Food & Drink

Head out to the river for Ocean finds like this at Kokanee Cafe.Until a recent visit to Kokanee Café, my exposure to executive chef Roscoe Roberson was limited to his winning performance in this year's Top Chef competition at the Bite of Bend. With gutsy dishes like chilled watermelon-ginger and pork cheek medallion soup as well as a black chef's uniform, cowboy hat and swaggering personality to match, Roberson stole the show. At Kokanee, I expected flamboyance, a little city-goes-to-the-country juxtaposition of culinary flash against a tranquil backdrop. But as anyone who has been to Kokanee already knows, only half of that assessment is true. Yes, the spot is serene, the digs are rustic and the service friendly and unimposing, but what I tasted, while cosmopolitan in quality, was as quiet as the setting and completely without gimmick.

Housed in a wooden cottage with a stone chimney and screened-in porch just yards from the Metolius River and the Camp Sherman Store and Fly Shop, Kokanee blends in seamlessly with the giant ponderosa pines surrounding it and neighboring cabins that make up the Metolius River Resort. Only about 45 minutes from Bend, just north of Sisters, the settlement of Camp Sherman (permanent population 250) and the river that runs through it offer world-class fishing, hiking and camping, but it's worth the drive just for dinner at Kokanee. The menu, which changes every year, is largely Northwest cuisine focusing on fish and game and local ingredients.

Piling on the flavor with cork’s braised lamb shankWhenever a tried-and-true formula changes, there’s a good chance that the revision won’t hold up to the original. New Coke. Van Hagar. The X Files sans Duchovny. Such was the concern last spring when, after seven years at the forefront of Bend’s fine dining scene, Cork’s co-owners Carin Cameron (formerly Hill) and Chef Greg Unruh decided to part ways. Fortunately for Cameron, who stayed on as sole proprietor, as well as Cork’s loyal following, the perfect replacement was waiting in the wings. Chef Chris Ericsen, a young and talented chef who trained under Unruh, has taken over the kitchen. A progression rather than a transformation, the current menu is very much in keeping with Cork’s longtime signature style of creative, New American cuisine featuring bold yet intricate flavors and fresh, local ingredients.

As Cameron was always in charge of the front of the house, nothing there has changed. The elegant dining room and more casual bar area are attended by a solicitous and knowledgeable staff. The wine list of 150 bottles and over 30 by the glass focuses on the Northwest and is well organized, relatively easy to navigate and versatile. While you can get that $265 bottle of Heitz Cellar Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 1999 for a special occasion, there are a couple of options in nearly every category for around $30 or less. There is also a list of small plates available at the bar for $4.75 that is representative of what the kitchen has to offer, providing a great way to preview the menu without committing to a full sit-down. However, I highly recommend doing so.

Piling on the flavor with cork's braised lamb shankWhenever a tried-and-true formula changes, there's a good chance that the revision won't hold up to the original. New Coke. Van Hagar. The X Files sans Duchovny. Such was the concern last spring when, after seven years at the forefront of Bend's fine dining scene, Cork's co-owners Carin Cameron (formerly Hill) and Chef Greg Unruh decided to part ways. Fortunately for Cameron, who stayed on as sole proprietor, as well as Cork's loyal following, the perfect replacement was waiting in the wings. Chef Chris Ericsen, a young and talented chef who trained under Unruh, has taken over the kitchen. A progression rather than a transformation, the current menu is very much in keeping with Cork's longtime signature style of creative, New American cuisine featuring bold yet intricate flavors and fresh, local ingredients.

As Cameron was always in charge of the front of the house, nothing there has changed. The elegant dining room and more casual bar area are attended by a solicitous and knowledgeable staff. The wine list of 150 bottles and over 30 by the glass focuses on the Northwest and is well organized, relatively easy to navigate and versatile. While you can get that $265 bottle of Heitz Cellar Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 1999 for a special occasion, there are a couple of options in nearly every category for around $30 or less. There is also a list of small plates available at the bar for $4.75 that is representative of what the kitchen has to offer, providing a great way to preview the menu without committing to a full sit-down. However, I highly recommend doing so.

A little of this, a little of that all in Northwest Crossing.I had been meaning to pay a visit to Portello Winecafe since it reopened in January after a plumbing disaster forced a brief closure, but I don’t get out to Northwest Crossing much, and it kind of just fell off my radar. But last weekend, since I was heading out there anyway to watch a friend compete in the NWX Criterium, a bike race being held at the second annual Hullabaloo festival (a.k.a., “The Whitest Block Party on Earth”), I figured it was the perfect opportunity. Granted, it is completely unfair to stage a review during a restaurant’s busiest day of the year, but a couple of the tables on the patio have a perfect view of the racecourse, and my compulsive kill-two-birds-with-one-stone instinct made it impossible to resist.

In the end, besides an understandable amount of backup in the kitchen, there was nothing to forgive. Our server was attentive and cheerful, considering the circumstances, and kept us amply plied with wine until our food arrived. We succeeded in getting that plumb table outside, a lovely spot for a glass on a warm summer evening. But had weather not been permitting, the interior is equally attractive. The space is airy with high ceilings adorned with exposed heating ducts, walls made of brick taken from a 100-year-old Portland building and bar tables constructed with wood from Willamette Valley cherry barrels. Racks of wine and revolving art exhibits add to the Euro-industrial feel.

A little of this, a little of that all in Northwest Crossing.I had been meaning to pay a visit to Portello Winecafe since it reopened in January after a plumbing disaster forced a brief closure, but I don't get out to Northwest Crossing much, and it kind of just fell off my radar. But last weekend, since I was heading out there anyway to watch a friend compete in the NWX Criterium, a bike race being held at the second annual Hullabaloo festival (a.k.a., "The Whitest Block Party on Earth"), I figured it was the perfect opportunity. Granted, it is completely unfair to stage a review during a restaurant's busiest day of the year, but a couple of the tables on the patio have a perfect view of the racecourse, and my compulsive kill-two-birds-with-one-stone instinct made it impossible to resist.

In the end, besides an understandable amount of backup in the kitchen, there was nothing to forgive. Our server was attentive and cheerful, considering the circumstances, and kept us amply plied with wine until our food arrived. We succeeded in getting that plumb table outside, a lovely spot for a glass on a warm summer evening. But had weather not been permitting, the interior is equally attractive. The space is airy with high ceilings adorned with exposed heating ducts, walls made of brick taken from a 100-year-old Portland building and bar tables constructed with wood from Willamette Valley cherry barrels. Racks of wine and revolving art exhibits add to the Euro-industrial feel.

busting a culinary move at the bite.As the saying goes, those who can’t do, critique. Okay, maybe that’s not exactly how it goes, but when it comes to cooking and me, that’s certainly the case. Generally, I sit in judgment anonymously at a corner table scribbling in my notebook at a safe distance from the action in the kitchen. But at last weekend’s Top Chef competition at the Bite of Bend, I had the opportunity to witness eight of the area’s best go head-to-head live, and never has the depth and talent of Central Oregon’s culinary pool been so evident. Chefs were given a list of the pantry’s contents in advance but not the main protein they’d have 45 minutes to incorporate into both an appetizer and an entree.