Spicy and Spooky: A Fall Feast in Beaverton Featuring Big, Punchy Flavors Even a Vampire Could Not Resist
In 1998, modern classical composer Philip Glass created a new original score for the 1931 film Dracula, a cherished masterpiece of Hollywood chills and thrills starring Béla Lugosi. Philip Glass Ensemble Music Director Michael Riesman, who premiered this new score with the Kronos Quartet when it was released, will lead Third Angle in a live performance to accompany the film for a spooky Halloween treat.
ACT I: The Westgate Bourbon Bar & Taphouse
3800 SW Cedar Hills Boulevard, Beaverton
How long has it been since you read Dracula? Has it been long enough that you totally forgot there is a cowboy in it? It is true. Most adaptations of the book leave out Quincey P. Morris despite being one of the most interesting characters. Our culinary journey begins at the Westgate Taphouse, which features Oregon’s most extensive bourbon collection (as in, several hundred bottles), with a glass of Old Forester 1897; it takes its name from The U.S. Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897, which standardized bourbon distilling regulations, passed the same year Bram Stoker published his book. Best consumed from a silver flask at midnight while you and your friends are keeping watch in a spooky graveyard; its bold, robust fruit and spice notes will buck you right up.
ACT II: Siam Lotus Asian Kitchen & Bar
12600 SW Crescent Street, Suite 150, Beaverton
Traveling through the Carpathian Mountains to Dracula’s castle, British real estate agent Jonathan Harker develops a taste for the spicy Hungarian and Romanian cuisine he encounters along the way, including a dish he describes as “a chicken done up some way with red pepper, which was very good but thirsty,” and makes a mental note to collect the recipe for his fiancée Mina. Siam Lotus’ much-loved Honey Crispy Chicken would fit the bill nicely. Besides, we all know the name of the game here is garlic and lots of it; Dr. Van Helsing, Amsterdam’s leading expert in the vampire arts and sciences, keeps Dracula at bay by draping it around all the windows. As a bonus, this dish comes garnished with holy basil, a plant that is considered sacred in Hinduism and often planted around temples.
ACT III: Mingo
12600 SW Crescent Street, Beaverton
Plums and prunes feature heavily in the Romanian cuisine of Dracula’s part of the world; the plum brandy Slivovitz is one of the region’s most popular boozy exports. Mingo may be an Italian restaurant, but their rich, dark, deeply-flavored Prugne Giubellate—prunes poached in Nebbiolo and port, spiked with cinnamon and served with house-made mascarpone—would fit right in on Harker’s travel menu. The unique dessert is a staple on the menu of this longtime Beaverton favorite, which celebrated its 20th anniversary this year.
