Well we don't really know where to start, so lets just jump into things shall we? This past weekend we went to a restaurant called, Imbibe in Southeast Portland. I (Wendy) was totally jazzed to go because I tend to love going to places like this. Portland has a great vibe to it if you will, that I love being part of. Lets have Richards thoughts now. Imbibe is a casual restaurant with a relaxed, Portland feel. You seat yourself and there are an array of tables and couches to choose from. Wendy and I enjoyed the whole experience, albeit there weren't many people there. I had a chicken sandwich with an array of toppings: guacamole, bacon, cheese and grease (mmm). It was actually pretty good, accompanied with a Moose Druel, a beer from Montana. I (Wendy) had an amazing ricotta, spinach, basil, asparagus ravioli concoction. Two humongous raviolis that had been put under the broiler until it was perfectly cooked. I also enjoyed a fabulous Bellini with peach puree, schnapps, and champagne. The best part was that it only cost us $7 including tip since we had a gift certificate from a generous friend! Though we have different views on Portland we can both agree that it was fantastic night filled with yummy food! Their website is http://www.takeitin.com/. Make sure to check it out!
I've always had a weakness for Mexican food and no meal would be complete without those creamy refried beans. You could give me a pot of the stuff with some fresh tortilla chips for dipping and I could pass on the rest of the meal! If your familiar with bean cookery, refried beans just require one easy step after they are cooked soft: mash and add some butter and salt. If you've never tried your hand at dry beans the whole process is very simple and can be a base for a million other dishes (homemade BBQ baked beans for instance, but that's another day). Despite making these a few times and enjoying them far more than anything out of a can I never could make them right. Something was missing that the restaurants were hiding from me. I still yearned for that savory, creamy taste that I couldn't put a finger on. After trying to add more liquid, more butter, more salt, nothing tasted quite the same. The answer? Your not going to like it.....it's bacon drippings (or lard...
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