"oregon" news and stories

I imagine that hospital food administration is one of the toughest, most thankless jobs in the world. While most chefs have to deal with poorly-trained waiters and difficult customers, hospital kitchens have to deal with untrained orderlies and patients who are, probably, at their worst. Chefs may have to work with ingredients that are less than ideal, but hospital kitchens have to try to make palatable, mainstream food out of relatively healthy ingredients, often in the absence of oil, salt, and other staples. If a chef gets a complaint, it might mean a poor review or a torn up check; if a hospital kitchen gets a complaint, it might mean a malpractice suit.

The best hospital kitchens provide tasty, comforting food to hundreds of patients and their families. When they're thoughtful and caring, it can really show through, as in the case of the Geisinger Clinic of Danville, Pennsylvania. Their restaurants, are consistently clean, well-staffed, and cheery, with delicious, reasonably-priced offerings. Since the same kitchens supply both the patients and the hospital restaurants, the options for both are pretty impressive. On the other hand, some hospitals (I'm looking at you, Montgomery County Regional!), simply phone it in. When my friend Maggie was hospitalized and needed a high-fat diet, the kitchen sent her a bowl of stock with a quarter stick of butter floating in it. Trying hard to avoid losing her appetite, Maggie called down to the kitchen and discovered that her other option had been a bacon cheeseburger. The chef had assumed that she'd prefer oily, salty broth with a scrim of butter!

Recently, Ashland Community Hospital in Oregon completely changed the way it delivers food to its patients. To begin with, it stopped the standard mealtime deliveries, opting instead for a system that allows patients to order food when they are hungry. Moreover, it ensured that they would actually get hungry by offering a wider array of foods. There isn't any data yet on the overall cost effectiveness of the new program, but patients are already raving about the choice. Moreover, as other hospital kitchens have determined that food waste is one of their largest costs, this program should probably save Ashland a lot of money.

When most people look at commercials for Klondike bars, I imagine that they see silly people doing fun, wacky things in return for yummy ice cream treats. Personally, I see cruelty, torture, and the dark side of addiction. Hunger is a harsh mistress; luckily, I've never been placed in a situation where I've had to do something embarrassing or illegal to get fed. To my shame, I have to admit that, under the right circumstances, I would probably humiliate myself for a Klondike bar. If the reward was a nice crême brûlée, there's no doubt: all bets would be off.

Because of this moral shortcoming, I can, to some extent, understand Tremayne Durham. A Brooklyn thug who was being held in an Oregon courthouse, Durham recently admitted that he did, indeed, kill a man in cold blood over a failed business deal. In return for his candor, he's probably facing life imprisonment.

What caused Durham to admit to his wrongdoing? Was it depression, guilt, a need for forgiveness, the first step on the road to redemption? No, Durham plead guilty to aggravated murder in return for a gargantuan fast-food feast. He received a bucket of KFC chicken, a bucket of Popeye's chicken, a serving of mashed potatoes, a serving of coleslaw, a slice of carrot cake, a pizza, two calzones, a tray of lasagna and a bucket of ice cream. The entire proceeding cost the state of Oregon a mere $41.70.

As Durham discovers that justice is sometimes served with a side of cole slaw, I'm going to start taking the idea of fast food addiction a lot more seriously...

I had a friend once who saved the corks from wine bottles. He said that he sent them to his brother for some reason or other I can't remember now. Now there really is a reason to save your corks (and not just for all those cork stamps you've been planning on making).

According to Chow: The Grinder, a new program called ReCORK America is operating in Oregon and California. ReCORK America collects and recycles used wine corks. It's sponsored by a Portugese cork manufacturer, Amorim, and works mainly with institutions that go though a lot of corks. However, they also have drop off centers so individuals can also participate.

I turned my browser to the New York Times Dining and Wine section yesterday morning and was startled to discover that the headlining story was about the burgeoning restaurant movement in my very hometown of Portland, OR. As I began to read, I was totally delighted to discover that the very first restaurateur they mentioned and then quoted was none other than my cousin, Andy Ricker. Forgive me the familial pride, but I'm bubbling over with excitement that what started as just a little Thai take-out shack in SE Portland has become enough of a city institution to merit a mention in country's newspaper of record.

Oh, and if you happen to get an opportunity to go to Pok Pok, make sure to have the fish sauce glazed wings. It's been nearly ten months since I had my last taste and I still dream about them.

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This summer, you may send your kids off to camp deep in the woods to eat bugs, make crafts out of tree bark, and sing sings in rounds around a campfire, but for the adults, the real summer camp is the three-day International Pinot Noir Celebration, being held this weekend (July 27-29) in Oregon Wine Country.

The Wine Advocate calls the event "unquestionably the finest in the world," with a hedonistic three days of seminars, tastings, tours and one-of-a-kind meals with 60 international Pinot Noir winemakers and food prepared by renown chefs in the Pacific Northwest. More information about the festival on the website.

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