faulker056

A few months back, J took me to Hatfield's for a fantastic birthday dinner . When we were about to leave she told me she had one more gift. She presented me with an unsealed envelope. I opened it and found two photocopied menus from restaurants i had never heard of. Me: "What do I do with these? We ordering delivery?" J: "Pick one." I looked closer at the info under the two restaurants and noticed that one was based in Seattle, the other one in Portland. J: "They are both oyster restaurants. Choose one." Me: "I think i'm going to have to go with Portland." Why Portland? Maybe it's because of the strong influence of Indie music bands there? The large social movement of thirty-somethings escaping big urban monsters; seeking a new place to live and restart? The fine coffee, breweries and distilleries spread out all over the state? My coworker said, "If Silver Lake , Los Angeles was its own city, it would be like Portland....

If you could time travel, where would you go? More importantly, where would you LIKE to travel to solely for food? If you ask me, it would be very difficult for me to answer. But, I would consider... Shanghai. For some of the crispiest, juiciest pan-fried dumplings ever. A line with no less than 30 people at any given moment. One bite of these, and you'll know you're in China. Hong Kong. For some of the crunchiest, toothsome wontons ever. So crunch you can hear the friction between the shrimp and your lucky tooth. Vietnam. I could die eating a bowl of pho on a tiny stool at 7:15 am, inhaling the toxic gas from scooters passing by. Paris. For those gigantic oysters known as belons, or European Flats. They taste like Duracell batteries at first, but with one swig of a fine wine, you''ll understand the relationship between the sea and land, and ascend into oyster heaven. I could go on and on about things that would get me hot & bothered, but until I...