So I'm sitting in this bar, and this pig walks by...

No, literally. A pig walks by.

I'm sitting at the bar in Clyde Common http://www.clydecommon.com, in the hip Ace Hotel in downtown Portland. It's a Euro-style bar/restaurant that happens to have not only a great bar scene but good food as well.

Jonny, the 'tender of the hour, gleefully responds to a "oh, whip me up something with....tequila!" and shortly presents a deliciously bitter-but-not-too-bitter aperitif cocktail that fits the moment. It's a blend of Herradura Blanco Tequila, Cynar (Italian Artichoke bitter aperitif), and Regan's Orange Bitters. It's amazing because the drink is wonderfully bitter in an aperitif way, but the Herradura spice and florals come through nicely, and artichoke veggies match beautifully with the agave, and the orange fruit of the Regan's rounds everything out. Great drinks don't---and sometimes shouldn't be---extremely complicated or fussy.

Then, in a thoughtful touch, as a nosh, Jonny delivers up a small side of farro salad, with a little radicchio rosso and just a couple of slivers of fresh pink grapefruit...and the food is exactly balanced with the drink!

So where's the pig I mentioned at the start of all this, you ask? Patience, patience; I'm almost there.

Appetites properly stimulated, we order up some food off their perpetually fresh and always changing lunch menu, and I'm sitting there with this aromatic and gorgeous grilled baguette stuffed with chunks of tender pork, lavished with spicy grilled broccoli rabe, and topped with gooey provolone cheese. Oh, and there's a side cup of one of the best spicy lentil soups I've had lately, just as counterpoint.

As I dive into this sangwidge, the pig walks by. Weird, huh?

No, I wasn't hallucinating, and it wasn't a trashy woman. It really was a pig walking by.

Not by his own volition, mind you. One of the chefs was toting in an entire pig carcass into the open kitchen area. The staff there is pretty persnickety about their food, and they like to prepare everything from scratch, so they don't buy cuts---they get the whole hog! Then they work away at it, using the various parts as needed, not wasting anything, until said porker is gone.

I looked at the pig. I looked at my pork sandwich. I said a sotto voce obeisance to the gods in gratitude for what I was about to receive. Then, carnivore that I am, I dived right back into that sandwich.

And it was good.

For dessert one of my lunch companions succumbed to the Parfait, an old style soda bar glass filled with house-made Fernet Menta ice cream, silky-rich chocolate pudding, meringue, some crumbles, and cream. I didn't get to taste it, but said companion pronounced it delicious as he was vigorously scraping the remnants of the concoction out of the glass to get the last bit of flavor.

In a moment of weakness (I have those a lot), I opted for a combo---a shot of espresso, and a request for Jonny's Manhattan, which he makes with Woodford Reserve Bourbon, Carpano Formula Antico, and a touch of Luxardo. And a maraska cherry as garnish. Damn, it's good.

That sounds like a great place to eat.

Fernet Menta ice cream is a GREAT idea! I take it that it went well with the chocolate pudding in the parfait? Which would mean that a high-quality chocolate sauce would also be good on it.

Something to work on over the weekend.

Fernet Menta ice cream is a GREAT idea! I take it that it went well with the chocolate pudding in the parfait? Which would mean that a high-quality chocolate sauce would also be good on it.

Something to work on over the weekend.

Fernet Menta as a drink is a little too much for me. And it's not the bitter part, because I like bitters; it's that intense menthol-y thing.

But, yeah, I'd think it would go well with the choco; I don't know, but the guy sucking it down sure seemed to like it. And it didn't appear that it was too heavy with the Menta. Once nice thing about the food at Clyde Common is that all their dishes tend to conform to an idea of balance, without anything overly dominating to the point of overwhelming anything else in the dish, and allowing all the elements to come forth.

Good experimenting, Mike!


I'd add that you should make sure there is some sort of crunchy or firm substancein there----CC used the crumbles for that. I'd think a biscuit or shortbread or even something crunchier might work. But I think it needs something with firmer texture---again, the idea of balance of elements.

Jonny, the 'tender of the hour, gleefully responds to a "oh, whip me up something with....tequila!" and shortly presents a deliciously bitter-but-not-too-bitter aperitif cocktail that fits the moment. It's a blend of Herradura Blanco Tequila, Cynar (Italian Artichoke bitter aperitif), and Regan's Orange Bitters. It's amazing because the drink is wonderfully bitter in an aperitif way, but the Herradura spice and florals come through nicely, and artichoke veggies match beautifully with the agave, and the orange fruit of the Regan's rounds everything out. Great drinks don't---and sometimes shouldn't be---extremely complicated or fussy.

Hoke,

I was thinking of you the other evening. My girlfriend and I were sitting at the bar of a Mexican restaurant waiting for another couple to arrive for dinner. We noticed that there was a small chalkboard behind the bar that read,

Tonight's Special

Mojito

Any Flavor

$6

I laughed out loud and could only have imagined what you would have said to the bartender had you been there.

Jonny, the 'tender of the hour, gleefully responds to a "oh, whip me up something with....tequila!" and shortly presents a deliciously bitter-but-not-too-bitter aperitif cocktail that fits the moment. It's a blend of Herradura Blanco Tequila, Cynar (Italian Artichoke bitter aperitif), and Regan's Orange Bitters. It's amazing because the drink is wonderfully bitter in an aperitif way, but the Herradura spice and florals come through nicely, and artichoke veggies match beautifully with the agave, and the orange fruit of the Regan's rounds everything out. Great drinks don't---and sometimes shouldn't be---extremely complicated or fussy.

Hoke,

I was thinking of you the other evening. My girlfriend and I were sitting at the bar of a Mexican restaurant waiting for another couple to arrive for dinner. We noticed that there was a small chalkboard behind the bar that read,

Tonight's Special

Mojito

Any Flavor

$6

I laughed out loud and could only have imagined what you would have said to the bartender had you been there.

Sad, innit, Dave?

I was talking to a tequilana---a guy from Mexico but working in the U.S. in the tequila business, and he said something totally apropos.

"As great as the Margarita is as a cocktail---and it's one of the all-time greats---it's a deadly trap for tequila itself. If we don't get out of that trap, tequila will never succeed as well as it should or could."

He's right.

The Mojito is one of those deadly traps too. As long as we're defining "rum" by sweet light inconsequential drinks defined by Puerto Rican white rum (vodka made from cane) dressed up with sticky flavors, rum will never be what it should or come either.

Guess it's harder than I thought for people to actually use intelligence and creativity when they're putting drinks together. Too easy to fall back to 'cheap and easy'.

How big was that pig? All those I've cooked whole weighed in between 120 -150 pounds. Took a couple of us to take it for a walk. Well, except for the sucklings I mean.

Hoke, that was downright mean. I'm 2260.3 miles (I just Bing mapped exact locations) away from that place.

[/sarcasm]

Brilliant food and drink, described brilliantly!

How big was that pig? All those I've cooked whole weighed in between 120 -150 pounds. Took a couple of us to take it for a walk. Well, except for the sucklings I mean.

It were big, Chef. Big husky dude carrying it over his shoulder. Stocky, chunky guy who wasn't a lightweight himself. And he was struggling with the weight.

(And for all you gasping horrified people out their, the pig in question was firmly wrapped with butcher's 'saran wrap', so it was sanitary.)

Chef, I'm sure you're aware that Nick's goes through at least a pig a week down in your area...for me, it was the end of the week when all the juicy bits were coming out in sauces that was the good time.

How big was that pig? All those I've cooked whole weighed in between 120 -150 pounds. Took a couple of us to take it for a walk. Well, except for the sucklings I mean.

It were big, Chef. Big husky dude carrying it over his shoulder. Stocky, chunky guy who wasn't a lightweight himself. And he was struggling with the weight.

(And for all you gasping horrified people out their, the pig in question was firmly wrapped with butcher's 'saran wrap', so it was sanitary.)

Chef, I'm sure you're aware that Nick's goes through at least a pig a week down in your area...for me, it was the end of the week when all the juicy bits were coming out in sauces that was the good time.

Yeah, I've pigged out at Nick's.

Agree, the whole pig is impressive, on the hoof, "over the shoulder" or splayed on the BBQ table...an invitation to come"put a hand in the hog", means whole hog barbeque and a great time...but the Johny's Manhatten sounds interesting, generally prefer rye in mine, in fact having one now, Russel's Reserve, dash of bitters, unfortunately around here, the vermouth selection is limited, and Luxardo is unheard of...oh well...Dave

Agree, the whole pig is impressive, on the hoof, "over the shoulder" or splayed on the BBQ table...an invitation to come"put a hand in the hog", means whole hog barbeque and a great time...but the Johny's Manhatten sounds interesting, generally prefer rye in mine, in fact having one now, Russel's Reserve, dash of bitters, unfortunately around here, the vermouth selection is limited, and Luxardo is unheard of...oh well...Dave

Why I prefer the Woodford, Dave: 17% Rye, and it shows clearly. The Russell's is good, I'll admit, and I love Rye in general, but often I prefer a bit of a blend that's rye-heavy. Gives more complexity in the drink.

Except for a Sazerac, of course. That's gotta be Rye.

One of the most disturbing things around the country is....still...the absence of good vermouth, and the absence of a variety of different styles of vermouth, especially the complex and more bitter style. And that's even in otherwise great bars, mind you!

Thankfully, Portland is mixology heaven these days, and even though Oregon is a control state, the bars and restaurants force the issue and get a good range of products in on "special order". And on top of that, a great many of the better players make a lot of their own bitters and syrups and infusions.

So it's a pretty dynamic scene here.