The first weeks of the new year, for many of us, involvedeploying austerity measures in our home kitchens, or at least moderatingthe excesses of the holidays.
WhileI'm focusing on reintroducing green vegetables and whole grains intomy cooking, I'm alsoreflecting on some of my favorite flavors from 2019, many of which were undeniably indulgent.
Once I'm back in the saddle of near-daily restaurant dining, I'mlooking forward to revisiting these andseeing what new delights 2020brings tothe table.
Bertha roasted vegetablesat The Valkyrie
Lindsay Darling andSavannah Pearce are working wood-fired witchery at Independence's Valkyrie Wine Tavern.A central element of their kitchenand one that lends smoky swagger to many of the restaurant's dishes isBertha, their indoor charcoal oven. The oven especially showcases seasonal vegetables, concentratingthe flavors of beets, carrots, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower while kissing themwith smoke. If you need a little convincing to eat your vegetables, a board of Bertha veggies might just do the trick.
Read More:The Valkyrie Wine Tavern in Independence is worth the trip
Choco Taco at On Any Sundae
At his South Commercial ice cream shop On Any Sundae, CalebHayward leans hard on the nostalgia factor. Bright colors, games, and a TV constantly streaming vintage cartoons could make any grown-up feel like a kid again. For me, the menu item that most gets atice cream truck excitement is Hayward's take onthe Choco Taco. He fills a waffle cone "tortilla"with vanilla bean ice cream, chocolate sauce and caramel, and seals it with chocolate shell. There's alsoa double chocolate version (made with chocolate ice cream) a Filbert version (stuffed with Nutella and hazelnut salted caramelice cream) and two seasonal tacos, too. Go on Tuesdays and you can get one for $4.
Read More:A place to build memories and ice cream sandwiches; Salem truck expands to storefront
Ono Bombs at Get Seom Aloha
I first triedJaysen Ridout andSylvia Ocampo's ono bombs at Hawaiian restaurant Pandan Leaf Cafeon South Commercial. Just a few months later, when the business closed without warning, I was heartbroken at the idea I would never have them again. Fortunately, the familycropped back up at The Yard as Get Seom Alohaand the ono bombs are back. What are they?Imagine a Spam musubi deconstructed and re-imagined as a deep fried rice ball. Sushi rice, pieces of crispy Spam and a crispy exterior served on sesame slaw and topped with sriracha mayo and furikake, a rice seasoning with seaweed and sesame.
Pizza at Turn Here Bar & Grill
Thanks to a brushing of garlic butter when they emerge from the oven, the pizzas at Turn Here Bar & GrillTurner pub are something of a pizza-garlic bread hybrid. Owners Dan and Gerry Koonce make the pizza dough in-house based on a recipe by a sister of Gerry's who once owned Pepperoni's Pizza in Dallas.Like everything else at Turn Here, there's a car theme to the menu.Pepperoni pizza is a Hot Rod, the Prius is an all veggie pie sauced with basil pesto; and the Malibu is their take on barbecue chickenpizza with red onion, jalapeñosand pineapple.The toppings are more interesting than a typical delivery place, and the crust puffy and pleasantly chewy.
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Black Garlic Ramen at Ibendoo
Before Ibendoo Ramen opened last April, Salem had been hurting for a ramen spot. Now, It's all I can do to not spend all of my lunch money at the South Commercial restaurant, slurping up noodles. One of my favorite touches that chef-owner Zhixian "Rocky" Yang adds to many of hisbowls is a finishing drizzle of black garlic oil. Black garlic is made by slowly fermenting whole heads of garlic until the cloves inside turn fudgey and dark,with an unmistakable sweet flavor.I particularly enjoy the flavor of the black garlic in Yang's kimchi ramen, a tangle of fresh noodles in spicy broth with beef, bamboo shoots and onion.
Read More:New restaurant, Ibendoo Ramen, serves up generous bowls of noodle goodness
Empanadas at Xicha Brewing
Look, there are a ton of delicious things on the menu at Xicha, butone of areas where the West Salem brewery is really in a league of its own is in offering vegetarian and gluten-free options alongside dishes likeguava glazed spare ribs and albondigas.I'm particularly fond of the fluffy, crisp-chewy empanadas. The jackfruit tinga filled ones are justas juicy and savory as the hatch chile chicken version and, accompanied by chipotle aioli, crema, cotija, and cilantro, the dish represents a great collection of flavors and textures.
Read More:New menu, bottled beers, events, and a mural; not yet 2 years old, Xicha Brewing continues creatively
Spicy Grilled Pork Salad at Big Blue Thai BBQ
As the Statesman Journal's frequent Facebook commenters often remind me, Salem's salad game could be stronger. Sure, we've gota handful of salad bars, but in absence of Sweet Tomatoes, Sweetgreen, Chop't and other salad-focused spots, the veg tends to remain on the sideor as a precursor to the main dish. Thisisn't the case at Big Blue Thai BBQ, home to my favorite salad in Salem. Served atop mixed greens, the he spicy grilled pork salad combines shreds of pork, grilled so it has a just smoky edge, with spears of shallot and green onion. The freshflavor of fresh mint and cilantro bracethe richness of the meat and a sharp lime juice and toasted rice dressing tie it all together. The wedge of green salad and cucumbers alongside act as counterpoints, offering sweet, juicy, refreshing crunch.
Apple Fritters at Dough Hook Bake Shop
Salem had a serious doughnut boomin 2019 with Bearscat Bakehouse, Dough Hook Bake Shop and Bigwig Donutsall opening their doors. Even so, for me, one doughnut stands above all the others: Dough Hook's apple fritter. Introduced after owner Guadalupe AlvarezAguilar went apple picking, Dough Hook's fritter is studded with tart chunks of Gravenstein apples and enrobed in a just-sweet-enoughLa Familia Ciderglaze.
Hot Bird at Noble Wave
In a year where Popeye's chicken sandwich ran the fried chicken table, in Salem we had a sandwich that would make anyone say "Popeye who?" Their take on a Nashville-style hot chicken sandwich, the Hot Bird is a fried breast dipped in tangy (not wildly spicy) Crystal hot sauce from Louisiana. Served on asweet bun, it's topped with cabbage slaw and pickles. The sandwich has become so popularthat chefRaymond Pelas and ownersKarl Schultz and Riley Vannoy are leaning in. They're now offering the Classic Bird (on adifferent bun, minus the hot sauce, plus fry sauce) on the regular menu. There's afried chicken biscuit sandwich with maple butter and cheddar on the brunch menu, and they're offering special sandwiches as well. Hits thus far have included theCBR Bird (chicken bacon ranch sandwich with double bacon and double Tillamook cheddar) andthe Thai Bird (Thai-style sweet chili glazed fried chicken topped with lemongrass aioli slaw and rice vinegar-pickled red onion).
Read More:Surf's up, Noble Wave brewpub opens today
Churro Ice Cream Sandwich at Don Bigote
Forget freak shakes and waffle cones and have your ice cream sandwiched between two warm disks of just-fried cinnamon-sugar dipped churros. Don Bigote isOscar Rodriguez and Veronica Islas'shiny black food truck that sets up under the awning at Fruteria La Cabana.Theyspecializein crepes, milkshakes, and churros. Theice cream sandwich It is as messy and epic as it sounds and they also offer a churro banana split.
Read More:15 must-try frozen treats to sweeten up Salem this summer
Duck over Spinach at Bai Bua Thai Kitchen
I might have overlooked this dish, buried in the house specialties page of the menu at Bai Bua Thai Kitchen in Keizer. But when restaurant ownerVichuda Stine made a recommendation I went with it. I'm so glad I did. Duck breast, beautifully rendered until crisp and juicy is thinly sliced and served over a pile of sautéed spinach. Both sit in a pool of thin, deeply savory and slightly sweet soy-basedsauce. The juiciness of the meat and greens and comparatively simple flavor profiles made it a lovely component to the rest of a meal loaded with bigger, spicier and more dynamic flavors ofcurry, stir fry and noodles.
Read More:Avocado curry and crispy catfish with apple, Bai Bua brings inventive Thai to Keizer
Cumberland Sausage Roll at Santiam Brewing
What's a sausage roll? It's a pasty stuffed with aromatic sausage. Think of a Hot Pocket, if a Hot Pocket lived up to one's hopes for it. The version of this classic British dish at Santiam Brewing is excellent. Ian Croxall makesCumberland sausage from scratch, seasoning ground pork with nutmeg, mace, coriander, sage and chives. This he rolls in pastry, showers in fennel seeds and bakes. It's perhaps the perfect beer-drinking companion and a steal at $5.95, which also gets you a side of house made salt and vinegar crisps and a pickle. Served hot or cold…you choose. When your server asks if you want a side of gravy for dunking? You do.
Read More:Santiam Brewing embraces commonwealth expats, and everyone else, with new British pub menu
Alambre at Santana Mexican Food in Woodburn
Alambre is so simple, yet so good. At Santana Mexican Food on Front Street in Woodburn, it's a gooey tumble of red and green bell peppers and onions with carne asada, puddles of melty, stretchy queso Oaxaca melting over top. Accompanied by rice, beans, and a stack of made in-house tortillas, Santana's version is what I want for breakfast on most days. When I drive there to get it I'm in luck, because a single order is enough for at least two meals.
Read More:How to tackle Taste of Woodburn, a festival celebrating Mexico in a dozen delicious ways
Sheng Jian Bao at Shanghai's Best Street Food
Pan-frieddumplings or silky steamed dumplings; why choose when you could have the best of both? Lin Chen relaunched her business, Shanghai's Best Street Food, at The Yard Food Park after being displaced by the construction at Portland's longstanding Alder Street food cart pod, I don;n't know that anyone was happier than I. I love the chewy skins of her handmade dumplings, slightly sticky on topwith crunchy, brownedbottoms.Chen forms each dumpling by hand, rolling the dough and crimping it into delicate pleats, each pattern signaling a different filling. There's chicken;pork;a crescent-shaped vegetarian dumpling filed with egg, chivesand mung bean noodles; and a vegan version filled with tofu, mushrooms, carrot and celery. Your best betis to bring a friend and get some of each.
Read More:Portland food cart, displaced by Alder Street hotel development, sets up in Salem instead
Tacos Dorados de Birria at Sancho's Tacos & Grill
I, along with the rest of Salem, love tacos. This makesittough to choose a single favorite taco for the year, especially since I'm still in mourning for Salvador's Bakery 2, whichclosed at the end of 2019. Even so, one truly stand-out stellar taco of 2019 was thebirria dorado tacos at new food truck Sancho's Tacos & Grill. Filled withcheese and birria, spicy, slow-cooked beef, these tacos are crisped on the grill before being topped with a scattering of chopped onion and cilantro. They're greasy in the best way possible, tinged orange fromchili-scented beef fat. Sancho's serves an order of two with a cup of beef consomme.
Taro Milkshake at T4 Tea House
Sipped on the last days of 2019, I loved the taro milkshake at the new Taiwanese tea house in Keizer Station. Most bubble tea places (including T4) use powdered taro flavoring to make their milk teas, butownersMichelle Wong and Dicky Chan use real taro, a root vegetable with a purple tinge, to make their milkshake. The taro gives the milkshake starchy richness. It's especially good with the addition of small boba pearls.
Read More:Salem-area's biggest bubble tea menu is at T4 Tea House, Taiwanese cafe now open in Keizer
Tonkatsu with Japanese Curry atat Manna Japanese Comfort Food
Juicy, with a robustly crunchy exterior, Manna's tonkatsu is a pork cutlet, breaded with rice panko and fried. Served over rice with a sunny side up egg and bright yellow slicesof pickled daikon radish, I think it's a perfect antidote to a rainy day. Pair it with a bowl of rich, warmly spiced Japanese curry sauce for maximum blues-fighting effect.
Chocolate Old Fashioned at Bentley's
Ethan Plum has been showcasing his talents as one of Salem's best bartenders at Bentley's Grill, the restaurant atTheGrand Hotel. The menu rotates regularly, but the drink I still think about isPlumb's Chocolate Old Fashioned, arichly flavored co*cktail that unites Bushmills Irish whiskey, Aztec chocolate bitters, and a spritz of orange zest. It has a deep cocoa flavor without cloying sweetness.
Read More:At Bentley's Grill, Hans Afshar and Ethan Plumb debut new food and drink menus
Pho at Super Pho
Noodles for breakfast, noodles for lunch, I would eat noodles at any time of day, any day ofthe week. One of the most comforting bowls of noodles in Salem is Steven Trinh's Super Pho. To make the broth for the rice noodle soup, Trinhsimmers hundreds of pounds of beef bones in water for afull 8 hours, beforeadding ginger, shallot, onion, sugar and salt. Dry spices – cloves, coriander seeds, star aniseand cinnamon sticks – balance the savory broth with their sweet aromas.
Read More:Lancaster Vietnamese destination Super Pho celebrates a decade with a fresh start
Emily Teel is the Food & Drink Editor at the Statesman Journal. Contact her at eteel@statesmanjournal.com,Facebook, or Twitter. See what she's cooking and where she's eating this week on Instagram: @emily_teel
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