Chow

The location of Scanlon's is perhaps an apt metaphor for a restaurant that's trying to play a lot of seemingly contradictory roles. It's fine dining, but it shares a building with the Athletic Club of Bend. It's a place where “fancy” dishes like rack of lamb with a side of ratatouille rub shoulders with Nikes, gym bags and nachos.

This past week was one of the most eventful restaurant weeks in recent history. Multiple restaurants closed, sold and changed hands.

In October, three Central Oregonians hopped a flight to Torino, Italy. But this wasn't a vacation or a trip to the 2006 Olympics site. Instead, they met up with like-minded people from over 150 countries for Slow Food International's bi-annual conference called Terra Madre.
Started in 1989 as a response to the trend of fast food and unsustainable large-scale farming, Slow Food has become an international movement to inform local farmers, chefs and educators on how to nurture local, sustainable agriculture and retain local food traditions. Six years ago, Terra Madre began bringing delegates from around the world together to share farming practices and attend lectures on incorporating Slow Food practices into their everyday lives.

In October, three Central Oregonians hopped a flight to Torino, Italy. But this wasn't a vacation or a trip to the 2006 Olympics site. Instead, they met up with like-minded people from over 150 countries for Slow Food International's bi-annual conference called Terra Madre.
Started in 1989 as a response to the trend of fast food and unsustainable large-scale farming, Slow Food has become an international movement to inform local farmers, chefs and educators on how to nurture local, sustainable agriculture and retain local food traditions. Six years ago, Terra Madre began bringing delegates from around the world together to share farming practices and attend lectures on incorporating Slow Food practices into their everyday lives.

Ten years ago, the closest Central Oregonians could get to buying local, organic food in the winter was to drive three hours to greenhouses in the valley. Even just a year ago, locavores who lived for their summertime weekly CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) bounties were stuck buying veggies and meats from aisles under fluorescent lights.

It's tough not to have high expectations for a venture that combines an old favorite – in this case, Marz Bistro – with a prominent chef and restaurateur – Gavin McMichael of The Blacksmith and Bourbon Street. Marz, the 2008 winner of The Source Weekly's Restaurant of the Year, recently sold to McMichael and re-opened under the same name.