Right of the Fork – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Meg Cotner is a freelance writer and editor based in Portland, Oregon via various other places including California to New York..  Meg publishes Bridgetown Bites, which covers restaurants, bars, cafes, food trucks, events, and includes opinion pieces, all centering on the Portland food world.. The site focuses on  openings and closings news, while dabbling in reviews and other editorial content.     We talk about what it requires in time and effort to keep up the site, as well as Meg's personal and business objectives and her writing and eating background that led her to Portland and starting her website.   Meg also provides a great list of her favorite places to eat and sip, some off the radar, some on.  It's worth a listen just go be clued into what someone who's out there enjoying and thinking about the food world thinks are places you should go!   www.bridgetownbites.com

 

Right at the Fork is supported by: 

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com 
RingSide Steakhouse:  www.RingSideSteakhouse.com 
Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com

We look back to our conversation with Alexa Numkena-Anderson from July of 2024:

 

Alexa Numkena-Anderson @cheflex_pdx is enrolled Hopi and is Yakama, Skokomish, Cree and Mexican descent. She was born in Yakima, Washington and grew up in the greater Washington area (Toppenish, Tri-Cites and Fairchild Air Force Base).  After high school Alexa moved to Portland, Oregon to pursue a culinary career and attended Le Cordon Bleu Culinary school while also working as a line cook. 

She has worked in many kitchens across the Portland, such as @kingtidepdx (formally Three Degrees) @twr.pdx @sammichportland @imperialportland @headwaterspdx and @bullardtavernpdx as well as working for acclaimed chefs and restaurateurs such as @dougiepdx @vit0bike @lesbianmeatmaker & @lauroromero to name a few. Drawing inspiration from her grandmother, her indigenous heritage . Her grandma Stella of the Yakama Tribe with memories of fry bread, roast beef, and soups as well as her Hopi heritage With the motivations of being a new mother, she is ready to share and continuously learn about her culture’s food. Inspired by other Indigenous chefs she feels it is her responsibility to share and learn about these ancient foods and techniques.

Javelina’s main feature is fry bread and even though this food came from necessity, our people were able to make a comfort food that is still found at pow wows and family gatherings to this day. On her culinary journey she discovered the amazing bounty of native ingredients the Pacific Northwest has to offer. Using what the surrounding land has already given them and combining it with Alexa’s culture, skill and vision they hope to create a truly unique story.  

Right at the Fork is supported by: 

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com 
RingSide Steakhouse:  www.RingSideSteakhouse.com 
Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com

We catch up with Carlo Lamagna, chef and owner of his Magna restaurants in both Portland and Denver.  Carlo is creating communities and success in promoting Filipino cuisine, so much so that he's garnered recognition from the James Beard Foundation and diners around the globe since his humble start in the business from Detroit to Chicago to Portland.  He's had his eye on Denver since before he landed in Portland years ago, and so now he's reaching his dream of opening a place there.   Carlo talks about the difference between his two restaurants, and how appreciative he is that his hard work has paid off.  

 

Right at the Fork is supported by: 

Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com
RingSide SteakHouse: www.RingsideSteakHouse.com 
Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com

Chef Sam Smith has been a notable figure in the Portland culinary scene since he arrived in the city from the Bay Area. He is currently the chef at Yaowarat, Portland Monthly's 2023 Restaurant of the Year.  Sam talks about the experiences of traveling through Thailand with his team doing extensive research to develop the recipes for the restaurant, as well as why the team of Sam, Akkapong Earl Ninsom, Kyle Webster and Eric Nelson is such a powerhouse.   

Smith has honed his skills through experiences at renowned establishments like Zahav in Philadelphia and Ava Gene's in Portland. He has a talent and great resume helping restaurants get off the ground, contributing to the success of ventures like Spirit of '77, Ava Gene's Tusk, Sweedeedee, and Yaowarat. He was also recognized as a 2018 Portland Rising Star by StarChefs.

Sam also reveals his favorite Portland places.

Photo credit:  Thom Hilton/Eater Portland

Right at the Fork is supported by: 

Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com
RingSide SteakHouse: www.RingsideSteakHouse.com 
Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com

Join host Chris Angelus for a lively conversation with his cousin Jimmy Angelus, proprietor of San Francisco's Cole Valley Tavern and Bacon Bacon.    Jim's history, which he talks about here, includes accolades from Julia Child and Jacques Pepin, criticism from Martha Stewart, mentions on Saturday Night Live, a Chopped! appearance and a host of fun stories about the fun people in his family and circle of friends, some of whom with whom you may be familiar.  The most fun anecdote just may be his story of his Dad's fame as NYC's PAR-KING.  You have to hear that one.   Check out Jim's restaurants in SF and SFO as well as @colevalleytavern and @baconbaconsf.  

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com
RingSide SteakHouse: www.RingsideSteakHouse.com 
Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com

  Sandra Tavares knows the people, places and things that make up a wonderful culinary and wine journey throughout Portugal.  Sandra started her career as a journalist and found herself covering a burgeoning food scene, to the point where she realized she would enjoy developing tours and experiences for people, and taking them to the best Portugal has to offer, rather than just writing about them.  Eventually she met her husband Vitor, and as things happened, eventually they landed in a beautiful vineyard and winery owned by Portugal's benchmark Kopke wines, where Vitor developed a restaurant to serve the local bounty that complemented the wine.  And his deep contacts in the industry in turn, became Sandra's as well.   Sandra is uniquely positioned to be the foremost authority on food and wine in Portugal.  To that end, she designed a wonderful itinerary that our podcast host Chris Angelus' Portland Food Adventures is offering in May of 2025, on which food and wine loving folks can travel with St. Jack chef Aaron Barnett to Porto, the beautiful Douro River Valley and Lisbon to take bites and sips of the varied histories and customs of the beautiful country.  The trip features two hotels and inns from the folks at Kopke as well as dining with solid Michelin-star chefs throughout the region, as well as some pub food curated by expat Don Bourassa, former Portland Yelp Community Director.   This podcast is a fun journey outside of our area, but with Portland connections to keep us grounded!   The Portland Food Adventures Portugal trip is here:  https://www.portlandfoodadventures.com/portugal-with-kopke   Sandra is here on Instagram:  @simply_b_sandra   Podcast with Don here, where he talks about moving to Portugal:  
https://rightatthefork.com/shows/2024/1/5/374-don-bourassa-international-adulting-and-inaugural-ratf-guest  

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com
RingSide SteakHouse: www.RingsideSteakHouse.com 
Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com

We are delighted to have Mary Cressler and Sean Martin on the podcast to talk about their venture, Vindulge.  We talk about how it came about and evolved, especially through the pandemic, when their business model had to change.   

Vindulge is a wife and husband team who create delicious ways to enjoy cooking and entertaining outside with family and friends. Combined, they have two decades of experience in recipe development, entertaining, education, writing, and professional cooking.

 

Mary Cressler: Mary Cressler is a wine, food, and travel writer, executive editor of the award-winning blog Vindulge, and co-author of the critically acclaimed cookbook, Fire + Wine, and upcoming Fire + Wine: Backyard Pizza (publishing spring 2025). Mary writes about BBQ and wine on her website, Vindulge, which received an IACP nomination for Best Recipe-Based Blog in 2020 and 2017. Mary is a certified sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers, recipe developer, and food and wine writer with credits in Wine Enthusiast, Serious Eats, Weber Grills Online, Barbecue America Magazine, Big Green Egg, Oregon Wine Press, and many more, and is a frequent judge for wine competitions.

Sean Martin: Sean Martin started with a career in property casualty insurance. He’d always enjoyed cooking and helped co-found Ember and Vine catering in 2014. After being awarded one of Oregon’s best wine country caterers in 2015, he continued to work with Mary on recipe development and ways to create approachable outdoor cooking recipes and helped co-author both books. Sean works with the culinary and beverage partners of Vindulge like Big Green Egg, Alfa Forni Pizza Ovens, and Federalist Wines.

 

They teach classes on wine, grilling, barbecue, and outdoor pizzas and are featured chefs at events throughout the country. They live on a small farm in Oregon wine country with their twin boys. You find explore hundreds of recipes at www.vindulge.com and follow them at Vindulge at all their socials.

 

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com
RingSide SteakHouse: www.RingsideSteakHouse.com 
Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com

After experiencing the new Portland airport (PDX), we revisit our recent interview with Kurt Huffman of ChefStable who talks about the ins and outs of having multiple restaurants at PDX, from Grassa to Loyal Legion.  Chris and Cort express how this first impression visitors will have of Oregon and Portland is key to the area's growth.   And...   For the first time in the Right at the Fork's 10+ year history, Chris and Cort decide it's time to talk politics on the podcast, but from the perspective of travel and how the world not only looks at our country, but how history may repeat itself for generations that never experienced fascism.  Chris shares his travel experiences and how insightful he thought Rick Steves' recent episodes covering both facism taking hold in Europe and the importance of travel to open one's mind up to a larger picture.  Basically, while issues are important, democracy is at stake in this election and Rick Steves does a masterful job presenting a case for thoughtful voting.   While long, highly recommended programs to watch and share!!     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp6keXi0Ca0   and    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2ELvxuKMUQ    

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com
RingSide SteakHouse: www.RingsideSteakHouse.com 
Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com
RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com
Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdvent

With the news that Berlu Bakery is closing (to relocate), following the perminant closure of Berlue last November - we wanted to revisit our conversation with Vince Nguyen just after his James Beard Foundation award win (Best Chef NW). 

Original post

This week Portland had a big week at the James Beard Awards, and one of those big winners was Vince Nguyen of Berlu, taking home Best Chef NW/Pacific honors.  And speaking of honors, it's an honor to have Vince on the podcast for a second time, this time talking about his feelings going into, during and after winning his big award.  We will talk about his team, how he gets so much satisfaction from their growth, what this means for him professionally, as well as things like work/life balance and the labor situation in Portland.

We will also hear some glimpses about how Vince would like to expand Berlu and what that would take.

Enjoy this talk with Vince, who surely will endear himself to you and make you want to enjoy his talents at Berlu, if you haven't been already.  And make note of his Venmo handle.  It just may be a way to get a table!!  :-)  (That's said tongue in cheek)

This classic episode comes from September of 2023, when Nat West was shutting down his business of 12 years. He's now one of 100 candidates on the ballet for one of 12 city council positions for the new Portland city government. 

Original Post

We were able to catch up with Nat West, founder, president and cidermaker at Reverend Nat's Hard Cider.  Nat announced the closing of his business after over a dozen years building the business from scratch.  Nat tells us what led to the close and the decision to do it, the challenges and joys he experienced, and what he plans going forward.  Also, we will hear how an agnostic named his company Reverend Nat's!

Nat shares some of his favorite drinking spots in PDX as well.

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com
RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com
Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com