Bloggin' the Nog

I meant to bring it, I really did. I'd read my friend Giovanna's post last December about the eggnog at Pearl Bakery and how next year she'd remember to bring a flask of bourbon. Inspired, I planned to dig out Dave's flask and fill it with some of Clear Creek Distillery's Oregon Brandy and head over for a glass of my own.

But about halfway there I realized the flask was sitting on the counter where I'd left it, locked and loaded, but since I'd arranged with Giovanna to meet there and guide me through the process, I charged on. And, sure enough, there she was, sitting at a nicely out-of-the-way table in a corner of the café, the better to tipple unnoticed.

When she admitted she'd neglected to bring her flask, too, I felt a little better, and we made our way to the counter and ordered our glasses. As noted in her post, traditional eggnog is made with softly beaten egg whites folded into an egg yolk-rich cream and milk mixture. She writes:

"Pearl's eggnog has none of these.  In order to avoid the raw egg situation, they make a cooked eggnog. And you know what a cooked eggnog is? It's nothing more than crème anglaise. One of my very favorite things. This one just happens to be nutmeg-flavored."

If you decide, like I did, that you absolutely have to try this lovely concoction, you'll have to hold the line when the young person behind the counter asks if you want it mixed with anything, and when you decline, asks if you're sure you want it plain, cold, in a glass. At that point, just nod and smile and let them think you must be a bit batty to drink something so lusciously rich all by itself.

Unless, of course, you remember to bring that flask.


Details: Pearl Bakery, 102 NW 9th Ave. 503-827-0910

Friends Getting Their Props

My friends Bruce and Mary Fishback at Bread & Ink Cafe (mentioned here recently for their ramps specials) just got a love note from Gourmet magazine for Mary's brilliant Waffle Window, which has become a must-stop destination for waffle lovers far and wide. (Mentioned on GSNW right after it opened about...oh...two years ago.) Writer Giovanna Zivny effuses:

"Okay, I’ll say it: This place is adorable. It’s really a waffle Dutch door—a bright blue one in the red brick wall of longtime Portland restaurant Bread and Ink, which opened the waffle shop in 2007. The Liège-style waffles come plain or with creative topping combinations, and the Three Bs (pepper bacon, Brie, and basil, with a spoonful of homemade peach jam; $4) is a crowd favorite. I’m more partial to the scoop of quivering lemon panna cotta with a thick drizzle of huckleberry jam and whipped cream ($4). They’ve set aside a small seating area inside the restaurant for rainy-day waffle eaters."

All I can say to Gourmet is, "What took you so long?"

Details: Waffle Window, 3610 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Phone 503-239-4756.