To make up for no dessert in the last post, tonight we started and ended with dessert.
Alma Chocolate has an ice cream CSA. Pay a fee, get a pint of specialty ice cream every other week for a year. Paul joined, because he has no self control when it comes to ice cream. Tonight Alma hosted a tasting for all members of the CSA and for anyone sharing in the CSA. Liza is not “officially” sharing in the CSA, but was more than willing to pretend to share in order to taste the ice cream. So dinner started with an appetizer of ice cream samples. Round 1: chocolate and vanilla. Round 2: a cherry sorbet in Prosecco. Ridonculous. Round 3: coconut sorbet with bittersweet chocolate chunks and marcona (we think) almonds… Liza’s favorite. Round 4: lemon and raspberry sorbets with a meringue cookie. Round 5: strawberry yogurt with strawberries and a balsamic glaze. Round 6: a brownie with vanilla ice cream and a salted caramel drizzle. Paul doesn’t have a favorite. He doesn’t like pitting such good flavors against each other.
Not to say that ice cream alone can’t be dinner, but we’d only had small bites of each, so we felt the night called for more food, specifically French food.
Portland foodies are well acquainted with the plethora of French and French inspired food establishments here. So in honor of the Bastille Day festivities occurring around town this weekend and the fact that we had a groupon, we followed the ice cream appetizer with dinner at Chez Machin, a creperie whose food, as described on its website, is “very delicious.”
Paul started with an iced Americano with whipped cream, not normally how it’s served or even listed on the menu, but our waitress allowed the indulgence. He drank it in about 30 seconds. We should point out that the coffee is from Nossa Familia which you can also find at the Hollywood Farmers’ Market every Saturday.
We ordered two savory crepes and one sweet, the names of which escape us. We don’t think in French quite yet. The first one contained sun dried tomato basil pork sausage, scallions, spinach, and mozzarella with a roasted red pepper and garlic coulis. We split that one evenly. The second contained black forest ham, mushrooms, avocado, brie, and was covered with creme fraiche. Paul ate most of that one. The sweet one was fresh Oregon berries, chocolate and whipped cream. After the end of the second savory crepe, Paul said he wouldn’t be able to eat more than a bite of the sweet one. He was wrong. Though Liza did eat more.
Chez Machin is not on The List, but it probably should be. Or will be one day. Add it to yours, too.
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