The Impatient Chef Can’t Sit Still at China Gorge, Hood River, Oregon

The Impatient Chef Goes Vegan (for a meal)

The Impatient Chef stopped in at China Gorge in Hood River, Oregon for the first time in a few years.  He and the Spousal Unit used to live in that pithy, happening burg astride the Mighty Columbia River, but unfortunately had to move away in 2019.  It was nice to be back in town.  

China Gorge has a good reputation locally.  The Impatient Chef has often seen its parking lots swelled to capacity, and stopped in when the line was less daunting.  

The order: 

The Impatient Chef ordered the Hot and sour soup, and the Kung Pao Tempeh.  

The Spousal Unit ordered the Hot and Sour Soup, Imperial Chicken.

The soup:  Spicy and teeming with umami, with Tofu, peppers, pork strips, egg drop, mushrooms, and a thick broth.  The flavors work together, and do not crowd each other out.  This is a stand-out soup.  

Kung Pao Tempeh

Kung Pao Tempeh:  Featuring peanuts, tempeh, zucchini, celery, and fried rice.  It looks like rice tempeh. The Impatient Chef sometimes gets tempeh or tofu when he’s feeling mortal, and needs to line his aorta with a little less fatty deposits.  Tempeh is a cultured cake, usually of soy, but sometimes of rice, that has vitamins like B12 that you can't find in other vegan foods.  

Tempeh is difficult to flavor.  It normally sits like a dull thud on the taste buds without extreme measures.  It would seem a travesty to visit a restaurant with a loyal, local following, and review a tempeh dish instead of chicken or shrimp, but The Impatient Chef can report that they made a valiant effort.  The sauce was spicy and stuck to the ingredients nicely.  A little soy sauce was all it needed.  

The Spousal Unit said that her chicken was uninspired.  The Impatient Chef has apparently spoiled her, but isn’t that what Impatient Chefs are all about?  

All in all, it was a good meal.  China Gorge is solid, American style Chinese food.  It is not adventurous, or even inspired, except for the soup.  Go elsewhere for that.  However, we got a meal for two with food to take home for under $40.00 including tip.

“Can’t Sit Still” is a series of road food reviews based on a single visit.

Thanks for reading!

—The Impatient Chef

The Impatient Chef Can't Sit Still at Tokyo-Ya in Portland

The Impatient Chef Can't Sit Still at Tokyo-Ya in Portland

The Impatient Chef Noodling About

    Having watched food shows over the last ten years like Chef’s Table, Ugly Delicious (with David Chang), and anything starring Anthony Bourdain, The Impatient Chef has become infatuated with the idea of ramen. In the hinter years before ramen culture swept the US, it consisted of dried noodles and a flavor packet in a plastic wrapper.  Realizing that there was more to the oodley noodles than previously suspected, The impatient Chef thereby endeavored to make a higher form of ramen, starting with homemade dashi, various veggies, a hard-boiled egg or two, and very thin noodles.  Oddly enough, a breakfast tradition was born from these fishy beginnings.  Even more recently, The Impatient Chef decided to try some ramen restaurants. Tokyo-Ya was the second one: A fact that will come into play later.   
    The Impatient Chef and wife stopped for lunch at Tokyo-Ya on SE 82nd Ave in Portland on a fine (for ducks), drizzly afternoon in the wee hours of March, 2024.  The atmosphere inside, and out of the rain, is strip mall, but not of the squalid sort.  It was, frankly, fitting. The aforementioned ramen culture in Japan relies heavily on smallish slot spaces like the one this one occupies.  There is plenty of wood, hanging lights, and Japanese stylings.  An odd, Asian-inspired version of The Mamas and the papas' song “California Dreamin’” played on the sound system. It was not unpleasant. The follow up song was “San Francisco”, originally by Scott McKenzie, done in the same style by the same artist as the previous song. It was not not unpleasant (double negative intended). The drum beat was exactly the same for both songs.
    Enough about the music.
    My wife ordered gyoza appetizer, and a side salad.  The Impatient Chef ordered the Miso Ramen. We asked for all of it to arrive at the same time. The gyoza arrived a full ten minutes before the ramen. 

The Gyoza

The Salad

    The pork and chicken gyoza arrived browned on one side, oozed umami, and came with a teriyaki-like sauce on the side.  

    The beautifully arranged salad adorned a triangular plate, and was swaddled in a flavorful, but slightly sweet, dressing.
    Then the ramen arrived amid high expectations, unfortunately after my wife had mostly finished her meal.  
    The first ramen restaurant we visited was Kenji’s Ramen and Grill in Vancouver, Washington. The Impatient Chef mentions this because it set the bar very high. Their ramen came with marinated eggs, spicy kimchi, and some spectacular pork belly.  The flavors were bold and extroverted.  There may have been angels singing in the distance.  The rating system for ramen will be known as the "Kenji Scale", as they are a ten.

The Ramen

    The expectations did not survive the comparison with Kenji’s. Don’t get me wrong:  The Ramen was good. It was not, however, sublime. According to the menu, the broth is cooked for 12 hours - it has lots of umami, a little taste of sesame oil, and good miso flavor without being too sweet. The pork belly was sliced like bacon, and it tasted good, but it lacked a unique spin that a more adventurous establishment would deliver.  If the eggs were marinated, it was not for very long.  
    The portion was big enough for two people, so part of it went home.  
    Overall, it was a good meal. The Impatient Chef rates it a 7 on the Kenji scale.  You can certainly do worse. You can, however, do better.  

    Thanks for reading!

    The Impatient Chef

The Impatient Chef Can't Sit Still at the Rogue Pier 39 Public House

The Impatient Chef Can't Sit Still

at

The Rogue Pier 39 Public House in Astoria, Oregon

The latest installment in The Impatient Chef Can’t Sit Still finds him visiting Rogue Pier 39 Public House in Astoria, Oregon. Astoria occupies a unique patch of land astride the Mighty Columbia River near where it slams into the Pacific Ocean. As such, Astoria has a rich history of fishing, canning, navigation, and shipwrecks, all of which its restaurants reflect.

The Impatient Chef’s alter ego, Gary Quay Photography, made the trek to the Astoria, Oregon in February 2024 in search of fluffy clouds and bridges. By all reports, he was not disappointed. 

Courtesy Apple Maps

Out of necessity, Astoria has changed focus over the years. The canneries have long been shuttered, but a few piers remain that now sport restaurants, museums and, hotels, Among them is Pier 39, where Rogue is housed. According to the pier’s website. it is “Astoria’s largest and oldest waterfront building, boasting 84,800 square feet features the Fisherman’s Suites, a 4 Suite luxury mini retreat that when combined is more than enough room to sleep 24 people, each with spectacular views above the Columbia River. The Captain Suite, the largest of the three has a Jacuzzi tub, a gas fireplace, full kitchen, dining room, and living room with beautiful Asian mahogany hardwood floor and restored original fir beams.”

The river at the pier looks placid, with container ships anchored in the main stream, or on their way to Portland and points yonder, or heading back to the ocean. At 6 miles across near this point, it seems hard to believe that it is, indeed, a river, but it very much is. Just ask the boats on the bottom. 

Four Tall(ish) Ships a-Sailing

The Impatient Chef has been well aware of Rogue Brewing from the Before Times, AKA “when he lived in Portland”. Their beers have always been well-crafted, and bold. Their seasonal ales like 7 (with 7 types of hops) and Dead Guy Imperial IPA are always a treat. The Impatient Chef was sad to find out recently that 7 would not be produced again, but that’s the way the cookie bounces.

You can find Rogue Public Houses in Portland and on the Oregon Coast. The food is usually very good. It is pub food, as their name suggests, and in keeping with The Impatient Chef’s aversion to food served with tweezers, that’s just fine. When there is fish and chips on the menu, and if the restaurant does not seem like the kind that serves directly from the food services truck, it is very hard to pass them up. The Spousal Unit had the Prawns and Chips. 

Wot We Got

Rogue serves a choice of rock fish or salmon fish and chips.  Rock fish can take a hike when Salmon is on the menu.  

On this outing, The Impatient Chef opted to substitute clam chowder for the fries, but from past visits the fries are just fine. 

The chowder tasted good, but had an oddly herbal flavor, possibly using thyme, that was not necessarily a bad thing, but took away from what should have been the focal point, namely the clams. 

Da Zoop!

The salmon was yummy. 

Inside

It was perfectly done, and flavorful. The only downside was the breading, which was not crispy. It did, however, manage to adhere to the fish throughout the meal. The tartar sauce was runnier than The Impatient Chef is used to, but the flavor was good.

The photo trip concluded with some pictures of the Lightship Columbia, and of the container ships on the river. It was a good day. 

The Lightship Columbia

Thanks for reading.

The Impatient Chef.

 The Impatient Chef Can't Sit Still

Volume 1: Introduction and Sushi

     The Impatient Chef will be embarking on a new effort to track all of the places he eats as part of a new series called The Impatient Chef Can't Sit Still.  As readers know, The Impatient Chef not only speaks about himself in the third person, he is also very impatient.  This leads to an industrial strength case of wanderlust that knows few bounds, other than trips that test his patience behind the steering wheel.  He has been known to get wanterlust while wandering.  The wonder of it all.  So, ADHD is the tall ship, and restaurants are the star to sail her by.  

     The Impatient Chef is a fan of not cooking at home, except for when he is cooking at home.  While out on photography trips, when visiting relatives, or just running errands, local restaurants are perfect places to explore what any given location has to offer.  When going to any new town, city, berg, hamlet, hole in the ground, or unincorporated wilderness, The Impatient Chef always inquires of the locals where are the best places to eat.  The target is normal people food.  If it is plated with tweasers, or comes with a 2" plate worth of food arranged on a 12" plate, forget it.  This method has served well, and while there have been a few duds over the years, they have been few and far in between.  

     These will not be full restaurant reviews.  They will be snapshots of a place and its food as experienced on one visit.  

     The first installment is Sushi Hada at 3808 N Williams Ave in Portland, Oregon. The Impatient Chef was heading home after visiting Blue Moon Camera in Portland's St Johns neighborhood for his other alter ego: Gary Quay Photography.

The Soy Must Flow

     Nestled in a row of shops and restaurants that include Thai BBQ, a southern cuisine oyster bar, and a middle eastern place, Sushi Hada is one of those wonderful converyer belt sushi joints. You eat while the plates breeze past. No rush. No pressure. Anything you don't like is your fault.  

     You can even order off of the menu if inspired to do so.  

Breezin' Past

     Sushi Hada serves the usual sushi rolls, nigiri, and seaweed salad that any self-respecting sushi joint has. The prices are not too high, and the flavor is above average.  It was not knock-your-socks-off delicious, but it was satisfying.  

 

     The Impatient Chef is fully partial to Nigiri, specifically with shrimp, salmon, or Tuna on it.  Throw on a small slice of pickled ginger, and a dab of wasabi, then dip briefly in the soy sauce, and enjoy.  

Salmon and White Tuna Nigiri

     Portland is still a great food town, even after all the upheaval of the past few years.  If you are in the area, stop in at a locally owned restaurant like Sushi Hada.  Forget the corporate holes with their reliance on an overabundance of salt, fat and sugar to trick you into thinking the food is good. Eat local wherever you go.  

Thanks for reading!

The Impatient Chef.  

The Impatient Chef Fish and Chips Review: The Bowpicker, Astoria, Oregon

 The Bowpicker

The Impatient Chef is Spotted at The Bowpicker in 2020

The Impatient Chef is not above flogging a good thing to death and beyond, and as such brings you another installment in the Quest for the Best Fish and Chips (in the Pacific Northwest).  Always on the lookout for another place that locals recommend, The Bowpicker proved to be less than expected at first glance, and much more than expected at first mouthful.  I would tell you, dear reader, that I once saw a pair of teenage girls chase the Mightly Godzilla back into the Pacific Ocean when the creature had the temerity to attempt to steal some from them, but that would be an exaggeration.  

The Bowpicker is a food cart in Astoria, Oregon that sells one thing: Fish and Chips. This, as readers of this blog will attest, is right up The Impatient Chef’s alley. Food carts have become a big thing in the Pacific Northwest, offering good food at lower prices, and giving customers the opportunity to wait in line outside in Oregon’s fabled “good weather for ducks, but little else.” Some of The Impatient Chef’s favorite carts are:

• La Vaquita - Mosier, Oregon 
• The Gyro King - Wood Village, Oregon 
• Kasoy and Company - Gresham, Oregon 
• Sammy’s Smashburger - Fairview, Oregon 
• and, of course, The Bowpicker - Astoria, Oregon 

Known for lines stretching stretching to the end of the block, The Bowpicker sells tuna fish and chips from a converted boat on a trailer at the other end of the block. Those lines have led The Impatient Chef to find places that require less patience, one such instance led to the the happy discovery of the South Bay Wild Fish House, and some dreamy salmon and chips. When the line is less daunting, however, the Bowpicker becomes the destination. Beer battered tuna and steak fries are the objective, and cash is the means of delivery. Do not tender your credit card. No morsels will be forthcoming. 

The Catch (Cliché Intended)

The meal comes in a paper dish with tartar sauce and ketchup. It is an unassuming presentation, but it keeps the costs low. The 5-piece meal is $14.00 as of February 2024. The fish is flaky, delicious, and light. The use of tuna makes it special. Word on the street was that they use locally caught fresh tuna, but that has not been verified. The tartar sauce is less chunky than most places, but it is not cloyingly sweet. It is about right to add flavor, and not detract from the taste of the fish. The breading holds onto the fish nicely through the meal. The Impatient Chef has tasted offerings from less adept locales where the breading flakes off, falls off, slides off, or where the fish simply shoots out the other end of the breading on the first bite. The breading also does not have an unusual flavor. Some places want the diner to know that they thought really hard about making their fish and chips unique, captivating, full of herbs and exotic spices, and completely inedible. The Bowpicker will have none of that. Simplicity takes the ring. 

An aside: Another place The Impatient Chef had gushed upon, namely the Trillium Café in Hood River, Oregon, used tuna until a few years ago. It was with great sadness that The Impatient Chef reported on that change last year.

The fries were disappointing this time. In past visits, they have been excellent, but they seemed like they were cooked too far ahead. They were lukewarm, and had that doughy texture of fries that have sat too long. Ketchup saved the day, but it should not have to. The Impatient Chef will give them a mulligan this time, and hopefully next time they will be back up to their usual quality.

Stop by if you are in Astoria, which resides in the north Oregon coast where the Mighty Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean — an area affectionately known as “the Armpit of the Pacific Northwest” due to its cold and damp climate. It is a climate best described by gothic, nineteenth century, women novelists who use words like "melancholy", "despair", and "dyspepsia".  Lewis and Clark named a spot just across the river '”Dismal Nitch” in recognition of the wonders of getting caught in a week-long November downpour while wearing early nineteenth century clothing. The Washington Department of Transportation, in a startling display of truth in advertising, later named a rest stop after it.

So, if you want some excellent fish and chips, come and visit, dress warm, bring an umbrella, buy the fish and chips, and run like hell back to the car.  Oh, and park down by the river to eat them.  

The Impatient Chef.

The Impatient Chef Becomes the Impatient Chef Again

I have decided to try to take the name The Impatient Chef again.  I am going to start doing the research, and geting ready to trademark the name.  

So there.  

The Quaygang Cookbook Fish and Chips Review: Barrel Mountain Brewing

As readers of this intermittant blog know, I have been tasting fish and chips around the Pacific Northwest for a few years as part of a project to find the best of the best. Way back in the late 1990's is I had some salmon fish and chips at a place called the Malahat Mountain Inn near Victoria, British Columbia, that knocked my socks off. That place is sadly no longer with us, but I have been trying to find some that rise to that standard.

A few notable entries in the best of list: 

• Trillium Cafe in Hood River: They used to have dreamy albacore tuna fish and chips. Their new version is still very good, but the albacore was slightly better. I still recommend them. 

• The Salt Hotel and Pub in Ilwaco, Washington: Tender, flaky, and crispy with killer fries. 

• Gracie's Sea Hag in Depoe Bay, Oregon: A little more pedestrian, but still yummy. 

• My favorite used to be the Rose and Thistle in Portland, but new ownership and a different recipe dethroned them as the kings of the craft.  I used to call my rating system "The Rose and Thistle Scale".  They now rate a 4. 
  

Enter Barrel Mountain Brewing in Battle Ground, Washington, with its woodsmoke tinged dining room, and friendly staff. Barrel Mountain Brewing takes fish and chips to a higher level than I've tasted since Malahat Mountain. They use steelhead trout, which is like salmon, but milder. The batter was crispy, not doughy, and with no oil flavor. It stayed crispy through the meal, which is very important. The fish was perfectly cooked, tender and flaky. While the steelhead is slightly less flavorful than salmon, they were not afraid to let is taste like fish. There is nothing worse than fish and chips that have no fish flavor. 

The tartar sauce was savory and herbal, not cloying and sweet. I did not have to doctor it with lemon, salt and pepper like at some places. I've had excellent fish ruined by a sugary tartar sauce.

The coleslaw was not too sweet. It had an unusual flavor, but not in a bad way. I liked it, but it was the weak part of the meal.

The fries were thin and crispy with lots of crunchy bits to savor. They pass the salt test (needing only salt as a flavoring, even as they cool down). Many fries get soggy, need ketchup to mask diminishing flavor.  These fries did not get soggy.  They are using some kind of magic, I'm sure.  

I added nothing that did not come on the plate, not even salt. That's a first.   

The foundations of my fish and chips edifice have been shaken. A new order has emerged. These were the best I've had. Give them a try. Make a pilgrimage if you have to.  

On a different note: I really want to be The Impatient Chef again.  I had a lot of fun with the Schtick I used on this blog as The Impatient Chef, and I noticed that I am not posting as much without the name.  It is used by someone else, but I may have to find out if it has been trademarked.  I few other names I am thinking about:  Sporknado.  Vittle Quest.  Hot Sauce and Cold Feet.  Other ideas are welcome.