Going north, thanks to the Northwest

Greer Wylder

When it comes to Portland, Ore., the nearby mountains, scenic

beaches, rivers, forests and deserts make it an outdoor enthusiast’s

dream. It’s where Kim Jorgenson, owner of Plums Cafe and Catering,

grew up.

Jorgenson spent her summers picking blackberries, loved sturgeon

fishing on the Columbia River and said crabbing on the Oregon coast

is great fun.

“There’s nothing better than cooking fresh Dungeness crab, eating

it with sourdough bread and drinking a great bottle of wine,”

Jorgenson said. “Everyone had a smoker in their back yard, and we

smoked freshly-caught salmon and delicious sturgeon all the time.”

After working in restaurants all of her life, both in Portland and

in Newport Beach, Jorgenson fell into catering and then opened her

own cafe, where she could serve her favorite Pacific Northwest

cuisine.

Jorgenson started Plums Catering in 1990. Four years later, the

original small Plums Bakery arrived, serving breakfast and lunch.

The cafe’s popularity took off in 2000, when it debuted a new look

and expansion. Jorgenson closed Plums for eight months to work on a

Northwest-inspired decor that accented the cuisine. Jorgenson chose a

light industrial “art gallery design” with a “vibe and feel” from

Seattle and Portland.

She even displays and sells the work of Pacific Northwest artists.

She’s thrilled with the remodel, which includes a small bar, maple

chairs and tables, a pastry display case and enough indoor and patio

seating for about 100 people.

One of her biggest design challenges, though, can’t even be seen

by Plums guests.

“We needed a kitchen that could operate for both the catering and

restaurant,” Jorgenson said. “With the high volume we do for

catering, it had to work well for when we really need to crank it

out.”

Plums serves dishes made from fresh salmon, mushrooms, apples,

Dungeness crab, berries, and hazelnuts -- the classic Pacific

Northwest ingredients. The pepper bacon, pepper ham and apple

sausages are cured at an old farm house in Oregon. Hazelnuts come

from the Willamette Valley in Oregon, where experts say the world’s

best hazelnuts grow. Select wineries from Washington and Oregon are

featured in the cafe. The house coffee is Longbottom’s, one of

Oregon’s original specialty-coffee roasters. Plums serves only wild

Columbia River salmon, not farm-raised salmon, which have been found

to have high levels of environmental contaminants.

Jorgenson has strict rules about basic ingredients.

“I simply have to cook with real ingredients; it makes a huge

difference,” Jorgenson said. “I’ve seen the mixes and the artificial

butters at food shows; it scares the heck out of me.”

Jorgenson said serving great coffee in Costa Mesa was a challenge.

She loved Portland’s and Seattle’s coffees, but it took a while for

her to figure out that the quality of water here wasn’t the same.

“I spent thousands on a water filtration system,” Jorgenson says.

“It makes a big difference in flavors.”

Jorgensen’s passion for authenticity paid off. Her cafe received

an excellent rating from Zagat’s 2004 Survey for serving “the best

breakfasts in town” and “tantalizing lunch plates.”

The award-winning breakfast menu consists of 20 dishes. It’s one

of the few places where you can find shirred eggs, the rich baked

eggs with garlic bechamel, spinach and tomato relish, with rosemary

potatoes ($9.85). There’s an excellent Dungeness crab and asparagus

omelet served with dill hollandaise, rosemary potatoes and nine-grain

toast ($12.95). Alderwood-smoked salmon hash is served with poached

eggs and tomato dill hollandaise with nine-grain toast ($10.95).

Jorgenson said she is especially proud of Plums’ famous Dutch baby

-- she did 80 baking tests before perfecting the recipe. This

impressive deep-dish pancake puffs up like a giant popover. Plums

serves it with the traditional topping of fresh squeezed lemon juice

and powdered sugar ($9.95).

There are also traditional-style pancakes: buttermilk ($6.95);

hazelnut pancakes served with Marionberry compote ($8.50); and

blueberry pancakes served with sweet butter ($8.50). Plums also

serves a brunch that includes a choice of any breakfast dish,

Longbottom’s coffee or tea and a choice of one of the following:

Ramos Fizz, Mimosa, Bloody Mary, Champagne or a smoothie for an

additional $4.95.

At lunch, Plums serves a diverse mix of soups and salads,

specialty entrees, salad entrees and sandwiches. The sandwiches come

with a choice of dilled red potato, bowtie pasta or garden salad, and

they’re served with a French baguette or nine-grain bread.

The ahi salad gets rave reviews from regular customers. It’s

Plums’ take on a classic Nicoise, only this one features seared rare

ahi, roasted fingerling potatoes, Blue Lake green beans, grilled

fennel on a bed of mixed greens and Dijon vinaigrette ($12.95). The

grilled hearts of Romaine also has a loyal following -- it’s served

with Washington red delicious apples, roasted hazelnuts and Oregon

bleu cheese ($9.25).

Salmon and fennel slaw is a mustard-crusted salmon that’s grilled

and served over fennel slaw, with infused basil oil ($11.95). Two

other popular lunch choices include the pan-fried Idaho trout with

lemon butter, capers, wild rice and field greens ($11.95); and

lamburger -- ground lamb with aged Feta, garlic and oregano served on

a fresh roll ($9.95).

Plums has a great kids’ menu and made-from-scratch pastries,

tarts, cookies, brownies and bars. It serves 11 specialty cocktails,

including a homemade Bloody Mary, a Plums Screwdriver with Absolut

Mandarin and orange juice, and a Newport Beach Blue Cadillac with

Jose Cuervo tequila and Blue Curacao.

Plums Catering is one of Costa Mesa’s hottest catering businesses,

offering express-service or special-event catering. The express side

of Plums Catering provides buffet and party platters for residential

or business gatherings. There are also box lunches suited for

boating, bus tours, concerts and picnics. Plums can deliver and set

up foods, or clients can pick up orders at the cafe. The menu

includes appetizers, sandwiches, breakfasts, a hot breakfast buffet,

buffet salads, specialty platters and even low-carb options. Plums’

expert staff can work with budgets, menu planning and portions.

The full-scale catering side of Plums offers every service needed

for an event including custom menus, invitations, floral and decor,

entertainment, valet, servers and rentals.

“We can cater parties up to 2,000 guests,” Jorgenson said.

With both sides of the catering business, the goal is the same --

customer satisfaction.

“We want guests to be happy,” Jorgenson said.

* BEST BITES runs every Friday. Greer Wylder can be reached at

[email protected]; at 330 W. Bay St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627; or by

fax at (949) 646-4170.