365 Days of Dining

Greetings Readers!


What a beautiful spring day it was in Vancouver today. Sunshine, sweet scent, the world re-awakening from a long cold slumber. Early spring is a time of transition for the natural world every year; early spring is a time for transition for me this year. I am in the midst of huge changes in life, some of which have happened already (career change), some of which are happening as we speak (soul searching), and others that are yet to be (life situation). 

In my constant efforts to infuse this transition with purpose, goals, dreams, and challenges, I am applying for the amazing 365 Days of Dining food blogger position with Tourism Richmond. I am so very excited about the prospects of simply being selected for the Top Ten, even though, of course, my goal is to get the whole shebang and be the new super-psyched ambassador for Richmond, a city that has been my vibrant and ever-changing backyard since I was born. 

Eating at The Grilled Cheese Grill in Portland, Or.

                                            

The competition is stiff, but I am a competitor and I have a lot of unique qualities to bring to this position that others may not have. 


The selection of the next great food blogger is not up to the public, but you can support my quest by checking out my YouTube audition video below and doing the following if you dig it: a) "Like" the YouTube video, b) "Share" the YouTube video and encourage others to watch and "like" it on YouTube, c) write nice comments on the YouTube video page, and d) give me mad props using my full name Jessica Roberts-Farina on Tourism Richmond's Facebook page, the headquarters for the job application process and conversation. All I ask is if you don't dig the video, please keep it to yourself. I want to keep everything positive, peeps! 

Thank you to all of my readers, friends, and family for your support in my heartfelt campaign. I'm not doing it for the prestige or the dollars, but for my sheer love of bringing the joy of food and urban culture to you!

And for your enjoyment, a photo of a recent homemade breakfast, greasy spoon-style.

Egg, bacon, tomatoes, and potatoes. Yum.

With thoughts of hardy crocuses and snowdrops in mind,

The Fledgling Basement Foodie.

Portland Series: Tonalli's Doughnuts & Cream

This is the third and long-time-coming review in my Portland Food Series, and we again find ourselves in the Alberta Arts District. You will notice that quite a few of the reviews are in that area and in the respect of full disclosure, I stayed just a few blocks off of Alberta Street while I was in town.

Tonalli's Doughnuts & Cream is located on NE Alberta Street at NE 28th. We went there for a post-breakfast snack and I was truly blown away by the sheer number and types of doughnuts on display and for sale. Cake doughnuts, fluffy doughnuts, sprinkled, chocolate, coconut, iced, with filling, glazed. You name it, Tonalli's has it. Yeah, it's pretty bare bones inside and qualifies as a hole-in-the-wall, but those prove to me time and time again to often be the best places out there.

I got a Coconut doughnut, which was a cake doughnut with white icing and flaky, sweet coconut piled on top. I also got a coffee as well. Both were fresh and complimented each other well. Unlike with the coconut cupcakes at Cupcakes here in BC, I did not feel sick afterwards, but rather delighted. It didn't come to more than $4 and was fresher and tastier than your average Timmy Ho fare.
Don't get me wrong here, I'm not dissing Timmy Ho joe and their double chocolate doughnuts. But, Tonalli's has a got a few important things on Timmy's: variety, quantity, freshness, and an actual neighbourhood feel (Tonalli's is not a chain).

If you want to compare Tonalli's to Voodoo, I don't think it's worth it because all they have in common is that they both sell doughnuts. Tonalli's does ice cream, cold drinks, coffee, espresso drinks, and the like, and has space to sit down. And while they may not have doughnuts with cereal on top or pieces of bacon, they do have a huge variety of your basics and your slightly fancy ones too.

If you're in the Alberta Arts District, you've got to stop by with a friend and be a cop for a day, coffee in one hand and doughnut in the other.

Portland Series: The Magic Is In The Hole

FBF is back. Forcibly brought back from exile. I realized that the fact that I keep saying I am back after a long absence, I have writer's block, I'm tired, I'm busy, I'm sick, etc., etc... and not actually posting regularly might start ringing loudly of LAZY. As such, I am listening to my dance tunes (Thank you Ke$ha, Gaga and B, RiRi) and returning to my blog officially. I have no excuses. Thus bringing me to the fact that the magic is in the hole.

The hole of a doughnut. The hole of a Voodoo Doughnut to be precise. I first came to know about the sugary, battery goodness of Voodoo Doughnut via one of my favourite Vancity food blogs, noshwell. Bacon and maple doughnut, anyone? I swear that was one of the main reasons why I went down to PDX earlier this month. Plus, that doughnut (well, perhaps not one from Voodoo, but inspired surely) was featured on Criminal Minds earlier this year. Say no more. (Oh, and Anthony Bourdain is a fan.)

Was it worth it you ask? Hell yeah. $2.50 was a totally reasonable price and the doughnut was perfect. The bacon was salty, which really hit it off with the smoky, caramelized perfection of the maple topping. It was filling and sat lightly in my stomach. Really good. I imagine it would have been especially good with a cup of joe from Stumptown down the street (whose washrooms I used). 

And if salty-sweet isn't your thing (don't tell me that chocolate-covered pretzels aren't the best thing Rold Gold ever made), there are tons of other kinds, including ones with cereal on top and apparently one that has a Nyquil topping and involves Pepto-Bismol as well (it is unsurprisingly "on hold" according to their website). I suppose the latter would be great if you had  nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, and diahrrea. Although, a crazy creation like that could end up giving you all the above anyways.

If I was a resident of PDX, I would definitely be a repeat customer. The space is absolutely tiny; I am absolutely amazed at the sheer number and kinds of donuts they produce in such a small baking space, crammed behind the counter and display case, which is alternatively crammed behind a tiny space where people line-up (down the street) to get their goodies. They do everything that is possible with the space they have however. Talk about space management. The walls are pink, the interior is bright and fun, dominated by a crazy spiralling gold chandelier that is at once decadent, Dali-esque, and alien. Not to mention some violent, strange donut art on the walls that I loved in the way I love Family Guy, cringing while laughing hysterically and fighting nausea.

Needless to say, I loved Voodoo Doughnut and if you ever make it down to Portland, you must go. I went to the original Old Town location and I recommend you do too. 

Portland Series: Todbott's Triangles

As promised, this is the first of a few posts on my recent trip to Portland, Oregon, all on the topic of food, of course. At least for the most part. You can rely on various tangents on the Portland transit system (pretty awful), Portland State University (Vagina Monologues!), and the like. But it will mostly be pointed towards food.

First off is Todbott's Triangles (2827 NE Alberta). A hidden gem in the very literal sense of the term, as it is back from the street down a path, at the back of a house close to a popular nouveau-Mexican restaurant La Bonita. It was on a Sunday morning when I went there (it is currently closed on Mondays) and I was feeling queasy and tired (no, not from a binge drink the night before; I don't drink really), and I wanted some sort of calming drink in a calming environment from a calming person. I was staying with a friend just a few blocks from TT's, so I thought it was the perfect moment to explore it.

I was already charmed by the place (and affirmed in my decision to go there) as I walked up the path, greeted by a nice, mild-mannered young man on his laptop amongst a comfy outdoors seating arrangement. While I was intrigued by the remarkably inexpensive and beautifully presented nigiri ($1-$2) a piece, considering the previously mentioned queasiness, I stuck with the green tea for its warmth more than anything, as his homemade kombucha (or 'boocha as it said on the sidewalk sign) was tempting.

The indoor space was small, but lovingly appointed and comfortable. As he made my green tea, we chatted about how he got started (as a vendor at local farmers markets), my position with the Vancouver Farmers Markets, and his connection to Vancity (apparently there is a convention in March in Hope of all places that he attends every year, by bike all the way from Portland!). The great thing I found about Todbott's Triangles was it easily allowed for a connection to be made between owner and customer, vendor and patron, which is one of the many wonderful things about farmers markets is that you get to know the person who is providing you with their product; a valuable connection that is rare in the Western world and its big cities.

The green tea was steeped from loose leaves and was brewed right in front of me, giving me time to decide I also wanted to buy a 50 cent crispy pastry that was made in a waffle pattern but in the shape of a flower, with hints of coconut and deep-fried goodness.

I would definitely recommend Todbott's Triangles, especially if you find yourself in the Alberta Arts District. A peaceful oasis focussed on Asian healthful food and drink, done in a laid-back and artistic Northwest way that is hard to resist and relax into with ease.

The Fledgling Basement Foodie is Back!

I can't believe it! It has been nearly two weeks since I have posted on my blog. I guess I wasn't feeling the creative foodie juices, plus I have been in Portland for the last five days.

As for the results of my FBF's second poll, looks like we are a divided people when it comes to where our preferences lie for favourite comfort food, but Grilled Cheese is ultimately the winner!

Bread, Butter, Cheese, Victory!

There is much more to come on Grilled Cheese on FBF, as I did make it to one of my chosen food hot spots while in PDX: The Grilled Cheese Grill food cart on NE Alberta. And my grilled goodness, it was worth it. A low-down of my foodie experience in Portland will also be on the blog, spread out over the next few days. 

This post is more to let people know that I am back and that I am still in love with food.

Also, there is a new poll going up today. The topic being...drum roll please...what is your favourite mexican food? Mine? Well, that'd have to be tacos. With mole, salsa, lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese, and maybe some chipotle sauce for good spicy measure. Ground or shredded beef is best, but fish tacos are very refreshing. Crunch, drool, yum!