This weekend, I attended an event called Feast Portland! (And if you follow me on social media, then you’re probably already aware of this fact as I’ve been going a little overboard on the Instagrams, ha!)
I need to start off by saying that the whole weekend was absolutely awesome!
(If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, you can check out this post to get up to speed)
(If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, you can check out this post to get up to speed)
When I applied to get a Blogger Pass for Feast, I wasn’t really sure what it was beyond the fact that it was a food festival in downtown Portland that sounded interesting. But now having experienced Feast firsthand, I am just so impressed with the quality of everything and would highly recommend it to anyone who is considering going next year. The weekend was somewhat of whirlwind because I ate so much amazing food and met so many of great people over the past few days. I’m so thankful that I was able to get a Blogger Pass to go because it was just such an epic weekend here in Portland!
Feast actually consists of many different events held over four days, which is really cool. I was fortunate to be able to attend a few different events myself and so rather than try and fit everything into one post, I thought I’d break it up and share some of my photos in multiple posts…here goes!
Thursday night, I had the privilege of attending one of the Dinner Series events, which paired a notable Portland chef up with a visiting chef. The dinner I attended featured Chefs Chris Israel and Matt Accarrino at Gruner; Gruner is Chris’s restaurant, while Matt was the visiting chef from San Francisco, and they’ve each received many accolades in the food world. Each chef cooked three courses plus a dessert, and all the food was paired with some amazing Oregon wines!
The wines paired with the various courses were provided by King Estate–they were all amazing!
And let’s just say there was a lot of wine served throughout the night! 😉
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| The night’s menu |
Sneak peek of the first course!
Gruner was closed for the event, and I liked that the dinner was limited to a smaller number of guests
Instagram shot of chefs Chris Israel and Matt Accarrino introducing themselves
Now on to the food!
The way the dinner worked is that a course was served made by one chef and then once that was finished, the course made by the other chef would come out. The two chefs dishes were very different; Matt’s choices seemed to be a little more creative and colorful, whereas Chris’s dishes seemed to be more hearty and in line with the style of food typically served at Gruner. However, because they both really focused on highlighting Oregon ingredients, I thought all of their dishes really complimented one another perfectly! (Below I used the abbrevs MA for Matt’s food and CI for Chris’s food, just FYI!)
First Course (MA): Chili-Cured Oregon Wild Salmon & Roe, Horseradish Crisp
This was so fresh and flavorful, a great start to the night!
First Course (CI): Venison Roulade, Cider Mustard
A perfect example of how Chris’s food really fit with Gruner’s modern alpine point of view!
A perfect example of how Chris’s food really fit with Gruner’s modern alpine point of view!
Second Course (MA): Oregon Albacore Tuna “Scapece”, Burnt Eggplant, Pickled Peppers, Ice Lettuce–I loved the colorful presentation of this dish!
Second Course (CI): Liver Spatzle, Chanterelles, Bacon, Caraway, Creme Fraiche
This was my favorite course of the night and I’d even go so far as to say that it was one of the best things I ate all weekend. It was so creamy and had great smokiness from the bacon, an amazing dish!
Get in mah belly.
Third Course (MA): Pork and Beet Lasagna, Beet Pesto, & “Red Things”
I loved this dish a lot too and really enjoyed how it was so vibrant!
I loved this dish a lot too and really enjoyed how it was so vibrant!
Third Course (CI): SuDan Farms Lamb – roasted rack chop and braised shoulder, served with potato-root vegetable gratin–this was a very warm and comforting dish!
Dessert (MA): Blond Chocolate Panna Cotta, Whipped Coconut, & Chocolate Caramel
I straight up loved this dessert, I could have eaten a bowl of this stuff.
I straight up loved this dessert, I could have eaten a bowl of this stuff.
I am obsessed with anything salted caramel so I really enjoyed the decadent toppings on this dish!
Dessert (CI): Pear Strudel, Hazelnut Ice Cream
This dessert was really great too, very Oregonian with the pears and hazelnuts!
The talented chefs, Chris Israel (who was looking at someone else’s camera, ha!) and Matt Accarrino; they created an incredible meal and I’m so glad I was able to have the opportunity to enjoy it!
I realize that the Dinner Series events are slightly pricey; however, being able to attend this amazing dinner made me realize that they are totally worth the cost. Every detail was perfectly executed and the wine pairings were basically unlimited throughout the evening. And to top it off, the great thing about all the Feast events is that proceeds go to fight childhood hunger, which is such a great cause.
I’d definitely recommend any of the Dinner Series events for next year!
That’s all for now, but stay tuned for more Feast Recaps later this week!
