It's been almost two years since I've moved here to Portland. I feel that in the past I've done a fairly poor job at highlighting the region, which is one of the main reasons I write: for the people at home that have either never been here, or have no time to come and visit.
So this year, I think I'm going to try highlighting things about Portland (and other parts of the West Coast) which are favorites of mine. And I plan to travel. I'd love to do Vancouver, B.C. and Southern California this year.
First on the list is this:
Portland Ketchup is a current obsession of mine. I'm a fan of ketchup for the start, believing that fries are only a vehicle for getting the tomato-y sauce into my mouth in as high a quantity as possible. Coming from Pittsburgh, maybe ketchup is a good regional identifier in my mind. If that's so, then I'm sorry Pittsburgh, but Portland Ketchup totally eclipses Heinz in almost every way possible. Made with all natural (and probably organic?) ingredients(no hfcs), this ketchup is fantastic. The price isn't too good at $5 for this size bottle, but I've seen worse things to spend your money on in my lifetime. It is very thick and has a good flavor, with spicy cloves very noticeable but not overpowering in a standard tangy, delicious sauce. Basically it tastes like ketchup. But better somehow. I thought I was crazy until I made my husband try it; he agreed. (Not that I was crazy, but that the ketchup is fabulous.)
I first noticed its existence in the cafeteria at OMSI where I volunteer. I put it on a beanburger and was totally impressed. I'm not sure of the availability of this product outside my region, but if you come to my house you will be greeted with some fries slathered in this golden god of a ketchup.
Read all about it!
http://www.portlandiafoods.com/ Notice that if you buy it in a 12-bottle case it only costs $3.50 a bottle. Additionally you can buy a gallon container for $32.00, which obviously I'm thinking very hard about.
