Another reason I love Le Pigeon

Chef Gabriel Rucker and the Le Pigeon team hold a special Halloween dinner each year.  I've read about them in the past, but earlier tonight I was able to attend this year's special meal.  Its theme was to spoof a certain spike-haired food TV personality. 

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The menu looked both appropriate to the theme and intriguing. 

Every single dish was delicious.  I'd be hard-pressed to pick a single favorite, but I did absolutely love the small cup of brisket chili,

the foie gras eggroll dish,

and the General Tsao-Kung Pao shortrib.

Heck, I truly enjoyed every course. 

As I've said many times, if you live in Portland or just visit here, you need to make Le Pigeon a regular stop on your food journey.  Rucker's inventiveness and gift for combining ingredients in unusual and unexpected ways is second to none. 

The tasting menu at Le Pigeon

is enormous, varied, and incredibly delicious.  It is also probably more food than anyone should eat at one sitting.  Nonetheless, we ordered it tonight, and, as usual, it was amazing.  Chef/owner Gabriel Rucker and his team produced seven amazing courses, one with two desserts.

I also had the non-alcoholic drink pairings, a lovely treat for a teetotaler like myself.  One of my favorite touches of the meal was this innocent-looking beverage.

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That little glass contains one of the most sinfully wonderful drinks I've ever tasted, the Foie Gras Coke Float.

Astonishingly rich and strong and delicious, this beverage alone is reason enough to visit Le Pigeon.

I've said it many times over the past decade, but it bears repeating now:  if you ever get a chance to eat at Le Pigeon, take it.  Do not miss this place.

Little Bird wows

Long-time readers know that I love Le Pigeon, the first restaurant from chef/owner Gabriel Rucker and co-owner Andy Fortgang.  I've eaten there basically once a quarter since mid-2007--and it's here in Portland, and I live in Raleigh.  It's no surprise, then, that I've also been a regular at Rucker and Fortgang's second restaurant, Little Bird, since it opened.  I've always liked Little Bird and always enjoyed very good meals there.

Tonight, though, my dinner at Little Bird was by far the best I've eaten there, a top-drawer meal from start to finish.  I enjoyed a compressed melon salad, the duck, and a truffled chocolate ice cream sandwich, plus tastes of several sides and, courtesy of Andy, some of a second desert, the peach pain perdu.

Every bite of every dish was fantastic.

I could go into a lot more detail, but it's very late and I have to get up very early, so let me cut to the chase:  Little Bird has become another must-eat Portland destination.

Do not miss it.

I have to get up at 5:30 in the morning

and it's a great deal later than the timestamp on this post would suggest, so I'm going to keep this short and simple:  Le Pigeon remains an amazing, wonderful restaurant.  A group of us ate the seven-course tasting menu there tonight, and I loved every single dish.  Chef/owner Gabriel Rucker and his team produce innovative and delicious food that you absolutely should sample if you are ever in Portland--and if you live here, get down to Le Pigeon ASAP.

Do not miss Le Pigeon.

The rumors of snow were greatly exaggerated

At least here in Portland and in the nearby city I visit for work, we've had zero snow so far--lots of rain, but no snow.  I can't complain, because snow would make everything harder, but I wouldn't have minded seeing a light dusting.

In other news, Gabriel Rucker's Little Bird Bistro continues to be a lovely place to eat a delicious French meal, done in Gabe's own style, on a cold night.

A hot day in Portland ends in a delicious meal

Temperatures here once again reached into the 90s, as they have all week.  I always expect to relax in the cool air here in the summer, but not this trip; this trip, Portland delivered the heat.

I spent the dinner hours in the cool interior of one of my all-time favorite restaurants, Le Pigeon.  Chef/owner Gabriel Rucker was working tonight, which made the usual cooking show even better than normal.

As always, every single dish was wonderful.  The stand-out was an offering not on the menu:  truffled pasta.  In this case, the Le Pigeon chefs made the pasta from scratch with Italian flour and tons and tons of black Australian truffle, so the pasta itself was infused with the delicious goodness of truffles.  They covered it in a cheese and truffle sauce, and finished the dish with--you guessed it--grated truffles.

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This bowl provided bite after bite of sex in your mouth that delivered a serious foodgasm, so rich and wonderful that I almost licked the bowl clear.  Two of us shared it, a decision that saved me some calories but that I regretted more than a few times.

If you're ever in this area, do not miss Le Pigeon.  If you're here now, rush over there, ask for this pasta, and hope it's still on the menu.

Wondering what to give your friend who likes to cook?

Wonder no more:  Try this cookbook from Chef Gabriel Rucker and the fine folks at Le Pigeon, one of my all-time favorite restaurants.

Yes, I already own a copy.

No, I don't make any money from you buying this, nor did Gabe ask me to plug it.

I just think it's awesome and wanted to recommend it to you all.

On the road again: Portland, day 3

After a very, very late night working, morning today arrived entirely too early.  The vast majority of the daylight hours went to work meetings, which were interesting but which I cannot, of course, discuss.

Feeling draggy and exhausted, I turned for a pick-me-up to the small Cacao store located in the corner of the hotel.  A small glass of sipping dark chocolate beverage later, I was wired for sound and rolling on work.  I've never had a beverage that affected me as much as this one, which never fails to buzz me.

Dinner took me to one of my all-time favorite restaurants, Le Pigeon.  Owner and star chef Gabriel Rucker was working tonight, so I was able to sit at the bar in front of him and chat off and on as he cooked and I ate.  The meal was, as always, delicious.  It included my first taste of pork tongue, which was in Rucker's hands rich and flavorful and entirely delicious.  As I've said many times before, if I lived here, I'd eat in this place weekly.

Tomorrow morning, I head home for a few days before my travels take me to Chicago and the World Science Fiction Convention!

On the road again: Portland, day 1

The word of the day is "delay."

After a completely unsatisfying two hours of sleep, I showered, drove to the airport, went to my gate, and...waited. This delay was small, maybe 15 minutes in all, but it set the tone for the day.

After a long wait and a gate change in DFW, I went to my new gate, looked at the departure time, queued up, and...waited. This time, the wait started out at 20 minutes and grew to being over an hour.

When we finally reached Portland, we taxied partway to the terminal and stopped suddenly; our gate was occupied. So, we waited another 15 minutes on the runway.

Despite the many delays, I can't otherwise complain about the flights. I even got upgrades on both legs, so I was luckier than on many trips.

Dinner was a shared cheese plate and a delicious veal breast with buttermilk spaetzle at the always good Little Bird. One of my three "must-eat" places in Portland, Little Bird is the second restaurant from Gabriel Rucker and just a fun and delicious place to go.

Tomorrow, work begins here, but tonight, ah tonight I sleep.

On the road again: Portland, day 4

In an afternoon break, we headed over to the Ruby Jewel scoops shop for some locally made and entirely delicious ice cream. I first encountered these folks because of their wonderful ice cream cookies, which I still strongly recommend. Their ice cream, which comes in many more flavors, is every bit as good as you'd expect. Check 'em out.

Dinner was at one of the best restaurants in Portland, Chef Gabriel Rucker's second establishment, Little Bird. I can't recommend this place highly enough. Combining Rucker's daring creations with a classic French bistro atmosphere, Little Bird is the kind of restaurant where you will always find new and amazing takes on classics, such as my duck leg and pork belly cassoulet. I got to spend a few minutes chatting with co-owner Andy Fortgang and learned a bit more about the background of the place. As I've said many times, if you live in or visit this area and are not eating at Rucker's places, you're making a mistake.

Tomorrow, I wake up early (for a Saturday), pack, and head home.

On the road again: Portland, day 3

Another day of all work and so not much to report on that front.

Lunch involved work but was at a nifty place, The Venetian, in Hillsboro. The Venetian is an old theater that the owners rehabbed into a combination theater and restaurant. The food is basic but tasty, and the theater is gorgeous. I wish we had something like this in Raleigh.

Dinner was at one of my all-time favorite restaurants, Le Pigeon. Chef Gabriel Rucker, who won this year's Beard for Best Rising Star in the U.S., whipped up a nine-course tasting menu for us, and every single dish in it was excellent, as always. Rucker's plates are complex, strongly flavored creations, and I enjoy them immensely.

I'd go on, but it's late and I'm exhausted, so I will say again what I have said many times before: If you're in this area or visiting it, you must eat at Le Pigeon.

On the road again: Portland, day 1

Saturday night, I went to bed at 5:30 a.m., which is a fine time and doesn't bother me at all. This morning, I had to get up at 5:30, and that sucked. Having only two and a half hours of restless sleep didn't help, but man, I hate early morning flights.

RDU airport provided an exercise in self-control to the hundreds and hundreds of people winding in snakelike queues through the TSA system. Our RDU terminal recently added a new airline and a lot of gates, but it didn't look like the security folks had planned accordingly. Everyone stayed nice despite the pressure, and the lines plodded steadily forward, so it could have been worse. That said, I was not in the best of humors by the time I reached the end of the process.

No upgrades were to be mine today, but at least I had been able to book exit-row seats, so I had leg room, if no space for my shoulders. The first flight provided bandwidth, which was nice; the second, alas, did not.

The three-hour layover in DFW let me catch up on email at the Admirals' Club and grab a salad and a delicious Red Mango parfait for lunch. I am definitely a fan of that place.

The second flight was long but uneventful and even arrived early.

The usual travel transit milestones followed, and then much work.

At the recent Beard awards, chef Gabriel Rucker garnered the Rising Star award. That's not, though, why we ate dinner at Le Pigeon. We dined there because it's one of my favorite restaurants in the world. Period. I've been going there for years. If I lived in Portland, I'd probably eat there a couple of times a month, maybe more. I love its vibe, the fierce dedication of everyone on the line, the clear passion for doing the work--and, of course, the brilliant food.

Rucker wasn't on the line tonight, but John (whose last name I am embarrassed to admit I do not know) and his team were in superb form. I tried the cold foie with fried oyster on top, and it worked amazingly well. My main was a pork chop on a bed of smashed peas mixed with house-made creme-fraiche and several seasonings, and it was magnificent. I would happily eat a bowl of those peas any time. Between the two, in a slow spell John made us a surprise: a vegetarian version (so all of us could share it) of the gnocchi dish with asparagus and light sauces. It captured spring perfectly.

If you have any reason to be in Portland, you simply must eat at Le Pigeon.

I've now been up 22 hours on well under three hours of sleep, and some work remains, so I'm going to get to it and hope to crash soon. I very much hope for a less demanding day tomorrow.

On the road again: Portland, day 4

My workday began with a 6:00 a.m. phone meeting, and I'm still working. Aside from a shower, thirty minutes on a treadmill, and dinner, work has been my day. Not my favorite, but so it goes.

Dinner tonight, though, was a treat at another marvelous Portland restaurant, Sel Gris. Chef Daniel Monduk, whom I've mentioned before, and his kitchen team served us a wonderful, four-course tasting menu--which we stretched to five courses with a cheese plate addition.

Well, to be completely accurate, we ended up with six courses, because Gabriel Rucker, Chef/Owner of Le Pigeon, was eating at Sel Gris as well, recognized us, and treated us to a plate of the most delicious calamari I have ever tasted. I was quite surprised and thanked him very much on the spot, but I'm also going to send him a few autographed books.

I'm heading toward my birthday and fighting my usual birthday depression, but I expect it to grab me soon enough. So it goes, I suppose, but I keep hoping to avoid it.

I have to get up in a little over five hours, and I haven't packed yet, so I'll wish everyone a great Friday the 13th and get to work.

On the road again: Portland, day 2

I'm sick and tired of my own exhaustion and my whining about my insanely long work days, so I'm going to give it a rest for a few entries--or until I can't stop myself from complaining again.

Today's highlight was, as it often is on such trips, dinner. As we do most Tuesday nights we're in Portland, we ate at Le Pigeon, which long-time readers of this blog will know is one of my favorite restaurants. Chef Gabriel Rucker and the two other chefs work in an open kitchen in an intimate setting, and the food they produce is always a treat. If you can get a seat at the bar, grab it, so you can watch them work. We were lucky enough to sit there tonight.

Winter is truffle season, so many fine restaurants, including Le Pigeon, are actively using this sublime ingredient. Check out their dinner menu to see the several mentions of it. I was torn between two of the starters, the pork belly and the foie, so I asked Rucker for his advice. He said I could always order both, so I did. I know: what a pig. Indeed, I was, yet both were superb. The pork belly was crisp and flavorful, while the foie was perfectly rendered. I think two arteries sealed shut as I ate these dishes.

I also sought Rucker's pick of the entrees, and he chose the poussin, which I ordered despite its description's inclusion of the brussels sprouts, an evil little cabbage I generally despise. As happens with the best chefs, however, Rucker turned the little demon into an ingredient in a mix I quite loved. I'm not saying he's converted me into a fan of this nasty tormenter of children--far from it--but if he's serving it, I'll eat it.

We arrived at 8:00 for our reservation, and Le Pigeon was busy. Shortly thereafter, it emptied. When I asked Rucker if the economy was hurting them, he waved his hand to take in the empty tables. He said, though, that they would stick. I sure hope so.

If you're reading this and you live in or will be going to Portland, eat at Le Pigeon. Rucker and his team are too talented, too nice, and just too damn good for us to let Le Pigeon vanish. Long may it fly.

On the road again: Portland, day 2

From the early wake-up call to the early evening, the day was simple: work. I spent a fair amount of time catching up with some clients who are also friends, so that part of the work was fun.

Dinner was a treat: Le Pigeon. Its chef, Gabriel Rucker, is a nominee for a James Beard award for Rising Star Chef, and he well deserves it. I had the Duck Neck, egg salad, and tomato vinaigrette starter. It proved to be a lovely coupling of disparate tastes and textures, with the fried necks and egg salad contrasting wonderfully. From the reaction of the two guys to my right, however, I perhaps should have ordered the Lamb Belly; too many good choices. My entree was the Skate, pork belly, potatoes, and fennel; wow, was it yummy. We split a cheese plate, which featured, as always, three selections from a local shop, Steve's Cheese. My dessert was the Chocolate Cake from Satan with port cherry ice cream, which was a wonderful blend of chocolate and cherry, hot on the bottom and ice cream on the top.

We were able to sit at the bar, so our dinner was even better for getting to watch Rucker and his two fellow chefs prepare it. The best seat in the house is always, in my opinion, in the kitchen.

Lest Fred chide me for spending too much time eating great meals and not writing, rest assured that I am marching ahead with Overthrowing Heaven. As I shall resume doing now.