Right at the Fork

Chef Allen Routt and his wife Jessica just celebrated their 20th year as proprietors of Newberg's The Painted Lady.  It's been a long, focused run to accomplish such a feat in this challenging restaurant world. Allen's interest in food started in Virginia as a boy, out in the yard and in the forest, right to his family kitchen.  His Mom and grandmas influenced his keen interest.  Staying at his gr...

We're flashing back to October 2024, and our conversation with Nori De Vega, with Right at the Fork guest host: Bill Oakley.   We are honored to have Bill Oakley guest host this episode of Right at the Fork, featuring Nori De Vega - one of Portland's most prominent food and restaurant video creators on Instagram and TikTok.  Nori De Vega was born in Manila, Philippines, and currently lives with he...

This week, we talk to John Dyss, Executive Chef at RingSide Steakhouse. We talk about his upbringing in Northern California, his venture into the food world - and quite possibly his hand in changing pizza forever. We also talk about his upcoming knife demo with Steelport Knife Co. on May 31st. Get more information about the event and how you can attend here . Right at the Fork is supported by:  Zu...

Ben Jacobsen is the founder of Jacobsen Salt Co., renowned for producing premium sea salts harvested from Netarts Bay on the Oregon Coast. Established in 2011, Jacobsen Salt Co. has become an iconic food brand in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.  Jacobsen's journey into the world of salt began during his time living in Denmark and Norway, where he developed an appreciation for the quality and ver...

Sandro Paolini joins us to discuss all things gelato!  He's the founder and gelato artisan behind Pinolo Gelato on Division St. in Portland. Born in Pisa, Italy, Paolini has a rich background in agriculture and forestry, which deeply influences his approach to crafting authentic Italian gelato. After moving to the United States, he combined his agricultural expertise with culinary passion, and was...

This Right at the Fork Classic comes from July of 2016, and our conversation with Lisa Schroeder. ORIGINAL POST: Chris feels that Lisa Schroeder should be cited as "Portland's Official Mother."  Lisa visits the RATF studios to talk about the challenges of running a packed Portland culinary institution, especially in light of a the increased responsibilities she's taken on to provide love and care...

We venture out to Manzanita for this podcast, and take the opportunity to chat with Michael Mudd, the proprietor of Manzanita Mudd Dogs. Whether you have been to or plan on visiting Manzanita, the story of how the iconic Manzanita Mudd Dogs started to how Michael and his brother Brad took over the operation of the business from their parents, Jim and Lynn Mudd, is an awesome story.   Michael talks...

We look back to April of last year, and our conversation with Rob Sample of Mother's Bistro. ORIGINAL POST: Rob Sample joins us on the podcast.  He's the Chief Schmoozing Officer at Mother's Bistro, where his wife Lisa has been well known as the chef and restaurateur since 2002.  Lisa just won the area's "Most Remarkable Woman" award on KOIN and we thought there was no one better to talk about why...

Joel Gunderson  of Heavenly Creatures, Coopers Hall, Grassa, St. Jack and a host of places, joins us again to talk about how deeply Trump's tariffs would affect the wine and restaurant industries.  Coincidentally, the tariffs were suspended just minutes before we started recording this episode.  But we talk about the stress uncertainty puts on the industry and how things have just begun to bounce...

Gary Okazaki aka @garythefoodie joins us for the umpteenth time to share information on his favorite pop-up restaurants in Portland, including where to find them on Insta, and where they take place.  Also, he'll go over some of his most anticipated openings in 2025. Right at the Fork is supported by:  Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com   RingSide SteakHouse: www. RingSideSteakhouse.com   Portland Foo...

We are joined by two of the people responsible for the accolades and wonderful food that comes out of the kitchens of Gado Gado and Oma's Hideway.  DaMenga Weaverhuff is Executive Chef, and has been leading the kitchens for a good while now, while Tom Pisha-Duffly is the owner and since Chef DeMenga's promotion has assumed a larger role, which we discuss in some detail during this interview.   DaM...

Visit www.localocean.net for details on the Fin & Feast dinner with Andrea at Local Ocean in Newport. We go back to December 2024 and our converation with Andrea Falaschi, ahead of his visit to Oregon for the Oregon Mailata and special Fin & Feast dinner at Local Ocean in Newport. Joining us this week is Andrea Falaschi, fourth generation butcher from Macelleria Falaschi in San Miniato in the hear...

Tony Bixler, president of Local Ocean Seafoods, joins us to discuss the history of Local Ocean, as well as his journey in Oregon in restaurants and life to get where he is today.  We will talk about what makes Local Ocean very special and the extra challenges it takes to serve fresh seafood to so many every day.   We also discuss a special event at Local Ocean on March 30, 2025 where 4th generatio...

Now that Ken's Artisan Pizza has officially opened in downtown Bend, we return to our conversation wtih Peter Kost from November of 2023.    ORIGINAL POST: Peter Kost grew up in Seattle, where his love for food was established as the son of farmers who sold their goods at the Seattle Public Market.  Peter's journey has taken him from restaurant work to wine sales to a long stint at Zupans in groce...

Right at the Fork is supported by:  Zupan's Markets:  www. Zupans.com   RingSide Steakhouse:   www. RingSideSteakhouse.com   Portland Food Adventures:  www. PortlandFoodAdventures.com   Taking a trip to Tuscany?  You'll want to listen to this episode with Elisa Acciai, who's been a tour guide in Florence for years.  We talk about her journey from being a Concierge at a 5-Star hotel in Florence to...

This is a must-listen.  Chef Jose Camarena, Executive Chef at Portland's highly regarded República, may just be the youngest guest of over 400 on our podcast.  But you wouldn't know it if we hadn't drawn attention to that fact.  At just 24, he's in a position few others are at his age, and it's easy to see how he got as far as he's gotten at such a young age.   We talk about his family Sunday dinn...

Meg  Cotner is a freelance writer and editor based in Portland, Oregon via various other places including California to New York..  Meg publishes Bridgetown Bites, which  covers restaurants, bars, cafes, food trucks, events, and includes opinion pieces, all centering on the Portland food world.. The site focuses on   openings  and  closings   news, while dabbling in reviews and other editorial con...

We look back to our conversation with Alexa Numkena-Anderson from July of 2024:   Alexa Numkena-Anderson @cheflex_pdx is enrolled Hopi and is Yakama, Skokomish, Cree and Mexican descent. She was born in Yakima, Washington and grew up in the greater Washington area (Toppenish, Tri-Cites and Fairchild Air Force Base).  After high school Alexa moved to Portland, Oregon to pursue a culinary career and...

Frank Squillo has had quite a storied career, but as he points out in this episode, there are definite parallels between his career as a radio host and now, as co-owner of the storied Wanda's Cafe and Bakery, a mainstay of the North Oregon Coast that he purchased with his husband in 2019 and has operated since.   We talk about what it takes to run a successful restaurant on the Oregon Coast - the...

Jon Galdos operates a premiere tour company in San Sebastian.  The convergence of his love of travel and thirst for holiday time led him to find this passion almost 20 years ago, during a successful career in engineering.   Jon explains in this interview how he approaches designing experiences for people in one of the most culinary-rich areas of the world, and how he came to love what he does.   J...

Tyler Malek is the Chef and co-owner of one of Portland's now most iconic brands and restaurants, Salt & Straw.  Now with locations cornering the continental US, Tyler and his cousin Kim have made some serious noise in the ice cream world.   In this episode, Tyler talks about the longshot pitch to Disneyland to be their official ice cream vendor, and how quickly the folks at Disney decided they wa...

We're going back to August of 2022 and our conversation with Aundre Barnes of Urdaneta. ORIGINAL POST: We spend an hour with Aundre Barnes, who has been serving diners at Portland's Urdaneta for the past 7 years. Aundre is a native Portlander and has seen many changes over his years here. He's worked in banking and in voice-over work along the way. He shares with us some of the reasons for his pas...

To kick off 2025 and Right at the Fork's 12th year, we are pleased to feature a conversation with Bill Oakley, known to many on Instagram as @ThatBillOakley.  Bill is a celebrated food celebrity who is a regular on The Food that Built America and other TV shows.  He discusses some of the food and places featured in his annual Steamie Awards as part of his Steamed Ham Society, both nationally, and...

We complete our 11th year with one of our favorite guests, Gary the Foodie.  Gary discusses some of his his favorite Portland food experiences of 2024, as well as some others outside the area, well, because it's Gary! Right at the Fork is supported by:  Zupan's Markets:  www. Zupans.com   RingSide Steakhouse:   www. RingSideSteakhouse.com   Portland Food Adventures:  www. PortlandFoodAdventures.co...

We look back at our converation with Don Bourassa in January 2024...    Don Bourassa was Right at the Fork's first guest ever in 2014. Back then, he was the Community Director for Yelp.  Now, he's moved to Porto, Portugal with his wife and among his many endeavors, he writes on substack:  International Adulting.  We talk to Don about what's transpired in the ten years since his first visit with us...