The third annual Feast Portland food festival just came to a close. Afterward, as always, it’s easy to reflect on the festival’s slogan: “A Celebration of Oregon Bounty.” Attendees come from nearly all states of our country, and numerous countries beyond, to partake in a wide variety of tastings, workshops, cooking demos, book signings, and elegant dinners—capitalizing on the wealth of food in proximity to Portland. Lucky feasters can feel satisfied knowing that proceeds from Feast Portland benefit Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon and also Share Our Strength, a national organization aimed at ending childhood hunger. As we await next year’s festival (September 17-20), here are some higlights from this past weekend.
1. Fran Bigelow. Amidst all of the food celebrities, a rare sighting of the Fran’s Chocolates owner. She served up a sincere smile with her salted caramels at the Valrhona chocolate booth during Friday’s “Oregon Bounty Grand Tasting.”
2. Speaking of Seattle, Ethan Stowell commandeered an afternoon series of 15-minute meals, doing three courses of pears as part of a “Pear Pop-Up” dining experience during Saturday’s “Grand Tasting.” (Also representing Seattle: Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi of the newly opened Trove (and Joule) served spicy shrimp cakes at the Night Market.)
3. Brunch Village, a new event. Being brunch, crowds were willing to brave long lines for brisket tacos from Franklin Barbecue (Austin), kimchi fried rice topped with a poached egg in a shakeable container from Eggslut (Los Angeles), and smoked lamb neck with Geechie Boy grits, okra, and harissa jus from Butcher & Bee (best bite of brunch, from Charleston, SC).
4. Pork blood. It was the key ingredient in Brad Farmerie’s (Public Restaurant and Saxon + Parole in New York City) blood popsicle with chili jam and peanut powder (served with crab salad laksa) at the “Night Market.” The next night, Paul Qui of Qui (Austin) used pork blood to make mushroom dinuguan (a Filipino stew) at the “High Comfort” event.
5. Hands-on workshops, including butchering, artisan soda-making, juicing, and oyster shucking. I enjoyed an early wake-up call to attend a coffee-making class led by Stumptown’s Liam Kenna, learning to refine my pour-over technique.
6. Collaborative dinners, grouping local chefs with notable out-of-towners. I attended an eight-course Asian food feast prepared by host chef Gregory Gourdet of Departure, along with Anita Lo of Anissa (New York City) and freelancing pastry chef Pichet Ong (New York City), that stimulated the senses.
7. Varied Locations. One of the strengths of Feast Portland is how it shows off not just the culinary diversity of the Rose City, but its beauty as well. From the gritty south Waterfront to Pioneer Square to the ballroom at the Nines Hotel, the many sides of the city were well represented.
8. Sour beers. Just as they have in Seattle, sour farmhouse style ales have become quite the rage in Portland, with breweries like Breakside and Commons turning out lower-alcohol, more food-friendly offerings. Of course there were lots of IPAs, stouts, and porters to be found, but the combination of bold flavors and tartness was just what I wanted to go with lots of heavy foods.
9. Aviation Gin. It’s still the best Northwest gin I’ve tried, and it was all over Feast. The kegged Ramos Gin Fizz at the Brunch Village was perhaps the finest version of that drink I’ve tried, and the gin at the heart of it had a lot to do with it.
10. Anything But Pinot. I love Willamette Valley pinot noir, don’t get me wrong, but one of the encouraging trends for me was seeing a few winemakers willing to experiment. From Bow & Arrow’s focus on the grapes of the Loire Valley to extended maceration pinot gris from Beckham, there’s some playfulness to that wine industry that seemed lacking a few years ago.
11. Seafood. As would be expected, the week was packed with meat, from the excellent brisket of Franklin Barbecue to approximately one million different kinds of pork I tasted. Yet most of the best bites were from the sea: stellar cured salmon from Ataula, a spectacular raw scallop with horseradish panna cotta from Holdfast, or even the dozen or so Hama Hama oysters I gulped down at “High Comfort.” In a setting with such rich food, the lightness was a welcome respite.
