Chef Crush

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!

Well Crushers and Crushettes, your Crush Girls have been ridiculously busy so far this year. CG2 is busting her cute butt in the kitchen of one of Portland’s top restaurants, and CG1 is immersed in her current performance project. However, we’ve been hankering to try the new places that have popped up recently and of course visiting our old favorites, so many crushes loom on the horizon. In other news…

CG1 will be on tour in Canada in July/August and is looking for Chef Crush recommendations in Winnipeg, Calgary, and Edmonton. If you know of any kitchen cuties in those cities making delicious vittles, please email CrushGirl1 with your suggestions so she doesn’t have to live on Denny’s and fast food. She thanks you. Her stomach thanks you.

We recently got a copy of Fed Up, the newest Gourmet Girl Mystery from our friends the authors, Susan Conant and Jessica Conant-Park. Thanks for remembering us, ladies! We cannot recommend enough this fun, fast, foodie read. And best of all, recipes for the tantalizing dishes described in the book are included! Yum! You should definitely check out the whole series if you enjoy mystery novels and good food.

And speaking of good food, our favorite foodie event of the year, Share our Strength’s Taste of the Nation: Portland, is coming up April 27, 2009. This is an excellent opportunity to sample food from a bunch of Portland’s top restaurants while contributing to a worthy charity at the same time. Please check out the website and consider indulging for a good cause. We’ll definitely be there…It’s Chef Crush heaven! All those hotties and all those vittles in one place…Swoon!

We’re signing off for now, but don’t forget to tell us if you know a crush-worthy cook out there…

JAMIE & ALEX @ Biwa (503) 239-8830
215 SE 9th Avenue, Portland, Oregon, 97214

Why they’re dreamy:
Every darn thing on the menu. Yes, Biwa is one of our favorite chef crush destinations, due in no small part to these two cuties. Have we mentioned that CG1 has a thing for cooks in newsboy caps? And um, who doesn’t like a gorgeous, exotic girl who can master a grill like nobody’s business? They just keep us coming back with perfectly seasoned and succulent skewers, belly-warming ramen and udon, and their sassy kitchen repartee.

PATRICK, JACKSON, & CHRIS @ Olea (503) 274-0800
1338 NW Hoyt, Portland, Oregon, 97209

Why they’re dreamy:
Uber cutie Jackson has been on our radar for a while now, but all three of these crush-worthy cooks won our hearts recently with a meal left to their whims. The celeriac soup with fresh crab salad on a parmesan cheese crisp made us swoon, while the chicken tagine, not something we would normally ever order for ourselves, surprised with new flavor combinations in every bite- juicy, crispy-skinned chicken, sweet raisins, crunchy almonds, tangy capers…Topped off with a not-too-sweet date coffee cake with almond mascarpone, praline pecans, and caramel sauce, the meal was like the perfect prom date- comfortingly familiar but never boring, with more than a few tasty surprises tucked up its tux sleeves, errr, chef’s whites.

BEN & JASON @ Ned Ludd (503 288-6900
3925 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Portland, Oregon, 97212

Why they’re dreamy:
We fall hard for their tasty charcuterie and cheese plates, and don’t get us started on the black radish with butter and sea salt starter. The fromage blanc toast is a surprisingly sassy addition to the onion soup, and the sole with buttery leeks, escarole, and capers made us positively blush. What’s not to like about a place with adorable cooks feeding us such tantalizing tidbits?

BELTAINE, JB, and CULLEN @ Cava (503) 206-8615
5339 SE Foster Road, Portland, Oregon, 97206

Why they’re dreamy:
Semolina gnocchi with tomato sauce and red pepper Pecorino gives us the warm fuzzies, like the Italian nonna we never had. And of course we always swoon for the tasty steak frites. A sexy drink menu and the inviting, cozy interior make this a perfect destination for dates. That is, if you can tear your eyes off the cuties in the kitchen…

MARTHA @ Roux (503) 285-1200
1700 N. Killingsworth Street, Portland, Oregon, 97217

Why she’s dreamy:
Tasty, rib-sticking Sunday brunches with a Southern flair that you can actually eat without having to stand in line for an hour. She had us at “beignets” but the $25 four-course breakfast is a feast if your appetite allows. And of course there are the delicous dinners we’ve already crushed on. A talented woman in charge of the kitchen? Yummy.