And, here it is, folks. The last week of the year. A time for introspection. A time of reflection. A time to open that bottle of wine you’ve been coveting all year. It’s been a long year – for many – both personally and professionally, and I’m feeling all hopeful that the new year will bring a bevy of blessings and wishes.
Here on Daily Blender, I’ve been busy whittling away at the noise and honing in on what really makes this place a favorite destination for food, wine, and spirits …

Call it a staycation, call it a vacation. Call it what you will, I’m taking it. We’ve reached the summer months and I’m taking a bit of time to focus on relaxation, family, and future, nearly a country-wide theme with the upcoming Fourth of July.
But be not worried! Good things, they are a-happenin’. When I’m back at the Daily Blender helm July 11th, I’ll have a great bio on chef Eric Faivre of Maui’s Grand Wailea, as well as a look at the island’s Evonuk Farms with Wailea’s chef Isaac …

Everyone seems to be chiming in on the business of awards during this post-Beards week, from rants on financial backgrounds to thinly-veiled backlash from not winning. Over the past few years, I guess I’ve come to accept awards to be exactly what they’re perceived to be – a bit of a popularity contest tossed together with a smidgen of research and validity. As someone who covers different awards, I’ve had more than one “official” admit that this restaurant was never actually visited or that that nominated chef “technically” didn’t fulfill …

I always find myself so reflective this time of year – a glance over my shoulder perusing all that has happened since last holiday season, a stare into the distance wondering what will become of the new year. 2010 was an amazing time for Daily Blender, with new connections made and old ideologies honored. As any restaurateur knows, evolution is the key to success, and the path of DB is no different.
The year started off with perhaps my favorite event coverage of 2010, the amazing Cayman Cookout. A weekend of …

Back when I was running the catering business, my favorite, and most rewarding of our contracts, was with a private elementary school here in the Portland area. Tired of poor lunch choices, we were contacted by a parent who was interested in finding healthier school food options for her children. As a small operation, we hadn’t even considered developing a school lunch program, but parents were so eager to provide better food options for their children that we created a program specific to the school’s needs.
Surprisingly, we found that the …

I must’ve been sixteen or seventeen when I witnessed a restaurant manager laying into one of her employees in plain sight. I stood, stunned, alongside other patrons patiently waiting to place their orders as the string of belligerent words was unleashed from the manager’s mouth. Degrading the employee on everything from appearance to time with customers, she seemed oblivious to the looks of surprise and shame emitted from fellow customers witness to the shocking moment. I shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other, aghast at the lack of professionalism, …

Today, I’m off for another food-filled extravaganza, and I’m finding myself in a bit of reflection prior to departure. Though I regularly attend events closer to home, I most enjoy the one weekend each month where I take time to travel and explore some far away destination. This weekend, it’s New York City.
I have a weakness for New York City, as many folks do. I began visiting when I was a teen, and over the years, have found myself in more familiar surroundings with each trip. It is a city …

When we opened the catering business, there was definitely a learning curve. I had never run a restaurant, let alone worked on the business side of a food service operation, so there were a few times when I felt as though I was trying to catch up. One of those times was certainly the state-required health inspections.
It was unnerving to arrive to the kitchen on a random Tuesday morning only to have a local health inspector waiting at the door. I knew the point was to catch us off-guard, to …

It became completely obvious to me when I was part of the catering business that I was, indeed, what I had long suspected…a perfectionist. At the beginning of every event, the chef and I would go back and forth on the minute details of everything from the tables to the dishes to the staff, the eternal battle between one woman’s client ideals versus one man’s culinary vision.
I’d return to the buffet table a dozen times before the guests arrived, adjusting each candle, reorganizing napkins, dishes, accompaniments. I’d rehearse the evening’s …

When I began in the food industry, it had more to do with paintbrushes and less to do with pots and pans. The local apple orchard was a popular one and they hired high school students to work their frenzy of a fall festival from August to November every year. Seasonal hires would work tirelessly every weekend from morning to night, entertaining whiny kids, enduring country music cover bands, and staving off nausea from the rampant smell of french fries and horse droppings, all while trying to stay warm as …

In early 2007, only four years into the life of our catering business, we saw the recession coming down the line. As a full-time, year-round food business, we relied heavily on corporate customers during the “off” season – outside of weddings and holidays. As the year began, we noticed a pullback in corporate spending across the board, with less luncheons, holiday parties, and business events booked. As a facilitator of one of the only organic school lunch programs in the area, we also noticed that fewer parents were interested in …

On my way home from errands yesterday, as I debated what I really wanted to write, what direction I was headed in, where I wanted Daily Blender to go, I ended up behind a car that had a bumper sticker that spoke to me (as sometimes bumper stickers do). It said “Never apologize for your art.” After a few recent unfriendly comments, the message really resonated with me, and I realized it was time to take Daily Blender somewhere else.
When I started writing for DB, it was owned by a …

I’m encouraged by a recent bit in Saturday’s New York Times about a restaurateur who was dreaming of Detroit. According to the op-ed piece, Charles Sorel, owner of Le Petit Zinc, felt as though the landscape of Detroit 2009 was equivalent to the streets of New York City in the 80s, and was undaunted in his goal of opening a new restaurant. Within a community beaten down by the failing auto industry in recent years, riddled with unemployment and homelessness, Sorel was surprised to find a welcome group of fellow …

Traveling to New York this past weekend to visit the 2009 Food Network New York Wine & Food Festival, I have to admit I probably spent more time dining at all the wonderful restaurants than actually attending any festival events. Given that Daily Blender is a little more food and business than Food Network, I picked my events and activities accordingly, visiting great restaurants like Apiary and Rouge Tomate, and attending a few of the festival highlights, including former New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni’s chat with Eater‘s Ben …

Robert, of PDXsucks.com, posted a bit of a rant and rave this weekend on the state of this year’s Bite of Oregon. Poor Robert was not happy about the event and it’s significant lack of vendors (and visitors). Over the years, the 26-year-old food festival has been noted to feature some of the best of Oregon’s food & wine offerings. However, this year, Robert was a bit dismayed by the gathering.
As I count the number of local food vendors in attendance, I realized that there were actually fewer restaurants serving …