Portland Food Adventures kicked off mid-May at the warm and inviting Autentica, a gourmet Mexican restaurant right off Northeast Killingsworth. Headed by Chef Oswaldo Bibiano, we were treated to a seven-course menu full of bold and bright flavors, and paired beautifully with both wines and Mezcal cocktails.

This episode of Portland Food Adventures brings us to Roman Candle, run by Ava Gene’s Chef Joshua McFadden, and tonight featuring special Seattle based chef Ethan Stowell in a Seattle/Portland mashup to be remembered.

Portland Food Adventures started its 5th year with dinner at Adam and Jackie Sappington’s Country Cat, in their private dining spot – the Calico Room. Country Cat has become a staple of the east Mount Tabor neighborhood, and is often busy for both brunch and dinner services. 

This episode of Portland Food Adventures brought us to the latest hot spot in Southeast Portland, Bonnie and Israel Morales’ new Russian restaurant, Kachka. After cocktails in the main dining hall we were brought into a private dining room, where there were tons of small plates (or Zakuski) laid out to try.

The 2014 food scene was dubbed by the Oregonian as the “year of the pop up”, and this episode of Portland Food Adventures brought us to a few of the handsome young chefs that started this ever expanding trend. Led by Will Preisch and Joel Stocks, this week Holdfast Dining delivered an expertly crafted seven-course meal in the Jenn Air Kitchen at Standard.

My latest photo endeavor took me to Salty’s on the Columbia to shoot a private wine tasting event for Beaujolais wines. The attendees included wine distributors, local food bloggers and lovers of fine food and drink, as they were offered a seven-course meal.

Portland Food Adventures started it’s second round at Northeast Portland’s Cocotte last week. Headlined by Chef Kat Le Sueur, we were treated to an elaborate seven-course French cuisine inspired dinner.

Sometimes the best opportunities come from a little spontaneity. The other day my dear friend and local yoga instructor Tami Apland and I found ourselves with a glorious fall afternoon free, and decided to head over to my neighborhood Laurelhurst Park for an impromptu yoga photo shoot.

You couldn’t have asked for a better crew to begin Portland Food Adventures' first “In The Kitchen” series than Vitaly Paley and Patrick McKee. This event is an interactive dining experience, with the chefs of Paley’s Place taking the guests through preparing a few different courses (paired with beautiful wines) in the amazing Standard TV & Appliance Showroom in Beaverton. 

This month’s Portland Food Adventures brought us to a staple of Portland dining, Paley’s Place, owned by Chef Vitaly Paley with Executive Chef Patrick McKee. Since it’s opening in 1995, the 50-seat Paley’s Place has been very influential in creating an ambiance conducive to an intimate dining experience.

Last weekend was quite the Feast in Portland! I was brought on to do some photography for Bon Appétit’s fantastic food frenzy, and got to mingle with some of the country’s finest chefs and consume so much amazing food I was almost comatose for days after. I shot about 5-6 events within just a few days, and thought I’d post some of my favorites up here.

This month’s Portland Food Adventures brought us to esteemed French restaurant St. Jack, tucked away in Southeast on Clinton St. This particular PFA was a very special fusion of the amazing Chef Aaron Barnett, previewing the event Wild About Game run by Nicky USA, and featuring exclusively Helioterra Wines. 

I was really thrilled to have the opportunity to do some engagement photos for my best friend in the world, Anna, and her fiance Tariek. It was a beautiful day and we hit up some Pacific Northwest classics like Multnomah Falls and Vista House.

This month’s Portland Food Adventures led us to a perfect summer day on the patio at Xico, the stylish Mexican restaurant located on the ever-expanding SE Division. Run by Chef Kelly Myers, Xico quickly became one of Portland’s top rated restaurants, serving innovative Oaxacan inspired cuisine in a modern and elegantly designed dining space.

This last weekend I had the privilege to do a photo shoot with the lovely Tami Apland, a fantastic yoga instructor who freelances around Portland, over on the Oregon Coast at Indian Beach. It was a beautiful day to shoot, sunny and warm and not too crowded. Tami has been a huge inspiration to me in beginning my own yoga journey a few months ago and I think our combined forces produced some truly stunning photos.

This week’s Portland Food Adventures marked the 30th installment, at Scott Snyder’s Levant. Known for it’s French-Arabesque cuisine, Levant has become one of Portland’s new hot spots. We were started out with a great selection of canapés as well as the Phoenician cocktail.

Last Sunday night brought a very special double seating of Portland Food Adventures at Le Pigeon, a longtime staple of Portland fine dining, headed by Chef Gabriel Rucker. With one seating at 5pm and one at 8pm, I showed up near the end of the first seating to catch some of the adventurers finishing up the last of six courses served tonight.

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.

Last Sunday the 9th brought us to a very special Portland Food Adventures at Grüner and it’s connected bar Kask, to help Grüner ring in its 3rd anniversary! They started us out with a refreshing cocktail and appetizers, before our host Chris Angelus introduced us to Chef Chris Israel, who talked to us a bit about Grüner’s progression and what we had in store for the evening.

Our latest installment of Portland Food Adventures began on a crisp autumn night inside the elegant Serratto, a lively restaurant residing in Northwest Portland’s 21st district. Though known for it’s Tuscan cuisine, tonight we had the pleasure of combining Serratto’s chef Tony Meyers with local Game master Geoff Latham of Nicky Farms, for a unique and delicious menu served in their private dining room.

The 3rd season of Portland Food Adventures started out hopping at Acadia, a New Orleans Bistro situated in Northeast Portland. From the moment I walked in the room was filled with energy as we were served our first round of drinks, a spicy cocktail called “Once More Down Pirate Alley”. You know the night is going to go well starting with a drink like that!

For this 2nd anniversary of Portland Food Adventures, we kicked things off at Yakuza Lounge. The patio garden made for a great backdrop as they started us out with a few cocktails, including a Beet Margarita.

It was a perfect warm summer evening that started off the 20th edition of Portland Food Adventures. This round brought us adventurers to smallwares, the creation of chef Johanna Ware who made her mark in the Portland culinary world at Nostrana. The place quickly filled up with our crew as we got the chance to check out the décor and mingle.

This Tuesday the Portland Food Adventures took off from Departure Restaurant and Lounge for another awesome culinary experience. Nestled upon the 15th floor of The Nines, the super hip lounge couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day to look upon our fine city of Portland.

Last week I had the pleasure of shooting one of Portland's hottest funk ensembles for First Thursday, Philly's Phunkestra. It didn't take long for the underground dance floor at the Goodfoot to turn into a hot mess of dancing and drinking.