Those of you that know me know that, while in the kitchen, I prefer to work in silence. That’s not how most people work so, in an effort to make things more enjoyable, I started playing music during prep time. I asked one of my cooks, a young Korean woman named Sky, what she liked…
Berlu Restaurant
No More Christmas Music
I was torn as to which direction this newsletter would go. Initially, I was going to talk about the great time I had spending the holidays in Montana with my girlfriend and her family, however, the feeling of melancholy is setting in and there’s no more uplifting Christmas music to raise my spirits. The natural…
Nothing to open on Christmas
There are two types of gifters this time of year. Those that have the patience to wrap a gift and put it under the tree to be opened on Christmas and those who immediately give you your gift to be opened weeks before Christmas. The sentiment is sweet, as they are so genuinely excited to see…
Chachi’d
We’ve been blessed to have been mentioned in a few publications and, as a result, have had a large boost in subscribers to this newsletter. Yes, as this is a newsletter, it’s meant to deliver updates regarding the restaurant, however, Berlu is not a normal restaurant and, fittingly, this is not a normal newsletter. Before…
The guy she told you not to worry about
It was about 10 years ago I remember sitting out on the deck of a house party with my then girlfriend and one of her friends. The question came up about what the most famous stutter song was. My answer was “Benny and the Jets.” Oddly enough, the so called “Bowie Fanatic” and guy with the…
I got a peach stain on my white t-shirt
Hipster boys wearing daisy dukes, BBQs in Laurelhurst Park, stained fingertips from berry picking, movies in the park. All signs that it’s summer in Portland. Another sign that is synonymous with summer is the abundance of fresh stone fruit, particularly peaches so ripe they have to be eaten over a trash can or sink. To…
A drawer full of selfies
“Something that is written with little effort is, in general, read with little pleasure.” Words I live by and apply to all things in life. With little effort comes little reward. I’ve been working on this newsletter for weeks now but am facing a bit of writer’s block. It’s definitely not down to a lack…
Are we friends, or do I just know you?
I was recently given a card congratulating me on the opening of Berlu. It was locally made and, fittingly, featured an image of David Bowie. The artwork looked familiar and it turned out that I knew who made the card. When I saw the giver of this card, I mentioned that I was friends with…
There goes the neighborhood
I’m used to working in restaurants where the kitchens are cavernous, with no views of the outside world, but Berlu is a very open space with a lot of windows. We’ve been open for three weeks now, but I’ve been coming and going from the space for nearly a year. We’re located in the courtyard of an…
February Dinner at Berlu Pop-up
[This is not your standard press release; it’s much more interesting than most. So even though it is long, I’m running it because it’s good reading and details an upcoming dinner at the impressive Berlu popup at Langbaan. on February 11th – an omnivore menu, and February 18th for a vegan menu. FD] I recently…