Fletch Halyburton, Park City, Utah

Fletch Halyburton is the Executive Chef and Partner for Savoury Kitchen in Park City, Utah. They're a catering company that is doing it right, brining their own pickles, breaking down whole hogs, canning, composting and buying locally. Those sweet tongs were laid on at 11th Street Electric Tattoo in Salt Lake City.

It's great to see people banging out good food in different parts of the country, the "farm to table" movement is huge in the Northwest and its nice to see it popping up elsewhere. There is something about Chefs breaking down whole hogs that makes me happy, using those bits that are so often frowned upon, braising the cheeks and eating them on the line, not even sharing with the customer, making head cheese and using the trotters, damn, I'm getting hungry! I truly miss working in kitchens. Hats off to the guys at Savoury Kitchen, if you are in need of some catering in Park City, Utah, give them a call.

Savoury Kitchen

Park City, Utah

www.savouryparkcity.com

Mary Angela's Pizzeria- Richmond, VA

I roll in to town after driving about 3000 miles in 2.5 days and all that I can think about is making my down to Carytown for a Cheesesteak from Mary A's! It wasn't until the next day that I finally made it downtown for that delicious sandwich. I also had to get a pie for my son, who has turned into quite the pizza connoisseur over the past few years.

When I lived in the "Fan" 15 years ago, I made it to Mary A's at least once a week, probably twice, it was cheap and awesome, huge slices, good folks and in my opinion, still the best Cheesesteak in Richmond. Didn't see any tattoos behind the counter, kind of a bummer, but that's becoming a trend, not a lot of ink in this town!

Everyone in town knows that Mary Angela's kicks ass, so this isn't news to any Richmonders, but for those of you who have never been to RVA, if you find yourself here, looking for some tasty food, Mary A's is a must!!!!!!

Mary Angela's Pizzeria

3345 W Cary Street

Richmond, VA 23221

www.maryangelaspizzeria.com

Apizza Scholls - Portland, Oregon

Apizza Scholls has had so much press and such a buzz around it that I avoided it until now, actually, my son and I tried going about a year ago and the staff was so rude, that we decided not to wait the hour and went to Kens instead. Apizza Scholls didn't do take out for a long time and as a single Dad, it's much easier to grab a pie and take it home, so that's another reason I avoided this place for so long. So, with all of that said, it was my last night in Portland, my son was already on the East Coast, I was sleeping on a air mattress and I was hungry!

I rolled in to Apizza Scholls and the place was packed, since they now do "to go" pies a few night a week, I decided to order it to go, grab a drink and take it to my empty house. I went with a Sausage and Onion pie, it was not only what I expected, but it was a bit more. I was really impressed with Apizza Scholls, still kind of pissed about the first time I tried to go, but will certainly go back next time I'm in Portland. My favorite pie in town is still Ken's, but Apizza Scholls is a solid second and with a few more visits, I might just have a new favorite!!!

Apizza Scholls

4741 SE Hawthorne

Portland, OR

503.233.1386

www.apizzascholls.com

Adam Greenberg, West Hartford, CT

Adam Greenberg is the Executive Chef at Barcelona Wine Bar in West Hartford, CT. This tattoo is a Japanese Masonobu Knife and the artist is Jay Hanoush of Green Man Tattoo Studio in West Hartford. That's a nice tattoo, and a sweet knife! It's nice to see others that are passionate enough to get the tool of their trade tattooed on their body, my 10 inch Sabatier is and always will be one of my favorite tattoos.

Green Man Tattoo Studio

207 Park Road

West Hartford, CT 06119

860.232.TAT2

Matt Spinner, San Francisco, CA

Here are a couple of wrist tattoos from Matt Spinner of San Francisco California, Matt is the Sous Chef at the Thirsty Bear Brewing Company.  These were drilled on by John Forgus at Voodoo Monkey Tattoo in Cleveland Ohio.

Voodoo Monkey Tattoo

2047 W. 25th Street

Cleveland, Ohio

216.664.5658

www.voodoomonkey.org

Pacific Pie Co.

If you find yourself at the Beaverton Farmers Market on Saturday, or the Lake Oswego or Milwaukie Farmers Market on Sunday, you have to stop by and see the folks at Pacific Pie Co.  They are dishing up handmade Australian savory pies and damn they are good.  I have made my way through the majority of their menu have to say that the Moroccan Chickpea and the Beef and Stout are my favorites!  They use local fresh ingredients and in the Beef and Stout pie, they use one of my favorite beers from Laurelwood.  You should be at the Farmers Market anyway so drop by and pick something up for dinner and if you need a bite while at the market, try the Sausage Rolls, oh yea!!!!!!

Pacific Pie Co.

www.pacificpieco.com

Food & Ink Update!

After a taking a few months off from Food & Ink, I have decided to return.  The format will be changing a bit and I will be taking Food & Ink on the road.  I will be moving from Portland back to my home town of Richmond, Virginia and changing Portland Food & Ink to plain and simple Food & Ink.  I had started reviewing things outside of Portland some time ago and now that I have decided to move my home base, it only makes sense to mix things up with Food & Ink!    I am also hoping to get more interaction from Chefs, Tattoo Artists, Fans and anyone else with not just food tattoos, but any work that you would like people to see.  Please stay tuned for these changes, I will be posting some Portland stuff for the next month, but then I am hitting the road and going back to the Southeast!  Thanks for tuning and and being patient.

Barista

After Billy Wilson left The Albina Press, we all wondered where he would end up, luckily it didn't take long for him to find a new home.  At last years Coffeefest in Seattle, he told me that he was planning to open his own place and fortunately the old Acorn spot on NW 13th became available!  For the past few weeks Barista has been serving Stumptown, Echo and Intelligentsia as well as a few random single origins from different roasters.  I am yet to have a bad shot at Barista and I know that if I do, they will pull me new one, a lot of Cafe's in town could learn a thing or two from Barista!

There are always restaurants where all of the Chefs go to eat, and now there is a Cafe where all of the Portlanders in the Coffee business go to drink espresso, it's pretty sweet! 

Barista

539 NW 13th Ave.

Portland, OR 97209

www.baristapdx.com

Cochon 555

A couple of weeks ago some folks from Cochon 555 emailed me about this event that was being labeled as 5 Pigs, 5 Chefs and 5 Winemakers, and needless to say, I was in!  The Chefs for this event were Vitaly Paley, Gabriel Rucker, Tommy Habetz, John Gorham and Alex Bourgidu.

So 5 local Chefs were each given a pig and asked to bang out some sweet food, and bang out some sweet food they did!  

I was blown away by some of the food that I sampled that night, it started out with a little taster of the gelatin from the Head Cheese at Bunk Sandwiches table, I could have walked away then and been happy, I am a fan of deliciously salty and rich gelatin that tasted like Pork!

Another of my favorites that night came off of the Le Pigeon table where Gabriel had some White Beans and Pork with a Fennel "Jam" that was crazy good!  

From the Toro Bravo table came some Pork and Sausages with Sauerkraut that was killer and a sweet new Bob's Big Boy Tattoo!

From the Bunk Sandwiches table came one of my favorites of the night and it was Head and Trotter Bahn Mi, one of my favorite sandwiches and it was made with Head Cheese, I was in Heaven!

I was amazed at the turn out, the place was packed and there was barely enough room to eat, but it was worth the occasional elbow to the ribs to see and taste what these Chefs are doing in Portland. 

Adam Sappington from The Country Cat broke down a pig and gave a nice presentation on butchering Pork, it was very obvious that he does this every week.

So the winner of the evening was Vitaly Paley, and although I had quite a few tasty plates this evening, I must say that I agreed with the Judges and was stoked to have eaten Paleys food that night.  It was coursed out and the menu was: Truffled Consomme Royalle with a little bacon custard at the bottom and a Oregon Truffle on top, the second "course" was Crispy Black Pudding with Bacon Hollandaise and that was my favorite bite of the evening, and the last plate was Pig in a Sausage Blanket and well, that should speak for itself.  I hope that Cochon 555 comes back through Portland next year, if so, they should have this event at a much bigger space, with the success of this one, Im sure more people will come out for next years event.

Fatburger

So I have been hearing rumors that Fatburger is moving to Vancouver for the past couple of years and until last week I was really excited about it.  The word on the street is that Fatburger has a killer burger and being the burger fan that I am, I have been waiting and have heard nothing!  I almost went to a Fatburger in Vegas last year, but it was next to a In-N-Out and I just couldn't bring myself to do it.  So, I was heading home from Sea-Tac a couple of weeks ago and decided to stop by Fatburger and give it a try.  Well, it was one of the worst burgers that I have ever had, and the Onion Rings were awful too!  So, with that said, the only reason that I am writing this is to say that we don't need a Fatburger, that's it!

Lucky Strike

When I see Cold Spicy Pork Stomach, Jelly Fish Salad, Cold Pork Ears and Crispy Pig Intestine on the menu, I know that I have gone to the right place.  I heard about this Lucky Strike a few days ago and couldn't wait to go, so when a friend of mine and I were in the outskirts of South East Portland a couple of days ago, we went for it.  Until a few days ago, I hadn't had excellent Sichuan Food in Portland, but after taking a trip out to Lucky Strike, I now have a new "go to" Chinese Restaurant!

Since this was my first time to eat at Lucky Strike, I didn't really know what to get and although the server was very nice, she wasn't much help when deciding on food.  There is a "On The Safer Side" section of the menu that consists of three items, Teriyaki Chicken, Beef and Broccoli and Orange Chicken.  The rest of the menu is pretty damn traditional and we were having a hard time deciding on what to order, so we went with one safe entree and one that just sounded killer.  Orange chicken was the "safe" entree and I can honestly say that it was the best Orange Chicken that I have ever had, but after tasting the other entree, I will say that I wont be ordering anything safe at Lucky Strike again.  The other entree was Pork Belly with Chinese Chives and Fermented Black Beans, and damn man, it was amazing! 

You know it's a great meal when everyone just shuts up and eats, when you don't even realize how in to the food you are until you finally take a break from the food and look up to see others eating and smiling and not talking.  The only sound that my ears could here were Tom & Jerry which was playing on the TV in the dining room, I liked it!  

I wish that there were more Chinese restaurants like this in Portland.

Lucky Strike

12306 SE Powell Blvd.

Portland, OR 97236

503.206.8292

Nepo 42

My buddy Matthew recently opened up a new place in North Portland called Nepo 42 and the food is pretty damn good.  It's not surprising that the food is tasty considering Matthews experience, he has been around for quite a while, from dishwasher to Executive Chef and everything in between.  The catering company was rocking so he decided to open up shop at Killingsworth and 42nd.  

Lunch, Dinner and Weekend Brunch is being served with a focus on making almost everything in house.  The Brunch menu has plenty of classics like Biscuits & Gravy, Omelets, Eggs Benedict and French Toast, but also has some more interesting plates like Chicken & Waffles and Ribs with Eggs.  The Lunch & Dinner menu is equally bad ass, a killer Burger with House Cut Fries, Chicken & Waffles with Bacon & Maple Sage Syrup and a House Salad with Fennel, Carrots, Orange & Fried Capers is what I tried and everything was excellent!  Next time I'm going for the Ribs!

Nepo 42 is a great place, good food, good beers and a cool kitchen that is busting out some great food.  The parking lot is small, but there is plenty of on street parking and a church right across the street with a ton of parking!  Oh yea, did I mention the Mac & Cheese, go check it out!

Nepo 42

5403 NE 42nd Ave.

Portland, OR 97218

503.288.8080

Tuck Shop - Phoenix

I usually do my home work when I am heading out of town, I like to eat where the locals eat and find bitchin hole in the wall restaurants that serve great food.  When I found out that I was going to Phoenix, I checked out two things, Frank Lloyd Wrights Taliesin West and the top restaurants in Phoenix.  It was easy to find Taliesin in Scottsdale, but finding a tasty bit wasn't as easy as I thought it would be.

The first night in Phoenix was a bit disappointing, the restaurant that I was stoked about had a hour wait for a seat at the bar, of course I found this out after driving across the city and fighting for a parking spot.  I should have just driven to In-N-Out, but I went back to my hotel and had a disgusting meal.

So luckily, a local turned me on to a great little place called Tuck Shop and I was able to turn my frown upside down!  I was on my way to the airport and in a bit of a hurry, but I found the time to drink a Hendricks with homemade Tonic and eat a "Nosh" plate with Cantaloupe, Salami, Herbed Pistachios and Manchego as well as another tapas plate with Chorizo stuffed Dates topped with melted Gruyere.  These were two of the best plates that I have had in a long time, I was very impressed with this little restaurant and will certainly have a seat at their bar next time I find myself in Phoenix looking for a good meal!

Tuck Shop

2245 North 12th Street

Phoenix, AZ 85006

602.354.2980

www.tuckinphx.com

Fratello Coffee Roasters - Calgary

Yes, I know, we live in Portland and have great coffee all over town, but when I'm in the mood for some out of town coffee, I turn to my buddies at Fratello  in Calgary.  In my opinion, Fratello is roasting up some of the best coffees around and I always enjoy their coffee.  During the holidays and snow storm, I was craving some of Fratellos Cosa Rican "Honey Prep" and called my buddy Russ to order some coffee, to my surprise, Russ hooked me up with all of these coffees and damn they were good.

Fratello does a great job sourcing their coffee, I know this because I met Russ in Honduras when we were both on the Cup of Excellence jury and was able to learn a lot about his companies focus over beers and big plates of mystery meat.  So, they source their coffee really well, roast their coffee really well and have cool bags, so you should probably order some coffee soon eh?

If you are going to try Fratello for the first time, I will suggest you try the "honey prep" Costa Rican!

Fratello Coffee Roasters

4021 9 Street SE

Calgary, AB Canada

T2G-37C

www.fratellocoffee.com

Bunk Sandwiches

Bunk Sandwiches opened a couple of months ago in the old Nu Cafe spot on East Morrison, and with a complete remodel, they opened up in a neighborhood in need of a good restaurant.  In my "best of 2008", I named Bunk Sandwiches as the Best New Restaurant and although there were some notable restaurant openings in 2008, I think this is a important one.  Anything that reminds me of the East Coast is welcomed in my book and the breakfast sandwiches on hard rolls are a reminder of the few things that I miss about "home."  With ingredients like Bone Marrow, Pork Belly, Mortadella, Tripe, Salt Cod, Pork Confit and Oxtail on the menu, you can see that this isn't your normal Sandwich Shop!

It must the the Chef in me, but I am convinced that Line Cooks and Chefs eat more sandwiches than anything else and thats why I get excited about great sandwiches.  For all of the years that I spent in kitchens, I can only remember a few times eating a normal meal, one of which was due to a server giving us the wrong numbers for a banquet and having about a dozen steaks dying in the window!  That's the only time at that restaurant that I remember eating with entire kitchen, it's funny, we were all happy to be sitting down and eating dinner, the shitty part was that we were sitting in the alley by the dumpsters on milk crates in the rain, no lie, in the rain, eating Filets with Demi, Potatoes Lyonnaise and Broccolini, good times!

So if you are looking for a great sandwich cooked and served by a bunch on nice folks, Bunk Sandwiches should be on the top of your list!

Bunk Sandwiches

621 SE Morrison St.

Portland, OR 97214

503.477.9515

www.bunksandwiches.com