Food & Drink

I was very concerned when the Downtowner left its Brooks Street location to combine with The Summit (Saloon and Stage), its sister operation. Not only was it a key inexpensive lunch option, but the space and environs seemed to suit its personality, and frequently my mood, so perfectly. Where else could I enjoy a beer and a delicious sandwich for $10 while catching up on the plight of the latest batch of wayward youth and growing population of homeless cat-owners in the Brooks Alley breezeway? Enter Lola's. From recent Bend transplant Amy Levinger (originally from Philadelphia by way of Portland, where she went to culinary school) with the guidance of former Cork owner Greg Unruh comes a new bar and restaurant worthy of filling the Downtowner's comfortable shoes.

The most junior member of Central Oregon's league of microbreweries, Three Creeks has quickly made Sisters an important stop on the beer-drinkers' tour. The accompanying brewpub, an oasis in the high desert emerging from the trees as you enter town from the east on Highway 20, almost instantly became a local favorite. While there are plenty of places in Sisters to find a good meal, Three Creeks is the most versatile. It's perfect for a family meal on the restaurant side of the massive barn-style building, or on the bar side, a burger and football, a few pints and a game of pool or dinner and live music on a Saturday night. My visits have run the gamut – a quick beer on the way home from Hoodoo, bar snacks and baseball in the afternoon, the full dining experience – and in all scenarios Three Creeks fared well. It's the kind of place that seems to effortlessly suit your mood, whatever it may be.

The most junior member of Central Oregon's league of microbreweries, Three Creeks has quickly made Sisters an important stop on the beer-drinkers' tour. The accompanying brewpub, an oasis in the high desert emerging from the trees as you enter town from the east on Highway 20, almost instantly became a local favorite. While there are plenty of places in Sisters to find a good meal, Three Creeks is the most versatile. It's perfect for a family meal on the restaurant side of the massive barn-style building, or on the bar side, a burger and football, a few pints and a game of pool or dinner and live music on a Saturday night. My visits have run the gamut – a quick beer on the way home from Hoodoo, bar snacks and baseball in the afternoon, the full dining experience – and in all scenarios Three Creeks fared well. It's the kind of place that seems to effortlessly suit your mood, whatever it may be.

Look for changes in the downtown dining scene in the next few weeks as Five Spice puts the finishing touches on its menu and prepares for a scheduled Dec. 3 opening on Wall Street in the former home of the short-lived Merenda spin-off, Deep.
Down the street, downtown stalwart Cork has unveiled a makeover with a new menu and a revised look.

Look for changes in the downtown dining scene in the next few weeks as Five Spice puts the finishing touches on its menu and prepares for a scheduled Dec. 3 opening on Wall Street in the former home of the short-lived Merenda spin-off, Deep.
Down the street, downtown stalwart Cork has unveiled a makeover with a new menu and a revised look.

Sometimes when a new place opens, before you even try it you feel impelled to throw the full weight of your support behind it – in your head, you jump up and down and cheer in slow motion during the triumphant ribbon cutting. I was that way with Brother Jon's Public House, the latest addition to the burgeoning dining and nightlife scene on Galveston. Its stealth opening late last June, which would have escaped my notice were I not riding by on my bicycle that day, precluded any ceremony. But I got that feeling of excitement that comes at the sight of a solid right-place-right-time concept, when an establishment has really tapped into a neighborhood's needs and responded.

Sometimes when a new place opens, before you even try it you feel impelled to throw the full weight of your support behind it – in your head, you jump up and down and cheer in slow motion during the triumphant ribbon cutting. I was that way with Brother Jon's Public House, the latest addition to the burgeoning dining and nightlife scene on Galveston. Its stealth opening late last June, which would have escaped my notice were I not riding by on my bicycle that day, precluded any ceremony. But I got that feeling of excitement that comes at the sight of a solid right-place-right-time concept, when an establishment has really tapped into a neighborhood's needs and responded.

There are two things that bring my husband and I into Bend regularly: walking and eating. Lately we've been searching out alternatives closer to home. As far as walking goes, our favorite trail within a 10-mile radius is along the Deschutes River at Eagle Crest or, if we decide to put up with the extra company, the Dry Canyon Trail.
Eating out in Redmond has proven more challenging. In fact, unless we grab our favorite Chinese take-out, we never seek out chow in this hometown of ours. I've avoided downtown Redmond for so long I didn't realize how far along its new facelift has come, transforming a small town frontage into an inviting area to shop, grab a coffee, or go out to eat.