Right At The Fork

In this classic episode of RATF, we go all the way back to July of 2014, to a conversation with Jeff Trenary of Kingfisher Farms. Sadly, Jeff passed away earlier this year. Over the years, we talked regularly with Jeff about coming back on the show, but never made it happen. This reposting of of episode #27 will serve as our tribute to a great person. Right at the Fork is supported by: Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com Portland Food...

Bryan Deckert has been running the busy Country Cat restaurant at PDX since it first opened its doors. Along the way it's garnered BEST AIRPORT RESTAURANT honors twice, and is a model for the many new local brands making airport experiences better. Bryan talks to us about what goes into running such a busy, quirky operation with different hours and structures, especially through the pandemic. We also touch on Bryan's earlier days at Pazzo, where he was in charge of making dignitaries, like...

Flying Fish's Chef Erik Englund joins us on the podcast today to talk about his journey from the Detroit area to Portland 12 years ago, with stops at fabled Gruner and CDC at Bamboo Sushi for years. There, he procured seafood from Lyf Gildersleeve during his food truck days on Hawthorne, and the rest is current history. Lyf brought Erik in to assist him at his former oyster bar at Providore and then built a restaurant around Erik's talents, which can now be enjoyed at their fish market and...

With the recent news that Mike Aldridge was talking his Mid City Smash Burger to Bend, we felt it appropriate to bring back our conversation with Mike about the origins of Mid City. ORIGINAL POST: Chef Mike Aldridge has been on quite a career and personal journey over the past couple of years. Mike, a native North Dakotan, has cooked in some of Portland's well-known restaurants, including Urban Farmer, Imperial and Headwaters, among others. He became chef at the coastal restaurant,...

We are seeing a coming of age in the suburbs with regard to their food scenes, so Wendy Bumgardner (Insta: @locavoregon) joins us to give us a seasoned food-lover's guide to Vancouver, WA , as well as some walking suggestions in the city. Wendy also talks about some of the pop ups in the region she's been enjoying as well as an overview of why she enjoys going on Portland Food Adventures' international trips. Note and full disclosure: Host Chris Angelus operates Portland Food...

Our guest this week is Michael Westfall, co-owner of Tapphoria, a taphouse in Tigard, Oregon. Cort catches up with Mike to talk about his journey from business school to starting a party bus company, running a coffee shop to eventually creating Tapphoria. Hear about the challenges of the pendemic, ways they've had to change their business approach - and what Mike thinks about some of Portland's big restaurant names moving to the suburbs. Tapphoria's 8th Anniversary Events take place July...

On this holiday weekend, we got back to May of 2021, and our conversation with Michael Gibbons. Michael Gibbons and his wife own Papa Haydn and Jo Bar, which have been a staples in the Portland Food world since they met each other as employees at Papa Haydn many cakes and drinks ago. Since then, they've largely stepped away from the day to day operations to leave that responsibility in younger, capable hands, including their son Brendan. We talk to Michael about his trajectory from a kid...

In this month's flashback episode, we go all the way back to December of 2021 - and our conversation with Chip MacGregor of MacGregor's Whiskey Bar in Manzanita and Cannon Beach. We get to know Chip MacGregor, co-proprietor of MacGregor's Whiskey Bar with locations on the coast in Manzanita and Cannon Beach. Chip and his wife Holly met by chance through their writing connections in the very building they now operate. We talk about the business of whiskey and how both locations seem a bit...

He's back for the third round, and this time, Erick Russ of Pono Brewing brings his partner, founder and brewmaster of Pono Brewing, Larry Clouser. We hear about their unique challenges during the pandemic, how friends and other breweries stepped up to help - and what futures plans are in the works. Right at the Fork is supported by: Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com RingSide SteakHouse: www.RingsideSteakHouse.com Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com

We open the mics up with Lathen and Anne-Marie Gorbett, producers of the video series focusing on the Portland food world, Bridge to Table. We discuss their motivations for producing such a series, the challenges, and of course their creative vision and the plan to accomplish producing continued episodes. Lathen and Anne-Marie also talk about what they have learned about Portland's food professionals' tribulations through the pandemic and what they see for a renewed and vibrant industry. We...

Joining us from their time away in Hawaii are Emily Cafazzo and Ryan Domingo of the now iconic Sugarpine Drive-In in Troutdale. We discuss the genesis of Sugarpine and how incredible the journey has been. We go back even further to the point where the couple met in Brooklyn at Andy Ricker's restaurant, of all places, and follow the reasons behind and the journey back to Oregon and the Columbia River Gorge. Both have quite a resume in the food world, and Emily discusses her days at Gotham...

In this Classic episode of Right at the Fork, we head back to October of 2019 and our conversation with Kristen Murray. A lot has changed for Kristen in the time since our chat, including a move for MÅURICE. Hear more about it, here. ORIGINAL POST: MÅURICE's Kristen Murray's story begins in Southern California, baking with her great-grandmother and great-aunt. On this episode, hear about Kristen's journey from California, to New York City, to France and eventually Portland (with many...

Salem native Rex Robertson joins us to discuss his exciting new restaurant, Cozy Taberna, that just opened in a few months ago. We follow Rex's journey from falling in love with his father's A&W Restaurants in Salem as a kid, to working in finer dining over time and realizing hospitality was for him. He and his wife Lois bought a hallmark deli in Salem and turned that into the popular Little Lois, which is now humming along. They brought partners into that business and decided it was time to...

Bill Oakley is a television writer and producer, maybe best known known for writing for the Simpson's (where he was also the co-show-runner), as well Portlandia and much, much more. For the past 13 years, he has also called Portland home. In this episode, we talk about him growing up in Maryland, his time at Harvard, working in Hollywood and of course what brought him to Portland. We also dive into his latest venture, the Steamed Ham Society & Food Discovery Club, which you can learn...

If you've watched television in Portland over the past 10 years, there's a really good chance you've seen today's guest. Cassidy Quinn is a Pacific Northwester with roots in Seattle, before moving to Portland. For years, you could see her on KGW 8, with featured segments about things going on in Portland. From 2018 to 2020, she was the host of Tonight with Cassidy. And if you're fan of country music, you can hear Cassidy on 98.7 The Bull each weeknight. In 2021, she created the Mentally...

It was only a few months ago that we originally released this episode featuring Kimberly and Vitaly Paley, talking about the closure of Paley's Place - but it doesn't get much bigger than the Paleys in the Portland food world. From January 2022: We're more than honored to have Vitaly and Kimberly Paley join us for the first interview of Right at the Fork's ninth year. The Paleys opened Paley's Place in 1995 and after so much recognition in and outside of the restaurant industry, they...

With the news that Gabriel Rucker's Canard is opening a second location in Oregon City later this year, we felt it appropriate to bring back this classic episode, recorded just days after Gabriel had opened the first one. From January 2018: Gabriel Rucker left a busy lunch service at his newly opened Canard to talk to Chris and Cort about how life has changed for him since opening his third restaurant, while raising a family. Hear about how he manages his time and what people should...

We use milkshakes to pivot to the founder of a new business in Portland, Creative Culture, which provides the space and resources for creative expression for families and individuals. Dell Ann Upp started her concept in Kansas City, and then found herself in Portland through a new relationship and thought Portland would have an appetite for her unique business. We talk about how she got started, what her vision is moving forward, and how her daughter is following in her entrepreneurial shoes...

@SweetCreaturepdx chef and Dame's pastry chef Gabriella Martinez joins us on the podcast to talk about how much she enjoys working with Patrick McKee at Dame and the ability to expand her creativity by collaborating and consulting with others. It turns out that the inability to work outside her day job was one of the reasons she departed from Republica, where she had worked for a while after moving to Portland from Los Angeles and some high profile gigs there. We will talk about how her...

Eater's Brooke Jackson Glidden returns as a guest on the podcast to talk about what restaurants and food carts are new and interesting to her, and what will be opening in Portland over the next few months. We talk James Beard Foundation Awards and her potential influence on those. Of interest to some listeners and some of her readers might be what fast food Brooke enjoys, about which she really doesn't get to write too much about. (We doubt she's written about a McDonald's opening or an...