Right At The Fork

We complete our 11th year with one of our favorite guests, Gary the Foodie.  Gary discusses some of his his favorite Portland food experiences of 2024, as well as some others outside the area, well, because it's Gary! Right at the Fork is supported by:  Zupan's Markets:   RingSide Steakhouse:    Portland Food Adventures: 

We look back at our converation with Don Bourassa in January 2024...    Don Bourassa was Right at the Fork's first guest ever in 2014. Back then, he was the Community Director for Yelp.  Now, he's moved to Porto, Portugal with his wife and among his many endeavors, he writes on substack:  International Adulting.  We talk to Don about what's transpired in the ten years since his first visit with us, including the process of deciding to move and the ins and outs of moving to another country.  Also, having traveled the world, his thoughts on Portland as a food city.  We also get a taste of Portugal, where, among other tasty morsels of info, his wife has created a community of Vegans.  Insta @thedonb   Right at the Fork is supported by: Zupan's Markets:  RingSide SteakHouse:   Portland Food Adventures: 

Joining us this week is Andrea Falaschi, fourth generation butcher from Macelleria Falaschi in San Miniato in the heart of Tuscany.  Andrea's family business is celebrating its 100th year in 2025.  Andrea takes us through his family history with some anecdotes about how the business started back in 1925 with his great Grandfather Guido emigrating from Argentina with no reading and writing skills to open San Miniato's first butcher shop. Moving through Fascism in Italy we hear about the discord between his grandfather Vasco and Vasco's brother Bruno, and you must hear the segment discussing Vasco's fear of the phone when that technology became commonplace!!  Also, Andrea talks about the influence women in the family had on the business.  Andrea, with interpretation assistance from his dear friend Astrid Ensign, who designs Portland Food Adventures trips to Italy, shares some of the challenges of the business, including the severe conditions in Italy through the pandemic.  He is a huge lover of cinema, and Andrea shares the joy he had visiting the Goonies house when visiting Oregon earlier this year, as well as some of his favorite experiences in Oregon.     How does this relate to Portland?  Well, here.  Two ways!:   Andrea will be the marquee guest at the Oregon Mailata in May of 2025, the Italian Festival of the Pig put on by renowned chef Portland chef Cathy Whims and her team.  , where you can see his exciting butchering demonstration, in addition to many other workshops, wine tasting, and a big celebratory meal put on by some of Portland's best chefs.   VISIT ANDREA IN TUSCANY!!  This!!  A very few select folks can book a trip to Tuscany in the Fall with RATF host Chris Angelus' Portland Food Adventures, and celebrate Macelleria Falaschi's 100th anniversary with Andrea and PFA's Astrid Ensign, former expat, and host Chris.  and contact Chris - contact into on the PFA website at the link to your left.   Right at the Fork is supported by:  Zupan's Markets:  RingSide SteakHouse:   Portland Food Adventures: 

We catch up with Carlo LaMagna of Magna Kusina and Magna Kaina in Denver.    Right at the Fork is supported by:  Zupan's Markets:  RingSide SteakHouse:   Portland Food Adventures: 

Chef Sam Smith has been a notable figure in the Portland culinary scene since he arrived in the city from the Bay Area. He is currently the chef at Yaowarat, Portland Monthly's 2023 Restaurant of the Year.  Sam talks about the experiences of traveling through Thailand with his team doing extensive research to develop the recipes for the restaurant, as well as why the team of Sam, Akkapong Earl Ninsom, Kyle Webster and Eric Nelson is such a powerhouse.    Smith has honed his skills through experiences at renowned establishments like Zahav in Philadelphia and Ava Gene's in Portland. He has a talent and great resume helping restaurants get off the ground, contributing to the success of ventures like Spirit of '77, Ava Gene's Tusk, Sweedeedee, and Yaowarat. He was also recognized as a 2018 Portland Rising Star by StarChefs. Sam also reveals his favorite Portland places. Photo credit:  Thom Hilton/Eater Portland Right at the Fork is supported by:  Zupan's Markets:  RingSide SteakHouse:   Portland Food Adventures: 

Join host Chris Angelus for a lively conversation with his cousin Jimmy Angelus, proprietor of San Francisco's Cole Valley Tavern and Bacon Bacon.    Jim's history, which he talks about here, includes accolades from Julia Child and Jacques Pepin, criticism from Martha Stewart, mentions on Saturday Night Live, a Chopped! appearance and a host of fun stories about the fun people in his family and circle of friends, some of whom with whom you may be familiar.  The most fun anecdote just may be his story of his Dad's fame as NYC's PAR-KING.  You have to hear that one.   Check out Jim's restaurants in SF and SFO as well as @colevalleytavern and @baconbaconsf.   Right at the Fork is supported by: Zupan's Markets:  RingSide SteakHouse:   Portland Food Adventures: 

  Sandra Tavares knows the people, places and things that make up a wonderful culinary and wine journey throughout Portugal.  Sandra started her career as a journalist and found herself covering a burgeoning food scene, to the point where she realized she would enjoy developing tours and experiences for people, and taking them to the best Portugal has to offer, rather than just writing about them.  Eventually she met her husband Vitor, and as things happened, eventually they landed in a beautiful vineyard and winery owned by Portugal's benchmark Kopke wines, where Vitor developed a restaurant to serve the local bounty that complemented the wine.  And his deep contacts in the industry in turn, became Sandra's as well.   Sandra is uniquely positioned to be the foremost authority on food and wine in Portugal.  To that end, she designed a wonderful itinerary that our podcast host Chris Angelus' Portland Food Adventures is offering in May of 2025, on which food and wine loving folks can travel with St. Jack chef Aaron Barnett to Porto, the beautiful Douro River Valley and Lisbon to take bites and sips of the varied histories and customs of the beautiful country.  The trip features two hotels and inns from the folks at Kopke as well as dining with solid Michelin-star chefs throughout the region, as well as some pub food curated by expat Don Bourassa, former Portland Yelp Community Director.   This podcast is a fun journey outside of our area, but with Portland connections to keep us grounded!   The Portland Food Adventures Portugal trip is here:     Sandra is here on Instagram:  @simply_b_sandra   Podcast with Don here, where he talks about moving to Portugal:     Right at the Fork is supported by: Zupan's Markets:  RingSide SteakHouse:   Portland Food Adventures: 

We are delighted to have Mary Cressler and Sean Martin on the podcast to talk about their venture, Vindulge.  We talk about how it came about and evolved, especially through the pandemic, when their business model had to change.    Vindulge is a wife and husband team who create delicious ways to enjoy cooking and entertaining outside with family and friends. Combined, they have two decades of experience in recipe development, entertaining, education, writing, and professional cooking.   Mary Cressler: Mary Cressler is a wine, food, and travel writer, executive editor of the award-winning blog Vindulge, and co-author of the critically acclaimed cookbook, Fire + Wine, and upcoming Fire + Wine: Backyard Pizza (publishing spring 2025). Mary writes about BBQ and wine on her website, Vindulge, which received an IACP nomination for Best Recipe-Based Blog in 2020 and 2017. Mary is a certified sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers, recipe developer, and food and wine writer with credits in Wine Enthusiast, Serious Eats, Weber Grills Online, Barbecue America Magazine, Big Green Egg, Oregon Wine Press, and many more, and is a frequent judge for wine competitions. Sean Martin: Sean Martin started with a career in property casualty insurance. He’d always enjoyed cooking and helped co-found Ember and Vine catering in 2014. After being awarded one of Oregon’s best wine country caterers in 2015, he continued to work with Mary on recipe development and ways to create approachable outdoor cooking recipes and helped co-author both books. Sean works with the culinary and beverage partners of Vindulge like Big Green Egg, Alfa Forni Pizza Ovens, and Federalist Wines.   They teach classes on wine, grilling, barbecue, and outdoor pizzas and are featured chefs at events throughout the country. They live on a small farm in Oregon wine country with their twin boys. You find explore hundreds of recipes at  and follow them at Vindulge at all their socials.   Right at the Fork is supported by: Zupan's Markets:  RingSide SteakHouse:   Portland Food Adventures: 

After experiencing the new Portland airport (PDX), we revisit our recent interview with Kurt Huffman of ChefStable who talks about the ins and outs of having multiple restaurants at PDX, from Grassa to Loyal Legion.  Chris and Cort express how this first impression visitors will have of Oregon and Portland is key to the area's growth.   And...   For the first time in the Right at the Fork's 10+ year history, Chris and Cort decide it's time to talk politics on the podcast, but from the perspective of travel and how the world not only looks at our country, but how history may repeat itself for generations that never experienced fascism.  Chris shares his travel experiences and how insightful he thought Rick Steves' recent episodes covering both facism taking hold in Europe and the importance of travel to open one's mind up to a larger picture.  Basically, while issues are important, democracy is at stake in this election and Rick Steves does a masterful job presenting a case for thoughtful voting.   While long, highly recommended programs to watch and share!!       and        Right at the Fork is supported by: Zupan's Markets:  RingSide SteakHouse:   Portland Food Adventures: 

Right at the Fork is supported by: Zupan's Markets: RingSide Steakhouse: Portland Food Adventures: With the news that Berlu Bakery is closing (to relocate), following the perminant closure of Berlue last November - we wanted to revisit our conversation with Vince Nguyen just after his James Beard Foundation award win (Best Chef NW).  Original post This week Portland had a big week at the James Beard Awards, and one of those big winners was Vince Nguyen of Berlu, taking home Best Chef NW/Pacific honors.  And speaking of honors, it's an honor to have Vince on the podcast for a second time, this time talking about his feelings going into, during and after winning his big award.  We will talk about his team, how he gets so much satisfaction from their growth, what this means for him professionally, as well as things like work/life balance and the labor situation in Portland. We will also hear some glimpses about how Vince would like to expand Berlu and what that would take. Enjoy this talk with Vince, who surely will endear himself to you and make you want to enjoy his talents at Berlu, if you haven't been already.  And make note of his Venmo handle.  It just may be a way to get a table!!  :-)  (That's said tongue in cheek)