BCAA

16 BCA A .COM SPRING 2017 Han Oak/Aaron Lee/Kari Young Five fabulous food-and-drink trends to savour in Oregon's culinary capital BY BARB SLIGL W here can you sample authentic Korean dishes and barrel-aged cocktails? Sip kombucha alongside tea-distilled liqueur? Dine on a multi-course farm-to-fork dinner and then stop for dessert at a s'more cart? In Portland, Oregon, of course – ground zero of the Pacific Northwest's stellar food-and-drink scene. Here's where to devour the city's best new taste trends. MODERN KOREAN This West Coast city has a thing for the Far East. The now-legendary and decade-old Pok Pok has built up such local love for Asian fare that it has spurred a new generation of restaurants, the hottest of which have a Korean bent. Han Oak, named for traditional Korean hanok homes, offers "banchan" (small dishes such as kimchi), along with prix-fixe Korean dinners, like koji- marinated, slow-roasted pork belly. It also turns into a counter-style dumpling- and-noodle house a couple nights a week. And then there's Revelry, where funky murals and DJ-spun tunes complement Korean fusion fare, and the signature dish is Mrs. Yang's spicy fried chicken with peanut brittle. FARM TO TABLE 2.0 The farm-to-table movement is still going strong in Portland and spinning in many directions, from urban gardeners hosting communal long-table dinners at The Side Yard Farm & Kitchen supper club, to high-end farm- driven Pacific Northwest cuisine. In the latter vein, modernist farm- to-fork restaurant Nomad.PDX calls itself a think tank of fine dining using local ingredients. The revolving tasting menu includes items such as basil chlorophyll, "eggs" of ice cream with yolk-like filling and lamb served with sprouted wheat berries and fermented barley – a combo inspired by the animal's diet and the farm it was raised on. Casual Korean dining spot Han Oak (here and bottom left) is one of Portland's best new restaurants.

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