According to its website, the food at Frasca is inspired by the cuisine of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy.  Located in the far northeast corner of the country, it is bordered by Austria, Slovenia and the Adriatic sea.  Due to its proximity to neighboring countries, this Italian cuisine also reflects international influences.  The food is marked by fresh ingredients and “creative” spice and herb blends.

But let’s not get hung up on website descriptions.  We are talking about simple preparations of seasonal ingredients; preparations that underscore the true flavors of each component of the dish.  What seems like a straightforward concept is no doubt difficult in execution.  When dishes are composed of only a few elements, each one must be of top quality and properly prepared, or the whole dish will fail.  However, when prepared properly everything comes together, creating a dish that exceeds the sum of its parts.

The dish which epitomizes this approach at Frasca is the crudo.  I’ve started both of my meals here with variations on this antipasti and both have been spot-on.  On my recent visit I enjoyed the Neah Bay Halibut Crudo, Meiwa Kumquats and Olive Oil.  Atop four or five small pieces of halibut were placed thin slices of kumquats.  Salt, pepper, olive oil, and a sprinkling of chives completed the dish.  The light citrus notes of the kumquats don’t overpower the subtle flavor of the fish, while the olive oil and salt bring everything together.   I would imagine that one additional or one less ingredient might have upset the harmony of the dish, but as is, it was just about perfect.

My next dish was the the Four Story Hill Farm Rabbit Agnolotti, Marsala “Brodo” and Pecorino Gran Cru.  Small pockets of homemade pasta were stuffed with flavorful rabbit and served in a deeply flavored, meaty, clear Marsala wine broth.  I always enjoy pasta served in a broth (with no heavy sauce to obscure the flavor of the pasta and its stuffing) and this was no exception.  The Pecorno added a welcome, sharp nuttiness.  Again, a simple dish with no embellishments, allowing the pure, clean flavors to shine.

Although the first two courses were great, my final course (before wrapping up the meal with a cheese plate) topped them both.  The dish was right in sync with the season: Grilled Atlantic Sea Scallops, Morel Mushrooms, Fava Beans, Pea Shoots and Sunchoke “Purea.” It was one of those dishes that I ordered almost purely based on the accompaniments.  It’s spring, am I really not going to order a dish with morels, favas, and pea shoots, no matter the protein?  Although I looked right past them when ordering this dish, the two large scallops were excellent, with a touch of smoke from the grill, just barely cooked through.  The rest of the dish pretty much speaks for itself, with some olive oil, salt and pepper amplifying the flavor of the fresh veg and a rich sunchoke puree rounding out the plate.

I’ve never had desert at Frasca, always opting for the cheese plate with wine pairings.  Each time the wine pairing with the Gorgonzola cheese made the plate (and became a highlight of the meal).  Recently, the Gorgonzola was paired with Tokaji Aszu 5 Puttonyos from Royal Tokaji Wine Company in Hungary.  I’ll leave a discussion of wine to those more qualified, but suffice it to say few things are better than blue cheese paired with the proper desert wine.

Having enjoyed two fantastic meals out west, I returned to Portland and enjoyed a Friday night sitting at the bar of one of my favorite restaurants.  Next: we’ll see how Hugo’s stacks up.

Last year Willard Scoops was a welcome addition to the ice cream choices in So. Portland and Cape Elizabeth.  Located across from Scratch and serving Mt. Desert Island ice cream, it provided a great option when one grew tired of Beale’s (which has never been a favorite of mine) or didn’t want to drive all the way into Cape for the Kettle Cove dairy bar.

New for 2010, Willard Scoops now makes its own homemade ice cream, which no doubt raises the bar for gourmet ice cream in the Portland area.  Particularly given its proximity to Scratch, this is ice cream worth driving over the bridge for.  Grab a mid-afternoon ice cream to tide you over until dinner, then head across the street to pick up some baked goods to go with dinner.  Or take your cone down to Willard Beach a few blocks away and enjoy it with your feet in the sand.  (So long as you don’t finish it first).

I particularly like how some of the ice creams at Willard Scoops use salt to good effect, such as in the chocolate sea salt ice cream and the salt caramel and salt caramel nut ice creams.  The salt provides a nice foil to the chocolate and caramel ice creams and is a must for anyone who enjoys salty sweet contrasts.

The mint chip, which uses fresh mint and avoids the overly-sweet and artificial mint flavor (and color) of many versions, is also fantastic.  This is serious ice cream, creamy and rich, with the perfect texture.  It avoids the trap of being too thick, dense or “chewy” (which is a problem that sometimes plagues “gourmet” ice cream).  In addition to the usual stand-by flavors, Willard Scoops plans to offer a rotating menu of over 20 ice creams from among 60 flavors.  It looks like Portland may be on its way to having its own Christina’s-style ice cream shop featuring gourmet ice cream with interesting and unique flavors.

Up first is Commis, Chef James Syhabout’s new restaurant (opened last fall) in Oakland, California.  Chef Syhabout has spent time at El Bulli in Spain, The Fat Duck in England, and served as the Chef de Cuisine at Manresa in Los Gatos, California.  Commis is the first restaurant that this 30-year old chef has owned and it’s quite unlike anyplace at which I have dined.

The focus here is entirely on the food, with stark and minimalist decor.  White walls with no artwork, black tile floor, and simple modern decor: all attention is drawn to the large stainless open kitchen and six-seat dining bar in the center of this 30-something seat restaurant.  Some might feel that the restaurant feels cold, but I liked it: no distractions, we’re here to eat.

I was lucky enough to have a seat at the end of the dining bar for the nightly multi-course tasting menu.  The dishes were carefully and calmly composed directly in front of me.  It was fun to watch complex food prepared with such efficiency and precision (tweezers were frequently used).  The chefs anticipated each others moves, often only speaking when it was time to cook a protein (“fire two chicken” “fire one lamb”).

The food?  This is one time I wish I took pictures, because I am sure words cannot do justice to how great these dishes looked (and of course tasted).  Check out this blog for some great photos of the food (including the poached egg and pork jowl dishes I describe below).

Poached Farm Egg: smoked dates, onion cream & malt.  Served in a small bowl, the hard poached farm egg was set in the middle of light onion cream.  Off to one side of the cream was a small mound of granola, with the date puree hidden beneath everything.  This was perhaps the best dish of the evening — I’m a big fan of “breakfast-like” apps.  All components of this dish were in complete harmony: rich egg yolk, subtly pungent onion cream, brought together by the sweetness of the dates.  The granola added a welcome contrasting texture and furthered the breakfast feel of the dish.

Cool Watercress Soup: Marin oysters in milk skin, nasturiums and sorrel. This chilled soup had a bright, refreshing spring-like flavor underscored by the raw shaved asparagus curls set in the center of the dish.  But the oysters!  Each individually wrapped in milk skin, they burst in my mouth with briney perfection.

Salad of Green Fruit: unripe tomato and pickled strawberries, avocado and green olive. This dish was interesting.  Each cube of green tomato was sprinkled with salt and marked with a touch of avocado mousse.  Interspersed among the tomato were slices of green pickled strawberry, which were sweet with a slight vinegar bite.  The only part of the dish that didn’t quite work was was the green olives, whose saltiness seemed to overwhelm and clash with the other fruits on the plate.

Local Halibut Tartare, Lemon Vinaigrette: ginger and horseradish, kelp and coriander. Great dish with Asian (for lack of a better word) flavors.  The diced halibut was wrapped in a thin slice of daikon and set atop horseradish cream, with kelp and flowering coriander.  Fresh, subtle, yet bright flavors.

Seared Gulf Shrimp: artichoke and spinach, algae emulsion. As the server placed this dish in front of me she suggested, “you can eat the heads.”  You don’t have to ask me twice.  All the flavor was concentrated in the heads of these medium sized crustaceans.  I wish I could recall the flavors in the rest of this dish, but I can’t.  Just memories of the deep, rich, “shrimpiness” within the crunch of the heads remains.

Grilled Ling Cod from Fort Bragg: english pea porridge and marinated favas, mint milk tea. The mild ling cod (apparently not closely related to cod) had a great crisp crust and was accompanied by some of my favorite spring flavors.  It’s May in California, how can you go wrong with peas, mint, and favas?  The pea porridge was rich yet fresh-tasting and the mint milk tea (basically a foam) brought all the flavors together.

Corned Pork Jowl Salad: black trumpet vinaigrette, lettuce stems and leaves. Crisp, fatty cubes of pork jowl were set among both raw and cooked lettuces.  Have I found a new favorite cut of pork?  Quite possibly.  This was not unlike pork belly only perhaps better – a great ratio of meat to fat.  The cooked lettuce imparted a welcome bitterness, cutting the richness of the pork and the raw lettuce brightened everything up a bit.

Slow Roast Loin of Lamb and Braised Shoulder: caramelized cauliflower and fermented eastern spices. The final savory dish of the meal did not disappoint.  The loin, cooked medium rare was tasty, but it was the rich and intensely flavored braised shoulder (shredded almost like pulled pork) that virtually melted in my mouth.  It’s also hard for me to dislike a dish with cauliflower, a greatly underrated vegetable, in my opinion.

And finally …

Chocolate Brioche Perdido: strawberries en rescoldo, chartreuse chantilly, garden herbs. This was a satisfying finale to the meal.  The brioche wasn’t too dense, but was intensely chocolaty.  Strawberries reappeared, this time fully ripe, sweet, slightly smokey (from being cooked over burning embers).  The scented cream and herbs completed the dish.

I was not quite sure what to expect before dining at Commis.  After reading about the restaurant and its dishes, I was worried that I’d find the food too precious (many of the dishes include edible flowers) or too contrived.  But it was none of these things.  Chef Syhabout takes fresh, seasonal ingredients and creates complex dishes through which true flavors shine.  Having infrequently dined on the west coast, I’m a “California cuisine,” neophyte.  However, I’d guess the food at Commis is a fine example of this style.

Stay tuned for Part II: Frasca Food and Wine.

DiPietrio’s Market, So. Portland.

Bazkari operates a daily lunch-delivery service in Portland and So. Portland and features Spanish food prepared by Ana O’Connell, who has lived in Andalusia and the Basque region of Spain.  Each day it offers a different dish which can be delivered to your workplace in the morning; ready to heat and eat for lunch.  From 11:30 until 1:30 on Wednesdays, you’ll find several of these dishes offered, along with traditional Spanish deserts and sandwiches.

I’ve tried the “very special rice,” which I would generally describe as a Spanish fried rice (though much less oily than you’re usual Chinese style fried rice).  It is subtly flavored and features abundant pieces of Serrano ham, chicken, shrimp and egg omelette.  Since the rice is mildly spiced, you really notice the flavors of the individual proteins, particularly the ham and egg.  Still, I found myself wishing the rice had a bit more flavor.  Other entrees include pollo al jerez (sherry chicken; which was on the menu Wednesday) along with Spanish shepard’s pie and stuffed piquillo peppers with bechamel sauce (available by delivery and hopefully on future Wednesdays at the Public Market).

The “bocata de jamon y manchego” (ham and cheese) is a great example of letting high-quality ingredients shine.  When you’re composing a sandwich with Serrano ham and manchego cheese, what more do you need?  After ordering, you watch as Ana first carefully slices several pieces to order from a large ham and then slices the manchego cheese.  A few tomato slices and some olive oil complete the sandwich, which is served on ciabatta bread.  I love food like this: a good, simple, sandwich, composed with great care.  My next deli ham and swiss is sure to pale in comparison.

The Public Market House seems to be providing a variety of local food businesses the opportunity to sell lunch, without permanently committing to a full-time restaurant or food stall.  Hopefully Bazkari maintains its Wednesday spot and other vendors appear on other days (there was Mexican food one day last week in the same spot).  Ideally, you could stop by for lunch and find different cuisines featured throughout the week.

Although it’s never a good idea to review a restaurant based on its first couple of days, the folks at Kamasouptra have been cooking and selling these soups for the last ten months (via delivery and at restaurants such as Novare Res and Bard Coffee).  Thus, there’s no doubt that they know their soup and have these recipes down cold.  The only question is how it will incorporate the promised seafood options into the repertoire of vegetarian and vegan soups.

The vegetarian chili features kidney and black beans, red bell and poblano peppers, onions, and tomatoes in a medium-thick vegetable stock redolent of cumin and ground chili pepper.  It’s a good, hearty chili without the fattiness or oiliness you often find in meat-based versions.  The spices lend a subtle heat which pleasantly grows as you work your way through the dish; warming comfort food in a bowl.

The roasted red pepper and Gouda was different, yet equally as good, demonstrating the restaurant’s skill with both chunky and pureed soups.  The Gouda adds a rich nuttiness and imparts a hint of smoke to this smooth potage.  This soup is right up there with some of the best soups I’ve enjoyed at Duckfat.  Only the vegan scotch broth soup was disappointing, with a slightly blander veggie base (particularly when compared to the deep flavors of the chili and roasted red pepper soups).

Since I work a few short blocks from the Public Market House I am planning frequent return trips to try more soup and provide a complete overview of the offerings at Kamasouptra.  I’m particularly looking forward to trying the beer and cheddar, loaded potato, and vegetarian tortilla soups featured on today’s menu as well as the many other rotating soups listed on its website.  The breakfast offerings have also piqued my interest, with freshly made Scottish oatmeal and breakfast quinoa.

If you are in the Monument Square area on Tuesday, Kamasouptra will be offering free soup samples (and cupcakes!) during its Grand Opening from 10:30 a.m. until 7:00 p.m.

Enzo is a small space, with three tables, a few seats in the window, and eight seats at the bar.  Although only open a few weeks, the restaurant already has the warm, welcoming feel of a place that has been in business for years.  This feeling is accentuated by the dark-stained wood bar, tables, and wine bottle shelves behind the bar.  The subway tile and green painted tin tiles lighten things up and bring some color to the room.  Adding to the comfortable, casual decor, the specialty pizza menu is hand painted in blue on the subway tile just inside the entrance.  (A few additional Enzo-only pizzas are listed on the laminated menus, including wild mushroom and herb; eggs, bacon, and asparagus; and one with short ribs).

Although promoted as a wine bar, don’t go to Enzo looking for a long, creative wine list.  Instead, the restaurant features several different Italian reds and whites along with three beers (Rogue Dead Guy Ale, Moretti Lager, and Gritty’s Vacationland Ale).  But, you’re not here to sample exotic wines or the the latest craft brew, you’re here to eat the best pizza in Portland.

And the best it is.  By far.  Besides the wood-oven pizza at Bonobo and Flatbread (which is really a category unto itself), no pizza in Portland compares to Otto.  Before Otto opened last year, I tried pies from a number of different local pizza restaurants and was consistently disappointed.  Indeed, I had resigned myself to having to travel to Boston for my pizza fix (at Santarpio’s in Eastie or the original Pizzeria Regina in the North End).

Otto gets pizza right.  The plain cheese has a good ratio of cheese to sauce, with small amounts of sauce on top of the pizza.  The sauce is fresh tasting and a bit sweet, its acidity nicely balancing the cheese and grease.  (Yes, you’ll find some grease on the pizza at Otto.  This is not a bad thing.).  The crust is crisp on the outside, slightly charred in spots, while maintaining a good chew; it is definitely being cooked at high temperatures, as it should.

Although, I usually stick to traditional toppings such as mushrooms or pepperoni (or often plain cheese), I have tried a number of the specialty pies at Otto and they are great options.  All that I’ve tasted feature toppings that actually work well together and don’t overwhelm the crust beneath.  Both the mushroom cauliflower and wild mushroom and herb are white pizzas, where the absence of tomato sauce allows the mushroom flavor to truly stand out.  The Genoa salami, tomato and scallion is also quite tasty, with the salami a less-greasy stand in for the usual pepperoni.

Before Enzo opened, your dining choices at Otto were limited to the few seats at the restaurant, standing outside on Congress, or take-out to enjoy at home.  All are workable options, particularly when talking about pies of this quality.  However, pizza is at its best when freshly prepared and straight from the oven (with a cold beer).  Thankfully, with the recent expansion, Otto has created a comfortable and inviting space in which to enjoy the city’s best pizza.

“Should we do Thai take-out?” I respond, “the Portland food bloggers are reviewing Pom’s on Congress next.”

“Oh, that thing.  Yeah, sure, fine.  Call the restaurant in 30 when I’m leaving and it should be ready for me to pick up when I arrive.  Thanks. Bye.”  Click.

Laptop open, I surf over to thaitastemaine.com to check out the menu.  Being the first time I’ve participated in the group Thai restaurant reviews, I figure it’s a good idea to  order something from each section of the menu.  Four or five dishes should give me a feel for the breadth of the offerings and quality of the food (with leftovers!).

Appetizers. “Steamed Butterflies,” are always good at Pom’s Shore Road location: dumplings with ground chicken breasts, herbs, ground roasted peanuts and turnips served with a soy-based sauce.  One down.

Soups. We’ll go with the Tom Yam (spicy lemongrass soup) with tofu.  Always a favorite.

Authentic Thai Salads. S loves Thai salads, so I’ll order Larb, ground chicken with cilantro, mint, lime juice, kaffir lime leaves, and lemongrass, served over lettuce and cucumbers.

On to the entrees.  Our Chef’s Specials. Eight different choices.  Several good possibilities, here  Next!

I scroll down.

Fresh from the Sea

Then, separately, Fish Preparations

Curries with Coconut Milk. Green curry with chicken.  Long a favorite of mine, I rarely skip this when ordering Thai food.

Over the next 15 minutes I consider ordering dishes from …

A La Carte (168 combinations: 14 dishes x 12 protein/veg options)

Thai Fried Rice (6 dishes x 11 proteins/veg options)

Noodle Dishes

Vegetarian Corner

Create Your Own Stir Fried

Vegetarian Menu at Noodle House (which curiously incorporates “Crispy Soy Chicken” into many dishes)

Sushi Menu (itself featuring eight additional sections, exclusive of combos and lunch specials)

Before finally moving on to …

Side Orders, Beverages, and Finishing Touch (deserts)

I’ve made it!  Now I’ll go back and narrow the dishes down to four or five and place my–

What’s this?  Pom’s Specials?  After the deserts?  I thought I was done.  I really should order one of these nine dishes.  Which of these sound good?

The phone rings.

“Hi.  I’m at the restaurant.  Under whose name did you place the order.”

“Oh, um, whoops.  I’m still looking at the menu.”

“You’re what?!?!  What have you been doing for the past 45 minutes?”

“Looking at the menu.  You see, it’s rather long.”

“Well, I’m here now, what should I order?”

At this point, I start reciting the different dishes I’ve been considering, highlighting pros and cons of each choice.  Before long, S cuts me off.

“Seriously?  Look, I’m just going to order some food.  I’ll see you when I get home.”

“OK.  That’s probably for the best.  Sorry about this.  See you soon.”

Phew – that was exhausting.  No less than six hundred ninety four different options, based on my rough running tally.

Frankly, the menu at Pom’s is just too long (and I realize this critique would apply to many Thai restaurants).  I understand the desire to have a diverse selection of dishes to please a wide-variety of tastes.  I’m also all for variety.  However, when I dine at a restaurant, I want to eat the very best of what the restaurant has to offer.  There’s little doubt that, as good as the food at Pom’s is, it would be even better if the menu was more focused, truly highlighting a small handful of specialties.

And the food is good.  Not the best I’ve ever had (I love Brown Sugar Cafe in Boston), but good, solid, Thai food.  Since S and I have ordered Thai many times before, she simply ordered some of our old standbys.  The Larb was fresh tasting, with nam pla (Thai fish sauce) underlying the bright citrus notes of lime, lemongrass, and coriander (S felt the dish could have been accompanied by more lettuce, cucumbers and other fresh vegetable garnishes for contrast).  I loved the sweet heat of the Tom Yam, again flavored with lime and lemongrass (though the chicken was a bit dry).

The green curry, although not as spicy as I would have liked, was rich and comforting with perfectly cooked green beans and peppers all retaining a crisp bite.  Finally, we sampled a bowl of noodle soup.  In her haste to place our order, S asked if they had a “spicy fried noodle dish.”  Instead of Pad Khee-Mao or the like, which was what she had in mind, we ended up with a spicy soup (which, remarkably, I cannot find of the menu(!)).  I found the soup to lack complexity, with its prominent hot/sweet character overwhelming all other flavors.  (However, S enjoyed this more than the Tom Yam soup).  Nonetheless, the large, tasty shrimp were perfectly cooked and the noodles plentiful, making for a hearty and spicy one-bowl meal.

Other than Pom’s Congress Street and So. Portland locations, I haven’t tried any other standard Thai food in Portland.  (In my opinion, Boda is something completely different).  Thus, I can’t yet say how the food here stacks up to the many other Thai restaurants in town.  What I can say is that Pom’s serves good, solid, Thai food.  Nothing I tried wowed me, but if you live nearby and this becomes your go-to Thai restaurant, I doubt you’d be disappointed.  Especially if you never like to order the same dish twice.

According to its website, the restaurant features “street vendor specialties” and “home-style” cooking.  It also emphasizes that Boda features “authentic” Thai food as opposed to the “Americanized” Thai food at most other area restaurants.  Having never been to Thailand, I cannot vouch for the food’s authenticity.  What I can say is, based on my first visit, the food is different and mostly all delicious.

Fried taro sticks with sea salt. Served with a sweet/spicy Sriracha chili sauce, these taro “fries” were an interesting alternative to french fries.  They were lacking in salt and didn’t quite have the crispness of a good french fry.  Nonetheless, dipped in the Sriracha sauce, they were a satisfying start to the meal and we quickly cleared the plate.

Homemade Thai Northern-style sausage.  A small sliced sausage, served unadorned, this dish featured a lively chili kick.  I also detected garlic and maybe ginger in this assertively spiced homemade sausage.  We enjoyed this, but the sausage looked a bit lonely on the plate with no garnishes or accompaniments.

Pork belly skewers. Two small skewers with pieces of grilled pork belly “marinated” with salt and topped with scallions.  No other spices, no sauces, just the salty taste of slightly charred pork and pork fat.  Good, simple, food.

Whole prawn skewers. These were a disappointment.  Served head on, one to a skewer, the shrimp was overcooked and mealy.  The “chili, garlic lime dipping sauce,” while tasty, couldn’t rescue the dish.  Moreover, after removing the heads and getting to the shrimp meat, we were left with two bites of food for $7.  I’ll happily pay that for two outstanding bites of food (for example, good sushi); but not for this.

Pork hocks braised with star anise. A fantastic plate of food.  The centerpiece of the dish is a generous pile of tender boneless pork, with a few pieces of tofu mixed in, as well as a split hard-boiled egg.  Surrounding the pork on the outside of the plate was jasmine rice, a small cup of “Asian mustard green pickles,” a small cup of “spicy & sour chili sauce,” and a tiny pitcher of extra Chinese five-spice stock.   If the dish solely consisted of the pork served over rice, I’d have been happy.  The richly flavored pork could stand alone.  But, the pickles and chili brought everything to the next level, allowing us to add unique flavors to each different bites.  If I wasn’t full, I’d have requested more rice to enjoy with the remaining stock.

Needless to say, New Orleans cuisine is a favorite of mine.  From the classic creole cuisine of Galatoire’s to po’ boys and gumbo at Liuzza’s by the Track; from red beans and rice to boiled crawfish, I love it all.  Though far from an expert on New Orleans food, I know what I like.

The initial reviews I read were positive, but I remained skeptical: po’ boys and gumbo in Portland, Maine?  Still, I couldn’t pass up the chance to try Po’Boys & Pickles.  Even if it was just OK, it would be better than nothing, particularly being over 1500 miles from New Orleans.  I went with the family last weekend and can happily report that the food is not just OK, it’s the closest thing to a New Orleans po’ boy shop I’ve found in New England.

The fried seafood po’ boys feature shrimp or oysters with a golden brown and delicious cornmeal crust.  Each piece was well fried, resulting in a thin, crisp coating from which the fresh taste of the seafood emerged.  Both po’ boys are served “dressed” with lettuce and tomato; the oyster featuring a roasted pepper mayo and the shrimp sporting tartar sauce.  Although the french bread isn’t as airy and does not quite have the crackly, flaky crust of the best New Orleans po’ boy loaves, it is fresh and soft with a decent crust.  It is light enough to avoid competing with the seafood and condiments inside.  Liberally doused in Crystal hot sauce, both make a satisfying lunch.

The debris po’ boy is basically a New Orleans-style roast beef sandwich.  Instead of roast beef cold cuts, the New Orleans version features pieces of slow-cooked roast beef in a rich beef gravy.  At PB&P the roast beef could have been cooked a bit longer (as it was somewhat chewy) and would have benefited from more gravy.  Still, its a hearty and filling sandwich, with a rich beefy flavor.  Although, according to the menu the po’ boy was dressed with horseradish mayo, I didn’t detect the punchy kick I was expecting (and hoping) from the horseradish.  Again, Crystal provided some needed heat.

Which brings me to the gumbo, one of my favorite New Orleans dishes.  The best gumbos (such as the one served at Liuzza’s by the Track) feature a dark roux, imparting a deep, toasty, depth of flavor.  PB&P’s, while made with a lighter, blond roux, nonetheless incorporates all the components of a good gumbo including the trinity (celery, green peppers, onion), andouille sausage, chicken, and shrimp.  It has a subtle smokey taste from the andouille and slight heat from cayenne pepper.  Not exactly what you’ll find in New Orleans, but quite enjoyable in its own right.  Of course, a few dashes of Crystal is not out of place to further liven up this hearty soup.

(Yes, I like Crystal hot sauce.  We buy bottles of it during our visits to New Orleans and at home I add it to everything from eggs to pizza to red beans and rice).

Crystal isn’t the only authentic New Orleans touch at PB&P.  It sells Zapp’s potato chips (try the “Creole Tomato with Tabasco”) as well as Dixie Beer (the Blackened Voodoo Lager isn’t bad, but until they sell Abita, I’ll probably stick with the local Portland brews)(update: PB&P now sells Abita beers, Purple Haze (a refreshing rasberry wheat), Turbo Dog (a decent porter), and Jackamo IPA).  Plus, the walls are adorned with old 1970s photos from Louisiana (purchased on eBay).  In short, real thought has gone into making Po’Boys & Pickles feel like a true New Orleans po’ boy shop here in Portland.  Will you find better po’ boys in New Orleans? Of course.  But, the sandwiches at PB&P would not be out of place at many neighborhood shops in the Crescent City.  Enjoying a cold beer, a cup of gumbo, and an oyster po’ boy here is as close as I’ll get to New Orleans before I next visit my favorite city.