Oregon Cannabis Guide 2016

Cannabuzz: Weed Reads

What to Read Before—and After—You Get High

Cannabuzz: Just Don't Call It a Bud and Breakfast

A Look at the Cannabis-Friendly North Fork 53 Homestead

Read the 2016 Oregon Cannabis Guide!

Your Annual Mini-Magazine About All Things Weed Has Arrived

That Show About the Weed Guy

Web Series High Maintenance Makes a Successful Transition to HBO

Weed Begins at 40

How I Got Back into the Pot Game

Ask a Pot Lawyer: How to Get Your Weed Worker Permit

It’s Not Hard, But You’ll Need to Study Up—and Pony Up

Ask a Pot Lawyer: Are We Headed Toward "Big Canna"?

Are Giant Marijuana Companies on the Way?

It’s Like a Humidor for Your Weed

We Tried Out the Cannador Storage System

My Roommate, the Weed Chemist

A Conversation with Green Leaf Lab About Canna Science

The Future of Oregon's Weed Industry

Our Cannabis Programs Are the Best in the Country

The Stoner Games

Perfect Summer Games to Play Under the Influence of Weed

How to be High in Public

(Don't Actually Do Any of These Things)

IN A FUTURE COLUMN, we'll take a closer look at the seemingly schizophrenic rules being issued by city and state agencies that are making it damn near impossible to find anyplace outside your home to consume cannabis. (Spoiler alert: It's not going to be a feel-good column.) But for now, let's talk about something that will be a feel-good experience, namely the multifaceted gem North Fork 53, just down the road a piece on Highway 53 by Manzanita.

I'm embarrassed to say that I've been aware of this spot for some time, and had received numerous invites to attend their groundbreaking dinner pairings of cannabis and food for months. (Thanks, Stephanie!) But as my endlessly patient girlfriend will tell you, shutting down my work long enough to get out of town happens with the frequency of solar eclipses. (Apparently "Workaholics for Weed" is a real thing.)

This mistake was corrected recently with a trip out to the property, located on the Nehalem River, where you will find a lovingly restored and updated 1930s farmhouse and barn that serves as a weekend farmers' market. It all sits on four riverfront acres, where organic produce and more herbs than I can list are grown and sold from the barn, and used in their dinner pairings.

The one plant missing from the garden is cannabis. A rotating collection of local organic growers provides two strains at a time to North Fork 53, which are presented to you as an option for your bed and breakfast with dinner package. Obviously, I selected this option, and was presented with a handcrafted wooden platter that held two small glass jars with the two featured strains, Tangie Banana and Black Betty, both from Gnome Grown. There was a PAX 2 vaporizer, a grinder, lighter, hemp wick string, and papers, in addition to a glass duff jar for spent vape.

This attention to detail carries over to every aspect of the experience. The scenery is so vibrant and stunning as to appear CG. The four bedrooms are all hip without selling out any of the charm and detail of the house's original bones.

We were given the option of partaking on the wraparound deck, portions of which overlook the Nehalem River. Although a mere 15 minutes from Manzanita, I could have been a million miles away. The other option was to vape at the dining table while we ate. Yes, please.

The featured strains are given CSI-like treatment by the chef, who uses years of skills to match the terpene scents and tastes to the food menu, which is filled with organic produce produced onsite.

I'm not someone who Instagrams their lunch (you shouldn't either), but I was sorely tempted as our three courses arrived, flawlessly presented with a detailed explanation of why the chef made these pairings. We puffed the selected strain, and dove into the following:

Salad of mixed greens, arugula flowers, golden raisins, orange, sweet and sour radish, coriander vinaigrette, citrus herb goat cheese, and toasted walnut breadcrumbs. (Also toasted: me, vaping the Tangie Banana.)

Parsley ricotta gnocchi, parmesan mushroom reduction, chive oil, charred baby beets, turnips and baby carrots, shaved parmesan, thyme flowers, chive blossom. These all worked in perfect tandem with the Black Betty's pungent woodsy tastes.

Spiced rhubarb cobbler, cardamom rose whip cream. (Your new favorite thing: that whipped cream.)

The dinner is offered as an occasional special event, but anyone can have the same experience with a three-course breakfast. You request the "Coastal Cannabis Package," which adds a mere $100 to your tab, absurdly affordable for the setting and amenities included.

There are no televisions, but there is a pleasant sense of peace as you slow down and take in the rhythm of a working farm. The all-too-rare chance to enjoy cannabis in the same manner as I would a craft beer, wine, or cocktail—without being made to feel a second-class citizen—was refreshing and very much needed. All less than 75 miles from my home in Goose Hollow. Highly recommended. (Shut up.)

North Fork 53, 77282 Hwy 53, Nehalem, northfork53.com