67th Annual St. Philip Neri Spaghetti Dinner (11/14/10)

After interviewing about 20 guests, it became clear that the meatballs are the stars at this dinner.  The meat sauce came in a close second.   I’m pretty sure that the recipes came directly from the Italian immigrants who made up the original congregation.  The (slightly) more diverse group that now runs the food side of the dinner has the good sense to not mess with the best - according to Amy Costanza, the meatballs taste just like the ones her Italian relatives make.  Other sentiments included:

"The meatballs are tender, they have a complex flavor."

"I don't think you can get meatballs like this at any restaurant in Portland."

"Phenomenal meat sauce - it's so hearty."

This year we had the pleasure of being a part of a group of over 30 sprawled across four tables to celebrate Amy’s birthday over spaghetti and meatballs, so the community feel in our section was great.  The servers were very accommodating and they really will bring you all the spaghetti and meatballs you can eat.

The $12 dinner starts with a Wonderbread version of Italian bread and a salad with a dressing that is zippy enough to entice me despite the limp iceberg lettuce.  MSG?  I hope not, though I doubt it is homemade.  Then comes the piece de resistance (for most), the spaghetti and meatballs.  Despite all this talk of meatballs I am vegetarian and in my 9 years of attending this event I’ve only ever had the vegetarian sauce, which is homemade with lots of fresh ingredients, but I have a feeling it’s a far cry from the real deal in this case.  After as many plates of spaghetti as you can handle, the final course is a square of vanilla or chocolate cake, likely from CostCo, which makes tasty cakes as sheet cakes go.  The kids especially seemed quite pleased with the dessert.  Wine by the glass or carafe is a very reasonably priced extra (it's from a box after all).

Post dinner, in the behind the scenes role I played as server for the second half of the dinner, I was saddened by the fact that we had no composting, served the salad and cake in disposable bowls, and served the cake with a plastic fork when we had just collected the guests’ metal spaghetti forks from them.  St. Philip Neri’s other big fundraiser is the Muddy Boot Festival, an event that hosts more people than the spaghetti dinner, but managed to only generate two bags of trash this past year.  I also heard complaints about the lack of bike parking – bummer.  Needless to say, it’s time for the Spaghetti Dinner organizers to talk with the Muddy Boot organizers.  I’m pretty sure that we put the wheels in motion for eco-upgrades to the dinner next year. 

Based on the feedback I heard, I give this dinner 11 out of 10 on the meatballs and sauce, but overall it gets 7 out of 10 spaghetti noodles because of the lackluster non-main-course items and decidedly unenvironmental choices from a parish that should know better, but on the other hand an outstanding main course, very friendly service, and welcoming community.  I’m confident that next year they can get to 9 out of 10 with some eco upgrades – I’d highly recommend checking it out!

Breakfast Club Cafe at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church & School (11/14/10)

The first things that struck me about this meal was that they did not collect money at the door and we ordered from menus – very restaurant-like!  They had a lean crew of about 4 or 5 running the kitchen and taking the orders for various combinations of pancakes, eggs and meats.  Sometimes they offer “specials” like French toast.  If I remember correctly, the prices were very reasonable – two eggs, pancakes OR toast and your choice of meat was under $6 I think.

Our server was super friendly so we happily forgave him when our orders came out a little wrong, and he corrected the problem by allowing us to keep the incorrect order and bringing out the correct order in addition.  So we had plenty of food! 

This event was especially jovial and fun because it doubled as the post-baptism party for our friends’ Jill and Greg’s daughter, Finley.  So in addition to a welcoming staff we were surrounded by family and friends who were all in a great mood, which made for a great meal. 

While there were no outstanding dishes, the overeasy eggs were properly prepared and the pancakes were fluffy and yummy.  The school basement cafeteria venue was a little dark.  On the positive side the low, tiled ceiling kept the room quiet enough to enjoy a good conversation without yelling.

Everything was served on reusable tableware with cloth napkins.  I doubt they had composting, but I appreciated that all items but the napkins were reusable (including the laminated menus). 

Overall I’d give it 9 out of 10 pancakes for friendly service, tasty food, and great value with the only downside being the dim cafeteria environment.

The cafe is open most Sundays between 9am and 12pm in Cantwell Hall (in the school that is next
door to the church at 6606 N Williams).

The 37th Annual Neil Kelly Memorial Auction & Dinner at St. Andrew (11/6/10)

Brett and I have heard lots of great things about this community, so even though we knew nothing about the event we decided to head over there with our friends Matthew and Windy. 

Cost: $20, plus whatever you spend on auction items

What you get:
Large selection of quite tasty meats and cheeses for appetizers (well above and beyond supermarket cubed cheddar); all-you-care-to-drink beverages including beer and wine (a strategic decision, given that the auction follows dinner); Mexican food prepared by St. Andrew's Spanish-speaking community; and wide variety of desserts contributed by many parishioners. 

Vegetarian options:
Everything but a few of the appetizers and the main entree (chicken mole) was vegetarian.  For the veg heads they had handmade tamales.  DELICIOUS!  The vegetarians are the winners at this dinner - my meat eating friends were not head-over-heels about the mole.  They gave me 5 or 6 tamales - enough fill myself, share a couple with the table and take two home for later. The addition of salsa and cheese would have made this meal food cart-worthy.

Activities:
The door attendant took our credit card information and gave us an auction number.  For the entire night we just needed to give our number to purchase any item and it all got charged in one (tax deductable) charge at the end of the night.  Opportunities to spend included:
- Silent auction for things like a large wine fridge, storm door installation and a quite nice outdoor grill
- 50/50 and vacation raffles
- Sign up for future activities to be hosted by parishioners like "learn to knit," "bike ride in the Columbia Gorge," and "Games & Pie Night" for anywhere from $10 - $100 each.
- Live auction that included lots of vacation rentals and dinners. 

The vibe:
This parish is known for having a somewhat "hippy" vibe, but I didn't get that feel from this evening.  It was extremely well run and everyone I met was very welcoming and with it.  The decor of white lights, tulle and branches dressed up the place a little, but it was still a church hall.  I was impressed that the auction items were mostly things I would like to buy into and toward the end of the evening started to become affordable - Matthew, Windy, Brett and I were happy to score a week-long stay at a cabin near Mt. St. Helens for $500 toward the end of the auction when everyone else was starting to feel broke.

Reasons to go again:
- The live auction was by far the coolest part of the night.  They hired a professional auctioneer and she was amazing to watch. 
- The feeling of being part of something successful and energetic.
- The tamales.

Things we hope they change next year:
- The food was good, but desperately needed salsa and cheese. 

Overall value: 9/10 tamales for great energy, great auction items, decent food, and inclusion of beer and wine in the admission price.