A Recap of Feast Portland 2015

Last month (I can’t believe it’s been 4 weeks already!) I attended one of the best foodie festivals around: Feast Portland.

This was the second year I was given a blogger pass, and after the amazing time I had last year at Feast, I couldn’t pass up another opportunity to attend. Feast is made up of many events across 4 days; marquee events, hands on classes, dinners, and plenty of additional parties throughout, with proceeds going to a good cause.

Living Locally: Feast Portland Happening This Week!

You guys! I'm so excited for Feast Portland! It begins in just two short days! This will be my second year attending Feast, so I know just how much fun it's going to be. I'll be up there for a full day of events on Friday,Saturday, and Sunday! If you want to follow along catch me over on Instagram, and be sure to check out the hashtag #FeastPDX to see everyone's drool-worthy pictures.

Living Locally: Feast is Coming to Portland!

Things have been so incredibly busy lately with my trip to New York that I haven't had a chance to remind you of an amazing event coming to Portland next month! Feast Portland  was founded in 2012, and this will be my second year attending this fun food event that is presented by BonAppétit. Feast a big celebration that is broken down into many smaller events, so it's great because you can pick and choose what interested you. There's Grand Tastings, Dinner series, hands on classes - but several of the events are already sold out, so if you are considering attending I'd buy your tickets soon. :)

Feast Portland in Photos: Day Two

Yesterday I shared photos from my first day up at Feast Portland , and today I'm throwing the rest out there for you. Saturday Wayne and I drove up to Portland to stay the night (it was sort of our post-anniversary celebration). Emma had her first soccer game of the season, so we didn't get up there until nearly 2:00 pm - and I just had to show him around the Oregon Grand Bounty Tasting at Pioneer Square. I rushed him around to all of my favorites and then we sampled others that I hadn't had a chance to try the day before - and then it happened: he finally had his first sample of Salt and Straw Ice Cream. If you are a local Portland-er you probably just gasped. Salt and Straw ice cream is only some of the best ice cream around, but to be honest I hadn't even some myself until last year. They are famous for their unique flavor combinations, although their Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons sure can't be beat. Wayne tasted their seasonal Apricots and Citra Hops and became an instant fan. 

We had about two hours to browse around until we needed to check in to our hotel and get dressed up for our evening event: The Oregon Media Group High Comfort at the Nines which began at 6:00 pm, and I had also been invited to a media happy hour with some of the best Oregon wines around, which ran from 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm. 

For whatever reason I didn't take a single photo over at the happy hour, but we were greeted by my new friend Marlynn from Urban Bliss Life and we introduced our husbands to each other. Then, in a room with less than 20 people someone called out Wayne's name - one of his friend's wife who was working at the event - and she just happened to have brought her husband along for the evening with her. 

It's a small world. sometimes.

As we sampled some of the best wines around (Some of my favorites were Hawk View Cellars 2013 Oregon Pinot Gris, Columbia Winery's 2012 Syrah, and R. Stuart & Co. Winery's 2011 Ana Vineyard Riesling), Wayne just happened to drum up a conversation with a couple of people and long story short ended up meeting the wife of a winemaker he used to work with a long time ago. 

All in a room with like 20 people. 

At 6:00 pm we headed a couple blocks down to The Nines Hotel for the big event. 

We were greeted in the Champagne Room and handed a glass to enjoy. The Hama Hama Oyster Company served an endless supply for those who partake. ( I just can't do Oysters myself), and Proscuitto di Parma was serving fresh slices to feast on. 

We mingled in to the grand ballroom where the High Dinner was served. It's not a sit down dinner, but a walk-around-and-mingle-kind-of-evening, while you sample fine wines and food from some of the most talented chefs around. 

Unfortunately I ended up leaving my bulky camera at the hotel, so these photos don't do the event justice. A couple of my favorite bites from the evening was a Flatiron Pastami with asiago and cacao from Chef Matt Christianson, Urban Farmer, and a Fried chicken and watermelon salad bite from Chef Vitaly Paley, Paley's Place. 

Music was played and the room was filled with conversations - the only downside was all of the body heat - it was pretty toasty, and then I found the Hendricks Gin bar in another room dubbed the comfort lounge.

Photo c/o Urban Bliss Life

I met other Portland Bloggers and the photos started snapping as we all laughed and had a great time. Then before I knew it the clock struck 9:00 pm - closing time for the event, and we all cabbed over to an after party, where we were treated like VIP with limitless drinks, a caviar nacho bar (I seriously didn't even know it was there until my Wayne told me the next day!), a massive celebratory cake, a Tillamook Ice Cream truck, even an on site tattoo artist inking up some brave people. (For the record Mom, I thought about it, but no, I didn't). The massive party continued on throughout the night. 

The ticket price for the High Comfort event is definitely on the more expensive side - it'll cost you $175 out of your pocket, but for an all out, all evening VIP affair with the opportunity to meet and mingle with so many wonderful companies and people it's an incredible experience - just make sure you're staying the night in Portland because there will be no way you'll be able to drive afterwards!

Feast Portland was everything I thought it would be and more. Mark your calendars for Sept. 17th-20th 2015 when the celebration returns!

~Melissa

*Full Disclosure: I was given a complimentary blogger pass to Feast Portland events in exchange for my event coverage. No other compensation was received. As always, all opinions are my own. 

Feast Portland in Photos: Day One

I came, I saw, I feasted. I'm sure you've heard me talking about Feast Portland at some point or another over the past month, and this last weekend it finally arrived. I felt like one of the lucky chosen bloggers who received a blogger pass to attend many of the main Feast events. I've been to quite a few food events over the past year thanks to this little online space I've created, but I've learned that each event is slightly different and has it's own vibe, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect this time. 

I got up bright and early Friday morning and headed up to the Urban Farmer for a media only breakfast. Every kind of tasty treat you could ask for was calling my name, and I had the most delicious eggs Benedict and cinnamon rolls around. 

After my leisurely breakfast I checked in and officially got my blogger pass, then decided to tag along with a couple of my fellow blogger friends to check out the Yahoo Food Media lounge, since we had a little downtime before the Oregon Grand Bounty Tasting. 

We arrived in between their breakfast and lunch setup, all provided by Imperial catering. I was still stuffed from breakfast, but I had to sample a few bites anyways. There were plenty of charging stations, overly-comfortable couches provided by Boys Fort, and a full bar (of course, right?) Out of all of the events I've been to, I have to say, Feast really did the best job making sure their media folks were comfy and happy!

After all our phones were charged we headed over to Pioneer Courthouse Square, where the main (and most affordable) event was held - The Oregon Grand Bounty Tasting. For $60 you could eat and sip as many tastings as you'd like from noon to five, which really is a terrific price considering! There were a bunch of local wineries and restaurants, seriously a little something for everyone here. There was also live cooking demonstrations that you could watch as well as some other fun surprises like USA Pears who did a little pop up restaurant which seated guests every 15 minutes and allowed people to sit around their bar and be served several courses to try.

And then of course there were photo booths for entertainment, this one thanks to Travel Oregon.

One of my most memorable bites definitely came from the collaboration of Salt and Straw with Cacao drinking chocolate. Cacao drinking chocolate was poured over a scoopful of Salt and Straw's vanilla ice cream and topped with cookie crumbles and it was a match made in heaven. 

After a couple of hours spent at the Grand Tasting, I headed over to the Red Star Tavern where I was invited to a media Washington Wines Tasting, where of course more delicious hors d'oeuvres were served. I seriously wasn't even able to visit everyone, but I did sample a few wines from Woodward Canyon, Pacific Rim and Terra Blanca. I loved Woodward Canyon's 2011 Estate Reserve Red Bordeaux Blend, and I had no idea that Pacific Rim made so many Rieslings - which have always been a favorite of mine. I sampled their sparkling Riesling and was pleasantly surprised how much I liked it. It was dry and really well balanced.

 After I spent an hour meeting new Washington friends, I made my way back to the Yahoo Food media lounge where a happy hour was being served and even though I didn't try everything, I had a plate full of some delicious morsels.

Many people continued their food celebrations on into the night with one of the many dinners around town or the USA Pears Night Market and all of the after parties, but I headed home around 4:30 to pick up the kiddos because Wayne was helping harvest grapes and hey, someone has to tuck them in, right? :) Plus Saturday I was heading back up for more Feast celebrations and had decided to make a date night out of it with Wayne for our anniversary....and boy did I celebrate! Stay tuned for my Feast in photos: day two tomorrow! 

~Melissa

*Full Disclosure: I was given a complimentary blogger pass to Feast Portland events in exchange for my event coverage. No other compensation was received and as always all opinions are my own.