PART II: Food and friends in the PNW

A love letter to PDX's Lilia Comedor and solo travel

Thanks for coming to Part II of my “Food and friends in the PNW”! When I last saw you I was leaving Spokane, WA for the 5.5 hour drive to Portland, OR.

Portland is home to one of my favorite people on planet earth, Daniel (DJ or Deej). Deej and I met in a high school geometry class when I was a sophomore and he a freshman, meaning our friendship is now clocking in at 20 years. As um, sobering as it is to do calculations like this, it also makes me really happy. Long-term bonds like this have become more and more valuable to me as I get older, and I find myself eager and grateful to put in the work to maintain these bonds. It’s such a gift to have people who have known you forever and been with you through the many seasons of life, people who start to blur the line between friend and family; to watch people grow and have new experiences that change them, while the core kernel of who they are always remains fundamentally unchanged. It’s also great to have people who remember when you were young, cool, you went out more, and your back didn’t hurt as much.

Deej is a truly amazing cook in his own right and a huge foodie, which is great because the food scene in Portland is absolutely ON FIRE right now. We talked for weeks in advance about what restaurant to have dinner at for my one night in town. We ended up settling on Lilia Comedor, a newer restaurant with Chef Juan Gomez at the helm (formerly of República) and an ever-changing menu rooted in seasonal pan-Mexican themes and flavors. The only seats available at our ideal reservation time slot were for the “chef’s counter”, which we took to meant the bar, and we decided that worked fine for us.

Jackpot! Unbeknownst to us, they turned out to be the best seats in the house. The “chef’s counter” is in fact the bar, but the bar is situated right in front of the chef himself as he does the final plating of each dish- the garnish, the toppings, the beautiful finishing touches- before they are whisked away to tables. It’s a front row seat for absolutely the coolest show you can imagine. We were given the choice to order our selections, or do the prix fixe “chef’s counter experience”, which is basically one of everything split between us. Deej and I briefly exchanged glances; um, is that even a question? ONE OF EVERYTHING PLEASE AND THANK YOU.

The menu on the night we ate there. Obviously we’re getting one of everything.

Suffice to say it was a true feast for the senses. Each dish was incredibly thoughtful and well-balanced with tons of detail. As part of the “experience”, Chef Juan personally brought out and introduced every dish as he set it before us, explaining all the elements, his sourcing and the thought process behind the flavor profiles. Chef Juan also chatted good-naturedly with us for our whole meal, which was such a treat- he was kind of a captive audience anyway!! He politely and thoughtfully answered all the questions I peppered him with, traded Portland restaurant recommendations with Deej, and never once made us feel like we were distracting him- the consummate gracious host.

The meal!

I don’t usually lead with my line of work in these situations- I feel there tends to be a lot of (if you’ll excuse the overly technical term) “dick-measuring” between chefs, comparison and competition and sizing each other up. I wanted to not disturb the vibe and just let him do his thing, and I kind of like my anonymity anyway. But when it came out that I was a chef too, he was thrilled and it was super fun talking the industry with him. His restaurant concept (deeply seasonal and constantly changing with very little if any recipe testing, which is pretty different from your average restaurant) is very similar to what I do every day as a private chef, and we had a really lovely moment of mutual recognition and appreciation. Later his wife (the pastry chef) and tiny adorable kids came in and sat down for dinner and an evening restaurant hang. We stayed for 2.5 hours and loved every minute, we really felt right at home. This was definitely one of the most memorable restaurant visits of my life. Do not miss out on Lilia Comedor next time you’re in PDX and go follow them on social media!

Dessert- the last of which we took to go because we were stuffed to the gills. Come hungry to Lilia!!

Completely stuffed and very happy, I drove the final leg of my journey back up to Seattle that night. The next day was my last day in the PNW, after a very full and very wonderful trip. I do a lot of solo travel, and I am a big proponent of it. I love doing anything I want, fully on my own timeline, not needing to consult or compromise with anyone for anything. I also find being by oneself in a new place quite peaceful- it puts you alone with your thoughts and brings you pretty fully into the moment. Being fully anonymous in a place where no one knows you can feel vastly lonely, but it can also be very relaxing. And nothing builds confidence or makes you grow as a person than being completely self-reliant in new situations and beautiful new places. I think often people wait to take trips and see the world until they’re retired, more financially secure, or until they have a partner or someone to do things with. I’m against this idea- not to be a downer, but nothing in life is guaranteed, folks. I say do the scary thing, see the world, don’t wait!

Apart from visiting the famous cherry blossoms at University of Washington (I was there just in time for the blooms!), I spent the majority of my last day lounging around the hotel eating clam chowder in my bathrobe, which is pretty much me in my most natural form. Can’t think of a better ending. Except that I got the whole row to myself on the flight back to NYC. #blessed #theend