"portland oregon" news and stories

For an unusual Valentine's Day gift, do you want to meat me in St. Louis, or express your love with pork in New York? Well, forget it. But if you live in Portland, Oregon, you really can say it with sausage this year, reports Willamette Week. Olympic Provisions, one of the city's prime purveyors of all things porcine, will deliver a five-salami bouquet (long stemmed, we're sure), complete with a singing Salamigram delivered by the lead singer of favorite local alt-country band The Tumblrs. ($75; February 11–14.) As for all you folks in San Antony, nothing says love like pepperoni.

It looks like the populist fever that's been sweeping through American politics this season has hit the food world -- in Portland, Oregon, of all places.Food lovers have been flocking to Portland for years; the place is a culinary mecca and practically synonymous with the whole ethos of sustainability ("organic," "locally grown") that's swept through American cooking over the past decade. To criticize someone for being a "foodie" in Portland is like talking smack about steaks in Texas.

But one local writer lambasted foodie-culture in a piece that introduced last week's "Non-Foodies Food Guide" in the Orgeonian, the city's major daily paper. "I am not a foodie," writes Lee Williams. "To me, food is what you eat, not what you pray to. Call them gourmands, connoisseurs, picky eaters, or just plain old snobs. Foodies blog, write and chat about pet restaurants, trends and chefs. They leave little room on their plates or in their hearts for fast food, family dining and the untrendy. And they can be pretty mean to some places we love."

Grown-up sodas. Image: Details.

A few of the best stories spied elsewhere on the Web this week:

BoingBoing picks up The Economist's story (and awesome graphic): "How many minutes do people in your city have to work to buy a Big Mac?"

Adult sodas from the stylish fellas at Details.

Starbucks-lovers, alert! They are lowering prices on some drinks but kicking them up a notch on others.

The L.A. Times reports: Facebook has created "Restaurant City." You may never get work done again.

Another ephemerally gorgeous piece from Design*Sponge's "In The Kitchen With" column, featuring a meringue-raspberry ice cream cake and some enviable dishware.

Portland, Oregon continues to rule, with a Fermentation Fest on Thursday of next week. (Clearly either our invite was lost in the mail, or they do not know about our pickling problems.)

Have you sampled the blackberries in the market right now? They are super-sweet. This Blackberry-Cabernet Caipirinha from Chow had us drooling.

The best Bruni interview of the bunch -- from the New Yorker.

The Green Dragon in Portland, Oregon. Photo: mrzarquon/Flickr

A weekly look at the draft selection in beer-friendly bars across the country.

According to the past two weeks' worth of WOT, Portland, Ore., might be the most neglected What's On Tap city. And what neglect! Portland has regularly been regarded as one of America's top beer towns, snagging top honors in a recent online poll that beer legend Charlie Papazian put together.

This week, Portland's Green Dragon gets some much deserved attention. It was named after Boston's original Green Dragon Tavern, which was dubbed "the headquarters of the Revolution" due to the proclivity of many rabble-rousing Colonial American groups to congregate there. Proprietors of this modern Oregonian iteration promote relaxation, not rebellion, with a great draft selection that includes a number of hard to find brews, a chill atmosphere and a large selection of bar games.

Last year, the Green Dragon was purchased by Rogue Ales, but that hasn't changed its commitment to offering a unique range of beers. Assistant Manager Samantha Sugar (who calls herself the "Beer Gazelle") tells us the Dragon still aims for that "neighborhood bar appeal" with an always rotating selection of beers.

My heart leaps with joy! It is finally the season of pumpkins and apples, soups and nutty baked goods. I went apple picking over the weekend, relishing the cooler air and the ways in which fall light is distinctly different than summer. I would have picked up a pumpkin or two, but the lines at Linvilla Orchards were a little too long and crazy. It looks like the pumpkin patch on Sauvie Island, just outside of Portland, OR, was far less crazy and more serene.

Thanks Mike, for adding this lovely picture to the Slashfood Flickr pool.

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