Vancouver Good

I had a fantastic, memorable weekend recently when my hubby, friend, and I headed to Eugene, Oregon for the fifth annual Oregon Truffle Festival.

The entire festival was an adventure based on a whim. I saw a link to the festival on Twitter, told a friend about it and we bought tickets. Then, we mentioned it to some dining companions at a Social Bites dinner and they bought tickets as well! Considering the ticket prices ranged from $500 to $1000 USD, I was beginning to worry that my whim was going to be an expensive bust.

Fortunately, the festival was amazing and great value for the money. My package was the Epicurious, which included a foray into truffle hunting plus a the Grand Truffle Dinner on Saturday. But we ended up getting a lot more.

Our tickets were advertised as including an opening night “reception,” which to me meant a glass of bubbly and cheese. What we got? A sumptuous feast of NINE courses and wine to match. Chef Jacques Ratier from France was an esteemed guest and served four courses with French truffles. Chef Rocky Maselli of Marché Restaurant in Eugene served an additional four courses with Oregon truffles. Eight dishes, dessert, and way too much wine meant a night none of us expected. Some memorable dishes: a beautiful cauliflower and leek soup with white truffle and a perfectly slow cooked egg. An intense chicken liver bon bon rolled in hazelnuts and black truffle. A simple but delicious slice of bread with butter, two generous slices of French black truffle, and sea salt.

After a huge Friday night dinner, we got up at 7am to grab light breakfast before our bus departed for truffle hunting. The truffle hunting was fun, but not the crazy outdoor experience many pictured. We were taken to a nice, enclosed Douglas Fir farm (formerly a Christmas tree farm), where Oregon truffles like to grow. After a quick demo with a truffle dog, we were given little rakes to gently search through the dirt for the prized truffles. The good news? We found lots of truffles! Like 20! The bad news? They were really small, under-ripe, and not particularly edible. The frost in December impacted the truffle season and our hunting. But, at least I can say I have (kind of) truffle hunted.

Now, when I say “hunt,” I use the word loosely. It was not a cardio workout. Nevertheless, our next stop? Lunch at Sweet Cheeks Winery. I was expecting a wine tasting and some sandwiches. What we got was a three course menu with FIVE big glasses of different paired wines. While Chef John Newman’s white truffle dungeness crab ravioli was to die for, five glasses of wine plus some tasting in the retail room made my mind a tad blurry. We returned to the hotel at 4:00pm and I promptly feel asleep for 2.5 hours.

Nap over, it was time for the Grand Truffle Dinner. Yes, more food! And wine! A manageable five courses with wine. Each course featured Oregon truffles and were prepared by different local chefs, mainly from Portland. All the dishes were excellent, but I loved the blanquette of local rabbit and white truffle. Also one chef sliced pacific ling cod thin and poured this rich broth of foie gras and black truffle over it, cooking it as the course was served. So good. The evening’s topper? Fun drinks with the Sooke Harbour House’s Sinclair Philip, who was also at the festival.

By Sunday, we were ready to go.We dropped by the Truffle Marketplace and picked up Stumptown coffee and these delicious truffled meringues. Unfortunately, truffles were surprisingly absent, exemplifying the tough growing season this year.

We had a fun time at the Oregon Truffle Festival. It’s an indulgent experience to remember and they treat you very well. Consider the 2011 Truffle Festival if you’re looking for a destination in January 2011.

After lots of food, wine, and truffles, we were happy, not hungry at all, and hit the road!