Dining Out

Portland Dining Adventures | Farm Spirit

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Date nights have become a regular occurrence for us lately because frankly they are incredibly important. However, most of our date nights are pretty casual and sometimes they even involve running a few child-free errands. But, our last date night was one that was far from a casual affair. It was free of phones (except to snap a few photos for you), errands and our beloved children. 

FarmSpirit .10We were kindly invited to attend one of Farm Spirit‘s multiple course dinner seatings. Farm Spirit is the brainchild of Chef Aaron Adams, formerly of Portland vegans’ favorite, Portobello Vegan Trattoria. The restaurant focuses on thoughtful courses with the seasonal ingredients sourced almost entirely from the Cascadia region in the Pacific Northwest. Adams clearly cares about supporting local farmers and artisans, going into great detail when describing the dishes and the origins of their ingredients. Even the dishware was created by local potter Steve Kelly. Tickets for the seatings are sold in advance and are in high demand. Each seating is limited to 14 and there is only one seating each night, Wednesday through Saturday at 7pm. *Update* Starting April 6th, Farm Spirit will offer multiple seating times throughout the evening, starting at 5:15 p.m. and going as late as 8:30 p.m. The seatings will be smaller allowing for more focus and attention to be on the guests.
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When you walk in each seat has a menu and a place card with your last name. The seating a is a bit unique in that all guests are seated at a communal bar and the chefs prepare and plate each one of your courses right there in front of you. You know immediately that this experience is more than just the food. Farm to table has become somewhat cliched lately but not at Farm Spirit. You come away with a great appreciation for and understanding of the ingredients, the farmers, and the process that has gone into making your meal.

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Above you see the 12-course menu starting with the most amazing bread and olive oil and ending with an incredible pumpkin seed ice cream. The real highlights are all the dishes in between. But, I’ll get to that in a bit.  

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To go along with our meal we decided to share the wine pairing and the house-made (non-alcoholic) beverage pairing. All of the wines were wonderful. One of our favorites was the Madeira. Neil and I couldn’t get over how amazing it was and how well it paired with the last two courses. As for the house-made beverages you won’t be disappointed. They were all unique and had such a range of flavors all of which perfectly complimented their dishes. Neil has been really interested in wild fermentation lately and spent a great deal of time asking the chefs about the process that went into the drinks. 

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Our first dish was this bouquet of herbs and greens and a little purple carrot with the most incredible hazelnut yogurt. To eat we were instructed to use our hands, dip, our bunch and enjoy. How was it? While it almost seems a little awkward to eat at first, that dissipates quickly when you’re blown away by the variety of flavors and textures in the dish. 

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Another dish to highlight was the Swiss chard that was made to resemble ravioli. It was fresh, crisp and the vegetal kvass broth had me lifting the bowl to drink up every last drop. The chefs do a great job of introducing you to the dishes and reminding you to let go of your inhibitions about eating with your hands or drinking up the last of the broths in your dish. 
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This next dish was another one of my favorites – the roasted carrot with burdock root puree. As a home cook, this was one of the less intimidating dishes. It’s one that I’m inspired go home and recreate, maybe not to the same caliber, but I could still do it.   
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I have to say of all the dishes this last one is my favorite. Tim’s bread was the star of the night for me. I could have easily eaten an entire loaf of the vollkornbort with the soured filbert puree and of those pickled onions and mustard seeds. 

As the evening wound down the dessert courses are presented and your hot beverage order is taken. The offerings include coffee from local roasters Cellar Door, tea from Steven Smith, and a house-made hot drink. Once everyone has cleared their plates the chefs give you a warm thank you and a sweet breakfast bread to take home to enjoy with your morning coffee or tea. Such a sweet and unexpected way to end a perfect dining experience. 

We enjoyed our meal and experience so much that immediately upon returning home that night we booked our next visit. One thing to note when you are purchasing your dinner tickets is that dinner is around three hours long. I know three hours sounds a bit daunting but honestly you won’t want the night to end. 

Have you tried Farm Spirit? What were your thoughts? If you are a local Portlander or are visiting Portland I recommend getting tickets right away you won’t be disappointed.

Farm Spirit is located at 1414 SE Morrison, Portland, OR 97232.  Find Farm Spirit on Facebook.com/FarmSpirit, and @FarmSpirit on Instagram and Twitter.

*I apologize for the photo quality – while the food was amazing the lighting was far from ideal for photographs! 

Eat-In Challenge

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Every month, the Hubz and I seem to have the same discussion about cutting back on eating out.  And yet, nothing really changes.

One of the biggest realizations that we have come to is how crazy it is that we can debate for days, months, weeks over making a simple purchase for something like a new shirt or shoes, and yet when it comes to dining out we don’t even think twice. Looking back on things I am just imagining how many shirts, shoes, and new bags I could have bought over the years if we had just cut back on dining out. The trouble is, we really enjoy dining out.  Not so much the actual eating part, but the social aspect of it.  It’s nice to peel ourselves away from the computers and get out and do something together. It gives us the opportunity to take a break and enjoy each others company.  No dishes to clean up is certainly a nice perk!

So, why not dine out?  What are the biggest problems with eating out?

 

  • Portions – Most of the times, your portions are way too much for one person.  Many times, Neil and I will share an entree and a salad or appetizer.  But, whether you just aren’t feeling like eating the same thing as your partner, or you just feel like you’re hungrier than you probably are, sometimes you just want your own meal. You could always ask the wait staff to box half up of your meal before they bring it out, but, honestly, how often does that actually happen?
  • Expense –  There’s no two ways about it, eating out is expensive. Just think about how much that pasta with salad dish would have cost you at home.  Would that bottle of wine you shared at dinner really have cost you $35.00 at the grocery store?  Often, a meal for two (as simple as the one i just mentioned) can cost upwards of $60. In reality, you can make it at home for $15-25 (including that bottle of wine!).  I know that part of what you are paying for is the experience, but why not try to recreate that at home?  And hey, tipping your partner with a kiss is a lot cheaper than 15-20% of that $60 bill (and more fun!).
  • Mystery – Often, it can be a mystery as to what you are actually eating.  Unless a restaurant clearly labels each ingredient on their menu, you may not have any idea what is in your dish.  Often restaurant dishes are filled with sodium and fats used to heighten flavor which makes you want more, creating repeat customers.  Not to mention that you don’t know what the quality of the ingredients they use are or whether they are packaged or made from scratch.
How can eating at home help?

 

  • You have control – You have all of the control.  You can control: the portion sizes, the quality of ingredients and the costs.  When we eat at home we are able to buy high quality ingredients to make dishes that are tasty, healthy and better fit our budget.  You can control the salt and the fat, which helps you take control of your diet.
How can I address the things that get in the way of cooking at home?

 

There are a couple core reasons people turn to eating out and I’m hoping to give you some ways you can address those.  Many people end up eating out for the following reasons:

 

  • I don’t like to cook – A lot of people just don’t like to cook.  Whether they find it tedious or just too hard.  One way to make it fun is to find a friend who likes to cook or who is good at cooking to cook with.  The Hubz used to have cooking parties with his friends all the time and found that it really helped to improve the quality of food and the healthiness of the food he was eating at home.  If you are in a relationship, make it fun by making it something you and your partner do together.  Break the preparation up into different steps: chopping veggies, sautéing your veggies and/or proteins or boiling the pasta for example.  This allows you to spend time together and make the process a little less tedious or labor intensive.
  • I don’t know how to cook – Look into taking a cooking class.  It’s a great way to learn and maybe even meet some new friends who may share your passion for food.  Many local health food stores, kitchen supply stores (Williams-Sonoma for one), community centers and in some cases even bloggers or restaurants in your area are great resources for cooking classes.  These classes are usually offered at reasonable rate and some classes even cater to couples.  You will often find these classes focusing on different cuisines or dishes which will allow you to to become an expert at cooking the types of food you love to get when you eat out.  You can often find classes offered on the basics of cooking as well (knife work, making broths, etc).  Investing the time and money you would normally spend on eating out one night is a great way to learn to provide for yourself for years to come!
  • I don’t have time –  Cooking a big meal can be intimidating and time consuming.  But there are lots of great, easy, tasty and healthy dishes that you can throw together quickly.  Often the time you put into making a quick, healthy dish can be less than you would invest in going out to eat.  Between work, health coaching and blogging spare time is hard to find, so I often feature some of my favorite quick, healthy recipes on the blog.  Some examples of some quick healthy dishes include:  couscous and steamed veggies and beans, salads with lots of veggies and a lean protein.  A favorite of the Hubz’s is what we like to call “Beans, Greens and Grains” at home.  It’s usually a combination of  some sort of bean (any will do, for example: black eyed peas, chickpeas or white beans), a whole grain (brown rice, quinoa, etc.) and a hearty green (the Hubz loves kale, collards and spinach).
In a pinch, when you are on the run and are really running short on time there are some great frozen healthful options from brands like Amy’s Kitchen and Kashi that are tasty, clear about what goes into them and packed full of nutrients.  These meals will help you address any of the three issues I listed above as reasons for eating out and are much more cost efficient.

 

The Challenge:

 

And now, here’s your challenge.  Starting on October 1st and running through the month until October 30th, challenge participants are encouraged to eat-in for all meals.  This includes snacks and beverages.  I am not going to state any exceptions because this is something that you are doing for yourself.  Just remember if you do “cheat” one day it doesn’t mean the month is a loss.  Just start right back up; each meal is a new chance to jump back in.

 

Set a budget for the month and stick to it.  This budget should include all of your meals, snacks and beverages and should be based on your personal/family needs. This means making your coffee at home, avoiding vending machines at work (you should avoid those anyways). Do you crave dessert? Make sure to add it to your grocery list, try to avoid those late night runs to your favorite dessert spot.   Every budget will be different but make sure it is one that you will be able to work with for an entire month.

 

Tips:

 

  1. Plan you menu for the week and make a grocery list.  Make sure to include snacks and drinks on your list. Planning will help you to stay on track and to cut costs.
  2. Focus on simple, healthy meals during the week and one “WOW” dinner on the weekend.  When you keep things simple you reduce stress and the desire to eat out.  The “WOW” dinner is a replacement for eating out; make something special and make an event out of it.  One of our favorite things to do is pick a movie and create a meal that follows the theme of the movie.
  3. Have a prep day.  One of the biggest challenges many of us face is time.  Take one day per week, I find Sundays work well for me, and prep your meals for the week.  This helps things run smoothly through the week and you will have more time doing the things you want, rather than being in the kitchen all night.
  4. Buy in bulk  and portion out.  I love to buy nuts, seeds and dried fruit in bulk for snacks.  When I get home I portion them out into little containers so they are easy to grab and go.  This is also great to do with other snacks such as veggie sticks and hummus or whole grain crackers and salsa.
  5. Keep it simple and have fun.
Added incentive:

 

Need a little added incentive to keep you on track? All participants who participate with no cheats will be eligible for a $10 amazon gift card purchased for you by me.

 

Requirements:

 

You must follow all of the following requirements to be eligible: 

 

  1. Blog post announcing your participation by 12pm EST on October 1, 2011. The blog post must include:
    • Why you are participating in the challenge. 
    • Your monthly budget.
    • How you are going to keep yourself on track and what measures you plan to take to make this a successful challenge.
  2. On October 8th, 15th and 22nd you must post a progress report.  The post must include:
    • Discuss how things are going and whether you are on track for budget.
    • Discuss the meals you had over the course of the week.
    • Something you learned, a challenge you faced and how you over came that challenge
  3. Lastly on October 30th a final report must be posted.  This post must include:
    • Discuss how the challenge went and whether you were able to stay on track for budget
    • Discuss positive changes you have experienced with your health, your relationships and your wallet. 
    • Something you learned, a challenge you faced and how you over came that challenge
Planning to participate add this badge:

 

Date Night at The Scuffer

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Yesterday the rain finally took a break and it was hot and sunny out. I decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and did C25K day one of week 2. It was a great run/walk and I am excited to keep going and finally running my first 5k. Yes you read correctly I am (finally) going to run a 5k! The Hubz and I are going to run the Old Port Half Marathon & 5k together and our friends are running the 1/2 marathon. We are both really excited and are working to get up to running a full 5k. If you are running this left me know!

After a hot and sweaty run the Hubz and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful night and head downtown for a beer and half of veggie burgers at The Scuffer. We were hoping to sit on the patio but of course we weren’t the only ones out to enjoy the beautiful weather so we had to sit inside. The beer and half off veggie burgers was (almost) worth sacrificing sitting out in the beautiful weather.

It’s funny The Scuffer has been around for years, it used to be The Rusty Scuffer – I think it changed owners and the name changed (correct me if I’m wrong) and we had never thought to go there until a few months ago.  A few months ago we were looking for somewhere new to go and I just happened to check out their menu online and saw that on Wednesday’s they have half off burgers with a drink purchase, so I called and asked if their veggie burger was vegan and it is (oh and it’s homemade too double win).   The other thing that I love about The Scuffer is their extensive beer menu that is filled with local beers and a number of great microbrews and their prices are really good too.

Last night the Hubz and I both got veggie burgers with fries and no bun and we each ordered a beer.  I wanted the Dogfish Aprihop but they were all out (because it’s just that good) so I decided to go with McNeil’s Extra Special Bitter and the Hubz got the Rock Art Midnight Madness; we really liked both of them. Overall we had a great date night out at The Scuffer and will continue going on for the Wednesday special because you just can’t beat the beer, the burger and the prices.

Boston

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My hubby and I are headed to Boston the next two weekends and Worcester the second of the two weekends. Any suggestions for dining? We tend to go to the same places in Boston every time we visit and although I love them (My Thai, Lee’s, Bagel Rising, Addis Red Sea, The Otherside Cafe, ect) we are looking for new dining experiences. Also I’ve never been to Worcester so any suggestions there?