(energetic rock music)
- [Mike] Hi, we are Sorted.
A combination of foodies and chefs
who've been mates for years,
looking for game changing food, and travel experiences.
Today we're in Portland, Oregon, and we put together a load
of food challenges based on some
of Oregon's finest ingredients.
We're pitching our two chefs against each other
in these challenges, to win ingredients
for an ultimate oceanfront grill battle
at the end of the trip.
This one is going to get tasty.
We allocated each chef a normal to (ahem) help,
and started downtown for breakfast.
Downtown is a buzzing area with indie boutiques,
selling local brands and a creative dining scene,
ranging from eclectic food trucks
to high end seafood bistros.
[Mike] Downtown's pretty cool isn't it?
- [Everyone] I like it, I like it yeah.
- Boys, welcome to Portland.
It's breakfast time so I brought you to Petunia's,
which is a beautiful little bakery.
And like everything throughout this whole video,
it's been recommended to us by a local.
And for this we're going to focus in
on one important Portland ingredient.
[Jamie] This is all about the marionberry.
- [Mike] The marionberry is a hybrid of two blackberries.
The chehalem and the olallie,
And was invented or bred at Oregon State University
during the 1950s.
It tastes tart and sweet.
A bit like a cross between a raspberry and a blackberry,
and has become an Oregon obsession.
- [Jamie] And this is a marionberry and peach pie.
- [Everyone] Cheers.
- [James] That is nothing like any pie
that you get in the U.K.
It's completely solid.
It's buttery.
It's vegan, and it doesn't taste vegan.
- [Jamie] The best thing that's ever been invented.
- [Mike] And it was here that this become a thing.
- Got myself a souvenir.
- Chefs, welcome to your first challenge of the day.
We're at Brunch Box.
This is amazing, because this particular place
was recommended to us by our flight attendant, Matt.
- [Mike] A Portland local, actually watches Sorted
with his wife Emily,
and looked after us on our flight from London.
He plied us with alcohol,
and gave us a list of places to check out
whilst in Portland.
We like Matt.
- [Mike] And the challenge, the Monstrosity burger.
Double beef, double cheddar, four strips of bacon,
ketchup, and mayo, between two grilled cheese sandwiches.
(laughter)
- You may choose to eat against each other,
or nominate someone on your team to do the eating for you.
So the representative of the team
who eats this the quickest,
wins an ingredient for the chef.
- [Mike] Which is a deli meat selection
from Olympia Provisions,
a highly recommended European style restaurant and deli,
the East side of Portland.
- So you got some decisions to make.
- No I don't.
(Laughter)
- You backing yourself?
- I mean, I'm salivating at the thought of eating this,
but I also can't see any cutlery.
So, I might nominate you to take this on for me.
- Ugh!
- I think you have a belly fit for this challenge.
- This is difficult now.
I thought it was going to be,
I didn't think he was going to do that.
I thought he was going to take it on.
- Three, two, one, Eat!
- [Ben] Oh, they've both gone toasty first.
- I'm full.
- I'm salivating watching you eat it.
- It's so nice.
- [Ben] Go on mike, you can do this.
- Evers, I'm not sure if I like you enough
to go through this.
It's all in my esophagus.
- [Jamie] Alright, Mike is one patty down.
He's coming towards the end of his first grilled cheese.
James has picked up a whole remaining bit!
He's onto the final stretch!
Come on, James.
(laughter)
- Ah, he is literally rubbing it in your face.
- He's licking the floor with you.
(applause)
- Well done.
Oh that felt good didn't it?
(Laughter)
Four minutes, 20 seconds.
That's, well done mate.
- I'm feeling good.
That was delicious!
(laughter)
- So hungry.
- Well done, mate.
- I'm sorry mate.
- [Mike] Should we have a cuddle?
- [Ben] Tender moment.
- [Mike] So, first win of the day goes to James,
and he gets the deli meat.
- Got myself a souvenir.
- [Mike] Next challenge, a flavor identifying challenge,
and we're gonna split up for this one.
James and Jamie, head into Nob Hill.
Nob Hill is a beautiful neighborhood with Victorian houses,
boutique, stylish bistros, gourmet takeaways,
and fine dining destinations.
- James, you ready for your next chef's challenge?
- Yes.
- Okay.
So, for this one, I brought you to
what I think is probably one of the highest recommendations
we've had since we've been in the city.
- [James] Good.
Blue Star Donuts do the most amazing, artisanal donuts,
- [James] Yeah.
with flavors that you've never had in a donut before.
- Okay.
- Your challenge, which you have no choice but to accept,
(laughter)
- [Jamie] I'm gonna feed you 4 donuts,
and you're gonna have to identify the flavors
that are in those donuts.
Considering they're not flavors you would usually put
into donuts.
- Alright.
- [Mike] And we blindfolded him.
(Dance Music)
- [Mike] Meanwhile, Ben and I were in Alberta,
the trendy arts hub of Portland.
- I love that you just wander along,
and you bounce from Tap room, to bar, to brewery, and more.
All serving great food.
And the happy hours often last all day.
- [Mike] We were at another highly requested place.
Salt and Straw.
Same rules applied, including the blindfold.
- [Mike] Great.
(laughter)
You look amazing.
Oh, now you look better.
- [Jamie] Right, we're gonna start strong,
we're gonna shock the taste buds, alright?
There should be three main things
that you can get from this.
- [James] Whoa, passion fruit.
(ding)
- One.
- Cayenne, or chili?
(ding)
- Cayenne!
You got two, two out of three.
Come on come one you can get the third.
- It's good.
- [James] I don't think I can get the third thing.
- [Jamie] The third one, is probably slightly more of a
texture thing on top of the donut.
- [James] What would I put with it?
Poppy seeds?
- [Jamie] We're gonna leave it there.
That was two out of three.
- No idea.
- Cocoa nibs.
- Oh, it's really good.
Oh, I like that heat.
- [James] Mm, delicious.
It's good.
(rock music)
- [Ben] Okay.
The thing with good ice cream, is it melts slowly.
Therefore you need to let it all disappear,
before you get the flavor which is left,
which is not one I'd expect in ice cream.
Am I getting some blue cheese?
- [Mike] Yeah!
- [Ryan] Absolutely.
- [Mike] One point.
- It's sweet, it's tangy.
I'm just gonna make an educated guess, and say celery.
- Not quite.
This one is our pear and blue cheese flavor.
- [Ben] Pear.
Now you say it, yeah I get it.
It was actually really good.
- I think that was a good start.
- Good start.
- [Jamie] This is the second one.
Two big flavors you should be able to pull.
- [James] Raspberry.
- (ding) One point.
- [James] I feel like all the flavors got to be
in the icing, right?
- [Jamie] The clue that I can give you is, herb.
- [James] It's all really sweet.
It's got nothing else to it, so I'm gonna say basil.
- It's not basil James.
It's rosemary.
- Hmm, yeah, yeah yeah yeah.
- Yeah?
It was obviously raspberry with something else to it,
and as soon as you say it, you get it.
But I didn't, I couldn't get it with a blindfold on.
- [Ben] Now, that is undeniable.
That is a flavor that you cannot escape,
and I absolutely love fennel.
(ding)
What is it doing in an ice cream?
(laughter)
- [Ben] Again, something sweet to offset the fennel.
Honey?
- Actually, a Vermont maple syrup.
- Ohh, maple not honey.
- I know it hasn't been cooked or infused,
but that is absolutely delicious.
- All right, are you ready for donut number three?
- [Jamie] One is a fat, one is a fruit,
one is a herb
and or spice.
- I can smell something that I know what it is
but I don't know what it is.
- (laughter)
- Olive oil.
- (ding) One point.
- [James] Orange?
- [Jamie] (ding) 'nother point.
- Thyme.
- It's not thyme, but it is time to hand over the donut,
and tell you that it was fennel.
- [James] It's delicious.
- [Ryan] This one's got about four,
four or five flavor notes that we could pick out.
- [Mike] Wow, you guys don't hold back on flavor.
- [Ben] That is so good.
It's definitely holiday spice.
I'm getting cinnamon and clove and nutmeg.
- (ding) Three, those three big ones right there.
- [Mike] Like when you get an awesome
cookie dough ice cream.
It's got that chew to it, so it's definitely a
cake-y, muffin-y,
courgette.
- [Mike] It's--
- It's a zucchini cake.
- (ding) Oh! Same thing.
- Wow, okay!
Courgette is a zucchini.
- [Mike] Courgette is a zucchini!
- I did not know that.
I'm learning something new today.
- I had a feeling, I literally went through all the
vegetable cakes you've ever made on the channel.
'Cause it has that wonderful spice, like a carrot cake.
- [Jamie] Okay, so we should be looking for three things.
- [James] It's slightly spice, it's slightly sweet,
just a little bit of a tang to it.
- A fruit, I'm getting.
And I actually don't think it is this,
I think it's the alcohol.
But the fruit I'm getting is pineapple.
- Amazing, no.
- [James] Alcohol then, whiskey.
- [Jamie] (ding) Yeah, bourbon.
- Ooh, here's an interesting clue for you:
They all begin with the same letter.
(laughter)
- Bourbon, banana, basil...
(ding) Basil is one of them, it's not banana.
It's a blueberry.
- [Jamie] Bourbon and basil doughnut.
- [James] Okay, I got the whiskey.
It had that kind of alcoholic twang, which is pretty clever
considering it must be hard to get that into a doughnut.
- [Ben] It was a definite hit of chocolate,
but also the sweet saltiness of some sort of caramel-y.
It might be the clue I need.
There's also some chewy bits in there.
- You've got the chocolate, the caramel,
(ding)
and there's a chocolate cupcake.
The cupcakes are actually soaked in coffee,
and the salty notes that you're finding
are a potato chip dipped in chocolate.
- [Mike] And it was time to reveal the winner.
And this is them finding out.
- [Jamie] You lost to Evers.
- Yessss!
- [Ben] Yes, I can add something to my basket.
- (upbeat music)
- [Ben] Got myself a souvenir.
(relaxing music)
- [Mike] Thai food is huge in Portland,
and we got loads of recommendations to come try
the fish sauce wings at Pok Pok.
So we've come to the Pearl District.
- Let's go for it.
- Chop chop, Pok Pok.
- [Waiter] You've got the spicy wings.
- [Jamie] Ohh.
- [James] They look spicy.
- [Jamie] They look spicy. (laughter)
- [Jamie] Was it just me, or was those fish sauce wings?
- [James] I don't know why you're leaning on me,
I'm so sore right now.
(laughter)
- [Jamie] The chicken wings are marinated in
fish sauce and sugar, then they're deep fried.
And then,
they're tossed in garlic and Vietnamese fish sauce.
And then they're served with pickled veg.
- [Jamie] I've never had fish sauce chicken wings before.
It was incredible.
- [James] What I think you're saying,
is that the wings were perfectly cooked.
- Mm-hmm.
- They were moist inside.
- Mm-hmm.
- But I think that marination and the sugar
gives it a really super crispy outside,
and it's quite like a unique thing.
It's like crispy and chewy at the same time.
Because then, you toss in that sweet fish sauce,
a little bit of chili, flavor.
- [Jamie] Not only is that the funniest street sign I have
ever seen in my life,
I can also only hope that it's a premonition of
Mike and Ben's bike ride.
(upbeat music)
- [Ben] Beautiful street, beautiful day,
the only way to see the city.
- So this is northeast Alberta Street, and it's basically
one long road full of
studios and little workshops and fashion places,
but also loads of foodie, restaurant, bar rooms, tap rooms,
takeouts,
and every couple of blocks you can stop off and look at
incredible street art.
- [Mike] Ben, I have two choices: the orange bike
or this bike.
- So I ask you, was there really a choice?
(laughter)
- [Mike] It was time for Ben and I to leave Alberta,
and because Portland is famous for amazing farm-to-table
food, we thought it only fair to send our chefs
to one of Portland's best restaurants, Le Pigeon.
- [Ben] I overheard people at the bar asking the chef for
a favor, and he literally turned around and said,
"it's like asking for a favorite child."
(laughter)
- Every dish, they love and they curate and they celebrate.
- [Ben] What we've done is we've ordered four starters,
because we just wanted a range of food.
We wanted all the food.
I'm no photographer, but even my photos look amazing
because the plates of food look stunning.
- And some people would say the food is fancy,
but it's super relaxed in here.
It's like casual dining, with excellent grub.
- [James] It tastes like barbecue risotto.
- [James] The corn is the best bit of that, by far.
Like, you can taste how roasted char that is.
It's so creamy as well.
- [Ben] It's the fruit and vegetables
that absolutely sing.
I'm not sure I've ever had a savory baklava,
but you can probably imagine what it tastes like.
What you can't imagine is how it pairs with
everything else on the plate.
Barbecue sweet breads, saffron pickles, an awesome puree,
some fresh bits and crunchy bits.
Wow again.
- There's a lot going on.
- [Ben] The kind of food that intrigues and then excites.
- [James] What I love is that,
I think I know what the dish tastes like,
and then I get another flavor on top of that,
and I keep finding new favorite things.
- [Ben] If you get a little bit of everything on every
mouthful, every mouthful is a journey.
Because it is fruity and smokey and charred and rich.
And you've got (mumbles), but then the softness of the
(mumbles)
- [Mike] Every plate is different,
and every plate is delicious.
- (upbeat music)
- Got myself a souvenir.
(upbeat music)
- [Ben] The waterfront is a really cool area,
lined with bars, restaurants, walking and cycling trails,
overlooking the Riverplace Marina.
And to finish the evening, we thought we'd take a beautiful
boat tour of the river.
(music interrupted)
Sorry, I meant beer barge tour.
(chatter)
- Cactus wings.
- Do you think they will let me steal a boat?
(upbeat music)
- I remember my first beer.
- [Jamie] In an ideal world, you'd have both James and
(mumbles)
- [Ben] No, you wouldn't.
(laughter)
- [Ben] Not true.
(upbeat music)
- [Ben] Our final recommended place we visited was
Cartopia, a late night food car port and beer garden in
East Portland,
including a visit from some new friends of ours.
(upbeat music)
- [James] I do have eight-hour protection on.
I shouldn't get a burn.
Yeah, 'cause 50 plus eight-hour protection.
What I'm saying, is what it says on the tube:
kids, 50 plus eight-hour protection.
- [Jamie] You still recording?
- [James] Yes.
(laughter)
- [James] Stop it!