I arrived in this city in 2010. At the time, Portland seemed like the land of opportunity. It was clean, it felt safe, and there was...

I began writing here as a way to talk about whatever was on my mind. I figured that one day, if I was ever going to write a book I would...

By now, the secret is out. Is it a secret though?  Considering how much I’ve hinted at this for the last 2 years? The flights to Mexico,...

3 years, 2 months, 11 days. Has it really been this long? Already? When we started all of this I had clear goals, almost too clear. I was...

"Para todo Mal Mezcal. Y para todo bien, tambiėn" (for all bad mezcal and for all good too) I started drinking Mezcal sometime in 2013. I...

“Love is the devotion to the well-being of others without regard to the cost.” The day started with disappointment, it was about 20...

It's going to be a great week. For starters, we are celebrating the 1 year anniversary of our beloved Comedor Lilia. Can you believe it?...

A little over a month ago, the NY Times wrote a piece entitled “The Struggle to Save Portland”. As you may imagine, this wasn’t a...

To me it's simple, Cinco de Mayo is one of the most important dates in the history of the US. (Yeah I said that). For many years, lots of...

I’ve been a lover of (specialty) coffee for over 10 years now. In fact, one of the reasons why I felt so connected to this city was...

I am going to let you all in on a little secret. It wasn’t my original intent to get into the culinary industry. The truth is, 3 years...

The day was Friday, March 20th, of 2020. I arrived at Portland International Airport to what can only be described as a ghost town. The...

I recently started hosting Mezcal tastings at De Noche. It’s been almost two years since the last time we hosted a class on the subject....

“I will listen to any hypothesis but on one condition—that you show me a method by which It can be tested.” -Von Hoffman (in Gregory,...

I had three women who shaped my love for food: Nohemi, Esperanza, and Manuela – my mother, her mother, and her mothers mother (my...

Saturday, March 4th. 2:11 pm. How much do we know about Mexican cuisine? That was the question I asked myself before we launched...

For those keeping track, it's now been 55 days since Chef Olivia and I received the keys to the new República space. I've spoken a bit...

4 and a half books. That’s what I did during my time down with Pneumonia. I tried working during those 10 days, but I mostly got in the...

It was a cliche Portland Tuesday. Up until 4pm, there was a gloom over the city, the kind of gloom that most of us who have lived here...

Customer: What part of Mexico are you from. Me: Southern California. Customer: Oh. Me: Kinda. It's complicated. I was born here, but at...