
Brooks reveals that Valentine's, "an underground food-art-music salon," was approached by the show and picked to be featured, but Rachael never came (she had a family emergency). Brooks thinks it was in part because of responses by the owner to the show's questionnaire like this one: "I don't think it's a restaurant. I don't know what the hell it is. But it feels good." Valentine's was charged with making a sandwich and a latte for the show, except they don't have or want an espresso machine.
Valentine's did make the final cut billed in Ray voice-over as a place for lunch and . . . a latte. Yes, right after seeing the restaurant's signature brie and sauteed greens sandwich sizzle in a panini press (rating a "Yum-O!"), the camera magically transitioned to milk steaming in an espresso machine.Oops.
"It's surreal," Bokros says of the virtual latte.
After this bit, the article does one of my favorite things: it says how much the show's picks stunk, then praised the picks. She writes that the show was one of the "strangest Portland restaurant piece ever, as mostly second- and third-tier places were hyped as stand-outs." And then says "[t]he list included the excellent Pearl Bakery; the cute, kid-centric Peanut Butter & Ellie's. . . ." They really want to pick on Rachael, but just can't seem to fully commit to picking on their hometown restaurants. You can see this dilemma in action here.
[Photo from ExtraMSG]
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