The Meadow

Cris Bisch
448 reviews
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Sweet & Savory - The Meadow

I happened upon a lovely and quite unusual shop owned by world travelers Jennifer and Mark Bitterman, located in the heart of the Mississippi District, while visiting Portland this past weekend. The Meadow first seduces you from a distance with a riot of color...gorgeous fresh cut flowers in galvanized metal vases outside and more beckoning from the doorway. Upon entering the shop you note that the back wall is dedicated to the owners' hand-selected wines and gift suggestions, and another displaying fine chocolates sourced from around the world... and then you notice salt blocks and a sea of salts, finishing salts organized in glass containers from 2 oz. - 6 oz. sizes lining shelves on the remaining walls. You are surrounded by a unique mix of some of the world's finest and exotic scents and tastes.

Salt of the Earth

The artisan salt selection is astounding. There are nearly 50 different kinds of salts, which can be selected simply by taste or for a particular use as a finishing, mill or shaker salt, as well as the type of food you want to enhance... from salads, meats and desserts to cocktail rims. Then there is the decision to shop for organic, medicinal, all natural or kosher salts, and there is a salt for curing only. If you desire additional seasoning with salt, then there are a number of herb and spice blends. For those newly initiated and willing to further explore the wonderful world of salt, The Meadow offers a Starter Set to entice you to embark on a new culinary adventure with salts from France, England, Turkey and the Hawaiian Islands, including a specialty that is guava-smoked.

This evening, I simply seasoned our serving of poached white salmon with their finishing salt from Japan, the Iburi Jio Cherry. The flavor was perfect, with a delicate hint of smoked cherry.

Cris' keywords: salt chocolate wine food gifts kitchen home decor florist flowers gourmet boutique