(Guest columnist William Duval, Portland business attorney,  and frequent BurgerDogBoy burger companion, turns in this report):

During my Match.com days – the ones after my divorce – I made a point to be filthy informed and up to date on the epicurean landscape of my fairly miserable city.  I knew where the creamiest crepe could be found, the meatiest rattlesnake, the spiciest enchiladas – - I could even identify the venerable vegan joints (because as an eternal opportunist, I never lost my thing about hippie-chicks).  This period, mind you, was a mere ten years past, when low-carb was gospel, organic was in its infancy, and the only gluten-free choice for food was relegated to the bottom shelves of the end of isle four at the first and only (at that time) New Seasons Market.  I doubt I had seen a gluten-free bakery or even gluten-free menu items back then, or, for that matter, met a rational person who actually eschewed gluten by choice.

Flash-forward to these happy days of monogamy: the restaurant scene has moved on without me.  I have no idea who serves what, where; and why would I?  My Newlywed Forever makes the best of everything, and if she doesn’t feel like cooking I can always come here and be told where to find the very best beef in a bun.   But I do know this about local restaurants in 2010: one nowadays just as easily finds Portland-area menus with gluten-free choices as one finds clueless bicyclists fucking up traffic 24/7.  (Make your own correlation.)  The Neilson Company confirms a trend is in the works: sales of gluten-free items in the U.S. rose 74% from 2004 to 2009 with sales expecting to top $2.6M in two years.  Bob saw it coming by adding five new Red Mills to pump out gluten-free products some nine years back.  And similar to blogs devoted to pleasures of the burger, there are website/blogs devoted to gluten-free shit in Portland you can see here http://www.glutenfreeportland.org and here http://www.glutenfreechoice.com.

The challenge, as you know may know, is finding a gluten-free anything that is as palatable and tasty as its gluten-laden ancestor. Sure, there’s gluten-free pizza at the PSU Pizzacato on Thursday nights, but have you tried it?  Or how about those $5 frozen bricks labeled “Bread” at Whole Foods?  After laboring five minutes to hacksaw off a slice just try to brown it in a toaster.  Double-down: now eat it.  Making edible gluten-free anything is hard. Making it taste familiar is even harder. My beautiful Match is on a gluten-free bender approaching six months now; I know that of which I speak.

But followers of the adventures of BurgerDogBoy will be simply fascinated, I am sure, to know a very juicy little tidbit concerning our anonymous Maximum Burger Director.

This past Friday evening, he and the ever-gracious Mrs. BurgerDogBoy invited us into their home, a place where by rumor we believed we would receive a most satisfactory well-cooked homemade meal.  Did we ever!  While I most assuredly don’t know the half of it, Mr. and Mrs. BurgerDogBoy really know how to cook.  I can state this with absolute certainty.  Yet this is not the juicy piece of which I taunt

Mr. and Mrs. BDB laid out a divine assortment of olives, roasted garlic, lasagna, pizza, salad and cookies.  And what do you know – irony of ironies – BurgerDogBoy makes THE best – you saw this coming – gluten-free pizza, gluten-free lasagna and gluten-free cookies one will ever hope to find anywhere, I am sure.

Each was presented in two varieties: Gluten free for my own lovely gluten-free adventurer and other guests on a similar journey; and for the rest of us – wholesome, thick, rich gluten maximus served up without reserve.  The results were spectacular; there was little difference to be perceived in each instance.  The sauces for the Italian choices were splendid – a sweeter, tomatoey mix for the pizzas, and a hearty, meaty blend to put my Aunt Sally on notice that her lasagna Florentine trade secret is in jeopardy.  BurgerDogBoy used at least three different meats for both forms of lasagna, the leftovers of which I enjoyed two days later.  As I am fully cognizant that this venue at which we all loiter is burgersdogspizza.com and not burgersdogslasagna.com I shall tarry only briefly off topic: Each version had plenty of ricotta, nice firm noodles, just the right sized layer of spinach and a scrumptious cheese baked golden brown and yellow on top…. it really was perfection. (Editor’s note:  Mrs. BDB’s recipes for lasagna are so secret, she won’t even tell ME what’s in them!)

As for the pizza – both versions offered the type of NY style crust I crave: thin and tasty, hand shaped and cooked over hot briquettes.  What was remarkable was the virtual similarity between each version of pizza.  Each contained a healthy variety of meats (salami, sausage and pepperoni i.e. heaven) laid atop the aforementioned slightly sweet, perfectly spiced tomato sauce. Only a slightly different taste made evident that the ingredients in the dough must necessarily have varied. Save for a minor few forgivable black burns on a portion of the crust’s bottom, the gluten-free version was far better than anything I’ve ever paid for.  This was seriously good pizza made and presented by our very knowledgeable hosts.

So it can be done; proven this very night by BurgerDogBoy himself -connoisseur of all food pleasing, tasty, and properly prepared.  But this really begs the question and laysdown the challenge:  for if BurgerDogBoy can give the gluten-free treatment to lasagna, cookies and pizza without sacrificing any of the attributes we’ve come to expect from some of our favorite foods then what potential there must be for a perfect gluten-free burger.   But the challenge is heretofore issued: You make the buns, and on my own grill our beef shall sizzle.

(The closely-attuned reader will no doubt call attention to the fact I neglected to speak of the cookies.  I am Mr.Cookie.  I love all cookies and eat cookies all day, so in saying that I thought the cookies were wonderful, little is really said.)

(Ed Note:  Readers, if you are looking for gluten free hamburger buns, you’ll find them in the BurgersDogsPizza.com online store!)

William and Victoria Duval

Once a year, the little brewer from Bend who could, closes off the street in front of their Pearl area brewpub, and serves up samples of their beers, along side samples of a dozen or so Portland food carts.

I have a little bit of an opinion about microbrews….. being a spoiled American occasional beer drinker.  I think one day, in the distant past, a batch of beer went bad somewhere, and the brewers didn’t know what to do with it – too expensive to serve to hogs or toss out, they decided to assign in a special name, charge more money, and voila!  the microbrew industry was born.

But this blog isn’t about beer, is it?

$5 got one into the brew fest, and gave one the opportunity to sample one beer, and one food.  $25 gained you entry and 7 samples of same.  Vendors were, for the most part, lackadaisical about collecting the beer “tokens,”  so the $25 we spent initially ended up being more of a “donation” (I doubt this is designed to be a profit making event, especially as they closed the doors to new entrants rather early in the evening).    In any regards, one could really sample as much beer and food as they wanted to, was my point.

Among the food carts present were old favorites like Garden State, Whiffies pies,and Grilled Cheese Grill.  Mrs. Burgerdogboy, Burgerdogboy’s spawn (and appendage) and I, with a wide variety of personal tastes, to to sample most everything presented.

Pyro Pizza won me over with their charred, bricked oven slices of Margherita Pizza.  Pyro is regularly at 12th and Hawthorne, so if you are heading over to the Hawthorne Street fest this weekend, check them out.  I am gonna look forward to trying their pepperoni pie, which the menu touts the meat from local sausage mogul, Otto’s.

Next up for me was the poutine, Canada’s national dish, fries smothered in brown gravy (they offered a choice of meat gravy or vegetarian) topped with fresh cheese curds.  Potato Champion, a cart usually parked at SE 12th and Hawthorne, dished these babys up in generous quanity, and the fries were quite tasty, tho the speed at which they had to deliver the product probablycut down on the experience a bit.  I’ll give them a shot at their home base, regular readers know how much I like poutine!  You might consider trying the poutine burger at the Savoy.

The Flavour Spot was offering up waffle sandwiches, with your choice of sausage innards or a maple pecan butter concoction, we tried the sweet but not the savory, and it was dandy.  The Flavour Spot has a couple of locations, their original is on North Lombard   This is also a menu I want to examine in greater depth.

Mrs. Burgerdogboy, a lover of all things porcine (and Korean), gave 3 thumbs up (yes, I married her in spite of that physical anomaly), to Slow and Low’s Pork Belly Sandwich with kimchi mayo. You can find Slow and Low on E Burnside.

I wasn’t so excited about the brisket and mozzarella fried pie from Whiffies. Both the filling and the crust were lacking in any kind of discernable flavor The Mrs liked the spicy garlic pork curry on rice from Mum’s Kitchen, who hangs their hat (and some South African Indian delicacies (ever been to Durban? These folks obviously have!) on N Vancouver.

And what did Burgerdogboy’s spawn and appendage say to all this? (mfmfmsmsmwwio) (sound of chewing).

Portland is food cart heaven. Aren’t we lucky to have this wide variety of cuisine, all priced inexpensively?

But if you have a craving for plain old dogs and burgers, check out our store, purveyors of all things burger and–dog related, from meats, to buns, to dozens of condiments!

Pyro Pizza

Mrs. BDB and I were out for a pub crawl Friday nite, and starting from a bar in NW.  We thought we’d better eat first, and by chance wandered into Henry’s Tavern, at Burnside and 12th.   Henry’s is part of RUI, the Seattle restaurant corporation, the same folks who brought you Kincaids, Palomino, Newport, Stanfords, etc., etc, ad nauseum.  Cookie cutter casual dining for a cookie cutter society.

The place is nicely decorated, and we were greeted and seated promptly.   Our perfunctory waiter (I use that word a lot in these posts), did his absolute worst to make us feel unwelcome and uninformed.  We were not told if there were any specials, nor were we told there was a happy hour menu available.

He asked us for our drink order, asked us if we wanted to start with appetizers, (“no”) and vanished to fetch our drinks.

As we looked around the restaurant, observed and listened to the servers, it seemed they were all exhibiting similar “attitudes.”  Very much reminded me of the restaurant we went to on 23rd where Mrs. BDB thought it seemed like the entire staff’s cats or aunts died that day.

No matter how bad a company is, a good GM can fix a restaurant like this, making sure the attitude of hospitality workers is “hospitable.”    Folks, if you don’t want the job, don’t want to do your best, quit.

Mrs.BDB had her second burger of the year, the diminutive version of the Sharp Cheddar Burger, which is 8 oz of Painted Hills Natural beef, Tree Hugger Porter mustard, Sharp Tillamook® Cheddar, garlic mayo, ripe tomato, onion, green leaf, on a brioche bun.  Add bacon for a buck.  The lesser version, “Kristine’s Burger,”  shaves a couple of ounces of beef off for a buck less.  The patty was cooked to Mrs. BDB’s specifications, and since I didn’t feel like a burger that night (WTF?), she offered me a taste of hers.  You’ll get no argument from me that Painted Hills beef is flavorful, but whatever flavor is inherent to the beef is muffled by the melange of condiments Henry’s piles on, including the menu mentioned garlic mayo and beer mustard.  The complexity of the garlic was offset by the beer ’stard, and both were canceled out by the (not mentioned on the menu) bread and butter pickle chips, and the side ramekin of garden variety ketchup.  The extra cost bacon was very good.

It always amazes me (Ok, not really) that restaurants can go to such meticulous care with some ingredients in a dish and blow off others.

The fresh cut fries were limp, not surprising, we had a clear view of the kitchen, and frequently orders were destined to heat lamp hell for far too long.  No real clue as to why these dishes weren’t delivered as they came off the line.

I ordered a ‘fennel sausage and Gorgonzola” flatbread (that’s the new word for pizza, it seems), which came on a serving board, sliced in squares, about 10″ x8″,  ample enough portion for me, the sausage was hand-pulled and flavorful, the Gorgonzola was placed in blobs around the pizza, as to cover it all with that strong a cheese, many people would not find appealing (but try me!).  The crust was flaky and chewy in the right parts, with a smattering of nice oven char.

Things the way they are, I thought the meal was a fairly good value, about $10 a head, not including drinks.

We’d probably go back.  For a Friday nite, 6 ish, they weren’t all that busy, and clientel was diverse, from the yuppie generation to middle aged farts like me, and a gaggle of blue hairs.

Before we do go back, however, I’d just as soon the staff get a little pep talk, or purchase new attitudes, and also advise us of our dining options, highlight the menu offerings, small stuff like that.

I tipped generously despite the blase service.  Silly me.

Henry’s menu is online.


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The back of the box says “while similar to a simple pizza, this fabulous, fascinating flatbread defines a category of its very own.” Agreed.

While living in Europe, even the worst pizzeria often put out a product superior to a lot of US pizzas; on those nites when I didn’t feel like going on, European frozen pizzas, especially those from Italy and France, more than satisfied my peculiarly picky palate. I often thought, “why can’t we get frozen pizza like this at home?” Now we can. As I have previously reviewed two of Trader Joe’s frozen offerings, the mushroom ‘tarte’, and the Pizza Olympiad, when I saw this “Wild Mushroom and Black Truffle Flatbread” yesterday, I knew it was destined for my oven last night.

(Note, Trader Joe’s is a smallish nationwide specialty grocer, to find locations click here).

Further description on the package goes on to say “a hand-stretched crust is carefully covered with truffle sauce, then topped with whole milk mozzarella, truffles, and mushrooms. The golden colors are appealing, the flavor is outstanding!”

And again, we agree. Bake at 425 for 6-8 minutes, and this 9 oz pie becomes a hearty entree or an appetizer for several people. The flatbread is crispy, and the flavors of the mushrooms, truffle sauce, and cheese come through brilliantly!

I’m fortunate to live in a city where there are several Trader Joe’s – first encountered in Los Angeles, and at least once a week I am in there to pick up their flavored sparkling waters and juices for Mrs. Burgerdogboy, as she has a penchant for them, and it gives me an excuse to peruse the “what’s new” products in their aisles. I only picked up this one item for myself yesterday, but noted there were several more pies that I haven’t tried. Looks like another trip is in order!

As I said in one of my previous posts, on the @worstpizza.com scale of 0-8 slices, 8 being best, I rarely give a “7″, but I did for Traders Joe’s frozen, and that surprised even me.  I put this one in the same category!

Mrs. Burgerdogboy and I were off to the Mississippi Avenue Street Fair in Portland, yesterday, one of dozens of summer fetes city neighborhoods have to offer. We wandered the mile or so of the closed off street and glanced, or in some cases (like Mr. Green Beans), perused and purchased local wares.

We were down near the south end of the fest when we started to want a little liquid refreshment and nourishment. As the booths covered the signage of the sidewalk merchants, and we weren’t familiar with the neighborhood, we wandered into the first open door that looked inviting, and it happened to be the Mississippi Pizza and Pub.

Apparently known as a great local music venue, Mississippi was doing a brisk business in slices and cold drinks on the 5th day of Portland’s annual summer heat wave.

We scored a table, and could see the slice offerings counter from where we sat, Mrs. BDB did the ordering (and paid!) for our lunch. I went with the “fancy meat” slice, and she had the “fancy vegetable slice”, with a local brew for her, and a cold $2 PBR for me. (I am a lover of cheap beer!).

The slices were $3.50 each, and were popped in the oven for a quick reheat. Normally, if I am getting a slice from a counter, I don’t ask for the reheat, but it was the standard offering here. The slice offerings varied a bit from the M’s standard menu, but were amply-sized, and very tasty. The crust was that special combination of a crispy edge and chewy middle, New York style, and had a nice “New York foldability.” Toppings were not all that generous, and while the Fancy Meat did have some “fancy meats”, the accompanying vegetables (mushrooms, black olives, onion), were not fresh chopped. The “fancy veggie” slice skipped the red sauce in favor of a pesto, which Mrs. BDB liked very much.

The usual array of pizza condiments (garlic, cheese, peppers, herbs) topped each table, and we were able to rest our weary dogs for an hour or so in a pleasant window seat, drinking our brewskis, before venturing back out into the crowds of the fair.

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When the sign on the door says “25 years in business” (and hopefully it isn’t left over from the last guy), well, that’s a pretty good sign.

I’ve been in here before, had an Italian beef ‘hero’ (they called it “Chicago beef”) which was pretty good, as I recall. I didn’t ask them then, or today, if they made the roast in-house or purchased it. It’s not Vienna’s product, which I usually prefer.

Odd tho, when I was here before, I didn’t notice that they served pizza, and probably the reason was last time I was focused on getting a sandwich, or the fact it’s not on their printed menus, and/or, there is a very small sign offering it, and/or, everybody local already knows this. Or some combination of the above.

Somebody has said “you should try Geraldi’s pizza,” so I thought I would spend a leisurely afternoon alone there, munching a pie, reading the paper, at least that was my intent, but my intent was stabbed in the back by a domestic crisis of minuscule proportions.

So I told them to box up the pie for consumption in BurgerDogBoy’s testing lab, er, man cave, so he could eat, pout, smoke, and do the Sunday crossword simulaneously. Multi-tasking, as it were.

I noticed they had a standard two deck gas oven against the back wall (but didn’t notice if it was Blodgett or Baker’s Pride, so I knew what I was approximately in for in the finished product. I ordered sausage, pepperoni, and double cheese, very hard to find a pie place that offers green olives around here, one of my favorite toppings, especially the marinated green Silicians from Roma, the pizza suppliers. (or whomever distributes the standard in this category).

I didn’t watch assembly, so I have no idea if they roll the crusts on the spot, or what the other ingredients shape up like, tho I have a few clues from popping the cherry on the take home box. The sausage was bulk, hand-pulled in chunks, which I always prefer. It has a little kick to it. The pepperoni slices are larger than, say Hormel’s product of pizza, and it has a distinctive pepperoni flavor. No cupping or charring, either, so it’s a lean product. Real cheese produces the “stretch” when you lift a slice from the box, and also assures the toppings stay in place during the “lift.”

The sauce was a bit sweeter than my personal preference, but not enough to put me off the pie. It also could have been cooked a little longer, for my taste, but that was not a distraction either. The crust is neither thin nor thick, has some crisp and char on the edges, but the balance of it is doughy-chewy.

If I lived closer, this would be a regular stop for me, especially if I could persuade them to stock the olives. On Worstpizza.com’s scale of 1-8 slices, I give Geraldi’s a solid 7. And that says a lot, coming from me!

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Each year, for the past 75, the tiny town of St. Paul, OR (pop 390) has held one of the biggest professional rodeos in the country, for several days preceding the 4th of July.  We went a couple years ago, but were shut out of entering the competition, as I didn’t have the foresight to imagine it was a sell-out.   Not to be thwarted this year, I bought tickets in advance, and, away we went on Saturday, to take in the rodeo, accompanying carnival, and of course, carny food.

Not a whole lot of surprises in the food arena, all the usual carny fare, ranging from hot dogs, burgers, burritos, churros, pizza, bbq, and the like. Local (St. Paul) vendors were offering strawberry short cake and chicken dinners, as is there own tradition.

Mrs. BDB said she’d go for a turkey leg, if one was on offer, us having not been to any renaissance fairs lately, me, I was undecided, but finally opted for a big sausage, and we’d share chili cheese fries on the side.

By happy coincidence, there was one booth that offered all three, and it was a madhouse, as good be expected. We ordered, were served, and wrangled our way into a couple of seats at the picnic tables, far too few tables for the diners, and some folks were a little uppity about claiming their perches (including BurgerDogBoy). Settled in, we launched into lunch, and Mrs. BDB proclaimed it one of the best turkey legs she had ever had, smokey, crispy skin, juicy meat. I would have grabbed a photo, but probably would have had my hand bit off. One knows better than to get between Mrs. BDB and her food!

The sausage was a disappointment, they were reheating them on a griddle, and this puppy could have used some char. It had hot dog spices and flavor, so I played with it more than ate it. The chili cheese fries were fresh spiral cut fries, chili with beans, and the same cheese sauce used for the nachos. Better than most carny food, but I knew I’d pay in the morning.  We passed on the strawberry short cake (big mistake) but did opt for a caramel apple with sprinkles, which was grand.

We didn’t have great seats for the rodeo, but it was fun for about 90 minutes, at which point it was time for us to head to the beer tent ($10 cover, $5 a cup), and we stayed for about an hour, listening to a country band with an androgynous sound engineer. Fireworks followed, and a pleasant drive home, meandering up US 99, with a stop at a fireworks booth midnight for the next days festivities.

The St. Paul rodeo is a great way to experience rural Oregon, and take in a lot of bullshit at the same time!

In my opinion, it’s hard to find anything affiliated with the Kimpton Hotel chain that is “wrong.” Our experiences in these hotels, around the country, and here in Portland, have been absolutely superb. In fact, the Portland Monaco (formerly Fifth Avenue Suites) was Mrs. BDB and my choice to host our wedding party, back in the day. The concierge there, during our visit, saved our bacon on more than one occasion during the turmoil of putting a wedding together!

We’ve also stayed at their sister hotel across the street, the Vintage Plaza, and been equally impressed. Pazzo is the in-house restaurant at the Vintage Plaza, and we have eaten there on several occasions. We ventured there last night looking for a happy hour where we could enjoy Portland’s brief flirtation with the sun, and sit outside, if possible.

Wednesdays are our “happy hour” night out, and we set out early, arriving just after 5p, so there was no problem getting a table outside, to enjoy the evening sun and watch the pedestrian traffic on Broadway.

Pazzo has a bar menu all the time, and the happy hour menu is the same, but at greatly reduced prices. So reduced, that we shot our wad and ordered the entire menu, skipping only the pasta. This is the bar menu, but with the regular (not happy hour) prices:

Everything we tried was absolutely “Kimpton wonderful,” as was the over the top service from our waitress, who is in her third year at the Pazzo, previously having been down the street at Portland’s luxe hostelry, the Benson.

We grazed in the order the dishes were served, starting with complementary breads and oil,  the salad, and one of the impressive aspects of our server is she went ahead and delivered the smaller items on two plates, so sharing was easily.   The salad was delightfully refreshing in the evening heat, and we followed that with the salumi plate, loaded up with beautiful Italian processed pork products, olives, and, fresh mozzarella.

The wood-fired pizza came next, I had chosed sausage, fresh mozzarella, and basil for the toppings, the crust was cracker thin and had a nice char around the edges from the oven.  Pazzo also operates a take-out shop and bakery next door to the restaurant, opening during the daytime only, and they have a great pizza, as well, but their version is not baked in the wood oven.   The sausage was tasty, the basil and mozzarella fresh, the cheese added a nice creaminess to the pie.  Since I do so love ‘cracker-thin’, this is one of my favorite pizzas in Portland.

After the bread, salad, salamis, and some pizza, I couldn’t even touch the hero sandwich, but Mrs. BDB had a bite and said it was excellent. Upon our departure, the served boxed up the remaining food, and we’ll have enough to get through the morning after…if not the day.

Like most people, we enjoy these happy hour meals because they are inexpensive, and allow us to sample the fare of a variety of Portland restaurants.   We went over the top here, with an $80 tab, but that included over $50 in beverages.   You can get by for much less, well drinks during happy hour at Pazzo are only $3.00.

I really love the folks at Kimpton.  Luxurious accomodations, top notch staff, plush amenities, a wine party at night at most hotels, pet friendly.

And food like Pazzo. BRAVO! Ahhhhhhh.

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Just back from a two week burger and pizza tour, by the 2nd nite home, naturally I was craving a little…….pizza.

Perused the freezer in the home ice box, and came up with two I hadn’t tried. Ziyad Brand Middle Eastern Style Gourmet Pizza and White Toque Brand Four Cheese Tart.

Both of these were in the frozen food sections of my neighborhood Halal market. Ziyad is a Chicago based importer and distributor, their website says they currently distribute over 1000 products to 46 states and 6 countries. It would seem the only thing they manufacture themselves is pita. The pizza does not have a country of origin label on it, so one would assume it has been sitting in a storage freezer since that labeling law came into effect. Nor can I find any reference to the origin on their website.

If you haven’t had a “Middle Eastern Style Pizza”, they run snack size (there are 6 in this box, for about $7), and generally are like a very thin flat bread with minced beef, onion, and a few other veggies and herbs, in a tasty combination. These are “heat and eat” as opposed to “bake and eat” and thus can be ready in the microwave in less than a minute. Since I was also doing another type of pie, I did both on a stone in the oven.

My other choice, the cheese tart, imported from France, rivaled the Trader Joe’s tart of a few weeks ago. White Toque (toque is French for a type of hat……thus “White Hat” = “good guys?”) and describes themselves as a “leading importer of frozen foods to the food service industry”.

The box says that the four cheese tart (or flammekueche – which means “with burnt edges” is typical of the Alsace region in France, traditionally cooked in a wood fired oven. This one is topped with Bleu, mozzarella, cheddar and swiss, tho the traditional flammekueche might have bacon, onion, and fromage blanc.

This has a nice puff pastry crust, with a curled decorative edging, and is recommended to be baked for 8-12 minutes at 425. No artificial flavors, preservatives, and not genetically engineered.

Both pies were great, are great as appetizers, or in quantity as entrees. The Ziyad is mildly spicy, very flavorful, and the Cheese Tart creamy with a bite of tang from the Bleu. I liked them both very much. Along with the Trader Joe’s Mushroom tart, these very well may replace all other frozens in my household, going forward.

Baking note – it was a mistake to try the tart on a stone. It would perform much better placed directly on an oven rack, as is recommended in the instructions.

The past couple of bites of the cheese I decorated with a few “Greek style dried black olives” which I had picked up at the Olivepit a couple weeks ago.  Nice.  Olive Pit is one of my “must stops” when driving through Northern California.   Put is on YOUR list!