Right at the Fork

Looking back to February 2020, before everything changed, with Kelsey Glasser of Arden.

Kelsey Glasser is the owner and sommelier of Arden in Northwest Portland.  She joins the podcast to talk about what took her from the Willamette Valley to pursue acting in New York and L.A... and how wine brought her back to the Pacific Northwest.  Plus, she'll share how Arden brought the two career paths together.

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com RingSide Steakhouse:  www.RingSideSteakhouse.com Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com

Chef Kyo Koo, whom Portlanders will know from his days at BlueHour and more recently as proprietor of Danwei Canting, joins Chris to talk about working on his new concept in New York City, Bokki Seoul.  Coming out of the pandemic, Chris asks Kyo about his thoughts about fast casual, take-out, and whether something closer to fine dining is something we can expect to return like the days of old.   Issues like rent and labor are considered, as well as what may be in store for Portland's food scene coming out of the pandemic (we hope!)  

This episode of Right at the Fork is sponsored by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com Finex: www.FinexUSA.com   RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com 

This episode of Right at the Fork is sponsored by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com Finex: www.FinexUSA.com   RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com 

  Jeff Ridabock hails from the same town host Chris Angelus, so in this fun episode Chris and Jeff reminisce about growing up in privileged Darien, Connecticut in the 60s and 70s. (You may not want little ears to hear this!)  Also, Jeff talks pandemic in the restaurant business, and reaches back to his best memories of Portland when he arrived to the city in 1979.   Also, Jeff talks about how vegan food's acceptance has changed since he started making vegan BBQ over a half dozen years ago.

It's been a while since Eater Editor Brooke Jackson-Glidden joined us.  This will be our first visit with Brooke since the pandemic.  We talk about her job and having to work it mostly from home over the past year, reporting versus criticism, what the future of the food industry might look like, as well as some of the restaurants and carts Brooke is most excited about as we begin to emerge from under Covid clouds.

This episode of Right at the Fork is sponsored by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com Finex: www.FinexUSA.com   RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com 

With a new child on the homefront, Alex Diestra is poised as the new Executive Chef at Portland's iconic Andina Peruvian restaurant, where he's also helped develop their new outdoor/take-out concept, Chicha. His pedigree is strong, after having worked in kitchens at Bruce Carey's Saucebox and Clarklewis, but also growing up with Peruvian food from childhood.  Chris and Alex talk about his moving to Portland from Peru at age 19, how he became a chef as well as his feelings about being at the helm of Andina as it changes with a younger generation running the show, as well as the format changes after Covid.

This episode of Right at the Fork is sponsored by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com Finex: www.FinexUSA.com   RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com 

SOLD!!  Food Carts Portland! 

Brett Burmeister made his name in the Portland food scene by writing about food carts in a way no one else had.  For 10 years, he ran Food Carts Portland's website, which includes blogs and social media, becoming the face of the Portland food cart scene.  He consulted with cities and others around the world who wanted to develop a street food scene like Portland's, and curated events as well as running food cart tours.  He recently sold the business, hook, line and sinker, to focus on his bar, HOME.   We talk with Brett about those 10 years in the food cart world, how he got into it and why he sold it, and also about being a bar operator during the pandemic, and what he sees for the Portland food world coming out of it.

This episode of Right at the Fork is sponsored by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com Finex: www.FinexUSA.com   RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com 

Let' go back to August of 2018, when we first spoke to Nolan Hirte of Proud Mary (as we learn that Proud Mary is expanding into Austin Texas)

A coffee at Proud Mary in NE Portland is not your average coffee stop.  On this episode of Right at the Fork, we talk to Nolan Hirte, the co-founder of Proud Mary in Portland, and Melbourne, Australia. 

Hear what makes coffee to important to Nolan - and maybe most important, the care and service that goes into it.

This episode of Right at the Fork is sponsored by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com Finex: www.FinexUSA.com   RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com 

Michael Gibbons and his wife own Papa Haydn and Jo Bar, which have been a staples in the Portland Food world since they met each other as employees at Papa Haydn many cakes and drinks ago.  Since then, they've largely stepped away from the day to day operations to leave that responsibility in younger, capable hands, including their son Brendan.   We talk to Michael about his trajectory from a kid in LA slinging burgers to Reed College in the 70s to his building of Papa Haydn's bar program as a stop between semesters, which of course turned into the love of his life with the love of his life for years and years.  We also talk about service, Portland as a city now and how it may fare coming out of the pandemic.  And the Dodgers.  

This episode of Right at the Fork is sponsored by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com Finex: www.FinexUSA.com RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com

This episode of Right at the Fork is sponsored by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com Finex: www.FinexUSA.com   RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com 

Kat LeSueur, former chef/owner of Cocotte, has been busy with family life for a few years. During the pandemic, she honed her baking game, and recently began popping up selling her sourdough loaves and other goodies. We catch up with Kat to hear how Little Lucy allows her the flexibility she desires, but has given her the opportunity to flex her kitchen muscles.

Find Kat at @littlelucybread on Instagram.

This episode of Right at the Fork is sponsored by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com Finex: www.FinexUSA.com RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com

We're thrilled to be able to interview Burgerville's CEO, Jill Taylor  Jill was recently named one of the most influential women in the food industry by Nations Restaurant News.  We talk with Jill about pandemic pivoting, infiltration of big national burger chains and how someone goes from being a nurse to CEO of Pacific Northwest Food icon.  We'll also hear about smashburgers and what's around the bend for Burgerville.