Voices
The Brand Name Bandwagon
By Jo Robinson
Do consumers buy brand-name meats based on their packaging? Jo Robinson, the Northwest’s premier advocate of pasture-raised meats, thinks brand images can sway consumers into a false sense of security about the food they buy. What do you think? Email us at editorial@nwpalate.com or join the conversation at the Voices blog.

Spirits
Spirit West Distills the Romance of Orchards
By Peter Mitham
High on the Naramata Bench north of Penticton in B.C.’s Okanagan Valley, a bold new experiment is underway. Spirit West Cottage Distillery, set in the midst of orchards that have long produced fruit in abundance, has begun making a wide array of fruit-based eaux de vie and other spirits.

In Our Kitchen
John Gorham: Bullish on Spain
By Kathleen Bauer
A big bear or, rather, a bull of a man with a short shock of prematurely gray hair, Gorham has an intimidating physical presence—especially in the bright red Toro Bravo T-shirt that reveals those fierce tattoos. But get him talking about food or his four-year-old daughter, Ruby, and he becomes more like Ferdinand, the peace-loving bull of childhood literature.

Since You Asked
Requested Recipes:
Swedish Cream with Port Sauce, Potato Bread
Have you tasted something from a Pacific Northwest restaurant, bakery, or bar that you’re just itching to make at home? Email us at editorial@nwpalate.com or call us at 503-224-6039. We’ll find it and test it for you! In our May/June issue, we give you the recipes for Swedish Cream with Port Sauce, as well as Potato Bread.

Flavors
Tiny Bubbles: Local Sodas
By Liz Crain
Although only a handful of soda companies dominate the market, in recent years smaller soft drink entrepreneurs have launched unique products, many of which are healthier alternatives to the high-fructose-corn-syrup (HFCS) sweetened, chemically engineered sodas that so many Americans drink daily. The Pacific Northwest—particularly Seattle and Portland—is swimming in such alternatives. 

Nutshell
3808 N. Williams Ave., Portland, OR, 503-292-2627, nutshellpdx.com

Chef Derek Hansen of Nutshell dispels the myth that vegan food cannot satisfy both the senses and the appetite. Using nary a trace of animal products, Hansen relies instead on the freshest seasonal produce, sourced locally, and the crafty use of nuts and dairy alternatives such as soy and hemp milk to create beautifully composed plates for every level of hunger.

Although not totally vegan himself (he estimates his diet to be 95% animal-free), and despite his butter-based culinary background (he previously cooked at Café Azul, Wildwood, ten01, and Rocket), Hansen says he has “always been less interested in preparing animal-based proteins than in creating interesting combinations of vegetables, starches, and condiments. I want to show people that you can have a great dining experience without meat and live a healthier, happier lifestyle.”

Starters on the early spring menu included a shot of French lettuce soup, which condensed an entire Iceberg wedge salad dressed with creamy dressing into a three-ounce shot glass, and crispy fried rice fritters with avocado purée and chili sauce. A warm salad of red chard and green kale with creamy polenta and a cherry ginger gastrique was a Northwest riff on the classic Southern side dish of grits and greens. An entrée of snap pea risotto with mint and carrot ginger purée topped with pea tendrils paired perfectly with a glass of ’06 Cameron Chardonnay.

Believe it or not, but vegan desserts can be decadently delicious. A shot of vanilla coconut soup had the sweet, savory tang of buttermilk—but without the buttermilk—while the maple chocolate tart with vanilla bean cream sauce was dense and rich as fudge.

The menu changes weekly, depending on what the farmers are harvesting. “We streamlined the menu for winter,” Hansen says, “but I’m very excited for summer to come and all the beautiful produce I’ll be able to expand the menu around.”

Finding the restaurant along the Vancouver/Williams corridor in North Portland is easy: be on the lookout for Bigfoot, the legendary hairy man-beast, on the sign outside. But don’t be afraid… Much like Bigfoot, vegan food proves to be much more approachable and substantial than you may have been lead to believe. Dinner served Tuesday–Sunday. .

—Peter Szymczak


Plus:

Fraîche — Vancouver, B.C.

Unicorn Crépes — Seattle, WA

Plan B — Vancouver, B.C.

Saravanaa Bhavan — Vancouver, B.C.

Clyde Common — Portland, OR

La Côte Crêperie — Seattle, WA

The Monkey Bridge — Seattle, WA

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