A gastronomic revolution has taken America by storm, and foodservice editors got a taste of the possibilities as Portland’s leading chefs and restaurants served up everything from sweet apple bacon streusel to pork meatball banh mi sandwiches.
“This is the second year the Pork Checkoff has hosted a Pork Crawl for the foodservice media, and it’s a great way to get media coverage on what’s going on in the world of pork,” says Stephen Gerike, director of foodservice marketing for the Pork Checkoff.
Pork Celebrated Chefs Jose Garces, Paul Kahan and John Sundstrom came to Portland recently for the Pork Checkoff’s two-day media tour. On the first day, attendees sampled the city’s top-rated pork menu items at six chef-owned and operated neighborhood eateries, including:
• Country Cat Dinner House & Bar. Chef Adam Sappington served a dish of “pork-face” pancetta, house-cured bacon and country-fried pig’s ear with a sunny-side-up egg and bacon-braised greens.
• Lardo Food Truck. Chef Rick Gencarelli offered pork meatball banh mi and “porkstrami” sandwiches.
• Laurelhurst Market Restaurant & Butcher Shop. David Kreifels prepared Fried Green Tomato with Confit Pork Cheeks and Piccalilli and a “Tails and Trotters” Pork loin Chop.
• The Bent Brick. Chef Scott Dolich served Pork and Carrots with a root-beer glaze and almond yogurt along with their PK hot dog and hazelnut “baked beans."
• Higgins Restaurant & Bar. Chef Greg Higgins featured his house-made charcuterie, along with a croqueta of pork trotter with seared Qualicum scallop, lardo and aji dulce coulis.
• The Original. Chef Ryan Bleibtrey provided the perfect finish to the day with his decadent Bourbon-Maple-Bacon Milk Shake.
“When we select a city for the Pork Crawl, we try to pick a venue that is up-and-coming in the culinary world, rather than places that have been written about many times before,” says Gerike, who notes that the editors got to cook side-by-side with many of the chefs during the Pork Crawl. “This helps the food media feature noteworthy chefs and their innovative pork dishes.”
Pork stars in cutting-edge menus
On day two of the Pork Crawl, the group started off with breakfast at the Ace Hotel featuring Portland’s iconic maple-bacon bar from Voodoo Doughnuts, along with charcuterie from Olympic Provisions and savory-sweet pie holes from Pie Spot. After some free time in Portland, the group traveled to Ayers Creek Farm, an Oregon Tilth certified organic vegetable farm in Gaston, Ore., for a tour and meal with owners Anthony and Carol Boutard.
The highlight of the family-style dinner included pork dishes prepared by each Celebrated Chef, along with Portland chefs Greg Higgins and Adam Sappington, who used produce from Ayers Creek Farm. During the meal, representatives of Sokol Blosser winery served some of the Willamette Valley’s world-famous wines.
“With its thriving culinary scene, Portland proved to be a perfect fit to showcase the versatility of pork on the menu,” notes Flavor Trends, in its recap of the pork crawl. “Overall, the Pork Crawl has proven beyond a doubt pork’s starring role on cutting-edge menus.”