PUBLISHED 09/20/2006
Restaurant Index Card
Name: Paley's Place
Locations: 1204 NW 21st Ave Portland, OR 97209; 503-243-2403; www.paleysplace.net
Signature Offerings: Sweet Walla Walla onion tart; cedar-planked wild king salmon; young spinach salad with raw shaved artichokes, olives, feta, and preserved lemon
Chef Vitaly Paley has a history of doing his own thing. The Russian native was a piano prodigy, then left his country to attend Juilliard--then left Juilliard two years short of graduating. He went on to learn to cook in New York City and France. In 1995, with his wife, he founded Paley's Place, a French-inspired restaurant in Portland, Oregon. And when the avid cyclist couldn't find an energy bar he liked for his 60 to 80 weekly miles, he invented one.
"I thought, I'm a chef, I should be able to do this," Paley, 43, says of his all-natural bar, which debuted locally and on his Web site ( paleybar.com) in late 2004 and comes in four flavors.
The road cyclist says he gets most of the ideas for his recipes--which have won national recognition--while on rides. His favorite route, to Sauvies Island, takes him through fields of berries. "You get whiffs of what smells like blackberry jam," he says. The scent inspired both his first bar flavor--the Fruity Nut (the recipe, below, is an adaptation)--as well as this berry-based energy drink (below). Both contain vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber.
Paley's Energy Bar
3/4 cup organic figs, Turkish or black mission, stemmed and cut in half
1/4 cup organic raisins
1/4 cup organic sour cherries
1/2 cup organic dry-roasted hazelnuts
2 tablespoons organic honey
2 tablespoons organic oat bran
Place the first five ingredients in a food processor and pulse just until the batter comes together. Empty the batter onto a sheet of parchment or wax paper. Sprinkle with oat bran and press out the mixture with your hands until it is even in height all the way around, about 1/2 inch high. Wrap tightly in plastic and let harden overnight in a cool place. Makes 10 to 12 bars.
Energy Drink
16 ounces purified water
2 teaspoons ginseng extract
1 handful seasonal berries (out of season, use 1/2 cup frozen unsweetened berry puree)
Assemble all ingredients in a blender. Puree until smooth, strain if necessary. Will fill one 16-ounce squeeze bottle.
