Chef Crush

BRETT @ Caffe Mingo (503) 226-4646
807 NW 21st Avenue, Portland, Oregon, 97209

Why he’s dreamy:
Impeccable Italian fare. We never tire of singing this cutie’s praises- the place is comfy yet elegant, the service smooth and knowledgable, the food simply divine…You cannot go wrong with the house special penne with Chianti- and espresso-braised beef, or any of the pasta dishes really, but we go positively weak in the knees for the semolina gnocchi with salsa rosso. Save room for dessert- the chocolate budino (a kind of baked pudding) will send you stumbling into the street sublimely satisfied.

JASON @ Firehouse

Why he’s dreamy:
From the savory house-made lamb sausage and rotisserie chicken to crushably chewy-crusted Neapolitan pizzas, the boys at Firehouse really know how to make a girl swoon, and at scandalously reasonable prices. Plus, nearly every seat in the house has a view of at least one kitchen cutie…

~swoon~

Another Taste of the Nation event has come and gone, and we Crush Girls couldn’t be more enamored of our local cookin’ cuties. Aren’t we the luckiest diners? Here are some of our favorites from this year…

Gabriel @ Davis Street Tavern

duck breast with apricot chutney on brioche

Patricia @ La Calaca Comelona (A fave from last year!)

beef quesadillas

Ben @ Celilo

pork rillettes

Matthew and Eric @ Firehouse

rosemary lamb sausage

Dustin @ Wildwood

chilled asparagus soup with creme fraiche

John @ Pazzo (Who’s the cutie on the left?)

fig bellinis & smoked marlin-wrapped asparagus

Ian @ Fenouil

salmon tartare

Laurel @ Alberta Street Oyster Bar and Grill

tuna tartare

Jose Luis @ Andina

purple potatoes with shredded chicken and aji amarillo

And last, but certainly not least, our award for Taste of the Nation: Portland Chef Crush 2009 goes to…

Ray @ Nuestra Cocina

chicharron con salsa verde

We simply couldn’t stand it any longer. We’ve had the HUGEST chef crush on this culinary creatrix for ages now, but she’s a little camera shy. So finally we’ve decided to just post a photo of her fantastic food and be done with it…

JANIS @ Tanuki (503) 241-7667
413 NW 21st Avenue, Portland, Oregon, 97209

Why she’s dreamy:
Addictive Japanese “bar food” at startlingly reasonable prices. Fish so fresh, you expect it to flop over on your plate. Just look at this hamachi sashimi with true wasabi that she slyly presented in the shape of a lobster tail! We love a clever cook who can make us drool and smile. A recent uni onigiri blew our minds, and soup specials are not to be missed. The menu changes daily, so we recommend you decide on a dollar amount per person, sit back, and let her send out whatever the heck she feels like. Fair warning: this is food that begs for one sake after another, after another, after another…

ALEX @ Besaw’s (503) 228-2619
2301 NW Savier Street, Portland, Oregon, 97210

Why he’s dreamy:
The plate of bite-sized scones that appears on our breakfast table with coffee before we’ve even ordered is enough to make us adore this chipper chef crush. The scrambled eggs with brie, tomato, and scallions is a perfect savory start to the day, and you can’t go wrong with any of the sweet delights off the griddle. We love his morning morsels so much, we can’t seem to make lunch or dinner, but we’re willing to bet the evening crew is just as crushable…

excuse me everyone

i’m sorry. i know that google has said malware/badware is running through here.

i THINK i have it taken care of. cross your fingers.

however

i have to stop comments from being quite so freely made.

only registered members who are logged in will be able to comment. if you want to be a registered member, please write to:

crushgirl1 @ chefcrush . com

get rid of the gaps. i put them in because i’m anti-bot at the moment. i’ll try to get a “contact us” page put in soon. prove to the crush girl that you’re a person and not an evil bot, and i’m sure she will enter you as a member. then you’ll be able to comment.

if i unlinked from you, i apologize. let us know.
if i dropped a comment of yours incorrectly, i apologize.
and i really am sorry i had to delete members. just let us know and we’ll get you set up again.

i’m just trying to get the place clean and keep it that way.

sincerely,
uncrushed, hungry, anonymous tech person

MIKE @ The Country Cat (503) 408-1414
7937 SE Stark Street, Portland, Oregon, 97215

Why he’s dreamy:
We love the porktastic whole hog plate- rolled belly, brined chop, & smoked shoulder on South Carolina grits- it brings out the simpering Southern Belles in us. Criminally crispy, juicy fried chicken is either the perfect comfort food dinner or a great hangover-curing brunch. The pecan spoonbread that accompanies the bird for breakfast is truly addicting, kind of like the cuties in this open kitchen.

COLIN @ Por Que No? (503) 467-4149
3524 N. Mississippi Avenue, Portland, Oregon, 97227

Why he’s dreamy:
Tasty tacos on fresh, handmade tortillas in a variety of flavors. You can’t go wrong with any of the meat options, but our hearts beat fastest for the cornmeal-crusted snapper, juicy pollo asado, and tinga, shredded beef in a smoky chile sauce. The brunch-only chilaquiles are an excellent hangover cure (not that we would ever overindulge or anything) and plausible excuse for face time with this ultra-adorable cook.

KRIS and BEN @ Ping (503) 229-7464
102 NW 4th Avenue, Portland, Oregon, 97209

Why they’re dreamy:
Tasty skewers of various meats, fish, and veggies. We’re partial to the Vietnamese style short ribs, spicy Chiang Mai sausage, and house-made fish balls. The ramen is a (cheap!) huge bowl of slurptastic noodles, prawns, and bouncy pork. We’re not sure what bouncy pork is exactly, but we like it. And “carrot cake” is not a very apt description of the nonya dish, but once you taste it, it will grow on you like a bad drug addiction. Catch a counter seat and satisfy your cute cook cravings while you nosh on food you’d be hard-pressed to find elsewhere in town…

SUSIE @ Broder (503) 736-3333
2508 SE Clinton Street, Portland, Oregon, 97202

Why she’s dreamy:
Who else has ever made you crave Swedish food for breakfast? The tasty sampler bords, baked scrambles, and hash are all great ways to kick off your day, but it’s the adorable aebelskivers that inspire our affection. They’re like a donut and a pancake all in one…Crushtastic!