Category Archives: Travel Adventures

Oregon Travels, Part III: Jory Restaurant

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Squab breast and confit fried leg at Jory restaurant.
Squab breast and confit fried leg at Jory restaurant.

Newberg, OR — A private dining room behind closed doors holds work colleagues relaxing at a sit-down, the terrace is occupied by high schoolers in tuxes and gowns posing for prom photos, and a large table by the floor-to-ceiling windows is celebrating a birthday. From the get-go, you know that the Jory at The Allison Inn & Spa in the Willamette Valley is the place that people flock to for special occasions.

As for me, it was an invitation by Travel Oregon do dine last month that brought me to this fine-dining establishment, where the tables are candle-lit and come with warm towels overlaid with a sprig of rosemary from its own garden for your hands.

Indeed, the bounty from the 1.5-acre chef’s garden and greenhouse on the property is featured in the restaurant’s dishes. That includes 300 pounds of honey produced annually by its bee hives.

The executive chef is Jack Strong, formerly of the Camelback Inn Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, who co-authored the cookbook, “The New Native American Cuisine.” He grew up on the Oregon coast as a member of the Siletz tribe.

The entrance to Jory.
The entrance to Jory.
A view into the kitchen.
A view into the kitchen.

While his cooking at Jory can lean into modernist techniques at times, he also is a proponent of indigenous foods of the Pacific Northwest. Book a nine-course private Chef’s Table dinner and he’ll even prepare a special native foods tasting menu focused on indigenous culinary traditions.

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Oregon Travels, Part II: The Painted Lady Restaurant

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Pan-roasted ling cod at The Painted Lady Restaurant.
Pan-roasted ling cod at The Painted Lady Restaurant.

Newberg, OR — The stately Queen Anne-style Victorian on South College St. at East Second Street has endured a long while.

But it took husband and wife, Chef Allen Routt and General Manager Jessica Bagley-Routt to inject new life and spirit into this house that was built in 1895.

Last week, the couple celebrated the 20th anniversary of The Painted Lady Restaurant, the charming, fine-dining establishment they opened here after renovating this 130-year-old gem in Oregon Wine Country.

These days with so many increasing challenges, it gets harder and harder to maintain a business. That the Routts have managed to do so at such a high level is a true testament to their dedication to quality and standards.

Routt, who began cooking at age 16, graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, and interned with Chef Bradley Ogden at San Francisco’s One Market. That led to cooking stints at such iconic establishments as the Inn at Chef Patrick O’Connell’s The Inn at Little Washington, Chef Jean-Louis Palladin’s Pesce, and Chef Mark Militello’s Mark’s South Beach (where he would meet his future wife), then becoming executive chef at Brannan’s Grill in Calistoga.

The Victorian turned fine-dining restaurant.
The Victorian turned fine-dining restaurant.

His wife, who was raised in Southern Oregon, graduated with top honors from the Western Culinary Institute in Portland, where she interned at acclaimed Higgins restaurant, before helping open Mark’s South Beach. She eventually took a job at Chef Hiro Sone’s Terra restaurant in St. Helena before becoming a sous chef at Brix restaurant in Napa.

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Oregon Travels, Part I: Kiyokawa Family Orchards

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Randy Kiyokawa at his Kiyokawa Family Orchards.
Randy Kiyokawa at his Kiyokawa Family Orchards.

Parkdale, OR — As a kid, Randy Kiyokawa dreamed of becoming either a police officer or a DJ, professions he knows couldn’t have been more different from one another.

But as Kiyokawa grew to learn, familial expectations have a way of steering one’s path in life. As his parents’ youngest child and only son, he knew deep down that his destiny likely would entail succeeding them in overseeing the family fruit farm, one of the few remaining Hood River Valley farms owned by Japanese American families who returned here following their internment during World War II.

Planted with 157 acres of fruit trees, including more varieties of apples than probably any other farm in the valley, Kiyokawa Family Orchards is a testament to perseverance and adaptation.

Thankfully, its legacy will continue now that Kiyokawa, on the brink of turning 64, is poised to turn the farm’s operations over to the fourth generation — his daughter.

Last month, I had a chance to visit the farm. Though it hadn’t yet opened to the public for the season, work was still happening, most notably on the small homes on site. He provides free housing to his 40 employees

His farm boasts a stunning view of Mount Hood.
His farm boasts a stunning view of Mount Hood.

Kiyokawa walked me around the property, where blossoms were just starting to appear on Bosc, Comice, and Anjou pear trees. He also grows peaches, plums, and baby kiwi. In a nod to his wife’s heritage, he also planted Persian plums and sour cherries.

It’s apples, though, for which his farm is best known — 125 varieties in all.

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Japan Eats, Part IV: Ima in Kyoto

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Kyoto rice with icefish is presented at Ima.
Kyoto rice with icefish is presented at Ima.

Kyoto, JAPAN — In Japanese, Ima means “living room.”

If only my own living room in the Bay Area were filled with the relaxing fragrance of cedar, the warmth of a crackling fire, and such tantalizing aromas as this one.

Tucked away on a quiet street that once housed kimono shops, this newcomer opened barely two months ago in a renovated 110-year-old townhouse.

With a small team of three, it is overseen by Chef Kiichi Imai, who trained at Michelin-starred Hotel de Yoshino in Wakayama, before going to work in several Tokyo restaurants. He later worked on the opening team for Michelin-starred Txispa, a wood-fire restaurant in Spain, before returning to Japan to cook most recently at Noma Kyoto.

The restaurant is inside a 110-year-old former townhouse.
The restaurant is inside a 110-year-old former townhouse.
The restaurant is all about live-fire cooking.
The restaurant is all about live-fire cooking.

One of the restaurant’s investors will surely be familiar to anyone with a sweet tooth in the Bay Area: Charles Chen, founder of Basuku Cheesecakes.

Ima is all of 10 seats at the counter, which affords a clear view of the live-fire grill fed with oak firewood from Miyami forest in Kyoto. From start to finish, the hearth plays a major role in the dishes, blending Japanese and French influences that meld with sure-handed searing and charring.

Even the menu is smudged with artful burn marks.

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Japan Eats, Part III: Yoshoku Izumi in Osaka

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Beef katsu sando at Yoshoku Izumi in Osaka.
Beef katsu sando at Yoshoku Izumi in Osaka.

Osaka, JAPAN — Getting a reservation at Yoshoku Izumi was an arduous affair. Even when we managed to land the remaining seats on a Saturday night at 8:30 p.m., the extensive list of dos and don’ts on its website had us quaking in fear we’d commit a faux pas and get thrown out mid-bite.

Visions of the iconic Soup Nazi on “Seinfeld” were firmly planted in our heads.

We may have stepped inside the unmarked door, identifiable only by its potted maple tree outside, with trepidation. However, we left not only completely at ease, but thoroughly charmed and beyond content by a tasting menu that was absolutely delicious, as well as a relative bargain.

Our journey to this restaurant, renowned for its yoshoku or Japanese-style Western cooking, began last year, when my friend Charles, who travels often to Japan and knows conversational Japanese, recommended it highly. Having dined there twice, himself, he wasn’t sure if anyone on staff spoke much English. And unfortunately, Izumi is one of a number of restaurants in Japan that only takes reservations by phone.

The unmarked restaurant.
The unmarked restaurant.

So, I enlisted my friend Donna, who speaks Japanese, to try calling the restaurant on my behalf. She called, and she called. No matter if it was morning, afternoon, or evening in Japan, no one ever picked up the phone even after days of her trying. There was no answering machine, either, to leave a message.

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