One Last Bite of Portland

October 13, 2017

Eating in Portland made me think that cabbage must be the new kale.  The lowliest vegetable is now on everybody’s menu, usually charred.  Here it is at Tusk: charred, quartered and blitzed with in an avalanche of Middle Eastern spices.  Truly fantastic.  As is so much of the vegetable-centric (yes, there are plenty of meat and fish dishes too) at one of Portland’s hottest new restaurants. Their motto is “locally sourced, aggressively seasoned), and they live up to those words.

I didn’t have a chance to eat an entire meal at Ryan Fox’s Nomad, but I did sneak in for a few bites at the bar.  If there are more adorable bar snacks anywhere, I haven’t encountered them.

This is Fox’s version of a slider: the meat is laced with umeboshi, the bun is fluffily appropriate, the slaw adds crunch and the fries are terrific. An awesome little tidbit for nine bucks.

Scrambled eggs, bacon and Wonder Bread.  Did I mention that Fox spent a fair amount of time in Joel Robuchon’s kitchen?  These are the most sophisticated scrambled eggs you’ve ever eaten – so soft they’re almost custard – and sneakily filled with padron peppers.  As for the bread – when Wonder Bread goes to sleep at night, this is what it dreams of being.

Inside this little brown bag is Fox’s version of school lunch: a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a juice drink and some cookies.  But oh, that sandwich!  Silky smooth peanutbutter mousse, slightly tart jam and bread that is griddled until it has a caramelized crunch. I’ve always thought peanut butter and jelly was one of the great American inventions – and here Fox proves it!

Categorised in: restaurants