Another salad!

At home, I eat salad nearly every day, so making a big deal of eating it on the road is a bit disingenuous, but this salad, courtesy of local Italian fave Ava Gene's, is something special.

Click the image to see a larger version.

The menu's description of this dish read only, "radish, turnips, cashews, prosciutto".  Wow, was it amazingly good.  I even liked the radish and turnip bits.

The two of us at dinner ordered different pasta dishes, but both shared a problem:  they used way, way too much pepper.  These plates marked the first time I've not loved a course from Ava Gene's.

Despite them, I still highly recommend the place.  I just hope they control the pepper better in the future.

On the road again: Portland, day 2

Wow, was today busy.  Work comprised interesting meetings, which of course I can't discuss, and a giant backlog of email.  So it goes.

Dinner was an excellent (as always) meal with colleagues and friends (same people; it's nice to be friends with your colleagues) at Ava Genes, an Italian restaurant I definitely recommend.  I've never had a bad dish there.  On a cold, windy fall night, it was lovely to be in a friendly, warm restaurant enjoying a bowl of warm pasta.

Now, finally, to crash.

On the road again: Portland, day 2

I had a good night's rest, which I desperately needed, but from the moment I awoke until now, late at night, I have been running non-stop.  Work filled all the time, so there's nothing I can discuss, as usual, about what I did.

Dinner was a work event with colleagues and friends, and it was delicious.  Portland's Ava Genes, a great Italian place, once again delivered the goods big-time.  Every dish we tasted was inventive, attractive, and most importantly, delicious.  I highly recommend Ava Genes.

Now, to crash.

On the road again: Portland, day 1

165.  That's a lot of cookies, a huge number of donuts, way too many ounces of steak, a hefty price for a dinner bill, and in many contexts, rather a lot.

It is not, however, many minutes to spend in bed before a travel day.  Trust me:  That was my last night.  I tried thinking of that time as 165 minutes, because seeing it as less than three hours in the dark was even more depressing.

Regardless of how I chose to view this time, after I turned off the light, it passed, the alarm sounded, I took a quick shower, and the travel day commenced.  Many hours later, I emerged here in Portland, where the weather is stunning and the skies surprisingly clear. 

Work filled almost all of the time, but today's treat was dinner at Ava Genes, an excellent Italian place I've visited only once before.  Everything I tasted was delicious, with most dishes featuring a wonderful blend of gentle and strong flavors.  I recommend it highly.

Now, though, I am recommending myself to bed. 

A food porn moment

Check out this beautiful dish (click on the photo to see a larger version). 

The menu at Portland's Ava Genes, where I ate this, describes it as "Citrus, dates, almonds, chiles, whipped ricotta".  In the middle of winter, on a cold, rainy Portland night, this dish evoked spring and the promise of warm and beautiful days ahead.

On the road again: Portland, day 1

After a rather unsatisfying two and three quarters hours of sleep, I awoke at the terrifying (to me) hour of 6:40 a.m. and began the long travel day.  The shower pummeled me into something resembling sentience, and off to the airport I went. 

No upgrades today, but at least exit row seats, one of them, sadly, a window.  Still, I worked as I could and landed more or less caught up.

Dinner was my first experience at Ava Genes, a Portland Italian place.  It was fantastic.  The olives were amazing, the citrus salad outstanding, better than I would have believed.  My main course, their variation on spaghetti and meat balls (the meat balls made of sirloin), was simply the best version of that classic that I have ever tasted, here or in Italy or anywhere else.  The sauce was a stunning blend of great tomato flavor with a bit--just a tiny bit--of a chili kick, enough to give it a little heat but not enough to linger in your mouth.  I would eat that dish on every cold, rainy night if I could.  I hadn't planned to have dessert, but the rest of the meal was so good that I had to sample their housemade gelato.  Of the three choices, I opted for the honey mascarpone, and I am amazed to have to report that it was among the best gelatos I have ever tasted, here or in Italy or anywhere else.  It was outstanding.

I will definitely be going back to Ava Genes, and I recommend it highly.