Let me introduce myself. My name is Judy Pace and I am a self proclaimed "foodie"! My friends and I love to eat, and frankly, we do it very well! Over time, it has become a tradition that every weekend (or as close to that as possible) we try to search out and eat at a new restaurant. It is, shall we say, our "entertainment" for that evening. For starters, I thought I would highlight one restaurant a month. If there is interest, maybe I will write about more. So with that said, let me introduce you to our latest adventure.
Judy Pace
Accounts Specialist & self proclaimed "foodie"
Stutzman Services, Inc
Our Adventures
Just a short drive to Corvallis, located at 308 SW 3rd Street, you will find a new little place called Les Caves. I can't tell you what it means, but I can tell you it is a fun little place! Small in area, but big on what it offers! Very inviting and casual, this European style pub makes it a great place to wonder in to.
If you are a beer connoisseur…or, if you would like to try some beers from this area and beyond, this is the place! I can't even begin to tell you how many kinds of beer they offer and it changes from week to week. So in some ways, it is always new!
For me, it is always food! This time it is a pretzel! Yes I said a pretzel! Oh my word…I just wish I could find the right words to describe this hot, perfectly crisp and browned outside layer and fluffy inside. And when I say HOT…that is exactly what I mean! We might have had to let it cool slightly. It didn't sit around anywhere before it was delivered that is for absolute sure! They serve it with this extremely yummy beer cheese (soup like) dipping sauce and some grainy mustard – I'll say it – DELICIOSO! The pretzel alone is worth the trip! (no kidding!)
Les and I shared fish and chips. Porter batter dipped cod and what I call a "home style" fries. Two large pieces of fish that are crispy and the fish is light and flakey with plenty of fries…the perfect meal to share!
Casual, comfortable, great pretzels and fabulous food! Can't do better than that!!!
Until next time, happy dining!
Self Proclaimed "foodie"
Stutzman Services, Inc
February 2012
Gustav's is one of our favorite restaurants in the Portland area. They have several locations scattered over the Portland metro area. Our favorite location is located across the street from Washington Square Shopping Mall, in Tigard. (Very convenient! Any guesses why?)
The restaurant is warm and cozy. It has an old world, yet modern European feeling. The booths are roomy and you can make yourself very comfortable as you prepare for the upcoming meal. Right here I would like to add that we have been here several times and we have always had superb service. Their staff is friendly and always helped make our evenings there special.
Of course, you must start with the Swiss cheese fondue and bread. You can add a sausage, which we strongly suggest. It is so good! Take your time…don't hurry through this…the rich creamy fondue is so very yummy smothered over and dripping down the breads and sausage!
The dinner menu is extensive, from steaks to seafood, chicken, lamb or duck. And then there are the offerings that are served "Family Style". RHEINLAND FEAST, MUNICH FEAST, HEIDELBERG FEAST and ALPINE FEAST. These are for 3 or more people but can be ordered as individual plates. We try to get something different every time we go and we have not been disappointed yet.
On our most recent visit, Les had a Pork cordon bleu ~ pork cutlet stuffed with Emmentaler cheese & Black Forest ham, served with creamy mashed potatoes and fresh vegetable. The flavor combination was fabulous! And melt in your mouth delicious! I ordered a Pork escalopes dish with a horseradish cream sauce. It was served with a perfectly cooked side of parsnips. The meat was so tender and the cream sauce was rich and delicious.
If you can't tell by now, we seldom leave a meal without having dessert. This night was no exception. Les and I shared a brownie dessert with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream (of course!) . It was the perfect finish to our evening.
Until next time, happy dining!
Self Proclaimed "foodie"
Stutzman Services, Inc
October 2011
A friend told a friend, who told another friend, who in turn told us about this great restaurant in Salem called "Word of Mouth Neighborhood Bistro". That's right…this little bistro is only open for breakfast and lunch but, you will NOT be disappointed.
Word of Mouth is located in Salem at 17th and State Street, in a house that is converted into the restaurant. They specialize in "from scratch" food.
Les and I found ourselves up and around early one Sunday morning, about 7:00am, and decided to drive to Salem and give it a try. We had been warned in advance, that there may be a wait involved so we went prepared. And as expected, we did wait but, only about 10 minutes.
The menu has an extensive selection and I only looked over the breakfast part of the menu. Several varieties of hash, omelets, breakfast burritos and what must be their signature dish, crème brulle' French toast. Well, if it has a sugar crusted top, I am all for it! And let me say, that French Toast was FABULOUS! The rich vanilla custard that the bread is soaked in is so smooth and velvety with the perfect amount of vanilla (and I think a hint of nutmeg??). And just like crème brulle' they put sugar on top and "torch" it to get the perfect sweet top that cracks when you cut into the toast. Delicious! I also had the corned beef hash and two eggs. The corned beef is slow roasted and cut up into chunks and added into Yukon potatoes and cabbage – I believe they called the dish "Plate O' Love" - Oh ya…so good!
Les had Filet Mignon Chicken Fried Steak and eggs, served with potatoes and gravy. You guessed it, Les was a very happy man! The meat was so tender and perfectly seasoned and the potatoes were slightly crispy and cooked through. And seriously, who doesn't love gravy now and then? No need for lunch! There can be no complaining about portion size, you will not leave hungry!
Our waitress was great. She made sure we had everything we needed and checked back on us often. Even though the crowd outside began to grow with other hungry patrons, we were never rushed.
Now the question, will we go back? Absolutely!!!! We have to try lunch!
As always, happy dining – breakfast, lunch or dinner!
Self Proclaimed "foodie"
Stutzman Services, Inc
For this dining adventure, I thought we would re-visit one of our favorite restaurants. When I mentioned this to our friends, Steve and Shelly, they were in! Located in downtown Corvallis, right next to the river, sits Del Alma. The chef is known for his Latin American style and he couples that with fresh items from the Northwest.
As you may remember, Saturday was a warm day but by evening it had started to cool so we asked to be seated outside. It was perfect! Now one of the great things about Del Alma is the menu. We have all found our favorites on the regular menu, but they also offer a special four course meal...and it includes dessert…can you guess what I decided to do? That's right, the one that includes dessert! My first course was smoked chicken and sweet plantain salpicon rolled in an orange cornmeal crepe and served with a habanero rum reduction sauce. It is hard to explain the flavor explosion but suffice it to say, it was amazing! The main course was chicken encrusted with pumpkin seeds and tortillas, pan roasted and served with black bean sauce, smoked tomato coulis, frijole blancos and arroz achiote. The chicken was so tender and moist and surrounded by wonderful flavors all melding together. Now, we get to my favorite part of the meal…dessert. Chocolate torte of course! A perfect finish to a fantastic meal!
Now there were 4 people at our table and other choices made. Les and Shelly had the Yucatan style BBQ pork, slow roasted in banana leaves, accompanied by jicama mango salad, guacamole smoked tomato poblano chile rajas and warm wheat flour tortillas. The pork is smokey flavored, fork tender and moist. There is no denying, this is one great dish! Steve enjoyed the Steelhead trout coated in blue cornmeal and is pan roasted. It was served over roasted garlic mashed avocado with cilantro lime napa slaw and topped with salsa cruda. So very good! It is for sure, we all had fabulous, flavor packed meals.
There are many things about this restaurant that we really enjoy. The interior is warm and inviting and the wait staff is always friendly and eager to make your dining experience enjoyable. Also, they have several evenings with live music. It's great for a date night or a party!
We do look forward to our dinners at Del Alma! We think you will too.
As always, until next time, happy dining!
Self Proclaimed "foodie"
Stutzman Services, Inc
My husband and I recently had reservations at Wilf's Restaurant in Portland. Wilf's in located in the old Union Station on NW 6th, which is a lively area with travelers coming and going on the train as well as the hustle and bustle of the downtown area. As you enter the restaurant, you begin to take a step back in time. The lights are dimmed, the tables are all set with white table clothes and dinnerware and the chairs are red wing backed which turn out to be very comfortable. Very large chandeliers are dotted across the ceiling and thick red velvet drapes frame the windows. All of this is set to the mood of jazz playing in the background. We were made to feel very comfortable and relaxed…no rushing here! Take your time, it is glorious!
We had a long leisurely dinner which started with a Seasonal cheese plate, Caesar salad for two that was made for us at our table side. How fun is that? For dinner, I had the PORKLOIN with coconut pineapple marinade, cilantro jicama slaw and coconut rum basmati rice. May I say, it was FABULOUS! My husband had the SPICE RUBBED CHICKEN that was battered and fried and came with ancho stewed black beans, grilled pineapple rings, and raspberry compote, which also was very good! And then, what better way to finish off the meal…dessert of course! The crème' brule was amazing!
Now keep in mind, they also have live jazz that starts about 8:00pm. Some of Portland's best jazz artists perform Wednesday thru Saturday. Again, there is no rush…sit back in your wingback chair, sip on your favorite beverage and enjoy the music, as long as you like. We did! We spent 3 wonderful hours!
In case you are wondering…yes, we will go back!
Until next time, happy dining!