Clyde Common - Portland - Oregon

After leaving Hawks View Cellars - Sherwood, Gourmet Pigs and I made our way to downtown Portland to cross off #3 on her list of things to do in town -- cocktails. Actually, we ended up hitting up three cocktail bars this evening. And yes, if you were keeping track, that's after two wine tastings.

I should preface this post, and the subsequent drinking ones, by telling you that since I was driving, I merely took a sip to taste and handed off the rest of my drinks to others.





Gourmet Pigs wanted to check out Clyde Common because the bartender/bar manager, Jeffrey Morgenthaler, has gained quite a bit of renown for his old-fashioned cocktails. Unfortunately, he wasn't in the day we visited.

Nonetheless, even without the famed bartender, one of the best parts of going to Portland bars during happy hours and late nights is the cheap eats. Seriously. I'm talking $2 to $5 for appetizers and desserts. So I was really more excited to try the food than the drinks anyway.

Hong Kong-Style Tomato Borscht

The last recipe left to blog of the dishes served at this baby shower was a Hong Kong-Style Tomato Borscht. On account of me having so many tomatoes on hand, some of which were already quite soft, but also because I just love tomato-based soups. I've blogged Beet Borscht before, the gorgeously pink-hued Ukrainian version. But I've been familiar with the tomato-based version for much longer as it's a staple at Hong Kong cafes in the San Gabriel Valley.

It's pretty simple, a basic beef stock with tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, celery, carrots, and onions with some tomato paste added in to deepen the tomato color. Let it simmer for a while until ready to eat.

Tomato Asparagus Feta Phyllo Tart

This tomato tart came about because I bought a box of 40 heirloom tomatoes from the Farmers' Market - Alhambra for only $5. Since I had yellow, orange, and red tomatoes, I had to show them off. I originally wanted to use puff pastry, but it was more expensive than the phyllo. Plus, the phyllo could also be used for the Mushroom Cream Cheese Phyllo Bundles. In the end, I think the phyllo was a nice crispy contrast to the softness of the tomatoes. The asparagus I also had on hand because I made Bacon-wrapped Asparagus for the baby shower. And lastly, a bit of feta cheese crumbled on top and a dash or two of dried thyme rounded everything out nicely.