PFA - Tasty N Alder
This week Portland Food Adventures was lucky enough to enjoy the first sit-down dinner of Tasty N Alder, the latest in restaurants by chef John Gorham, headlined with chef Morgan Brownlow. The night started out with appetizers, including Blaze’s Smoked Wings (which were so good they were gone before I could get a picture!) Chips N Dip and a Brandy Fizz Cocktail.
We had a pretty large group of adventurers this evening, and everyone sat down to start enjoying the first round of courses. With a menu as fantastic as this one it was hard not to get excited for our first tastes.
Our first course consisted of a raddichio salad, steak tartare and clams casino. The salad was amazing, topped with egg and tossed with just a few bacon pieces to give it a nice crunch and paired with a crisp Mahona Vineyards chardonnay. Also served was a steak tartare, which was just the first of four unique steak presentations we’d have that night.
Next up our host, Chris Angelus, introduced us to chef John Gorham (top, right), the mastermind behind Tasty N Alder. He told us a bit about the history of opening this in conjunction with Toro Bravo and Tasty N Sons and also introduced us to the rest of his crew, including chef Morgan Brownlow (R bottom, left), the dinner chef for Tasty N Alder. They also gave props to sous chef Blaze (R bottom, right), who’s appetizer wings were talked about all evening, and who came up with the ‘sexy Filipino fish stew” we were about to enjoy.
The “sexy Filipino fish stew” was our next dish and seared beautifully in a scallion broth with a Hobrau Hefeweizen. As a lover of all things beer, I loved this pairing, and even many of my tablemates who were normally not beer people really loved the flavors here.
Something fun about Tasty N Alder was the open kitchen, and I took the opportunity to get some shots of chef Morgan and the crew preparing our next few courses, as John Gorham kept an eye on service.
The atmosphere of Tasty was very warm and inviting, and the Adventurers took full advantage of this amazing opportunity to have the whole restaurant to ourselves.
Next up was a tri-ad of steaks, including a Teres Major from St. Helens, a Flat Iron from Washigi Wayu, and a Pork Skirt from Ibercio, Spain. They came out quickly with three amazing side dishes, baked spinach, pato potatoes and a really delicious skillet cornbread.
As the desserts started rolling out, another tri-ad of ‘grown ass milkshakes’, John Gorham came out and talked a bit with the guests as everyone enjoyed the ambiance and sweet liquory goodness of the grasshopper, creamsicle and Brandy Alexander milkshakes.
John Gorham was an amazing host and was so gracious in making us all feel welcome. He talked to us again (pictured here with his lovely wife) about what to expect coming up with Tasty N Alder, and along with Chris gave us some insight into the gift certificates we’d be getting. This round includes Mirakutei, Lovely’s Fifty-Fifty and Raven & Rose.
And with much applause and appreciation another great Portland Food Adventures was winding down. It was such a lovely and tasty evening full of lots of positive energy and of course delicious food. These events really give a unique culinary experience and open a lot of great opportunities to get up close and personal with some of Portland’s finest chefs.
That’s all for now! Thank you to the whole crew and staff of Tasty N Alder and Chris Angelus for putting on such a wonderful night!
Check out the upcoming PFA and stay tuned for more to be announced.