Table For Twelve First Event Success

TableTalkPortland's first-ever Table For Twelve event was a great success! This Wednesday the group convened at Castagna Restaurant on SE Hawthorne Blvd, where Executive Chef Elias Cairo outdid himself turning out such dishes as dungeness crab salad with egg mimosa, sautéed black cod with celery root purée, braised beef shortrib with hedgehog mushrooms, sauerkraut with house made bratwurst, sautéed sea scallops with fennel and blood orange. Everyone swapped wine, food tastes, and great conversation!

We are still thinking about the pillowy melt-in-your-mouth sunchoke and prosciutto agnolotti Elias sent out, along with his fantastic meat board (if you haven't tried Elias' house-cured meats you need to-- we hear that the folks from Salumi raved about it during a recent visit to Castagna, and it's obvious why!). Plates circled the table in a blur as people sampled each others' dishes. Who said that you can't mix bratwurst with shortribs and scallops? Everyone loved their dishes and thought the flavors were PERFECT. The only complaint was that the sauerkraut was a bit on the salty side, but the flavors were so savory.

And I swear I can still taste the perfectly tart 'n sweet Meyer Lemon sorbet with Prosecco, the moist layered Madeline olive oil cake, and the vanilla creme brulee mocha pot de creme duo.

We are so excited about next week's Table For Twelve event and we hope you join us! Email us at tabletalkpdx@gmail.com if you want to come!

Jen & Michelle