Our First Event

Dear friends,
Regardless of whether...
You cure your own soppressata in your basement --or-- you still think your bologna's first name is spelled o-s-c-a-r, YOU'RE INVITED!
You've never met a cheese cart you didn't chase after --or-- quesadillas are your signature dish, YOU'RE INVITED!
You eat duck liver and quince jelly sandwiches for breakfast --or-- you think Foie Gras BonBon is the name of that indie rock band that played last week at the Doug Fir, YOU'RE INVITED!
You're unable to resist openly ogling a leg of lamb --or-- you think lamb is a clothing line by Gwen Stefani, YOU'RE INVITED!
You slurp Kumamoto oysters with champagne mignonette like there's no tomorrow --or-- you think bivalves might be what's making that funny noise under your hood, YOU'RE INVITED!

Jen & Michelle of TableTalkPortland.com invite you to join them at Table For Twelve, their new interactive dining experience that brings 12 Portland food lovers, spanning the gourmand spectrum from novices to know-it-alls (meaning Michelle of course), to the city's finest restaurants for an evening of fabulous food, freely-flowing wine, and captivating company!
Sure the Portland Oregonian food critics may have declared communal dining Out-of-Date in 2008 (party poopers!), but at TableTalkPortland.com we beg to differ. We think good food is to be shared, and we want to share it with you. So we're booking a big family-style table at a different Portland restaurant each Wednesday night and having us a rollicking good dinner party! We'll explore different cuisines and cooking styles, share our impressions of what we're eating and drinking, and get the chance to meet and speak with both prominent and up-and-coming local chefs and sommeliers about their craft, maybe even get a kitchen tour or two if we ask nicely and don't leave anything on our plate. We'll boldly taste things we've never tasted before! Make new friends! Create lifelong relationships with foie gras bonbons! Learn the difference between a Vouvray and a Viognier (heck if we know)! And of course, we'll all get to taste each other's desserts. (Um, YES, dessert is mandatory .)
Here's how this works: Each and every Thursday we'll reveal the upcoming week's Table for Twelve dining destination in our weekly TableTalkPortland.com e-newsletter and take reservations via email at tabletalkportland@gmail.com on a first-come, first-serve basis. If the table is full this week, don't fret, you can grab a seat next time around! When your reservation is confirmed, you'll receive a restaurant and chef bio, directions and carpool info, and a copy of Table for Twelve's Ten Commandments of TableTalk Table Manners. (Example: Thou shalt covet your neighbor's pan-seared Meyer Lemon gnocchi...and request a taste!)
Barring the absence of our e-newsletter this week (we're still preparing to launch TableTalkPortland.com! ETA: Very soon!) we'll just tell you now that this Wednesday we'll raise our Champagne-filled Riedels and spear a bite of Chef Elias Cairo's braised short rib with hedgehog mushrooms, roasted turnips and potato puree at Castagna Restaurant on SE Hawthorne Boulevard. Not only was Castagna recently named one of Portland Monthly Magazines "Portland's 10 Best Restaurant," but super-cute chef Elias Cairo was recently awarded the Golden Fork Award. Check out Chef Cairo's menu here: http://castagnarestaurant.com/index.php?section=castagna&page=menus.
SO that all said....we hope you will join us this Wednesday, March 5, at 7 pm at Castagna Restaurant to help us kick off our First Ever TableTalkPortland's Table for Twelve!

See you at the Table ,

Jen & Michelle