way on through their menu.

Finally, a boat trip always involves some meals prepared in the galley. This was a big boat, so the kitchen was not so tiny as you might expect (and the oven did not rock, so sad.) Here is brother Jay, cooking up the leftover post-(half) marathon burgers before we cross back into the US. Figuring out what foods can and cannot be taken across the border is actually quite confusing. I had a hard time finding clear guidelines and I wish I had found this Washington/BC border crossing information guide before we left. We went through customs over the phone both times, but we were trying to do the right thing, I swear!

Eating my way through Washington

Thanks mainly to Chowhound, I always travel with a list of restaurants and local specialties to try. Washington DC has an active board, and I found lots to try.

I had some paperwork to finish on Thursday and needed to grab a quick lunch. Since we stayed near the National Museum of the American Indian we decided to try Mitsitam, their cafe (really an upscale cafeteria, if there is such a thing.) Food in Mitsitam is arranged by region of influence; I chose the Northern Woodlands where I had a lobster roll and roasted corn, and mom chose Meso America where she had a chicken and green chili tamale and some kind of pickled bean and corn salad. The food was good, if a bit overpriced, and it was fun to see the unusual choices. I’m a pretty adventurous eater, but the “heirloom beans in spiced strawberry butter”, one of the choices at the station where I chose my meal, sounded too weird for me. I would have liked to at least try them though!

For dinner we headed to Zaytinya, a trendy Middle Eastern restaurant. The food, all mezze-style, was fantastic and the waiter matched an excellent glass of wine for me, though I have no idea what it was. Something from Lebanon, I think. The place was kind of a scene though. We waited a long time (about an hour) for a table on a Thursday night. Also, the noise level was really high, I often couldn’t hear my colleague across the table.

Friday we were going to the ‘burbs to have dinner with some family members, but a last minute change of plans gave us a chance to try Etete, an Ethiopian restaurant near the U Street metro stop. Our tiny table for two was barely big enough for the enormous plate of food we ordered, let alone our Ethiopian beer. Our waitress kept encouraging us to clean our plate…I tried, I really did! I was worried it might be bad form to not finish all that was in front of you in Ethiopia, but with all that injera (there were two baskets of rolled up injera in addition to the piece under the food) there was no way.

When we got off the metro to go to Etete, I noticed Ben’s Chili Bowl was right across the street. I can’t even remember the first time I heard of Ben’s–some long-ago magazine article that included a photo of Bill Cosby. It hadn’t occurred to me to seek it out on this trip, but since it was so easy to find we went back for lunch the next day. I’m no chili dog gourmet–in fact I’m not sure if I’ve ever eaten one before–but these were good. The best part of the meal though, were the chips. No wonder folks get nostalgic for Utz’s potato chips! Next time I’d skip the fries and maybe try a piece of cake or a milkshake. Or more chips….

Our final chowhound-find was Teaism, a local “chain” (do three restaurants make a chain?) with foods from “tea cultures” both Asian and British and, of course, lots of tea. The food was good, though not amazing, but the calm, quiet restaurant, the light fare, and the reasonable prices were just what we were looking for. We had to try their salty oat cookie since it earns big raves. I’m a big fan of slightly salty baked goods and even have a friend who calls my oatmeal cookies “salty”. I liked these cookies a lot, but not better than my own–the texture was a little dry for my tastes.

I don’t think of DC as a food destination (contrasted with New Orleans, for example, where my conference was held last year) but I still ran out of time to try all the restaurants on my list.  I’m sure I’ll be back!

Eating my way through Baltimore (part two)

I never did get my crabcake. I was hoping to go to Faidley’s in the Lexington Market and was actually there on Thursday morning, but 10 am seemed a little early for fried seafood. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to go back until Sunday and the market was all locked up. On my walk back though, I passed the Dutch Pot Caribbean Cafe. It smelled so good I nearly forgot about my crabcake woes; I ended up with jerk chicken, rice & “peas”, fried plantains, a coco beef pattie, and a really good ginger beer. Way too much food, but really good. I was sorry I didn’t shake a little of the “scotch bonnet hot sauce” on my food before I carried it away, but other than that (and having to leave half my leftovers in the hotel refrigerator!) I have no complaints.

Even though it looks like I probably went to enough restaurants to keep me well fed for my five days in Baltimore, I didn’t eat every meal in a restaurant. I always like to pick up a few groceries like fruits and vegetables, whole grain bread, and dark-roast coffee, for the times I don’t feel like a big restaurant meal. Luckily the “SuperFresh” grocery store was not far from my hotel. This was a fun, tiny grocery store that seemed to live up to its name.

There was also the ubiquitous conference luncheon; although it was nothing I would ever have ordered in a restaurant, I was surprised at the edibility of the meal we were served. In particular I was impressed that anyone could cook broccoli for 3000 without reducing it to an unappetizing mush. Unfortunately the conference organizers seemed to have forgotten the many vegetarian librarians out there. I heard later there was a vegetarian option available, but this wasn’t at all clear at our table and several folks ended up basically eating cake for lunch.

I’m always excited to try new foods when I travel and this trip was no exception. I came home with a few extra pounds as a souvenir, so next week’s menu will take full advantage of all the new spring greens arriving in the grocery stores.

Eating my way through Baltimore (part one)

I haven’t managed to get a crabcake yet (well, ok, I think there was something that was supposed to be a crabcake on a buffet line Friday, but that doesn’t count). Other than that, I’ve eaten pretty well so far.

Our hotel, the Marriott Residence Inn Inner Harbor has an impressive free breakfast, but this morning I was in a hurry to get to an 8am session and didn’t have time to make my toast. This gave me a great excuse to pick up a vanilla kreme doughnut at Dunkin Doughnuts. I’m sure I could get one of these at home, but for me this is an East Coast guilty pleasure and I plan to keep it that way.

Even with my long list of restaurants to try I’ve managed to eat at the same place twice. The Afghan Kabob restaurant is close to the convention center, inexpensive, and good. I tried a lamb special on Thursday, then ate an entire kofta gyro today. If you ever find yourself at the Baltimore convention center this is definitely worth a stop.

Last night some fellow librarians were adventurous enough to walk to the Fells Point neighborhood with me to try an Eastern European restaurant, Ze Mean Bean. I had a “slavic sampler plate” that included pierogies, halumki (cabbage roll), a latke, and kielbasa. Since this food was designed to be consumed with a beer nearby,I also tried a beer from a Baltimore brewery. The beer was good, but the label was even better.

I don’t think I’ll find my pit beef on this trip, but I still have a few meals left, plus a long list of places to try next time….