The Faster Times Scott Gold of The Faster Times reports on the foie gras jelly doughnut at Le Pigeon in Portland, Oregon: It’s as though the menu had performed the Jedi mind-trick on me: "You will have the foie gras jelly donut." "I will have the foie gras jelly donut." When the server came to take our orders, I pointed at the menu and asked, simply, “Seriously?” ”Oh, yes,” he said. Oh well, I thought. I guess we’re going to do this. As Gold says, it's a slice of foie gras atop a house-made doughnut, with another slice of foie gras on the side. "It was fried fat topped with seared fat, plain as can be." [via Sullivan via... More

I can't help but have a huge crush on Gabriel Rucker and his cooking. It started when my friend Jen and I entered the candlelit haven of Le Pigeon in Portland, Oregon. I knew I'd found my new favorite restaurant—the dining environment is friendly, romantic, and rustic, with only bar stools and communal tables. You can observe what your fellow diners are ordering and ask for suggestions without feeling intrusive. Though our hour and a half wait didn't yield a coveted up-close-and-personal bar stool to gaze at Gabe, his tattoos, and his burners, home base for the evening was a front corner table with a perfect view of the kitchen intensity. Since my budget couldn't afford both wine and... More