Just a few months before stepping into the Editor job a decade ago in 2012, I had seen Molly Ringwald present a confessional talk at The Moth; she talked about being a mom, and about recognizing that her middle-school daughter was a bully, and her abject frustration as that went against her entire life-philosophy and, […]
Phil Busse
Phil Busse has done his tour of duty with alt-weeklies, starting in 1992 right after graduation from Middlebury College as the first environmental beat reporter for San Francisco Weekly. After a brief detour through the University of Oregon School of Law, Phil returned to writing as the first Managing Editor for Portland Mercury. In 2006, he started the Media Institute for Social Change in Portland, through which he continues to host a summer program teaching college students to produce documentaries.
Until he was 25 or so, Phil thought that he would be a spy, and took scuba lessons to prepare, and learned to drive a motorcycle and an 18-wheeler. Perhaps, then, it is unsurprising that his favorite holiday is the Fourth of July (he loves blowing stuff up). He feels at home with Joseph Conrad's fictional characters.
Posted inFood & Drink
Coney Island Delight
The newest addition to The Lot is refreshingly simple
The newest addition at The Lot is a good-looking food cart: Brown wood siding with cedar shingles lining the corners. And, we had only approached the cart two seconds earlier, when the very friendly woman serving food leaned out the window and laughed: “How can a girl from Indonesia cook hot dogs?” she asked, largely […]
Posted inCulture
Has Jake Johnson Found His Talent?
By doing less in Digging For Fire, Johnson does great
Jake Johnson has been simmering just under Hollywood’s A-list. He certainly has his fan base, and there is a familiarity (oh, that guy!), but he doesn’t yet command a summer hit. Like, say, Philip Seymour Hoffman, who seemingly appeared in every cool kid movie for a decade before finally breaking into public knowledge as a […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Mamma Mia, Another Pizza Place
Pacific Pizza is a great addition to the west side
Can there ever be enough pizza in the world? Or, even enough pizza joints in one town? With the opening of the very fine, very friendly, and absolutely creative Pacific Pizza in Bend, the answer is most certainly: no. And, yes, there certainly is room for another pizza place in Bend—and, it is likely that […]
Posted inBest Of Central Oregon
Best Chef
Joe Kim—5 Fusion & Sushi Bar
Joe Kim, lead chef at 5 Fusion and two-time James Beard nominated chef, is a fusion himself. Much of his childhood was spent between San Francisco—where he was born and his dad lived—and La Pine, where his mother moved when he was 6 years old to raise him and his sisters. Kim’s dad is Korean, […]
Posted inBest Of Central Oregon
Best Cider
Atlas Cider Company—Hard Blackberry Cider
Atlas Cider is defining the leading edge for the nascent hard cider industry and showing what expanding potential the beverage has. This summer, Atlas opened a cider tasting room (along with rotating beer taps) on the outskirts of the Old Mill District. Its instant popularity has planted a flag in the ground for cider’s staying […]
Posted inMusic
By Any Other Name
Rainbow Girls a blinding spectrum of talent
The name Rainbow Girls is misleading. With a name like that, and an origin story that has a group of women retreating to Joshua Tree to form their band, it is easy to assume this troupe is an easy-going, mandolin-plucking, sundress-twirling, hippie-dippie folk lovefest. Their list of appearances dotting northern California seems to underscore those […]
Posted inCulture
Give This Film An Oscar
Cartel Land is an unflinching documentary
Within the first two minutes of Cartel Land, the quality and moral depth of the film is evident. It is a nighttime scene as several men, presumably Mexican, unload ingredients from a truck and begin to cook meth in smoking drum barrels. At first, there is nothing terribly novel about the scene; a man, masked […]
Posted inBest Of Central Oregon
Best Novelty Gift Store
Wabi Sabi
Wabi Sabi is a feverish dream, a kaleidoscope of Japanese-inspired toys and seriously silly games, like the popular kendama, a ball-and-cup game that seems deceptively simple, that is, until it is attempted. The store, in general, serves as a portal to an entire culture and history. Wabi Sabi sprung six years ago from the brain […]
Posted inBest Of Central Oregon
Best Kombucha
Humm Kombucha
Kombucha has come a long way from its roots as a funky homemade brew peddled by hippies and New Age types. The fermented tea drink has taken off in the last few years, with a number of breweries popping up in Central Oregon. But Humm Kombucha, originally known as Kombucha Mama, is a local trailblazer. […]
