It has really been some time between my updates, and so much has been happening! I feel like we were in a deep freeze last time I wrote, and now the whole city is in full spring bloom....What an amazing early spring we are having....The whole city has been a buzz!
I have a few things that I want to update y'all on.
Firstly is something that I have been talking about for a while, and it is so close to becoming a reality....the larger patio at Mississippi with an eco-roof and solar hot water panels. The permit should be getting its final stamp from the city as early as today and construction could start as early as next week! It should be
done for earth day, which will be fitting, and although it is going to be a nuisance for outdoor seating for a month or so, it will be a breath of fresh air when it is done.
Secondly, the annual food trip to Mexico happened again in 2010! Unfortunately I wasn't able to go because I cannot even begin to think about leaving this new nugget of babiness for 10 days...But, Josh (chef) and Hanna (gm) took the plunge without me...They headed to Mérida in the Yucatán, where they rented
a car to visit Marcos' (sous chef that runs Mississippi PQN) mom and then flew up to Veracruz in search of killer seafood....They came back full of inspirations and an even deeper love for the food and spirit of Mexico that we serve at PQN.....
The trip is partly to gain recipes/food ideas, but honestly the most important part of the annual trip is the inspirations that come from being is such a joyous culture. Here is an excerpt from Josh's musings about the trip:
"Flyng into the heart of the Yucatán i was expecting to step off the plane into a wall of heat and humidity. We were pleasantly suprised to find that we had in fact chosen the perfect time of year to visit an area the guide books seemed adamant about including graphic heat warnings. The abundance and popularity of the hammock in Merida was an obvious indicator that there are times when even sleeping with anything but air surrounding you is intolerable".
"From the time we stepped off of the plane, Mérida seemed to be a great place to visit for a food trip. Our first night we found a small restaurant with a few tables in the street and an al pastor spit on the sidewalk. The beer was cold and we got our first taste of a yucatan specialty, panuchos and salbutes (see picture). If you have ever made a tortilla by hand then you have seen how they puff up all beautiful. Well for a panucho they snatch it up right as it is doing this, slice it open and fill the inside with black bean puree and then finish it off with a quick dip in a hot oil bath. Salbutes are served in a similar way but they skip the tricky step of getting filled with the beans and instead go right to the oil (They also have a little lard mixed into the dough so the cook up to be kinda airy. This first night we got the best order of panuchos all trip, topped with another yucatan specialty, cochinita pibil, tender pork seasoned with some help from the annatto seed and sour orange. Topped with beautiful sour orange pickled onions and we was happy people."
"Skip forward past an amazing day trip to Chichen Itza, a very popular Mayan ruin site, and another trip to a lesser know site whose name i can neither spell or pronounce (gotta work on my Mayan!), and we found ourselves on the Gulf Coast in a little town called progresso on a cold and windy day looking to eat some delicious fish tacos. As we drove down the main strip we say a lot of tourist type restaurants and were starting to get a little worried until we spotted a little place completely open in the front and packed with local families. We know where to go now! Fish, shrimp and octopus ceviche, two types of fish, two types of shrimp and an octopus tacos later, as well of course the 40oz Sol we shared, and we had found what we were looking for. Crispy fish tacos with iceburg lettuce, shrimp smothered in garlic butter and ceviche with black pepper. Unfortunately the wind was a little much for a walk on the beach so we had to cut ours short but on the way out we stopped and tried what can only be described as a super thin waffle rolled up like a fluata and filled with nutella, cheese or both! Oddly awesome."
"The next day we headed off to the home of Marco's family. They had decided to slaughter a goat for the occasion!.....Quite the welcome! Before we ate the goat, we had the most delicious posole (different from our favorite cart in Oaxaca)........Then we ate barbacoa until our little hearts were content, and I fell asleep in their house. I have a deep felt gratitude for how we were welcomed by Marcos' family and it was a blast to share pictures and presents from Marcos with them. And a million thank you's to Marcos' mom for the chorizo recipe, among other menu items that she has helped us with!"
"Whenever I do these trips it's always amazing that such incredible food can be made so simply. It helps that they have all of the fresh ingredients growing within walking distance, but no excuses form me, I'm gonna figure out how to keep bringing it to Portland!"
It was an incredible trip for them, and there will certainly be some little tweaks and additions in its wake....I hope to join the food trip next year, but for now I'll just have to be happy with heading down to the Yucatán with Claire and Rona next week!
Thirdly....for anyone who is interested, I was interviewed by Portland's own NPR Marketplace reporter, Mitchell Hartman....The piece about Portland actually aired back on February 1st, but you can still hear it on the website at the following link:
Lastly I just wanted to let everyone know that we are going to move to our summer hours beginning on the spring equionox, March 20th:
Monday - Saturday 11am-10pm
Sunday - 11am - 9:30pm
Enjoy the longer daylight in the evening beginning this Sunday, and thank you for reading!
Cheers,
Bryan
Bryan Steelman
Por Que No Taqueria
www.porquenotacos.com
3524 N Mississippi Ave.
503-467-4149
Por Que No Taqueria
www.porquenotacos.com
3524 N Mississippi Ave.
503-467-4149
4635 SE Hawthorne Blvd.
503-954-3138
503-954-3138
