Portland, Oregon: THE tour.

I don't know how I found it, or what I was looking for, but MONTHS prior to the trip I ran into this tour. For the price of a fancy dinner for two, it advertised a tour in the Pearl District of Portland, for nearly FOUR HOURS, with samples throughout.

I thought "Well, shoot - sign me up!" And then I did just that.

I was like a kid waiting to go to Disney for this tour. I couldn't fathom anything better that touring around the famed Pearl District sampling foods from the best establishments. That's, like, a foodie paradise.

At the beginning of the tour, our tour guide (Natalie) gave us two pieces of information. The tour was to center around the acronym "FLOSS." That would be fresh, local, organic, seasonable, sustainable. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that this satisfied me immensely. Secondly, Natalie asked us to take our time and enjoy the foods that we were about to try. Throughout the tour, she was great about asking us to pick out flavors and tastes. We sampled with purpose, which was wonderful.

The first stop really made me excited for the rest of the tour. We went here:
Then we had this:
Simple tomato soup, right? WRONG!

It's tomato soup with a strong thread of citrus. weird? NO. Delectable. Now, the cook at the deli assured me that the recipe was online. I cannot find it, but I'm assuming it's not that outlandish. I already have a pretty good tomato soup recipe, so I will just look around to see how I might alter it. Also at the deli was this great-looking mozzarella and tomato sandwich. We didn't have time to return and sample it.

The next set of pictures were taken at the Pearl Street Bakery. Which is, quite possibly, my new favorite place.
The sign here is really cool because "Pearl" is filled in with Mother-of-Pearl. A very pretty, simply done, sign. Inside the bakery is equally as simple. Very open and airy, and full of many things to try. We actually got to head into the back to see and sample what the bakery has to offer.
While everyone else was patiently listening to Natalie, I found myself really focused on the bakers. I enjoyed watching them pound and knead at light speed. What I found interesting was that all the men were pretty burly, stocky, and strong. I guess that's what bread making can do for you - who needs a workout regimine?

I can't tell you exactly what we tried - but it was all very good. The first bread was some sort of baguette, and then we sampled sourdough. The bread, was excellent, but French bread. The sourdough was notable as it wasn't the well-known San Francisco variety. It was more subtle and (in my opinion) edible. We sampled croissants, and I dare say that I now know what a true French croissant tastes like. Us Americans and our silly little grocery store bakers are totally missing the boat. It was very flaky, crispy on the outside, and light on the inside. The differences in textures made my mouth happy. Finally we sampled some sweet pastries, one being some sort of chocolate cake that crumbled and melted all at the same time. However the real find, the find that actually took us back to the bakery after the tour, was Le Gibassier. It's classified as a pastry - but not in the croissant or danish sense. It's sort of like a scone, but not as dry. It's sweet but not overly so. It really was it's own animal. The finishing touch was this dusting of sugar that left you licking your fingers at the end. It was heavenly. The saddest part is that it is 3000 miles away. I suppose that is a newfound challenge!

The other notable thing that I learned at the Pearl was about olive oil. The shade of the oil was quite green, and as I learned, that meant the olives were very fresh upon pressing. This was wonderful oil - slightly sweet and very flavorful. I now truly understand why all olive oils are not created equal.
We also stopped at a tea place called the Tea Zone. Neat little place with great ambiance. From what I understand, there is a happening nightlife there with live music. I learned a lot here - mostly about the importance of buying high quality tea. I like tea, and I always thought I was British in the approach - adding sweetener and cream. I recently read that the health benefits are greatly diminished when adding cream. Feeling dejected, I stopped adding cream, but continued with the honey. When I came to the Tea Zone, I drank high quality tea and found something amazing - you do not need sweetener, nor is cream required. In fact, those would mask the deep flavors in the tea, and therefore are undesirable. I highly recommend the Dragon Pearl Jasmine and Organic Wuyi Oolong. Along with the Pearl Bakery, this was the other after-tour revisit. I'll be keeping these teas in-stock as we run out.
The last thing that I have pictures of was from Hot Lips Pizza. The pizza was good, although to be honest I like "my" crust better. BUT, they do have interesting combinations easily re-created at home. Look at their online menu for ideas. I love how they use local ingredients, have a seasonable menu, use an electric car for deliveries, and make their own sodas. Very cool, and worth a visit when in town.

Also on the tour (but alas, no pictures):

Bridgeport Brewery: The highlight was when they explained all their operations, and then showed the single, small dumpster that they empty just twice a week. This brewery recycles and reuses EVERYTHING.

Via Delizia: Gelato. We sampled rum, something tropical, and smores, I think. Good, but it was just gelato. I'm not a huge ice cream or gelato fan, really. If you are one, the flavors here were pretty intense, and the ambiance is very cool.

In Good Taste: Sampled wine, mustards, and cooking utensils (will discuss more of this later). Awesome cooking classes available.

Paley Bar: We sampled these along the way somewhere, and they were very good. I'm getting some for my husband to keep in his desk. My son loved the Peanut Butter flavor!

I feel like I'm missing a place or two, I should have written the places down as we went. Whatever the case, this tour was well worth the money and very enjoyable. The best part is that they just started an afternoon tour that is (nearly) completely different. This means that on our next trip out to Portland, we will be trying the afternoon version. See, we liked it so well that we are doing it again.

As far as I am concerned, even if I didn't have roots in Portland, this tour, Mother's, and the entire Pearl District are reasons enough to visit the area.