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RED RIGHT HAND
A one-time pie sidekick
steals the spotlight
There’s a lot of talk about
Washington strawberries,
especially when
they start appear-
ing in steaming
strawberry-
rhubarb pies
in bakery win-
dows every
spring. But one could argue that
it’s the strawberry’s ubiquitous
little cousin, rhubarb, that’s the
real star of the show. The ruby-
red locally grown vegetable
pops up in dishes, both
savory and sweet, all
over the state in
May: At Seattle’s
venerable Ital-
ian spot Tulio
Ristorante,
chef Walter
Pisano works
For Heaven’s Sake
Oregonwater proves ideally suited to brewing
Japan’s famous rice wine
THREE LIQUIDS USUALLY
come to mind when most people think of
Oregon: sublime coffee, cra -brewed beer and rain. High-end sake does
not immediately make the cut—which is one reason it’s surprising that
leading U.S. producer Sake One is located in the Oregon college town of
Forest Grove. Turns out, however, that despite the lack of an indigenous
industry, it’s not unreasonable to expect to make good sake in the Pacific
Northwest. Apart from the area’s rich history of cra brewing, Oregon’s
Coast Range filters close to 120 inches of rain each year through igneous
drew him to such an out-of-the-way
operation: the close proximity of pristine
natural ingredients and the complete
freedom to do as he pleases with them.
“This restaurant has its own farmand two
commercial fishing boats,” he says. “When
wewant herbs, we forage for them. We get
seaweed fromthe beach and pick our own
lobstermushroomswhenthey’re inseason.
I haven’t seen a lot of setups like this.”
In the inn’s cozy 25-seat dining room,
the tasting menu begins with a little
wooden box. Opening it reveals a puff
of fragrant smoke and a piece of locally
caught salmon above a small fire. Later,
there’s an oyster pickled in homemade
sauerkraut, kale toast with roasted black
truffles, impossibly creamy squid and a
vegetable plate with a dreamy over-easy
egg as a centerpiece. The menu peaks
with grilled duck topped with grilled
onion purée, then gracefully winds its
way down to a delicious pine-flavored ice
cream that tastes exactly like it sounds—
but in the best possible way.
A erdinner,Wetzel stands inthekitchen
musing on what he has in store for future
menus. He points beyond the window to a
small hut with tendrils of smoke twisting
from the chimney. “We’re experimenting
with smokedduckwings,” he says. “They’re
not perfect yet. Eventually we can add
spices and trydifferent cooking techniques,
but for now the important question is
whether they taste
good.” He hesitates
for a beat, then says,
“I believe they do.”
BIGGER FISH TO
FRY
Willows Inn
culinary prodigy
Blaine Wetzel
36
MAY 2012
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