Matt Duckor Eats 2 Dinners in 1 Night at Feast Portland
Days-long food festivals ask heroic things of us. So far, at our very own Feast Portland this weekend, we've sampled 15 sandwiches in one sitting, considered important questions like "Is there any time of day when a muffin is not wonderful?," and eaten two dinners in one night. Because asking us to choose between two amazing dinners—one put on by Aaron Barnett (St. Jack, PDX) and Thomas McNaughton (Flour+Water, SF), the other by Floyd Cardoz (North End Grill, NYC) and Sarah Schafer (Irving Street Kitchen, PDX)—is really just not fair. So, naturally, we went to both.
Over at the intimate St. Jack, McNaughton said he was on a mission to "bring a little bit of the California hippie" to Portland. If salmon crudo with a vivid green purée of summer vegetables is what hippies eat, then break out the hacky sacks. Barnett didn't mention anything about hippies, but we loved his roasted scallops with pork belly (though we're now starting to feel the effects of Portland Pork Belly Overload Syndrome).
After that, we hopped across town to the Pearl District to check in on Cardoz and Schafer at Irving Street Kitchen. There are few things better than walking into a kitchen and being greeted by multiple trays of plump Pacific Northwest shrimps. It's even better if Cardoz is the one responsible for the cooking.
1/9Dinner number one kicked off at St. Jax, with this dish by Flour+Water chef Thomas McNaughton: "Salmon crudo with the last of summer's vegetables."
2/9Chef Thomas McNaughton.
3/9St. Jax chef Aaron Barnett.
4/9Barnett's roasted scallop with braised pork belly, corn purée, oreilles de crisse, and truffle vinaigrette.
5/9Diners at St. Jax.
6/9The dining room at St. Jax.
7/9Then, over at Irving Street Kitchen, we caught a course of New York chef Floyd Cardoz's dinner with Sarah Schafer. The main event: Shrimp, lots of them.
8/9Floyd Cardoz seasons his dish.
9/9Cardoz's dish of roasted shrimp, okra, and rice.
