Fellowship of Foodies

Well lemme tell ya ... I think I love Portland. I say think because I've only been twice and the first time, which was just a couple of weeks ago, was really in the outskirts not the city. This time around we flew in for a one-night stay before a day of shooting in Portland, so we stayed right in the city. Ok, how do I tell this story .... ummmmm where to start ... ok, well I'll say that I love street food.

About a year ago I began researching street food vendors in various cities across the states. I called city councils to get the amount of street vending permits, the where's the who's. I went on websites to find foodies talking up local street food and I got lucky here and there and actually found pictures of food and truck-fronts, not store fronts :-). Ok, I have to admit I have a horrible memory and last year seems like 20 years ago, so imagine the deja vu I had while riding to the hotel in Portland ... we passed a row of street vendors and things began looking familiar ... I'd stumbled on the very street vendors whose pics were still in my hard drive from last year's research!!! Ok, so we get to the hotel and I needed to run some errands (read- shop in a tax-free state), but the whole time all I really wanted to do was eat some street food. I just knew if I ate first, I'd rush it to get in some shopping time. In my world, I'll starve to enjoy a meal. Hope that makes sense to you lol. So, here I am in this great city of Portland, the weather is beautiful, no tax :-), and I'm armed with a hotel-style map. I'm super tourist! lol! On the street corner with the big map all opened up looking lost. What a mess, but a good one, reminded me of when I first moved to NYC.
So, right when I begin to wrap up the errands and walk in the direction I believe the street vendors are in, my internal compass gets messed up and I'm sure I'm walking in the wrong direction. Just at that moment ... I mean riiiiight at that moment ... I see a dude walking towards me with a purpose and I dunno, something told me to ask him which way to go. Here's kinda how it went ...

Me: Excuse me, are you from here?
Dude: Yeah
Me: Ok, well uhhhh I was just driving in today along I think this road or a parallel road and then we turned left I think somewhere over there (motioning), then right before we turned I saw these street food vendors in a parking lot and I think it was that way (pointing the direction I was walking, and a few other directions as well). There was Thai food and another thing. Anyway, do you know what I'm talking about?
Dude: Actually that's where I'm going right now and it's that way. (pointing over my shoulder, I was walking the wrong way)

So, he was like you can walk with me if you want. I was like heck yeah!! Lemme tell ya, I was really far off with my mental compass. Turns out the guy's name was Zachary. He was not only really cool, but on the 15-20 minute walk I learned he was an avid foodie, eating all over the place and he has friends that live thisclose to me in Brooklyn! Small world. We got to the corner of the street vendors and I was in heaven ... here are some pics ...





Crazy scene ... we decided to get some yakisoba topped with an egg and I got the chicken, Z got the pork. Well, our walk to the street vendors was slower than I'm sure he planned (remember, he was walking with a purpose when I stopped him on the street), so that being said he had to get to work, but I didn't. So we ate, but he left to get that check and I still had a few noodles to tend to when he left. I sat there eating and just thinking about how cool life is - food wise. I am beginning to think I have food esp, like how do I research a street vendor scene last year and dream about going, then I get there? This same thing just happened to me in South Carolina recently. I don't wanna understand it, I just hope I can get some more meals out of it! So, should I begin to dream or talk about German food and then I'll get back there soon? Hasn't worked yet, been wanting to go back for years.

Alright ... I know this is getting long, but I called the post Fellowship of Foodies, and that means two.
Anthony. What a pleasure to meet you if you ever catch this blog.
I met Anthony right after I left the row of street vendors. I took a few minutes to snap the flicks above, then I crossed the street to make the trek back to my hotel room. I walked about 200 feet and I saw a row of 20somethings in chef whites just chillin' leaning up against a building. I love foodies, so I wasn't gonna just walk by, I stopped and said "hey, what are you guys doin'?" ... a split second after I said that, I see the logo on the lapel ... they were standing in front of Portland's branch of Le Cordon Bleu! Ha! I didn't even know there was one here and right after meeting a nice foodie that walked me to lunch, I bump into a whole row of them. I chatted with them all, but Anthony and I began to wax philosophical about GARLIC. I still smelled like it from the flight from Gilroy that morning and I was still a bit excited I'd seen so much garlic up close. Some 5 million pounds of garlic! So, we talked and he told me of his garlic stories, how he loved food and cooking for others and his plans for externships and how he wanted to fit in the culinary world. If he cooks like his words are passionate about it, I know he will flourish. I began to see myself in him, just some of the things I say about food and how sometimes people said things about my drive in the beginning of my radio career. I just really felt his dreams and goals and hope he achieves them. He's a dreamer, a skilled one. I told him my stories and then talked about my very own love of garlic and then it hit me, I should show him my garlic pics from Gilroy. I whipped out my phone to show him and I could see he was kinda pleased to see I wasn't just talking about it to talk about it. I mean, I am zoomin' in on roasted garlic in a cell phone for goodness sakes teeheehee ... just then as I completed my show and tell ... Anthony reaches in to his bag and brings out his show and tell - a bright yellow plate with ridges in the center ... I've never seen one in real life, but I'd heard of them. They were used back in the day to mince garlic ... his grandmother gave it to him and then, this cool foodie told me he could get another from her and gave me the one right out of his bag. I was like you sure???? He was like yeah!! We took this pic below ... and then he asked me if I wanted him to autograph it, Darn Skippy!!! He pulled out a Sharpie and hit me with the sig ... I smiled all the way to my room. I'd just met 2 cool foodies in the land of port.

Anthony, you've dared to dream it, now dare to live it!

A special thanks to Dave at Portland's city hall visitor's desk. I just walked in and asked him for some suggestions and he ended up being a mini foodie himself! Just in case you are wondering ... he had no notion I was from FN. I just specialize in talking to strangers lol. He found a swanky place for the crew to eat so I could head out and do my street food thing!

I'm in Pasco, WA tonight and return from the road Sunday ... Then I'm moving into a new place, so if the blog goes silent for a few days, it's just me getting my life in order. Have a great weekend!!