Dan Akroyd Wants You to Drink Vodka...

His vodka to be exact -- Crystal Head Vodka. And as strange as this might sound, he'll be in the 'Couv today from 3-5pm signing bottles of his strange looking hooch at Stateline Liquor Store.

I've scheduled this blog post because, as you might already know, I'm under sail in the San Juan Islands. I'm thinking that you, however, might just want to go shake hands with Dan Akroyd this afternoon.

I haven't tried the stuff, although samples are on the way. The press release for this vodka was one of the strangest ones I've gotten in awhile. Check part of it out below.

If I was in town I'd be heading to Vancouver this afternoon. I don't think I could resist meeting Akroyd and asking him about his vodka, which according to the press release is, "triple crystal filtered through Herkimer diamonds." It's your supernatural world Mr. Akroyd, I'm just in it.

Here's some more info. straight from Akroyd's PR peeps about his vodka:The Ghostbusters and Blues Brothers star himself, Dan Aykroyd, will be in town on Monday, September 27th to promote his popular vodka, Crystal Head Vodka. He will visit Stateline Liquor Store at 1109 North Jantzen Drive from 3–5pm for a bottle signing.

Aykroyd, known for his work on Saturday Night Live and in films including Trading Places, Ghostbusters and Driving Miss Daisy, has been involved with producing and distributing wine and spirits for seven years. He recently created Crystal Head Vodka as a result of his fascination with the supernatural.

The super-premium vodka is made with water from a deep aquifer in Newfoundland, Canada, blended with selected grains for a creamy and slightly sweet finish, and triple crystal filtered through Herkimer diamonds, which, according to New Age belief systems, embody positive energy and goodwill. Crystal Head Vodka is available wherever fine wine and spirits are sold.

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Feast your eyes on this weirdness...

The Cheese Bar Spectacular -- Monday, June 21st 6-9pm!

I don't think that the fact that I LOVE cheese is a secret to anyone who reads this blog. The thought of a cheese-less existence sends shivers down my back. It would be a bleak, cold, tasteless world were there no cheese in it.

Next Monday night Portland's cheese haven, Cheese Bar, is hosting a rare, wonderful cheese event. From 6-9pm at Steve Jones' Cheese Bar you can try 101 of Steve's favorite cheeses. I did not mistype. That is 101. No, not 10.

Steve has partnered up with Adam Berger of Ten 01 to host this awesome event. Along with 101 of Steve's favorite cheeses you can saddle up with wine selections from Ten 01's sommelier Jeff Groh, cocktails by Kelley Swenson, and local beers on tap. Tickets are $39 in advance or $49 at the door and include all the cheese you can taste, two drink tickets for draft beer or wine by the glass, and a $5 voucher for Cheese Bar. There be six wines at $5/glass and local draft beer at $3/glass.

Get your ticket while you still can because they're going fast at www.brownpapertickets.com. If you want a more exclusive experience, 50 VIP tickets at $59 a pop are available. That gets you a 5-6pm more intimate tasting with sparkling wine and champagne.

If you want to read more about Cheese Bar check this out.

Eat cheese!

Cheese Bar 6031 SE Belmont St. 503.222.6014 www.cheese-bar.com Tuesday-Sunday 11am-11pm

Boozy Brunch with din din

I get so many press releases that I've gotten good at speed reading them. Rarely do I spend more than a minute on one but the press release that I got from din din last week kept me rapt for, well, three minutes. That says a lot and it's the reason why I'm sharing the details it divulged here. The photo above is of the lovely din din ladies which you can read more about here.

Since the press release rocked, I'm sharing it here verbatim:

Americans like something we call "breakfast for dinner," but I've always been a "dinner for breakfast" kind of girl. There's something very elegant and effortless about a perfectly poached farm egg on top of last night's dinner.

My affinity for brunch landed me a stint at Matchbox Lounge as brunch chef, and one Sunday a while back we were lucky enough to host the final stop of the House Spirits Brunch Series. While I was poaching eggs, the House Spirits boys slipped me a sip of what was, at the time, the unreleased MARTEAU absinthe. I was sold. Brunch and spirits.

Since then, the craft distilleries of the Hawthorne area have banded together as Distillery Row. They all work from the ethic of producing the very best of what they do locally, and they get that it makes sense to collaborate. I'm honored to be able to collaborate with them for this brunch series.

So we present six brunches, Saturday & Sunday the last three weeks of May. din din coursed brunch with cocktail pairings by Distillery Row. $35 + gratuity. Coffee by beloved heart. Columbia Gorge juices. At my stomping grounds, Milepost 5*, 900 NE 81st Ave. 11am. rezzo details below. These are the menus, loosely:

((Sorry about your luck...)) Saturday & Sunday, May 15th & 16th New Deal Distillery

deep-fried asparagus and steamed oyster with coppa and Piment d'Espelette New Deal's house bloody mary with Hot Monkey Spicy Vodka

squash brioche tart with foraged ramps Princess of Whales (New Deal Mud Puddle Chocolate Vodka, aquavit, and Madeira topped with bubbly)

poached duck egg with braised short rib, sorrel salsa verde, and soft polenta The Rhubarb Bloom (rhubarb simple syrup, mint, lime, and gin)

soufléed sweet omelette with New Deal Mudpuddle Vodka hazelnut cake The David Bowie (New Deal Mud Puddle Chocolate Vodka, bourbon, and orange)

Saturday & Sunday May 22nd & 23rd Highballl Distillery (cocktail pairings TBA)

brioche toast with french breakfast radish, french butter, and fleur de sel

Odessa Blue cheese custard with dressed Weppler Farms greens

french style omelette with stinging nettle pesto, oven-dried tomatoes, and fried potatoes

Elemental Vanilla Espresso Vodka panna cotta with Phelps Creek Pinot Noir-macerated strawberries

Saturday & Sunday May 29th & 30th House Spirits Distillery (cocktail pairings TBA) Roquefort toast with soft-boiled egg

crespiau: a cake of paper-thin omelettes layered with herbed black olive tapenade and fennel tomato sauce

tuna with chartreuse lettuce sauce and potato salad

marmalade and orange flower water shortbread tart

to make your rezzo:

send a check for $35/person to: Courtney Sproule 900 NE 81st Ave #114 Portland, OR 97213

Include:

the dates you want to come the names of those in your party (or at least a total number) your phone number your email any notes you may have for us

As soon as we receive your payment/rezzo, we'll confirm with you that we did receive it.

We can credit or refund you up to two weeks prior to the din din. If a conflict arises less than two weeks from the dinner, you're welcome (and encouraged!) to send someone else in your place.

*Milepost 5 is an intentional community of live/work spaces designed for artists and creatives located in Portland’s Montavilla neighborhood. din din www.dindinportland.com

Oregon Distillery Month: Oregon Distillers Guild Tasting

So apparently I'm all about last minute or after-the-fact posts lately. Life has been a little busier than usual which is why it's Friday and I'm just now telling you about an awesome event on...Saturday. Yes, tomorrow.

Here's the scoop. The Oregon Distillers Guild is throwing its annual fall tasting tomorrow -- Saturday, October 17th from 1-4pm at McMenamins Edgefield to kick off Oregon Distillery Month. Tickets are $20 and if you want one call McMenamins Edgefield at 503.669.8610 or just head on over.

A lot of local distilleries are participating and there will be more than 20 spirits to taste.

Distilleries representing include Artisan Spirits, Bendistillery, Cascade Peak Distillery, Highball Distillery, Hood River Distillers, House Spirits, Indio Spirits, Integrity Spirits, Liquid Vodka, New Deal Distillery, Rogue Spirits, McMenamins Edgefield Distillery, Sub Rosa Spirits and more.

I wrote a story about several of these distilleries a couple years ago.

According to the press release:

The Oregon Distillers Guild was the first state based craft distilling group to band together and form a Guild. The Oregon Distillers Guild formed in May of 2007 and has sponsored two bills before the Oregon Legislature; influenced policy within the Oregon Liquor Control Commission and worked with Travel Oregon and Oregon Bounty programs to promote Oregon as a destination for all things liqurious.

I'm not sure about "liqurious" but the rest sounds great.

Oregon Distillers Guild Fall Tasting @ McMenamins Edgefield Sat., Oct. 17th 1-4pm tickets $20 Call 503.669.8610 or tickets This is obviously a 21 and over event