From the brisk waters of Seattle to the earthy mushroom-studded forest surrounding Portland, author Darrin Nordahl takes us on a journey to expand our palates with the local flavors of the beautiful Pacific Northwest. There are a multitude of indigenous fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, and seafood waiting to be rediscovered in the luscious PNW. Eating the Pacific Northwest looks at the unique foods that are native to the region including salmon, truffles, and of course, geoduck, among others. Festivals featured include the Oregon Truffle Festival and Dungeness Crab and Seafood Festival, and there are recipes for every ingredient, including Buttermilk Fried Oysters with Truffled Rémoulade and Nootka Roses and Salmonberries. Nordahl also discusses some of the larger agricultural, political, and ecological issues that prevent these wild, and arguably tastier foods, from reaching our table. “In Eating the Pacific Northwest , Darrin Nordahl curates a delicious tour of some iconic indigenous foods. His evocative writing takes you to Oregon truffle country, Puget Sound oyster beds, and the straits that gift us prized wild salmon, and will make armchair culinary travelers want to hit the road.”— Hsiao-Ching Chou, Seattle-based food writer and author of Chinese Soul Food "With 20 recipes and dozens of photos, Nordahl's guide to the Pacific Northwest's culinary abundance will appeal to locals as well as visitors to the area." — Booklist Darrin Nordahl is the author of Eating Appalachia: Rediscovering Regional American Flavors and Public Produce: Cultivating Our Parks, Plazas, and Streets for Healthier Cities . He lives in Sacramento, California, and frequently writes about American food and food production. His work has appeared in the Boston Globe , Globe and Mail , Huffington Post , and on CNN and NPR. Eating the Pacific Northwest Rediscovering Regional American Flavors By Darrin Nordahl Chicago Review Press Incorporated Copyright © 2018 Darrin Nordahl All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-61373-528-2 Contents PROLOGUE: IDENTITY CRISIS, INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST?, 1. EUGENE: BLISS FOOD, 2. SHELTON: FROM TIDE TO TABLE, 3. OLYMPIA: IT'S THE WATER, 4. PORT ANGELES: LOBSTER OF THE PACIFIC, 5. PORTLAND: BOUNTY IN THE BRAMBLE, 6. SEATTLE: KING OF KINGS, 7. LUMMI ISLAND: HYPERLOCAL, RESOURCES: WHEN YOU GO, CHAPTER 1 Eugene: BLISS FOOD To love truffles is to revel in contrast. White or black? European or American? Infused or shaved? Pigs or dogs? Just an earthborne fungus or the most nuanced, enchanting, provocative, exalted food on Earth? You may already be quite familiar with truffles, those decadent black Périgords from France or the luxurious Italian whites from Alba; the fungi that the famed gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin once claimed were "the diamonds of the kitchen." If so, then you can appreciate their ethereal aromas and euphoric flavor (and stratospheric prices) — but I learned something that might rock your gustatory world. I discovered something better growing in the dense, coastal, evergreen forests of Oregon. And aside from a handful of locals (and maybe Sasquatch) nobody knows about these hidden treasures ... and they just may incite Oregon's next Gold Rush. Regardless of established French and Italian renown, let me declare with confidence that the Willamette Valley is one of the world's best truffle regions. But this shouldn't come as much surprise. America is maturing gastronomically. Our wines have bested France's most vaunted, time and again. We are excelling in craft beer, cheese, and charcuterie, and Americans now roast the best coffee and cacao beans in the world. Indeed, we have mastered many techniques in creating the finest drinks and foodstuffs gourmands have ever known. And now, we might also possess one of gastronomy's finest raw materials. I will concede, I'm somewhat new to truffles. I had just started to delve into the mystique of these culinary gems when I came across a food celebration in the Pacific Northwest that piqued my interest, the Oregon Truffle Festival. This food festival is unique for a few reasons, one being that it is so popular. I can't recall any other multiday foodie jubilee that is held over two weekends in two different cities. The Oregon Truffle Festival, or OTF, is a concise and casual affair in and around Portland one weekend, and then a pull-out-all-the-stops extravaganza in Eugene during another. This celebration is also different in that it is held in the dead of winter. January seemed an odd month for fresh food revelry, but then again, no better way to kick-start the new year than with a food festival of unparalleled decadence. Besides, Mother Nature doesn't cater to our convenience; when She says the food is ready to eat, then eat we shall. And for Oregon truffles, that means winter. The festival is also unique because of the diversity of guests it attracts: culinary artisans as well as