RATF Classic #301 Vitaly & Kimberly Paley - Paley's Place

It was only a few months ago that we originally released this episode featuring Kimberly and Vitaly Paley, talking about the closure of Paley's Place - but it doesn't get much bigger than the Paleys in the Portland food world.

From January 2022:

We're more than honored to have Vitaly and Kimberly Paley join us for the first interview of Right at the Fork's ninth year.  The Paleys opened Paley's Place in 1995 and after so much recognition in and outside of the restaurant industry, they went on to own and operate Imperial, Portland Penny Diner, Crown Pizza, Headwaters and Rosa Rosa.  With Beard nominations and wins, an Iron Chef victory, this duo didn't need to prove anything to anyone, except to do what was best by their employees and patrons--and now themselves.  As the pandemic reared its ugly head on those hotel-based restaurants, they were left to tune and hone Paley's Place during a very tough time.  This caused them to evaluate their lives, and we'll hear in this interview exactly how the decision to close the restaurant at the peak of their game came about.  We talk about the health of the restaurant industry, what the Paleys are doing and plan on doing with the time they never had, whether they have plans to move from Portland, and best of all, their recipes for long-lasting love.

Be sure to check out their original Right at the Fork interview here: #25 The Paleys

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com
RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com

RATF Classic: #167 Gabriel Rucker - Le Pigeon, Little Bird Bistro, Canard

With the news that Gabriel Rucker's Canard is opening a second location in Oregon City later this year, we felt it appropriate to bring back this classic episode, recorded just days after Gabriel had opened the first one.

From January 2018:

Gabriel Rucker left a busy lunch service at his newly opened Canard to talk to Chris and Cort about how life has changed for him since opening his third restaurant, while raising a family.

Hear about how he manages his time and what people should expect at Canard.

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com
RingSide SteakHouse: www.RingsideSteakHouse.com 
Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com

#311 Dell Ann Upp - Creative Culture

We use milkshakes to pivot to the founder of a new business in Portland, Creative Culture, which provides the space and resources for creative expression for families and individuals.  Dell Ann Upp started her concept in Kansas City, and then found herself in Portland through a new relationship and thought Portland would have an appetite for her unique business.  We talk about how she got started, what her vision is moving forward, and how her daughter is following in her entrepreneurial shoes with milkshake development and other ideas.  We also hear about Dell Ann's favorite restaurant discoveries since she's made Portland her home half the time.

Right at the Fork is supported by:

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

#310 Gabriella Martinez - Dame & @sweetcreaturepdx

@SweetCreaturepdx chef and Dame's pastry chef Gabriella Martinez joins us on the podcast to talk about how much she enjoys working with Patrick McKee at Dame and the ability to expand her creativity by collaborating and consulting with others.  It turns out that the inability to work outside her day job was one of the reasons she departed from Republica, where she had worked for a while after moving to Portland from Los Angeles and some high profile gigs there.  We will talk about how her Mexican background plays a part in her menu development at Dame as well as her work schedule and how she plans to balance work and life moving forward.

Right at the Fork is supported by:

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

#309 Brooke Jackson-Glidden - EaterPDX

Eater's Brooke Jackson Glidden returns as a guest on the podcast to talk about what restaurants and food carts are new and interesting to her, and what will be opening in Portland over the next few months.  We talk James Beard Foundation Awards and her potential influence on those.  Of interest to some listeners and some of her readers might be what fast food Brooke enjoys, about which she really doesn't get to write too much about.  (We doubt she's written about a McDonald's opening or an update to their app!).

Right at the Fork is supported by:

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

RATF Classic: #148 Lyf Gildersleeve - Flying Fish Company

We go back to January 2018, and our first conversation with Lyf Gildersleeve of Flying Fish Company.  You'll hear Lyf's origin story, plus some promotion the 2018 Shuck event.

Lyf Gildersleeve, son of an avid fisherman, picked up his love and knowledge of seafood at an early age.

We talk about how he started at markets in Idaho and built his Flying Fish business into one of the premier fishmongers in Oregon.

With the first annual Shuck Portland event coming in early February, Lyf educates us on the history of oysters in the Northwest and what needs to be done to move the industry towards sustainability.

Right at the Fork is supported by:

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

#308 Jonathan Jones - Epilogue Kitchen and Cocktails / 2022 James Beard Foundation Best Chef Northwest Nominee

Jonathan Jones of Salem's Epilogue Kitchen and Cocktails makes his first podcast appearance with us just after his recent 2022 James Beard Foundation Best Chef Northwest nomination. 

He asked us if we could focus on the positive, and for sure we did that, discussing what the nomination means to him, his paths from southeast Pennsylvania to Wisconsin and Vermont to Oregon to garner such an accolade, along with some of the people who helped inspire and instill in him what it took to be not only a great chef, but a responsible restaurant owner and active citizen. Jonathan espouses appreciation for all the places he's lived, and especially for those things that make him satisfied with his and his wife's choice to move to Oregon.

We do spend some time on his activism, partly manifested in encouraging reading with the library maintained at Epilogue, as well as the energy required to put forth to be an active person. We talk about what he has learned in promoting the interests of the underserved, and what changes he expects in the marathon of spreading understanding of the meaning and need for the Black Lives Matter movement .

We really enjoyed this talk and hope you supplement listening to this episode with a visit to Epilogue Kitchen and Cocktails in Salem to meet Chef Jonathan in person. @epiloguekitchen https://linktr.ee/Epiloguekitchen

Right at the Fork is supported by:

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

#307 Catching Up with Gary Okazaki

We catch up with Gary Okazaki, known to many as Gary the Foodie. Gary fills us in on what he's been up to in Portland now that he's not traveling as much.  We talk about the influence he's had on restaurants' success and noteriety.  We touch on his relationship the chefs he promotes on his Instagram.  Gary and Chris talk baseball and Blazers, too, in a short moment featuring Gary the Sports Guy. 

Right at the Fork is supported by:

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

#306 Todd and Tamra Perman - JAndy Oyster Company

We travel to the coast on this episode to talk about one of Chris' favorite new haunts, JAndy Oyster Company in Tillamook, with proprietors Tamra and Todd Perman.  Todd is a logger turned oyster farmer.  We talk about his journey from wanting to be a chef and his acceptance to the CIA, to logging and how he decided to head to the coast and Netarts Bay to farm some of the freshest oysters on the West Coast.  Todd and Tamra met in church, and her love of farming and Bay to Bar food stems from her childhood in Texas, growing up on a farm. We'll also touch on some of Todd and Tamra's favorite spots in the Tillamook area, for those looking for new suggestions, and great burgers.

Right at the Fork is supported by:

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

RATF Classic: #282 Katherine Benvenuti - Fills

We flash back this week to July of last year - and a conversation with Katherine Benvenuti of Fills.

Katherine Benvenuti, pastry chef and proprietor of Fills, joins us to talk about all the ups and downs she's experienced since opening Bar King six days before the pandemic.  That upheaval has led to her new venture, Fills Donuts, as well as being partner in the new Tasty restaurant.  We discuss donuts, tipping, work/life balance, sweet versus savory, how Lake Oswego compares to Portland, the challenging labor market and how best to navigate that from an operator's perspective, and more.

Right at the Fork is supported by:

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

#305 Lisa Schroeder - Mother's Bistro

Once again, Lisa Schroeder joins us to discuss the challenges she's had to navigate at home and at her restaurant, Mother's Bistro. Lisa invested her life savings and so much energy into her new, larger location prior to the pandemic. Now that business requires a lot more of everything from staff, to money and yes, customers. Lisa talks about all the challenges the last two years have presented, including financing to keep the business rolling (and how she procured grants to keep things going), staffing shortages and her take on today's industry work ethic and what it takes to work at Mother's. We also talk about the vandalism her restaurant has sustained, what the city might do to turn things around, and operating an establishment that surely relied on tourism... without tourism. Lisa also shares with us that she and her husband Rob have raised her grandchildren right through the pandemic WITH NO KITCHEN AT HOME!!! You couldn't write this.

We also hear from Lisa what some of her favorite spots are in Portland, and where she and Rob eat these days.

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com
RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com

#304 George and Lynette Hauptman - Canyon Outfitters

Special guests on this podcast include George and Lynette Hauptman, who have operated their Canyon Outfitters business out of Halfway, Oregon on the Snake River for 42 years. George and Lynette are arguably the most knowledgeable guides in the deepest gorge in North America. Their special hospitality includes serving excellent food trip after trip (over 1000 of them!) in some of the most spectacular surroundings to be found in Oregon. Our host Chris serendipitously met George and Lynette in 2020 while staying at their bed and breakfast in Halfway, and asked the Hauptmans if they'd like to host trips with Portland chefs on the river. For the second year now, Chris' Portland Food Adventures brings Chef Jonathan Gill of RingSide Steakhouse (podcast sponsor), and Lyf Gildersleeve (frequent podcast guest) of Flying Fish on the river for fun trips with interested adventurers.

We talk to George and Lynette about their long history together creating magical river trips: How they met, their eventual retirement, and some fun anecdotes and historical notes they've learned over their years guiding trips.

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com
RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com

#303 Garrett Peck - Rancher Butcher Chef

Garrett Peck joins us on the podcast to discuss his new life and business in Bend. We talk about how the decision came about to close all the restaurants he co-owned and managed in Portland: Imperial, Rosa Rosa, Headwaters, Crown, and how he and his wife Jonie decided to move to Sisters, Oregon to start new lives and businesses. Not long after landing there, Garrett connected with John and Renee Gorham to develop Rancher Butcher Chef, which will open in the Spring of 2022. Garrett speaks first-hand about how the turmoil in downtown Portland was impossible to navigate and have a viable business.

We also talk about Garrett's strong relationship with Vitaly and Kimberly Paley, having worked side by side with them for years in the Paley's empire.

Lastly, you'll get Garrett's hidden gems in Bend to visit to eat and drink. Listen to the end for that!!

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com
RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com

RATF Classic #202: Nate Tilden - Restaurateur

With news that Clyde Common has closed down, we go back to May of 2019 and this conversation with Nate Tilden.

ORIGINAL POST:

Hard to believe it took us 6 years to finally have Nate Tilden on the podcast (our fault, not his!). 

Nate has been working in the restaurant industry for well over 20 years, having started out as a dishwasher and then working his way up to chef.   He managed Castagna for a  few years, before opening up Clyde Common in 2007. In 2010, he opened the sports bar Spirit of 77 in the Rose Quarter.  He's also the co-owner of Olympia Provisions, Bar Casa Vale, Rushmore Baking and more. 

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com
RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com

#302 Patrick McKee - Dame

Dame's Chef Patrick McKee joins us on the podcast to discuss his storied career, including many thoughts about the closing of Paley's Place. Patrick worked for over 10 years with Vitaly and Kimberly Paley, and learned so much from them about what forms his base of knowledge and values to this day.

Patrick opens up about how he's maintained his sobriety through the challenges of Covid, but most importantly, the loss of his dear son Henry just after he started his pop-up Estes, before he folded that into the current iteration of Dame. Patrick also shares with us how much going to Italy this past year meant to him, with plans to continue seeking out and honing his culinary roots.

Tasia Bernie helps us introduce this episode. She's been a guest on our show and also happens to be Patrick's personal trainer. She's a well-seasoned Portland diner, curating chefsfeed, and considers Dame her favorite spot.

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com
RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com

#301 Vitaly & Kimberly Paley - Paley's Place

We're more than honored to have Vitaly and Kimberly Paley join us for the first interview of Right at the Fork's ninth year.  The Paleys opened Paley's Place in 1995 and after so much recognition in and outside of the restaurant industry, they went on to own and operate Imperial, Portland Penny Diner, Crown Pizza, Headwaters and Rosa Rosa.  With Beard nominations and wins, an Iron Chef victory, this duo didn't need to prove anything to anyone, except to do what was best by their employees and patrons--and now themselves.  As the pandemic reared its ugly head on those hotel-based restaurants, they were left to tune and hone Paley's Place during a very tough time.  This caused them to evaluate their lives, and we'll hear in this interview exactly how the decision to close the restaurant at the peak of their game came about.  We talk about the health of the restaurant industry, what the Paleys are doing and plan on doing with the time they never had, whether they have plans to move from Portland, and best of all, their recipes for long-lasting love.

Be sure to check out their original Right at the Fork interview here: #25 The Paleys

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com
RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com

#300 - Chris & Cort: A Look Back at the Last 8 Years

As Right at the Fork starts it's 9th year (wow!), Chris and Cort take a look back at some of their most memorable episodes from the past 8 years. 

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com
RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com

This episode includes portions of the following podcasts:

• #25 - The Paleys

• #54 - Tyler Malek

• #89 - Ken Forkish

• #118 - Kelly Cox

• #171 - Micah Camden

• #217 - Kristen Murray

• #228 - John Gorham (we said #226 in the episode)

• #276 - Michael Gibbons

#299 Chip MacGregor - MacGregor's Whiskey Bar

We get to know Chip MacGregor, co-proprietor of MacGregor's Whiskey Bar with locations on the coast in Manzanita and Cannon Beach. Chip and his wife Holly met by chance through their writing connections in the very building they now operate. We talk about the business of whiskey and how both locations seem a bit different, where Chip suggests people check out in Portland for great whiskey experiences, and even how to go to the Bourbon Trail with them for their first whiskey experience that goes deeper.

Here's the address to which you can send funds to help Lynn Kyriss recover from her car accident, follow this link:

https://www.macgregorswhiskeybar.com/

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com
RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com

UPDATED #298 Nico Vergara - Nico's Ice Cream

Since we shared Nico's story last week, a lot has changed for Nico and Nico's Ice Cream - after the cargo trailer Nico uses for his business was stolen.

You can help Nico raise funds to replace the trailer via a GoFundMe account here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-me-recover-costs-for-stolen-cargo-trailer

Original Post:

Nico Vergara grew up in Northeast Portland, and then set about exploring the world.  His adventures had him picking mangoes to survive in Columbia, in precarious situations with strangers without a dollar in his pocket, but the big eye opener was in New Zealand when he experienced a new kind of ice cream.  And now here he is, back in Northeast Portland, bringing that delight he discovered on the other side of the world to Portlanders.  We talk to Nico about his journeys that led up to his ice cream shop and cart, and what he's experienced since opening.

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com
RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com

#297 Jeff Ridabock: Announces he's Closing and Selling Home Grown Smoker

Jeff Ridabock is 64 and he's had enough.  We talk about what went into the decision to close his fabled Home Grown Smoker Vegan BBQ restaurant, and what he hopes to do in life going forward.  Jeff fills us in on the ideal relationship with a buyer for the restaurant.  Make sure to listen to Jeff in our previous interviews, Right at the Fork Episodes 12 and 280.

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com
RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com