Dave Knows Portland

Archives for November 2008

November 22: Highball Distillery open house

by Leave a Comment

Portland’s Highball Distillery, makers of organic Elemental Vodka, is opening their doors to the public today from noon to 5pm.  The distillery is located at 610 SE 10th Ave.

We’ll be offering tours, Q&A opportunities, door prizes, and the best Cajun jambalaya available this side of the Rocky Mountains! Our own Elemental Vodka will be on hand for free tastings and holiday gift purchase.

I enjoyed the open houses at New Deal and Artisan Spirits recently, and if I were going to be in town today, I’d be heading to Highball (I’m a sucker for jambalaya). If you go tell me how it was!

Relief is on the way: The Portland Loo

by 1 Comment

The first Portland Loo will be unveiled soon.

The Grand Opening First Flush Event, starring city commissioner Randy Leonard, will take place at 11am, Monday, December 8th at NW 5th and Davis.

Some of the highlights of the Portland Loo (from the new brochure (pdf)):

Affordable
Design deters illicit activity
Durable/vandalism resistant
Easy to service/replace
damaged components
Site almost anywhere
(with water and sewer hookup)
Designed to be open 24/7
without an attendant
ADA accessible
Sustainable/solar powered

Poutine in Portland II

by 9 Comments

Update: If you’re looking for Poutine in Portland, check out our new site: Portland Poutine!

With the Coupe Grey in Montreal fast approaching, this seems an opportune time to revisit my favorite French-Canadian invention: poutine!

Over a year ago I beseeched the blog readers of Portland to reveal to me the location of poutine in Portland.
And the bloggers of Portland heard my call! (Well, at least altportland‘s VJ and Cuisine Bonne Femme from PortlandFoodAndDrink.com, and now blogging at Food Carts Portland did.)

Since that time the Florida Room has ceased to offer poutine, but Potato Champion has taken up the call to champion poutine to the people of Portland.

And of course, you have the option of making your own poutine. I buy fresh cheese curds whenever I can find them (Rogue Creamery‘s are available occasionally at the farmers markets), and I have a Québécoise friend who, whenever she makes a trip to her homeland, brings me back cans and packets of poutine gravy. And of course, french fries are easy! Other Portlanders have tried their hand at making poutine too – check out this delicious account, with photos, at Gild the (Voodoo)lily,: homemade sweet potato poutine.

Dave Knows Canada

by 4 Comments

Update: Alas, other geniuses have already invented my invention

Potato chips are the topic of a recent post on my favorite Canadian blog, XUP. Here’s a sample:

They’re Lay’s Classic. Shiny yellow, red and white bag. The King of Chips. Every one perfection. No brown rims of leftover peel. No green aliens. No overcooked freaks. Just the right amount of bubbly ones to make them special — a treat. No weird flavours or ripples. No pretense to healthiness.*

She should be writing copy for Frito Lay!

In any case, this post inspired me. I have come up with a million-dollar (Canadian) invention:

That’s right, Poutine**-flavoured potato chips!!!!

* You can tell XUP is Canadian because she uses the British/Canadian spelling of “flavor”, but also calls the fried potato snack “chips”, not “crisps” like a Brit would do.

** Portlanders can find authentic poutine at Potato Champion (SE 12th and Hawthorne).

Where to watch the Grey Cup in Portland

by 4 Comments

Update: 2010 Grey Cup Viewing in Portland

Grab your toque, the 96th Grey Cup takes place this Sunday, November 23rd.  The Grey Cup is the Canadian Football League’s championship game; think of it as the Canadian Super Bowl.

This year’s matchup, Calgary Stampeders versus Montreal Alouettes, takes place in Montreal. The game is being broadcast locally on Versus, Comcast Cable channel 32. The game is tape-delayed to 2:30pm.

Where to watch the 2008 Grey Cup in Portland, Oregon:

Canadian Football and American Football share a pedigree, and mostly follow the same rules. Some of the difference:

  • The field in Canadian football is 110 yards long and 65 yards wide, not the 100 yards by 53⅓ yards used in American football.
  • Canadian football plays 3 downs, not 4.
  • In Canadian football all offensive backfield players, except the quarterback, can be in motion when the ball is snapped.

There are other differences too, but these are some of the most obvious to American football fans.  As a casual observer (I grew up watching American football but have only watched maybe half a dozen Canadian football games in my entire life) my take is that the Canadian football game is faster paced and higher scoring and there are more throws.  Compared to the NFL, CFL football players are smaller and faster.  I don’t care much for gridiron football, but if I had to choose between NFL and CFL I’d go Canadian every time.

Last year I searched, nearly in vain, for a place to watch the game in Portland. We finally tracked down a cable channel broadcast, and several fellow Canadaphiles and I joined a group of Canadian ex-pats at the McMenamins on NE Broadway to watch the game.

If anyone else knows of other public showings of the game in Portland, please leave a comment and I will add it to the list!