Andy's Salted Caramel Macarons at Pix Patisserie

Okay, so these macarons don't necessarily belong to Andy, but being that he recommended I try them, I figured I'd give him the credit.  I had the salted caramel macarons from Pix Patisserie on my "must" list since Andy posted a comment on my blog. I had planned a mom-daughter date with my 7-year-old girl, and since she'd never been to Pix, I thought it was a great opportunity.  We parked right in front, and I saw her eyes go BIG when she glanced at the storefront and caught a glimpse of the desserts in the window case.  She looked over at me and I nodded slowly......"oh yeah." (Think back to the old Twix commercials).

The Royale

We walked in and took our time looking at all the options in the dessert case.  She read the titles of the desserts to me and I read off the descriptions.  I knew what I was having - two (because 1 is TOTALLY not enough) Salted Caramel Macarons, but Sasha took her time choosing hers. She finally settled on the Royale (a mound of chocolate mousse that blankets chunks of hazelnut praline on a thin pastry base and covered in a smooth chocolate shell).  My girl, being very generous, offered me a taste.  I couldn't believe my mouth - the silky texture of the mousse countered the crispiness of the hazelnut praline just perfectly.  It was rich and decadent like only Pix can pull off.

I ordered the macarons, which are technically called "Fleur de Sel Macarons" and an espresso.  Now, call me traditional, but I was expecting something like a mound of sweet coconut.  What I got was totally different and blew my mind.  (I later learned that traditional French macaroons such as these are made with ground almond instead of coconut). The macarons were silver-dollar shaped discs of a meringue-like cookie (studded with French sea salt according to Pix's Web site), joined together in the middle by a dollop of something insane that had the consistency of a cross between whipped whole cream and mousse (it is actually salted caramel buttercream).  The textures and flavors are almost indescribable, and I was left almost dizzy with delight at the discovery of these.  I let Sasha taste one, then polished them off.  I decided that we needed to get a couple more to take home so Rob could taste them.  Unfortunately, only one made it home safely to him. Better luck next time.

Tamales & Fish Tacos at Por Que No?

About a week and a half ago I had a mom/daughter date with my 10-year-old girl.  The plan was to go hang out at Powell's on Hawthorne, maybe get some good reads, then find somewhere to grab a bite for dinner.

After helping each other find good books and window-shopping around Hawthorne street for a while, we started to get hungry and headed up the street to Por Que No.  When we entered, the place was very crowded and there was quite a line to order.  We looked at the menu and quickly decided to share a tamale plate and two fish tacos.  We grabbed out number and headed out to the back, where the makeshift covered seating (think corrugated plastic roofs) and decoration was quaintly reminiscent of Dia de los Muertos kitsch.

Our food arrived, and the tamale plate looked AMAZING.  It was artistically arranged over banana leaves, and included two sauce-topped pork tamales garnished with crema, a small side of Mexican rice and pinto beans to boot.  The shredded cabbage, cilantro and fresh pico de gallo on the side were a tasty touch and the perfect cool/fresh contrast to the hearty meal.  The tamales themselves may have been delicious to someone NOT intimately familiar with authentic Mexican tamales (not to mention Nicaraguan Nacatamales, Peruvian tamales and other varieties).  To me, however, the masa resembled more of a spiced polenta than a true tamale dough.  The meat was tender, but lacked some spice.  Unfortunately, the sauce served over the top did not make up for this.  The true highlight of this combo was the rice.  It was like Mexican rice on garlic steroids.  The garlic flavor was strong and aromatic, and made up for the lack of flavor of the tamales.  It made me wish I'd ordered a bowl of rice rather than this pretty ensemble.

The fish tacos, on the other hand were definitely something to write home about.  The small, soft tortillas had a real homemade maiz flavor.  They were so fresh, I expected to see an abuelita grinding corn in a molcajete.  Instead, I got a forward-thinking flavor combination that fused a crispy cornmeal crust on flaky Alaskan cod topped with salsa verde, crema, shredded cabbage, pineapple, and of course - onion and cilantro. The effect was a gourmet twist on the island tacos I'd had in in Maui this past May.  ANYTHING that brings me back to those days is A-Okay in my book.

Night Out: Portland Drinks & Appetizers

Friday night the kids were scheduled to sleep over at Silvia's house, so Rob and I were excited for a date night out.  I've always wanted to do a sort of progressive dinner out (start at one place for drinks/appetizers, move on to another for a main course, then yet another for dessert) - or something like that.  Well, something like that is exactly what we did!

Tostones at Oba

We started the night at Oba, which is located at 555 Northwest 12th Ave in the Pearl District. I'd been there before with Misty and Lynn, so I knew Rob would like it. Oba is all about "Nuevo Latino" cuisine (reminds me of the movie Tortilla Soup) and the music and lighting are totally conducive to having a great time.  I ordered a Ginger Mint Martini, and we decided on the beef-topped tostones (crispy fried plantains).  The drink was good enough, but didn't taste very gingery at all and actually reminded me more of a mojito in a martini glass than anything.  BUT, the appetizer was truly to die for.  The row of tostones was lined up on a bed of vinegary curtido (sort of like a slaw) and looked elegant and tasty.  Eeach slice of fried plantain was topped with a heap of tender, shredded beef spiced to perfection.  On top of that was a smaller heap of guacamole.  At first I thought the guacamole was tacky, but it's lemony taste and creamy consistency were the perfect complement to the other flavors and textures.  This is a MUST.  We were having so much fun, we decided to make the night all about visiting different places and having ONE drink and ONE appetizer.

 We walked around the corner to a place called Paragon (1309 NW Hoyt St.).  It was absolutely gorgeous, with an amazingly beautiful bar albeit a much darker ambiance than Oba.  There was a roaring fireplace and a DJ spinning music that was not loud enough to overpower conversation.  Perfect.  I was craving a flowery cocktail (remembering a lavendar martini recipe Denise sent me) and asked the bartender if they had such a thing.  He wisely suggested the Peach Elderflower Cosmopolitan, which BLEW ME AWAY!  This is my favorite new drink.  It was sweet and fresh, flowery but not too perfumey.  It was complex and fun, and I just loved it.  For our appetizer, we ordered a Rockfish Ceviche with Yuca Chips.  The concept was great, but I found the ceviche a bit too limey and the fish itself was a bit chewy and rubbery.  No matter - I WILL be back for the drinks so I will definitely try other appetizers.  Side note: I was chatting with the Beverage Director, Bob Brunner, and telling him of my interest in flower-flavored concoctions and he introduced me to a rose-flavored vodka which he kindly allowed me to sample.  It changed my life.  Now I am on a mission to find it (to bring home). :o)

Peach Elderflower Cosmo

Next, we walked up to 50 Plates, but after looking at the menu posted outside decided to move on.  We crossed the street to Cargo Inc to take a break from eating/drinking and check out some cool things.  When we walked in, however, we were treated to (not a sample, a GLASS) of delicious red wine.  I regret not noting the name of it, but we enjoyed it as we walked around, not believing our luck.

We decided to move on from the Pearl and headed over to NW 23rd/Nob Hill area.  I had been to Casa del Matador on Burnside with co-workers, but didn't know there was another one on NW 23rd.  We arrived shortly after 10 p.m. and found that Happy Hour had just started....what luck!!  It was very busy, but we had no trouble finding seating.  In the end, we opted for the outside sidewalk table, which was lovely. I decided to forgo the exotic cocktail and opted for a standard gin and tonic.  Since it was happy hour, we decided to splurge and order two appetizers.  We got the Jumbo Habanero Prawns and Chorizo Tacos.  The prawns were Rob's favorite "eats" of the night.  He actually ordered seconds.  The chorizo tacos were on soft flour tortillas and at first looked more like salad tacos than anything.  Biting into mine, though, I realized what a good, fresh complement the fresh lettuce and tomato was to the spicy chorizo. Delectable.

 

Our friends Janaki and Bryce met up with us at Casa del Matador, then we headed out for some Karaoke. At the insistence of Janaki and Rob, I sang my first karaoke song ever: Madonna's "La Isla Bonita."  The only thing that sucked was having to sing after Janaki, who is such a talented singer, but I had fun.  And people DANCED!!

Right after that adventure we needed something to satisfy our sweet tooth. Janaki suggested a food cart on Hawthorne that sells fried pies and is open late-night.  I am so glad we went!!!!  The cart is called Whiffies Fried Pies, and sells only....you guessed it.....fried pies.  These pies look something like an empanada and are filled with heavenly delights such as blackberries, peaches or (this was my choice) - chocolate, coconut and some type of cream.  The latter is called "Mounds" and is fashioned after its namesake candy bar.  Yum.  No, double-yum.  We left at 2 a.m. and the entire little conglomeration of food carts was still poppin'.  I hope to be back soon.