Tuesday, February 19, 2008

New and exciting

I went back to Kenny & Zuke's last Wednesday for the buttermilk fried chicken daily special, and holy schmoly was it something...



Perfectly crispy skin, juicy-as-all meat, served with fresh green beans and mashed potatoes and gravy. That's what I call a meal.

While waiting for the chicken to fry, I had a nice chat with Nick Zukin, aka "Zuke" of Kenny & Zuke's, a long time Portland foodie and fellow blogger. He also pointed me in the direction of a Portland-based food forum that he and some peers created a few years back, now populated by the thousands, called PortlandFood.org. I'm excited to get to know more about Portland through its cuisine, and it makes me feel even more secure in moving here and going to school in Portland.

Speaking of which, a few weeks ago I visited Oregon Culinary Institute again for lunch and a sit down with my admissions advisor. During lunch, which is made by the students of course, I got to chat with the awesome chef and co-creator of OCI, Brian Wilke, who has a big hand in my decision to go to OCI over Western Culinary Institute, Portland's other culinary education "powerhouse". The restaurant is a total steal; $9 for bread, appetizer, salad, entree and dessert. I know they do dinner too, and at something like $15 for a five-course meal, this may be the best deal in Portland.

Straight from the hands of the patisserie students, here are the two desserts that they offered (I couldn't decide so Chef Wilke suggested I try both). I love the piped chocolate and spidery sauce designs on the plates. The desserts were pretty awesome too.

Chocolate awesomeness:


Marbled cheesecake awesomeness:

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