#353 Vince Nguyen - Berlu, JBF Best Chef Northwest/Pacific 2023

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)

Right at the Fork is supported by:

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

RATF Classic: #338 Joel Gunderson - Heavenly Creatures and Coopers Hall

This episode was originally release in January 2023.

Joel Gunderson comes by RATF to talk about his second venture with Chef Aaron Barnett, Heavenly Creatures. Joel talks how the pandemic has reshaped hospitality, and also resets  Portland back to something that resembles the spirit of 2010, when he and Barnett opened Restaurant St. Jack. Joel reminisces about meeting Aaron while partying and how Aaron encouraged him to familiarize himself with wine so they could open a restaurant together in Portland. Joel has since uncorked wine programs at 11 restaurants in Portland, shaping a storied career that's got many tasty years ahead of him. 

Right at the Fork is supported by:

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

#352 Lindsay Goodrich - Proud Mary Coffee

Lindsay Goodrich has been on quite a journey since he joined the Proud Mary team in Melbourne years ago.   He followed PM Owner Nolan Hirte to Portland to bring a very unique Melbourne cafe / coffee experience to the USA, and navigate a new territory, finding success and lines out the door in due time.  Once established, this thing called the pandmemic hit, which coincided with plans for Proud Mary to expand to Austin, TX.  Lindsay helped build that and then settled into life in Boise, Idaho with his new bride, from where he oversees operations at PM's American locations.  

We talk about how to have the best experiences at the cafes, the differences between Melbourne, Portland and Austin, and what the plans for further expansion might or might not be. 

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com
Oregon Dungeness Crab: www.OregonDungeness.org 
RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com
Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com 

#351 Neil Thompson - Skywater Fine Wines and Skywater Tea House, Hillsboro

Coming up on the one year mark since opening Skywater Fine Wines, Neil Thompson joins us to talk about that adventure which started with the extreme challenges of running his Park Avenue Fine Wines in downtown Portland, before finally hanging up the towel there and moving west to brighter pastures. 

He and his husband Hans opened two businesses between them, including Skywater Tea House a few months after the wine shop opened, to the delight of many local folks in Hillsboro that appreciated their businesses in their neighborhood.  Neil tells us about the evolution of both businesses, what they've learned, and what's working as a base for their exciting expansion plans. 

For more background on Neil and Hans personally, you may want to click on this link from November of 2021  http://rightatthefork.com/shows/2021/11/11/294-neil-thompson-park-avenue-fine-wines?rq=thompson

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com
Oregon Dungeness Crab: www.OregonDungeness.org 
RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com
Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com 

#350 Chris Schultz - CEO, Voodoo Doughnut

Chris Schultz, CEO of Portland's iconic brand Voodoo Doughnut, joined the company in 2017 to bring his 30+ years experience in the restaurant industry to the company. Prior to taking over the leadership of Voodoo, he helped Mod Pizza expand nationwide and before that, worked at Starbucks during its rapid expansion.  Since coming aboard, he's helped Voodoo expand into new markets and weather a pandemic.  We talk about bringing Voodoo and its Portland ethos to new markets, what the criteria is, and how it's been accepted.  Chris drops hints at new locations and also announces a new paintjob for their flagship store, taking place as we spoke.

We get to know a bit about Chris, too.  Where he eats in Portland, what he thinks of Blue Star, as well as his love of the Pacific Northwest after transplanting here from Southern California 20 years ago.

We interviewed co-founder Tres Shannon just before he brought Chris on to run the company in 2016.  One of our favorite episodes:  https://rightatthefork.libsyn.com/85-tres-shannon-voodoo-doughnut

https://www.voodoodoughnut.com/

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com
Oregon Dungeness Crab: www.OregonDungeness.org 
RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com
Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com 

RATF Classic #339: Lisa Schroeder - Mother's Bistro and 2023 Restaurant Challenges

With the news that Lisa Schroeder was named the Oregon Small Business Person of the Year for 2023, we felt it necessary to bring back our conversation with Lisa from January of this year.

Chef Lisa Schroeder of Mother's Bistro has had a very challenging few years.  The most recent upset was when her bank wouldn't honor refunding the money on checks written to her bank account number under someone else's name, simply because she didn't report the problem soon enough.  This comes on the heels of a tumultuous few years after 23 years in business  In 2018, she went through the process of moving Mother's to its new location not long before the pandemic hit.  Her location, in the middle of downtown where meth use is prolific, isn't the only challenge. She's required in her lease to be open 7 days a week, since her restaurant serves the hotel in the same building.  Lisa talks to us about the outlook for her business in the face of rising costs and new Portland dining and working patterns as well as restaurants as a whole, wherever they may be.

Lisa is one of Portland's most outspoken restaurant owners, and she's always a great interview.

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com
Oregon Dungeness Crab: www.OregonDungeness.org 
RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com
Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com 

#349 Rodrigo Baena - Favela Brazilian Café

You can't deny positivity that comes from talking to Rodrigo Baena, co-owner and founder of Favela Brazilian Café in Southeast Portland. Rodrigo opened Favela with his wife, Dunya De Souza, in 2019 as a place not just for Brazilian immigrants to gather and celebrate the country's culture, but for everyone and anyone in the community to come together.

Since opening, Rodrigo and Dunya have opened a second location on Belmont, as well as a food truck.

Hear about Rodrigo's journey from Brazil, to England, Italy and India and eventually Portland, and what he utlimatly wants Favela to be in the community.  Plus, where does Rodrigo like to eat when not at Favela. 

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com
Oregon Dungeness Crab: www.OregonDungeness.org 
RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com
Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com 

RATF Classic: #321 Bryan Deckert - Country Cat at PDX

With news of new restaurants coming to PDX in the next two years, we return to our conversation with Bryan Deckert from one of our favorite places to eat when flying from Portland. The interview comes from August of 2022.

Bryan Deckert has been running the busy Country Cat restaurant at PDX since it first opened its doors.  Along the way it's garnered BEST AIRPORT RESTAURANT honors twice, and is a model for the many new local brands making airport experiences better. 

Bryan talks to us about what goes into running such a busy, quirky operation with different hours and structures, especially through the pandemic.   We also touch on Bryan's earlier days at Pazzo, where he was in charge of making dignitaries, like Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley, happy.

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Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com
Oregon Dungeness Crab: www.OregonDungeness.org 
RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com
Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com 

#348 Adam Evans - Why the Customer is NOT Always Right

Adam Evans recently embarked on a writing career with his first book. "Why The Customer is NOT Always Right" takes a different perspective on dealing with bad customers from his experience of more than 20 years in the hospitality industry as an owner and operator in Florida. He uses his unparalleled access to his group of over 30K quality hospitality employees across Florida to provide staff for all occasions.  He's had lots of experience with all sorts of employees and customers. 

Check out Adam's book on Amazon here.

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com
Oregon Dungeness Crab: www.OregonDungeness.org 
RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com
Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com 

#347 Gary the Foodie - Best Cheap Meals in Portland

Gary Okazaki, our most prolific and worldly guest, joins Chris to discuss his recent lists of best cheap dishes in Portland.  You'll definitely hear about some places that will be new to you!  As part of this discussion, we talk about the increasingly expensive cost of entry to eat out these days, and yes, you guessed it, TIPPING!  The topic has been in the national news lately, and while we don't solve anything, Chris was glad to know he's not alone in his personal frustration with encountering tip lines to get a donut.  He's not cheap (full disclosure: he's writing this)--he offers a solution.

Gary also reels off his top 5 pizza spots in PDX.  Not really any surprises there, but most importantly, we think, is that the landmarks still hold up after so many new places have opened over the past 7 or 8 years.

Gary is always a fun conversation and can be found at @GarytheFoodie on Instagram.

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com
Oregon Dungeness Crab: www.OregonDungeness.org 
RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com
Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com 

#346 ​​Dina Ávila​​ - Photographer

Dina Avila, one of Portland's most prolific photographers in the food industry, joins Chris to talk about her craft and her life. 

We talk about her childhood food influences, how misery in Hawaii caused her to move to Portland and take a job at Whole Foods, and how she forayed into full time work as a photographer.  We'll hear what she's reading these days, how the pandemic caused her to rethink her priorities, and where she may be in a few years. 

dinaavila.com @dinaravila 

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com
Oregon Dungeness Crab: www.OregonDungeness.org 
RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com
Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com 

RATF Classic #313: Bill Oakley - Steamed Ham Society

We flash back to May of 2022 for the Classic episode with Bill Oakley.

Bill Oakley is a television writer and producer, maybe best known known for writing for the Simpson's (where he was also the co-show-runner), as well Portlandia and much, much more. For the past 13 years, he has also called Portland home.

In this episode, we talk about him growing up in Maryland, his time at Harvard, working in Hollywood and of course what brought him to Portland.

We also dive into his latest venture, the Steamed Ham Society & Food Discovery Club, which you can learn more about (and sign up for!) here:

https://www.patreon.com/steamedhamssociety

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com
Oregon Dungeness Crab: www.OregonDungeness.org 
RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com
Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com 

#345 - Chris Angelus' Northern and Central Oregon Coastal Food Suggestions

Our host Chris Angelus takes us on a culinary journey from Astoria to Yachats with his favorite spots to eat, along with a couple of other places to see and go. Chris has over 10 years of experiences to share with listeners.  If you're heading the the northernmost 180 miles of Oregon Coast, this episode is a must! 

Places we cover in this episode include:

• Astoria (14:30)

• Cannon Beach (25:30)

• Manzanitta (30:20

• Nehalem/Wheeler (35:45)

• Rockaway Beach (42:20)

• Garibaldi (43:20)

• Tillamook (47:30)

• Newport (53:10)

• Yachats (59:40)

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com
Oregon Dungeness Crab: www.OregonDungeness.org 
RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com
Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com 

#344 Ben Edmunds - Brewmaster @ Breakside Brewery

We speak with Ben Edmunds - Brewmaster at Breakside Brewery in Portland - where he oversees the company's production brewery and two pub breweries.

We talk about his background, growing up in the mid-west, to what ultimately inspired him to change careers as a high school teacher and go into brewing.   Under Ben's guidance, Breakside has won many medals at national and international competitions - including 8 World Beer Cup Awards.

Hear the behind the scenes decision making moments that have made Breakside what it is today - including the introduction of a new year-round witbier. Plus - where does Ben eat and drink when he's not at Breakside.

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com
Oregon Dungeness Crab: www.OregonDungeness.org 
RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com
Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com 

#343 Where are They Now? Nick Zukin - Barbacoa Research

Our second guest ever, and return guest, joins us again for our Where Are They Now? series.  The former owner of Mi Mero Mole, Zapapizza, Kenny and Zuke's, as well as the curator of one of the original Portland food blogs, joins us to talk about his in depth research into regional Barbacoa in Mexico and the families who have the passion for it, on his way to publishing a book down the road.

Nick also expresses what his motivations would be to give another restaurant a go.  We will hear about some of his favorite Portland area Mexican spots, too. 

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com
Oregon Dungeness Crab: www.OregonDungeness.org 
RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com
Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com 

RATF Classic: #295 Anthony Cafiero - Meta Pizza

We're back with a classic episode of Right at the Fork, from November 2021, featuring Anthony Cafiero of Meta Pizza, when we were still trying to figure out the best way to do a podcast from our homes.  

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com
Oregon Dungeness Crab: www.OregonDungeness.org 
RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com
Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com 

It's always a great conversation with Anthony Cafiero, who has a diverse background cooking in Portland. From his early days before Nostrana, to his Tabla Bistro tenure, to Racion, to vegan ice cream and a number of pizza gigs, Chef Anthony recently opened his own place, Meta Pizza in Portland's Brooklyn neighborhood. We talk about that cooking history, what he's learned, and how Meta Pizza came about after his job shifted in Micah Camden's organization during the pandemic.

Find Anthony at @metapizzapdx and make sure to visit metapizzapdx.com to order.

#342 Cory Carman - Carman Ranch

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com
Oregon Dungeness Crab: www.OregonDungeness.org 
RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com
Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com 

It’s been 20 years since Carman returned to her 90-year-old family ranch, transforming the land and business with regenerative practices. Inspiring her collective of nine independent farms and ranches across the Pacific Northwest, Carman Ranch have now been practicing them for decades. As a result of their efforts, the company is now the first to carry the Regenified™ seal on its grass-fed, grass-finished beef as a result of their ecological practices.

We discuss some of the challenges and joys of her career, as well as life in Wallowa County. 

#341 Tim Novotny - Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission

We celebrate the opening of Oregon Dungeness Crab season with a visit with the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission's Executive Director, Tim Novotny.  We will talk about what makes dungeness crab so beloved, what some of the challenges are for commercial crab fishermen, good years, bad years, some of Tim's favorite crab dishes and more.

About Tim: Tim Novotny joined the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission in 2017 as communications manager, with a master’s degree in public relations and more than two decades of experience in journalism and marketing. He has lived in Coos Bay since 1999 and became news director of KCBY-TV in2000, later writing for The World Newspaper in Coos Bay from 2012 through 2015, often reporting on the commercial fishing industry throughout his journalistic career.

Prior to his arrival in Oregon, Tim worked as news director of KKVI-TV in Twin Falls, Idaho, and later was an assistant news producer at WMTV in Madison, Wisconsin. Born and raised in Joliet, Illinois, he later headed west and got his degree from Boise State University.

In December, he became just the third executive director for the commission since 1990 - following Nick Furman (1990-2012), and the recently retired Hugh Link (2012-2022).

He is also a long-suffering Chicago sports fan, happy to reminisce anytime about the glory days of Ditka, Payton, and Jordan.

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com
Oregon Dungeness Crab: www.OregonDungeness.org 
RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com
Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com 

#340 Where are They Now? Eric Finley - The Buttered Biscuit, formerly of Chop Portland

We catch up with Eric Finley again in the second of our Where Are They Now series. Eric owned Chop Butchery during his Portland years, which ended in 2018.  Eric was previously featured on our podcast in 2014, episode #18.  Eric talks about his reasons for leaving Portland and the journey that landed him and his family in Bentonville, Arkansas.  We also talk about what saved his life, his sobriety, along with what he misses in Portland, and what he doesn't.  We foray into a frank conversation about the food industry, and how it has changed for the worse and for the better.

We really enjoyed talking with Eric, and surely wish to have him on again to share his stories and viewpoints with us again.

Right at the Fork is supported by:

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com
Oregon Dungeness Crab: www.OregonDungeness.org 
RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com
Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com 

RATF Classic: #308 Jonathan Jones - Epilogue Kitchen and Cocktails / 2023 James Beard Foundation Best Chef Northwest Nominee

Upon his Beard nomination for Best Chef NW last year, we were honored to have Jonathan Jones on our podcast. Now that the second JBF nom has come his way, and after moving his Salem restaurant's location, we thought it would be worthwhile to revisit our interview with Chef Jones from March of 2022.

Original Post:

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.

Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com
Oregon Dungeness Crab: www.OregonDungeness.org 
RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com
Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com