Food & Drink
Posted inFood & Drink

As The Garden Grows: One of region’s finest restaurants hires new executive chef

At first glance, the small house with an edible backyard garden on Hood Avenue in Sisters may be mistaken for a long-held private residence.
Laura Kessinger

At first glance, the small house with an edible backyard garden on Hood Avenue in Sisters may be mistaken for a long-held private residence. But step inside the candle-lit cottage and you’ll discover one of Central Oregon’s most intimate dining experiences.
For eight years now, Jen’s Garden has created an ever-changing menu of Southern France-inspired cuisine, offered a la carte or as a three or five course wine-paired dinner. And building a solid reputation under the careful direction of owner and previous executive chef, T.R. McCrystal and his wife Jen.

Posted inFood & Drink

East or West, Mother Knows Best

New Mother’s Juice Café proves bigger is better
Laura Kessinger

I have long been a fan of Mother’s Juice Café, patronizing the small house on Galveston Avenue since it first opened for business back in 1999.
From one tiny kitchen came countless choices for smoothies, fresh juice, breakfast and lunch. And despite the economic ups and downs of the last decade, Mother’s has proved its staying power.
Not by reinventing itself or cutting quality for the sake of cost, but by continuing to appeal to active Bendites by offering “healthy, wholesome goodness.”

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Cheap Eats On 2nd Street: Quick and affordable freshness just off the beaten path

2nd Street Eats is a hole-in-the-wall breakfast and lunch spot where The Brown Bag used to be, hidden in plain sight just north of Greenwood Avenue on 2nd Street.
Laura Kessinger

Some of the best potato salad around.
I’ve always had a soft spot for mom and pop joints—the no-frills food, the camaraderie among customers, the satisfaction of supporting a little ol’ family business.
2nd Street Eats is the modern version. It’s a hole-in-the-wall breakfast and lunch spot where The Brown Bag used to be, hidden in plain sight just north of Greenwood Avenue on 2nd Street. From the outside of the nondescript building, it may not look like much, but venture in for the surprise of homemade bagels, handmade chocolates and inexpensive eats.

Posted inFood & Drink

The Hand now Serving Nectar: Add mead to the list of wonderful fermented beverages brewed in Bend

In a town saturated with craft beers and breweries, it was with great pleasure that we raised a glass of mead last Thursday while attending a tasting at Nectar of the Gods Meadery, Bend’s newest small-batch brewer.
The Source Staff

Behold the mead.
It’s always refreshing to try something new—especially when that something is a new type of alcohol.
In a town saturated with craft beers and breweries, it was with great pleasure that we raised a glass of mead last Thursday while attending a tasting at Nectar of the Gods Meadery, Bend’s newest small-batch brewer.
Don’t misunderstand—we love beer as much as the next Bendite, but sometimes we’re just not in the mood for another IPA. Wesley Ladd, owner of the Horned Hand, and Ian Greene, a brewer at Boneyard Beer, admitted to feeling similarly, despite their deep love of beer.

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Gluttony: A Sin Of Satisfaction: 10 Central Oregon luxuries to please any epicurean

Here are our favorite, and priciest, ways to live the good life through food in Central Oregon.
Laura Kessinger

Bend offers so many ways to indulge your culinary senses, paring down a list of the most special delicacies in these parts was no easy feat. Here are our favorite, and priciest, ways to live the good life through food in Central Oregon.
Leonardi Balsamic Vinegar, Newport Market: For deglazing, for dipping or for drizzling, vineger’s versatility never ceases to surprise. I still remember the shiver I got the first time I tried 30 year old balsamic—it popped my eyes wide open with a concentrated sharpness then mellowing tanginess. Proof is in the price tag with this lovely liquid: at Newport Market, Leonardi 30-year balsamico goes for $180.

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Little Bites: Hideaway Gives a Shot to Southeast Bend

After several months of interior makeover work, the neighborhood bar and restaurant reopened this past week as the Hideaway Tavern.
Eric Flowers

I recently moved out of northeast Bend, a virtual wasteland when it comes to food and nightlife. (The last vestige of culinary civilization, Little Pizza Paradise, picked up stakes and moved to Cascade Village Mall earlier this summer.) I didn’t improve my lot much by moving to southeast Bend, particularly when it comes to nightlife.
A few scattered pubs on Third Street and an outpost at Reed Market were an improvement, but hardly a sea change. To make matters worse, my favorite South side watering hole/pizza place and blues club, Grover’s, recently closed.

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Calling All Homebrewers

The Deschutes Brewery will host a first-come, first-served home brew competition at the Bend Fall Fest.
Source Weekly

Central Oregon’s craft brewing scene has grabbed more than its share of
headlines, but the local homebrew scene has flown under the radar. That’s about to change this weekend when The Deschutes Brewery will host a first-come, first-served home brew competition at the Bend Fall Fest. The competition is open to any and all homebrewers who wish to enter a “fresh hop” beer.

Posted inFood & Drink

Gringo’s Welcome: Authentic Street-Style Tacos and Mexican Markets in Bend

Whether you need pasilla peppers for posole, or a quick and delicious bite on the run, look no further than these friendly and authentic family-run establishments.
Laura Kessinger

Searching for hard-to-find ingredients like cactus or tamarind? Trying to feed a family of four on a $20 bill? No worries! Although still undiscovered by most, Bend does have a handful of true-to-Mexico taco joints and three Latino markets. So whether you need pasilla peppers for posole, or a quick and delicious bite on the run, look no further than these friendly and authentic family-run establishments. No habla espanol? No problem.

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Little Bites: Noi Opens in Former Typhoon! Location: Too soon to call it the best Thai in town?

Bend’s newest Thai restaurant, which opened this week for dinner and lunch in the old Typhoon! location downtown, has raised the bar.
Erin Foote Marlowe

Bend’s newest Thai restaurant, which opened this week for dinner and lunch in the old Typhoon! location downtown, has raised the bar.
The Seattle-based Chaiseeha family leased the building earlier this summer and has combined art shipped directly from Thailand with items purchased from Typhoon!. We stopped in for lunch on Tuesday.
The space Noi has created feels similar to its predecessor, but with much more gold art on the walls, lending a more traditional Thai feeling to the place, rather than the more urban-inspired mood of the Portland-grown Typhoon!.

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