Cottage Pie, Bridgeport Brewpub and Ale House, Portland OR

Downtown in Portland's Pearl District, a friend and I are sitting in Oregon's oldest craft brewery: Bridgeport Brewpub and Ale House. This is the place that first introduced "micro-brew" to Portland beer enthusiasts. And the town hasn't been the same since. 


For food, I am looking at Bridgeport's pub standard, a mouth watering cottage pie.

Cottage Pie

Made with black angus beef and braised with Bridgeport's own dark porter, the cottage pie arrived right from the oven, iron skillet hot. Along with root veggies and a creamy potato crust, the dish was an eyeful of culinary delight.


Passing the vision test, a forkful of angus beef came across savory, tender, and malty sweet, given the porter base. The taste reminded me of the caramelized sweetness from a slow cook dutch oven concoction. You can see the the caramelized beef and porter stock in the photo. It tastes better than it looks.


The potato crust was creamy on the inside and had a nicely baked outer shell that made dipping your fork into a treat. Mixing the potato with the root vegetables and meaty sauce on a fork and you have a solid mouthful of cottage pie goodness.


For the starter, we had the tasty garlic cheesy breadsticks with marinara. It was almost a meal by itself.

Garlic Cheesy Breadsticks

Meatloaf, Flat Tail Brewing, Corvallis, OR

Visiting a niece and her husband in Oregon State University Beaver Territory in Corvallis, I asked her about a good place for a bite and pint. She suggested Flat Tail Brewing. And so we met at this downtown brewpub popular with locals and the ever present OSU students.


Looking at the appetizing menu, I spotted an item that piqued my mouth-watering interest: meatloaf. I asked the wait person what she thought of the meatloaf. Her eyes lit up and said it was a good choice. The eyes did it and so I ordered.


What I got was a handsome looking chunk of beef, the always required mashed potatoes with gravy, and a generous serving of vegetables. Flat Tail's meatloaf is all natural beef, seasoned with their own house spices. What makes this meatloaf work is the glazed ketchup that was just like mom used to make.

Flat Tail Meatloaf

Biting into a forkful of meatloaf released a mouthful of beefy goodness. Succulent and juicy, along with the tasty seasonings, the meatloaf did not disappoint my appetite. A second bite asked for more of a slow perusal of the dish: the glazed ketchup and spices melded splendidly with the juicy meat. I need to come back to Flattail and eat some more of this.


The vegetables were sautéed perfectly to a firm-and not soggy-crispness. And meatloaf would not be complete without real mashed potatoes. These were real. How could I tell? Topped with beef gravy, the mashed potatoes had just the right amount of lumps to qualify them as "just like mom used to make".

Peloton Steak Sandwich, Hopworks Urban Brewery, Portland OR

The Hopworks Urban Brewery is a bike themed organic brewpub that is fun to visit and even funner to drink and eat. And, in the spirit of the tour, I ordered the Peloton Steak Sandwich.

Peloton Steak Sandwich

What you get with this concoction is a massive amount of paper thin tri-tip piled high onto a toasted whole grain bun. Throw on grilled red onions, red and green bell peppers and melted cheddar cheese, and you are in cheese-steak-heaven.


Biting into the Peloton, you get a mouthful of scrumptious melted cheese mixing nicely with the tasty tri-tip. The red onions and peppers added a sweet resonance to the hefty steak and cheese. Nibble on a thick-cut french fry and a bite of pickle, and you have a right tasty meal.


And with such a rich sandwich, I decided on the Organic HUB Lager. 

Organic HUB Lager

This golden lager is a pilsener style beer with a light head and body. Everything about this brew seemed delightfully light and drinkable. It drank down smooth and easy: a perfect companion to the hefty steak sandwich. If you want a clean and fresh beer, this is the one you want to ask for.

Mirror Pond Pale Ale Bratwurst,Deschutes Brewery and Public House, Portland,OR

Downtown in Portland's Pearl District, I find myself in the popular and busy Deschutes Brewery Public House. It's Happy Hour time and I'm looking at a tempting Bratwurst.

Mirror Pond Pale Ale Bratwurst

This happy hour offering comes as a plump bratwurst nestled in a housemade Hoagie--no hot dog buns, please. On top, Deschutes piles on warm apple sauerkraut and must-have whole grain mustard to give you that gratifying brat experience. Biting into the brat itself, you get all the succulent goodness of the sausage. As you nibble down to the apple sauerkraut and mustard, your taste buds receive a pleasant jolt of spicy tanginess. After munching and savoring, we take a sip of the brew.


I chose the Deschutes Bachelor Bitter because it was the Happy Hour beer of the day--always a good choice. As usual, Deschutes did not disappoint; the bitter came across with a sweet malty taste along with a light bitterness. Spicy and with good body,  the bitter proved to be a agreeable accompaniment to the brat.

Bachelor Bitter

Smoked Steelhead, Steam Plant Grill, Spokane, WA

I'm in Steam Plant Grill in downtown Spokane for a quick Happy Hour snack. I chose the thought provoking Smoked Steelhead as a worthy appetizer for this culinary endeavor.

Smoked Steelhead

For an appetizer, you get a decent portion of very delicious smoked steelhead. In the Great Pacific Northwest tradition, Steam Plant's offering is Columbia River steelhead. The fish is smoked in-house over alderwood and is served to you chilled The plate also comes with a dollop of cream cheese, diced onions, capers, lemon, and served with rye toast rounds.


For my first bite, I went with a steelhead only endeavor. Sprinkling the lemon on the fish and spearing a small piece, you bite into a morsel; you get all the smoky flavor and the savory juices of the fish. Then slowly adding the various condiments to the fish, you get a stimulating play of flavors and textures: salty capers, brisk onions, creamy cheese and textured bread. This is a dish one eats slowly, paying attention to all the subtle flavors of smoke and fish.
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For my brew, I chose the cask conditioned Double Stack Stout. The Double Stack is a traditional stout and is the most requested beer at Steam Plant. Taking a sip, the stout came across with a mildly sweet and slightly bitter taste, which reminded me of bitter sweet chocolate. There is also a pleasing bourbon taste to the brew which melds well with the smoky steelhead. Think smoke and whiskey for this brew.

Roasted Garlic Burger, Northern Lights Brewing, Spokane, WA

A cold snowy day and I'm warm inside Northern Lights Brewing looking at an appetizing hamburger lunch. The Roasted Garlic Burger is a 1/3 beef patty topped with cheddar cheese, a lot of whole roasted garlic, and onions, along with a pickle and usual toppings The sandwich also comes with a choice of soup, fries, salad or chips. I chose the soup of the day.

Roasted Garlic Burger

The burger arrived covered with tasty treats. There was a generous topping of roasted whole garlic cloves and caramelized onions, so much so, that they spilled onto my plate. Biting into the burger, the juices of the patty had that beefy goodness that makes a hamburger such a great American food experience. The melted cheddar cheese played nicely with the sweet caramelized onions and slightly bitter roasted garlic. In all, a yummy mouthful of burger.


The soup of the day was creme of mushroom. Not to take away from the great burger, but sometimes the accompanying soup is so good, that a full bowl of hot soup along with buttered garlic bread would satisfy as well. This soup was that good. Creamy and thick with mushroom flavor, the soup was perfect for the snowy Spokane weather. 


For my beer, I had the Seasonal Winter Ale. This is the second winter in a row that I've tried Northern Lights seasonal, and both times the beer delivered. Northern Lights is proud of this seasonal and deservedly so. The ale drank down sweet and citrusy, with a nice hoppiness to it. The beer had a good malty body along with  spices that reminded of fruit.

Pie-n-Pint, Rubicon Brewing Co. Sacramento CA

I dropped in Rubicon Brewing for a quick dessert of Mud Pie. The pie arrived as a generous slice of frozen mud pie topped with such delicious drippings as chocolate sauce, shaved almonds and whipped cream, all on top of a crumbly crust. 

Mud Pie

Slicing through the pie with a fork, the filling had the consistency of frozen chocolate cream pie. The filling was rich and velvety to taste. The gooey syrup and whipped cream added to the richness of the desert. Warning: Rubicon's Mud Pie is a hefty, rich desert. I wouldn't want to try this desert before dinner, since you may not have enough appetite for dinner. If you wait until after dinner, you may not have enough room to go for the Mud Pie. My suggestion is to show up at Rubicon at 3 or so, indulge yourself shamelessly in a 'Pie-n-Pint', then walk it off on the pleasant streets of mid-town Sacramento. Then return to Rubicon for dinner.


For my pint, I chose the Cali Stout. The stout poured dark brown with a light head. The taste had a chocolate flavor and some pleasant bite to it, with the bitter-sweetness associated with rich chocolate desserts. As with chocolate deserts, the Cali Stout went well with the Mud Pie.

Cali Stout

(Excuse the Purdue hat, I couldn't help myself)