Meet the Kitchen
on Thursday, September 22, 2011The kitchen is, in many ways, a living thing. Things change constantly. As the seasons cycle, so does the availability of ingredients, keeping the kitchen staff on their toes. It’s close quarters back there, and you are always in someone else’s way. It requires great dedication, precision, and awareness to execute meal service smoothly. Meet some of the special people who give all of their time and energy to create beautiful meals for our customers:
Billy teaches his son, Wyatt, appreciation of the outdoors. The most recent addition to our kitchen staff, Billy Dachtler, grew up in San Diego. As … Read the rest »
Catering to Alternative Diets
on Friday, September 9, 2011In college, I eliminated all dairy from my diet, believing I was lactose intolerant. For two years I avoided everything – 
milk, butter, cheese, yogurt – still, I felt sick often. Eventually, between visits to a naturopath, blood tests, and experimenting with “elimination diets,” I was able to narrow down my sensitivities to milk and soy protein.
This recent Ahi special happened to be without gluten or dairy.
During that time, I became intimately aware of the difficulties that come with food allergies, sensitivities, and eating out. I began to avoid eating out altogether, feeling that no one understood … Read the rest »
Dressing Things Up
on Saturday, August 13, 2011
As our loyal customers know, Janet is always searching for ways to improve her menu. Whether it’s scouring local farmers markets for unusual ingredients, or trying again and again to develop the perfect recipe, she is all about keeping it new and exciting.
In August we’ve made a few small changes to keep in line with this philosophy. First of all, we have eliminated any store-bought dressings from our restaurant. In place of our old blue cheese, you will now find our already-famous Smokey Rogue Blue Cheese dressing. The base of this dressing, … Read the rest »
Beer, Beef, and Social Responsibility
on Monday, August 1, 2011Beer, beef, and social responsibility: three things that are very important to us at Bethany’s Table. As we continue to evolve, we have been working to align our values with our practices. Several months ago, we switched to Oregon Natural Meats as our ground beef supplier. At that time, David wrote this post, detailing the reasons for changing suppliers and a brief bit about the new beef.
The story about this “Brew Beef,” however, deserves a bit more attention. We chose Oregon Natural Meats as a supplier because their business model and values are in line with our own. … Read the rest »
Meet Our Pastry Chef
on Friday, July 29, 2011
I think of Amelia Lane as the secret weapon of Bethany’s Table. Customers almost never see her, nor do many of our employees, due to her unusual hours. Yet we are all quite familiar with her enticing treats, from her flaky, buttery biscuits to her rich, exquisite tiramisu. She’s like a mysterious dessert fairy.
Amelia grew up in the Carolinas eating her grandmother’s famous pecan pie, candied yams, and fresh home-grown tomatoes. “It didn’t exactly occur to me how important those three things were until I entered the culinary world,” Amelia says wistfully, “I realized that I too would like … Read the rest »
Remodeling A Miracle
on Thursday, July 21, 2011
We Have Plans!
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Most of our regulars know our story. How we purchased the assets of a failing meal assembly store in the summer of 2008 and of how we floundered as we failed to differentiate our products and services from the business that preceded us. In October of 2008 the revolution began, that being the biggest recession since the Great Depression. We just died. The cash ran out. Our attempts to start a bakery and patisserie floundered. In the spring of 2009 we realized we had failed and we ran out of things to sell in order to … Read the rest »
Live(ly) Music Coming This Saturday!
on Wednesday, July 20, 2011
  Table Music
June 23rd – 7:30 pm
Mac Potts has played at the Table multiple times. For a while we tried out hosting live music every Saturday night and during that time we had some truly wonderful shows. Mac’s show was a definite favorite. Mac first learned his blues chops from local legend D.K. Stewart, and has studied with jazz pianist Janice Scroggins and New Orleans saxophonist Reggie Houston.  In addition to keyboards, Mac plays saxophone, drums, percussion, and harmonica. He has been playing professionally since the age of 11. We expect him to mostly stay on the keyboard … Read the rest »
Berry Unusual: Tayberries
on Saturday, July 16, 2011
This week, Janet strolled into the kitchen with a flat full of at-their-absolute-best berries. I looked over the strawberries, blueberries, and then paused over a half-flat of… something else. Initially I thought they were raspberries because of their color, but they were much to big and oblong. I picked one up and looked quizzically at Janet, who demanded, “Taste!”
And so I was introduced to Tayberries, a raspberry-blackberry cross unlike anything I’ve ever had. Their flavor is subtle, floral, a little tart, and a little sweet. They’re almost tannic, reminiscent of a nice black tea. They are tricky to find for … Read the rest »
Changes at Bethany’s Table
on Wednesday, June 22, 2011What a wonderfully busy year we’ve been having! As word about us has continued to spread, our business has grown tremendously. We’re extremely grateful to our loyal customers who have embraced us so warmly.
Surrounded by positive people, we have been planning some transitions to help us cope with the increased business. Some of you may have noticed our new logo, designed by Portland native Malin Reedijk. We’ve unveiled this in conjunction with our new website, as the first phase of a number of changes. Janet’s daytime assistant, Allea Martin, has been working hard to get the new site launched. … Read the rest »
The (Natural) Next Step
on Thursday, May 26, 2011
Many of you know the story of how we evolved into a restaurant that serves almost exclusively all-natural, locally produced meat. It wasn’t always so. When we first moved into this space the dynamics were such that our approach was willy-nilly. We had an epiphany the night we went out to see the movie Food, Inc, which was as much a message of hope as it was an exposé of the earth ravaging processes used by an industry gone awry. We left the theater and declared, “The price of chicken just went up!” (Click here to view the page … Read the rest »
