48 Hours in Portland, Oregon

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At the height of the Mendocino Complex fires this summer, my sister and I spent a smoky 48 hours in Portland, Oregon. But wait, isn’t Portland 550 miles from Mendocino? Yes, but the fire was so big that the smoke had not only descended southward into the Bay Area, but also north to Oregon. I guess we can consider smoke as one of California’s new dystopian seasons these days.

But back to Portland. We ate and we ate well. The real star of this trip? Kachka, which is kind of like what would happen if your Russian grandma and a hipster opened a restaurant serving fare from all over the former Soviet Republic, from the Baltic states to Armenian, Azeri, Georgian specialties that aren’t too far flung from the flavors of Iranian cuisine.

Charles M Schultz Sonoma County Airport

Yes, Santa Rosa’s airport is adorably Snoopy themed, complete with a The helper is in Lucy information desk inside. Life-size statues of Snoopy abound.

STS to PDX

That’s smoke, not fog.

Pok Pok

Pok Pok, because you have to.

Duh Kuh Bee

Hand-pulled noodles at Duh Kuh Bee

Sea buckthorn soda at Kachka

Sea buckthorn soda at Kachka. I stan.

Crimean Seafood Salad at Kachka

Crimean seafood salad at Kachka

Herring

Herring “under a fur coat” at Kachka

Baltic sprat butterbrodi at Kachka

Baltic sprat butterbrodi at Kachka

Siberian pelmeni at Kachka

Siberian pelmeni at Kachka

Lamb kufta at Kachka

Lamb kufta at Kachka

Lamb shishlik at Kachka

Powell's Books

Powell’s Books. I could spend days in here.

What to Eat in LA in 48 Hours

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Listen, I love the Bay Area. I was born and raised here — it’s home. But as much as it pains me to say it, I have to admit: the food in Los Angeles is better. Way better. The sushi, the fried chicken, the Iranian food, the Chinese food, the ramen, the dumplings, the paletas — I could go on and on. But I’ll let the photos do the talking instead. Nishan and I headed to LA for a quick weekend trip, which basically meant eating as much as gluttonously possible in between pretending to sightsee before we could check out the next dining spot.

Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles

Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles (my favorite is the Long Beach location)

Tamarindo paleta

Tamarindo paleta at Mateo’s Ice Cream and Fruits Bars

Halo halo at Sari Sari Store in Grand Central Market

Halo halo at Sari Sari Store in Grand Central Market

Hama Sushi

Hama Sushi

Hama Sushi

Hama Sushi

Hama Sushi

Guisados

Guisados

Sugarfish

Sugarfish

Sugarfish

Faloodeh at Saffron and Rose Ice Cream

Faloodeh at Saffron and Rose Ice Cream

Dominique Ansel Bakery

Dominique Ansel Bakery

Watermelon agua fresca at Loteria Grill

Watermelon agua fresca at Loteria Grill

Myung In Dumplings

Myung In Dumplings

Anthony Bourdain Mural at Gramercy Santa Monica

A Day in Copenhagen

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Copenhagen was the surprise star of our 2018 Eurotrip. The one I wasn’t expecting to blow me away, but it did. In hindsight, I should have known better. Copenhagen is one of the world’s culinary hotspots, giving way not only to new Nordic cuisine but to an amalgamation of immigrant dishes thanks to the colorful tapestry of Denmark (and nearby Sweden). Both the hyperlocal and the hyperglobal are in full force — it was evident in every corner we (hurriedly) looked.

And that’s just the food. People were out enjoying the day: cars were few and far between, everyone looked like a fashion model on a bike, and well, Danes speak better English than you or I do, so there’s that. At the risk of romanticizing my blink-of-an-eye visit, there’s a joie de vivre I witnessed in Copenhagen that I’ve seldom seen anywhere else.

If I could do it again, I would have spent more time in Copenhagen. Oh, and that hygge craze? Consider me a convert.

Torvehallerne

Torvehallerne food hall. Think San Francisco’s Ferry Building, but super Nordic.

Coffee Collective

Coffee Collective

Smoked salmon smorrebrod at Hallernes Smorrebrod

Smoked salmon smorrebrod at Hallernes Smorrebrod

Danish meatball smorrebrod at Hallernes Smorrebrod

Danish meatball smorrebrod

Hellefiskceviche, tuntatar, and quinoa salad at Hav Torvehallerne

Hellefiskceviche, tuntatar, and quinoa salad at Hav Torvehallerne

Torvehallerne

Torvehallerne

Norreport

Norreport: So. Many. Bikes.

Nyhavn

Nyhavn

Nyhavn

Akvavit and tonic at Restaurant Barr

Akvavit and tonic at Restaurant Barr, which now occupies the same space as Noma previously did.

Lumpfish roe at Restaurant Barr

Lumpfish roe

Housemade bread at Resaurant Barr

Housemade bread. Restaurant Barr’s butter was the creamiest and richest I’ve ever tasted.

Cured ribeye at Restaurant Barr

Cured ribeye

Cucumber salad at Restaurant Barr

Cucumber salad. I wish you could taste this photo. So many new flavors! Like a crisp meadow, in the best way.

Glazed cod at Restaurant Barr

Glazed cod

Nyhavn

Nyhavn

Nyhavn

Smorrebrod at Aamann's

One last smorrebrod for the road, at Aamann’s.

A Week In Croatia

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The thing about living in California is if you’re going to fly all the way to Europe, you may as well make a week out of it, right? After our celebration-fueled weekend in London, we caught a plane to Split, Croatia, which was our home base for a week. Split’s old town is built quite literally in a palace, but it was our day trips that were the highlight. Hvar Island could have been straight out of an Adriatic fairytale, Plitvice Lakes was just as stunning as Rick Steves always made it out to be (sans the insane crowds — kind of a nature buzzkill imo), and the wineries were homegrown and country, just the way I like it. The photos speak for themselves.

Spinach burek at Bobis in Diocletian's Palace

Spinach burek at Bobis in Diocletian’s Palace. The influence of Ottoman culture was evident in so much of the food.

Diocletian's Palace

Diocletian’s Palace

Cevapcici at Kantun Paulina

Cevapcici at Kantun Paulina

Putalj Winery

Putalj Winery, where we sampled Plavac Mali, the forefather of Zinfandel

Plitvice Lakes

Plitvice Lakes

Plitvice Lakes

Pag cheese at Villa Spiza

Pag cheese at Villa Spiza

Salted and marinated anchovies at Villa Spiza

Salted and marinated anchovies at Villa Spiza

Monkfish at Villa Spiza

Monkfish at Villa Spiza

Octopus salad at Lungomare Restaurant

Octopus salad at Lungomare Restaurant on Hvar

Homemade pasta with shrimp, truffle, and arugula at Lungomare Restaurant

Homemade pasta with shrimp, truffle, and arugula at Lungomare

Hvar Island

Hvar Island

Hvar Island

Hvar Island

Hvar Island

The Riva

The Riva, back in Split.

Pizzeria Gust

Pizzeria Gust

Homemade tagliatelle with shellfish at Kod sfinge vaneuropske zviri

Homemade tagliatelle with shellfish at Kod sfinge vaneuropske zviri

Zinfandel Food & Wine Bar

Zinfandel Food &v Wine Bar

Zinfandel Food & Wine Bar

Tuna tartare at Konoba Matejuske

Tuna tartare at Konoba Matejuske

Octopus with polenta at Konoba Matejuske

Octopus with polenta at Konoba Matejuske

Diocletian's Palace

Diocletian’s Palace

A Weekend in London

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I hadn’t been to England in nearly a decade so when Nishan’s cousin got married in London this summer, I was excited. Not just for the wedding of course, but at the prospect of sneaking in every clandestine meal that I could during our short trip. You see, the London food scene has changed. The signs were already there during my last visit (hello, St. John’s), but now? No more touristy bangers and mash here, no sir.

I only scratched the surface, but I left London feeling like, wow. This city is bursting at the seams with energy and innovation. And that’s just the food.

Dishoom

Cyrus Irani

Watermelon-salt sharbat

Okra fries

Dishoom calamari

The line at Dishoom may snake around the block and the wait may be over two hours, but no matter. Jet lagged and delirious, Nishan and I dropped our bags at the hotel and ran straight to Dishoom, London’s ever-popular Indian spot with a strong 1960s Parsi cafe vibe. From the Cyrus Irani cocktail (recognize!) to the watermelon sharbat, the drinks were delicious and playful. The okra fries and the Dishoom calamari were my favorites (is there any vegetable as maligned as okra?) and the lamb samosa and jackfruit biryani were revelations how even the classics can be exciting again. I don’t know if we needed the gunpowder potatoes or the Dishoom chicken tikka, but I do know that if I lived in London, I’d eat here every week.

Irani cafe culture at Dishoom is strong, from the menu to the “good words, good thoughts, and good deeds” nod to Mumbai’s Irani and Parsi Zoroastrian community at the exit of the restaurant.

Sacha and Tamara's wedding

Sacha and Tamara's wedding

Sacha and Tamara's wedding

One gorgeous wedding later, we spent the next day recuperating before heading to dinner with the newly married happy couple.

China Tang

Do you want the best Peking duck of your life? Head to China Tang at the Dorchester. We enjoyed a brilliantly prepared banquet-style meal with an emphasis on duck prepared three different ways. Because of the low light, all I have is this photo of China Tang’s riff on a gin and tonic, but you get the picture: all the classics, served in fresh ways.

This time around, food in London kept making me think why didn’t I think of that? And that’s what’s brilliant about it. Their food scene has taken the comfortable, the familiar, and turned it upside down on its head in the best of ways.