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 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. […]
Posted inBest Of Central Oregon
Best Real Estate Agent
Christie Glennon—Bend Premier Real Estate
When Christie Glennon started selling real estate about a decade ago in Central Oregon, the market was hot—second homes were leaving the shelves at a head-spinning pace, and for her first couple years, she worked as a licensed agent for Wyndham Worldwide in vacation property ownership. But when the housing bubble burst, roughly halving the […]
Posted inBest Of Central Oregon
Best Band
Corner Gospel Explosion
The sound is familiar, yet entirely new: For the past three years, Wilderness has been at the forefront of Bend’s local music scene with an alt-country noise-pop that wildly merges slamming drumbeats and soaring guitar riffs. But in January, drummer Bradley David Parsons stepped forward, along with Wilderness bass player Nick Graham and his brother […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Want Some Barbecue With Your Drink?
A tale of two breweries and two food trucks
A year ago, the food cart Broken Top BBQ settled into its spot along NW Colorado, in the parking lot adjacent to Mountain Supply—just an easy three-block stroll from our offices. It was like Christmas in summertime: fall-off-the bone ribs, slow-roasted pork brisket, spicy barbecue chicken sandwiches. Owner T.J. McNabb had recently relocated from Portland, […]