Chocolate covered cacao bean from...Cacao!

There was a lot of competition on Saturday, July 10th when we decided to have a mid-day book event for Food Lover’s Guide to Portland at In Good Taste in the Pearl — everything from the Mississippi Ave. Street Fair to Bastille Day at Jamison Square Park to the NW 23rd Ave. Street Fair. Not to mention sunshine and summer which we hadn’t had a lot of until mid-July.

Although we still had relatively high hopes we weren’t surprised when only 30 or so folks dropped by for the event. We had a great time despite. Aubrey Lindley and Jesse Manis were there sampling out delicious chocolates from Cacao; Morgan Grundstein-Helvey brought all sorts of vegan sweet and savory pastries from Dovetail Bakery; Athena Pappas of Boedecker Cellars poured tastes of her Stewart Pinot Noir and Chardonnay; and Michele Knaus of Friends of Family Farmers gave out tastes of her homemade ice milk (made from Kookoolan Farms’ milk) blended with mascarpone topped with a strawberry honey balsamic glaze. (Michele also teaches fresh cheese classes at In Good Taste.)

So, basically if you weren’t among those 30 folks you sorely missed out. I’m sorry but it’s true. It was fun, it was delicious and so nice to hear all of these Portland food folks talk about their very special businesses and organizations — ones that I happen to love immensely. Here’s what you missed…

Cacao sampled this incredible hazelnut cream and whole hazelnut chocolate bar. I've thought about it several times since. I want one NOW!

Dovetail Bakery's awesome sweets and savories...

Morgan Grundstein-Helvey of Dovetail Bakery sampling her pastries.

Athena Pappas of Boedecker Cellar sampling her delicious Stewart pinot noir and chardonnay.

Michele Knaus of Friends of Family Farmers with her perfect for a hot summer day homemade ice milk with strawberry balsamic glaze.

Where it all went down.

Thank you Barbara and all the staff at In Good Taste who made this event happen!

In Good Taste
231 NW 11th Ave.
503.248.2015
www.ingoodtastestore.com
Mon.-Sat. 10am-6pm; Sun. 11am-6pm