So, What Does an $11,000 Coffee Maker Do, Anyway?
Paul Adams over at Slate finds his way around the Clover. And no, we don't have them at Ristretto, but they do make a nice cup of coffee.
March 06, 2008
February 28, 2008
Blueberry Bran Muffins
I just now teased Din that, when I die, on my headstone (which I will not have), he should not have carved "Beloved Wife," but the recipe for my Blueberry Bran Muffins, which I started serving at the shop the day we opened, then pulled when we hired a baker, only to receive emails along the lines of "BRING BACK THE BRAN!!!!!"
I did; shortly thereafter, Bon Appetit requested the recipe. I usually bake them only for the weekend crowd, though lately, business has been so brisk, you may just find them there on a Tuesday.
For those who've recently requested the recipe, here it is:
Blueberry Bran Muffins
Makes 12 large (sometimes called "Texas") muffins
Preheat oven to 350F degrees
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark molasses (not unsulphered)
1 cup oil (corn, safflower, canola, whatever)
2 cups sour cream
2 cups unbleached white flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
2 t. kosher salt
6 cups wheat bran
2 cups frozen blueberries
Whisk together eggs, sugar, molasses, oil and sour cream. Whisk in flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir in bran, then blueberries.
Spray two muffins pans (six cups each) with flavorless cooking spray. Spoon batter evenly into muffin cups, Bake, about 35 - 40 minutes. Cool on racks, though not longer than an hour, after which muffins will stick to pans. To remove, run a butter knife around the side of each muffin and pop out.
These will be more popular than you anticipate.
February 26, 2008
Starbucks Closes!
... for training! I saw this headline all over today and did not think to blog it until alerted that it was postworthy. While I especially like Jeff Nolan's suggestion that the "next thing [Starbucks CEO Howard] Schultz should do is rip out those automatic espresso machines and go back to the old style manual machines, I especially especially like his link to espresso porn. Wah - talk about moneyshots galore!
photo courtesy of tonx
February 01, 2008
Here We Come...
So sayeth the Oregonian [Note: photo is not of Ristretto II -- or as my friend Amy Alkon has taken to calling it, "Son of Ristretto" but a restaurant in the same complex.]
January 25, 2008
At Last, a $20,000 Cup of Coffee
I wonder what sort of tip you leave? In other news, Ristretto has signed its lease on a second space, at 3808 N. Williams, in Portland. Look for us to open in early summer.
photo via the New York Times
October 06, 2007
Ristretto ♥ Amy
From this week's Portland Mercury, the Readers Fight Back! feature, which begins:
Tired of hearing our stupid opinion on restaurants? US, TOO. That's why we're letting our readers have the final word in this edition of the Mercury Food Issue Directory.
And includes - tah dah! - the wise and erudite Amy! Our current favorite mystery girl:
Ristretto Roasters
3520 NE 42nd, 284-6767
Hands down, my favorite coffee in town (beating out even Albina Press' rendition of Stumptown). The beans are roasted—to medium—in house. I'd walk across town if I had to, to partake. I'd also give this place 10 stars if they were available. Actually, only 8, because they close too early. Instead I'll go for a 4.5, rounded up.— amy
Sally Heppner at Ristretto
We have a beautiful, beautiful art show up at Ristretto Roasters,
the paintings of Sally Heppner. It was hung Thursday night, and when I
walked in yesterday morning, I truly felt as though I were in an art
gallery. These are serious paintings. More, Tafv saw the first one,
just inside the door, and said, "Mama, it looks like Grandpa Dave's work."
I don't have any images from the current show, but you can see some of Sally's other work here, as well a new piece, below. Please come by and check out the show, which will be up through November 6.
August 21, 2007
It's Coffee, It's Art...
It's art about coffee, made with coffee. Much more at Just Coffee Art. I love the Scandinavian Sleepwalker, a bit of graffiti from Iceland.
Link via Samuel John Klein
August 09, 2007
The Oracle of Starbucks
Courtesy of my friend Lizzy, a link to an everyday soothsayer. Behold! The Oracle of Starbucks. Type in your order, and it will tell you what you are. I, apparently, am an Asshat:
You carry around philosophy books you haven't read and wear trendy wire-rimmed glasses even though you have perfect vision... You hang out in coffee shops because you don't have a job because you got your degree in French Poetry. People who drink americano are notorious for spouting off angry, liberal opinions about issues they don't understand.
With the exception of the wire-rimmed glasses and French poetry degree, true! All true!
And you are?
July 25, 2007
Din Johnson, Center Stage
Willamette Week came out today with their Best of 2007, and wouldya look at this:
Best Live Coffee Show
Front-row swivel chairs are always available for Din Johnson's one-man show at Ristretto Roasters (3520 NE 42nd Ave., 284-6767). Johnson is no stranger to stealing the spotlight—in the '80s he used to bake shirtless in a storefront window along Northwest 23rd Avenue as one of Delphina's infamous "nude" bakers. But the real star of this performance is the eight types of medium-roasted beans pouring out of his steel Probat roaster. Nearly every weekday from 6 to 10 am, java voyeurs can catch all the action courtesy of the Plexiglas wall separating the coffee maker from his customers. "I've always liked to sit at the bar of an open-kitchen restaurant and harass the people making my food," says Johnson. "I felt my place should be no different." Just don't ask him to strip down; his bare-chested days are behind him.
So proud...
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