Alice Finer

It’s a clam bake.It’s Friday night after a hard week. You’re looking for an indulgent
meal with some good wine, a few cocktails beforehand, maybe some live
music after. But you’re spent, rendered incapable of making decisions
or traveling far. Well, no need. Somehow, right under our noses,
Giuseppe’s on Bond has slowly morphed into just such a dining and
entertainment emporium where you can work that plan to its full
fruition without leaving the premises.

A downtown mainstay since
1985, the restaurant’s most recent redesign successfully conveys a wine
cellar feel with brick walls, wine racks, a long corridor of
high-backed wooden booths and lots of good source lighting. Goomba’s,
the bar and lounge in the back of the restaurant, was added in 2001 and
the outdoor “Urban Patio” last year, both great spots for an aperitif.
And now, the new Sessions Wine Bar and Music Stage just past the
entrance is in full swing with live acts every Friday night
transforming the front dining area into something resembling a supper
club for the over 30 set.

Meat: It’s what’s for dinner.As teenagers working at Vista Spring Café in Portland, one of the early
arrivals on the city’s gourmet pizza scene, Mark Hedford and Brad
Martell were actually thinking about pizza. “We always talked about
opening our own place,”says Hedford. “We thought to ourselves, yeah, we
could really do this.”

It would be a while before they revisited the
idea, but neither ever let it go. In 1995, “right after Jerry died,”
according to Hedford, the longtime friends decided to relocate to
Central Oregon to be ski bums for a winter. And a winter turned into
six.

Meat: It's what's for dinner.As teenagers working at Vista Spring Café in Portland, one of the early
arrivals on the city's gourmet pizza scene, Mark Hedford and Brad
Martell were actually thinking about pizza. "We always talked about
opening our own place,"says Hedford. "We thought to ourselves, yeah, we
could really do this."

It would be a while before they revisited the
idea, but neither ever let it go. In 1995, "right after Jerry died,"
according to Hedford, the longtime friends decided to relocate to
Central Oregon to be ski bums for a winter. And a winter turned into
six.

Art on the plate: Staccato's Seafood Risotto Among Bend's fine-dining elite, Staccato lives comfortably in the upper
stratum. But a few things set it apart from its neighbors. First, it's
an upscale restaurant that cannot be classified as New American,
Pacific Northwest or, my favorite, "eclectic." Most dishes have a
contemporary twist, but Staccato's roots are firmly planted in northern
Italian flavors and preparations. Nor does it have that pristine New
American feel. Just as the menu blends the old with the new, so does
the space. Housed in the 100-year-old fire hall downtown, the
4,500-square-foot building has been converted into four dining areas
that have retained much of the old brick-and-stone detail, but have
been doused in a distinctly modern wash and dotted with rustic Italian
accoutrements and racks of Italian and regional wines (Staccato's list
includes over 250 bottles). You could probably apply that description
to nine out of 10 dishes on the menu: equally influenced by local
ingredients, contemporary flair and traditional Italian recipes.

Art on the plate: Staccato’s Seafood Risotto Among Bend’s fine-dining elite, Staccato lives comfortably in the upper
stratum. But a few things set it apart from its neighbors. First, it’s
an upscale restaurant that cannot be classified as New American,
Pacific Northwest or, my favorite, “eclectic.” Most dishes have a
contemporary twist, but Staccato’s roots are firmly planted in northern
Italian flavors and preparations. Nor does it have that pristine New
American feel. Just as the menu blends the old with the new, so does
the space. Housed in the 100-year-old fire hall downtown, the
4,500-square-foot building has been converted into four dining areas
that have retained much of the old brick-and-stone detail, but have
been doused in a distinctly modern wash and dotted with rustic Italian
accoutrements and racks of Italian and regional wines (Staccato’s list
includes over 250 bottles). You could probably apply that description
to nine out of 10 dishes on the menu: equally influenced by local
ingredients, contemporary flair and traditional Italian recipes.

Firesid red-back in the game, back on the plateThere were a lot of disappointed diners back in December when word got
out that Fireside red's brief but bright flame would be prematurely
extinguished. The deluge of closings downtown didn't help dispel the
rumors. But as management insisted all along, a couple of months later
from the ashes emerged, well, Fireside red-largely unscathed and not
palpably all that different. A short period of retooling produced a
variety of subtle-yet-notable improvements, but the overall feel of the
place is largely intact.

The interior received a makeover, though the
before-and-after comparison is not striking at first glance. On closer
inspection, however, while the palette and some of the detail is the
same, the layout is actually quite different and much more user
friendly. The bar area has been cordoned off with a bank of red booths
and expanded, apparently a very wise move as it seems to be the first
area to fill. There's also a chef's counter with bar stools where
diners can watch the kitchen in action. And the dining room, which was
formerly a wide-open space with rows of tables, is now divided into
blocks of tables and booths that make the room cozier and the seating
more comfortable. The amazing outdoor deck overlooking the Deschutes is
thankfully unchanged. The wide-screen TVs are also still there and
still a little too prominent for my taste, but they have loaded the two
in the dining area with a slide show of alternating quotations and
works of art. It's a start, but wouldn't hurt to turn them off on
occasion.

Firesid red-back in the game, back on the plateThere were a lot of disappointed diners back in December when word got
out that Fireside red’s brief but bright flame would be prematurely
extinguished. The deluge of closings downtown didn’t help dispel the
rumors. But as management insisted all along, a couple of months later
from the ashes emerged, well, Fireside red-largely unscathed and not
palpably all that different. A short period of retooling produced a
variety of subtle-yet-notable improvements, but the overall feel of the
place is largely intact.

The interior received a makeover, though the
before-and-after comparison is not striking at first glance. On closer
inspection, however, while the palette and some of the detail is the
same, the layout is actually quite different and much more user
friendly. The bar area has been cordoned off with a bank of red booths
and expanded, apparently a very wise move as it seems to be the first
area to fill. There’s also a chef’s counter with bar stools where
diners can watch the kitchen in action. And the dining room, which was
formerly a wide-open space with rows of tables, is now divided into
blocks of tables and booths that make the room cozier and the seating
more comfortable. The amazing outdoor deck overlooking the Deschutes is
thankfully unchanged. The wide-screen TVs are also still there and
still a little too prominent for my taste, but they have loaded the two
in the dining area with a slide show of alternating quotations and
works of art. It’s a start, but wouldn’t hurt to turn them off on
occasion.

Elk medallions and blackberries, Jackalope style. Although the Jackalope Grill has been open a little more than three
years, there's something very enduring and lived-in about it. You'll
find no scene or gimmicks here. You can expect the old standards in the
background to be playing at low volume, the crowd to be civilized, and
the service to be professional and knowledgeable.

It's hardly the
first day on the job for the husband-and-wife team who own it. Kathy
Garling, the front of the house, has been working in the industry for
over 25 years and Chef Tim Garling has been in the kitchen for over 20.
Focusing on fresh, locally produced ingredients whenever possible, the
menu is largely a high-minded take on meat and potatoes. And with
Garling's classical training in French cuisine coupled with his
attention to the flavors of the Pacific Northwest, it makes sense.

Although the Jackalope Grill has been open a little more than three years, there's something very enduring and lived-in about it. You'll find no scene or gimmicks here. You can expect the old standards in the background to be playing at low volume, the crowd to be civilized, and the service to be professional and knowledgeable.