Food & Drink

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.

dining by the tracks at terrebone depot.I've never been much for climbing. Stairs, okay. Ladders, fine. But rocks, particularly when they're positioned at a dead right angle to the ground, absolutely not (and for the hundredth time, honey, no, I will not be your belay bunny). But even if carabiners and crampons aren't your thing, summer in Central Oregon wouldn't be complete without a visit to Smith Rock. With a network of trails on and around the dramatic rock formations, Smith Rock State Park, less than 45 minutes from downtown Bend, is one of the most accessible daytrips in the area (day-use fee, $3). Work up a sweat and an appetite with a hike to spectacular panoramic views on the Misery Ridge Trail-more scramble than climb and manageable even for us mortals-and down along the Crooked River past some of the world's premiere climbing routes dotted with the intrepid souls who travel from far and wide to attempt them.

dining by the tracks at terrebone depot.I’ve never been much for climbing. Stairs, okay. Ladders, fine. But rocks, particularly when they’re positioned at a dead right angle to the ground, absolutely not (and for the hundredth time, honey, no, I will not be your belay bunny). But even if carabiners and crampons aren’t your thing, summer in Central Oregon wouldn’t be complete without a visit to Smith Rock. With a network of trails on and around the dramatic rock formations, Smith Rock State Park, less than 45 minutes from downtown Bend, is one of the most accessible daytrips in the area (day-use fee, $3). Work up a sweat and an appetite with a hike to spectacular panoramic views on the Misery Ridge Trail-more scramble than climb and manageable even for us mortals-and down along the Crooked River past some of the world’s premiere climbing routes dotted with the intrepid souls who travel from far and wide to attempt them.

a piece of the action.I have a heartfelt sympathy for young people starting out in these challenging times. I too was thrown into the work world during a recession and know the frustration of limited opportunities and chronic underemployment. Of course, I handled it the old fashioned way-the Gen-X, pre-Internet-boom way-and without hesitation or any honest attempt at alternative ideas, moved back home with my mom, wrangled up some temp work for which I was highly overqualified yet performed with total incompetence and took the LSAT, the GRE and a two-week stint in bartending school over the course of my lengthy search for direction. Not so with Alex Mackay, Tim Colla and Rachel Marcus. Life handed them lemons, and they made…pizza.

Alex, who was scraping by in Brooklyn, and his childhood friend Tim and girlfriend Rachel in San Francisco decided to take matters into their own hands. All in their mid-20s with no business or professional cooking experience, they came up with the concept of a vending cart complete with a high-temperature oven, a prep area and refrigeration space. They had their design built in California, chose Bend as their location and set up shop. Recession Pies opened for business downtown in early March. Ah, kids today.

a piece of the action.I have a heartfelt sympathy for young people starting out in these challenging times. I too was thrown into the work world during a recession and know the frustration of limited opportunities and chronic underemployment. Of course, I handled it the old fashioned way-the Gen-X, pre-Internet-boom way-and without hesitation or any honest attempt at alternative ideas, moved back home with my mom, wrangled up some temp work for which I was highly overqualified yet performed with total incompetence and took the LSAT, the GRE and a two-week stint in bartending school over the course of my lengthy search for direction. Not so with Alex Mackay, Tim Colla and Rachel Marcus. Life handed them lemons, and they made…pizza.

Alex, who was scraping by in Brooklyn, and his childhood friend Tim and girlfriend Rachel in San Francisco decided to take matters into their own hands. All in their mid-20s with no business or professional cooking experience, they came up with the concept of a vending cart complete with a high-temperature oven, a prep area and refrigeration space. They had their design built in California, chose Bend as their location and set up shop. Recession Pies opened for business downtown in early March. Ah, kids today.

It seems like there's always something going on with our local
pub/brewing scene. But as you may have noticed it can sometimes be
difficult to separate rumor from fact in this gossip-hungry town. This
past week we chased down one of the juicier rumors that had been
fermenting for several weeks - that new kid on the block 10 Barrel
Brewing was going to take over the lease at the former Rising Star
building to launch a homegrown McMenamins-style pub just south of
downtown. Such a possibility would no doubt be intriguing, alas the
guys over at 10 Barrel said the deal for the Rising Star building is
off the discussion table - and likely for good - for the same reasons
that Rising Star folded, primarily the dismal economic climate.

"We
had a really cool plan, but it's not exactly the small homey kind of
easy-to-operate place. It's a little more of a chunk than we felt
comfortable biting off right now," said Garrett Wales, one of three
partners in 10 Barrel who also serves as the operations manager.

It seems like there’s always something going on with our local
pub/brewing scene. But as you may have noticed it can sometimes be
difficult to separate rumor from fact in this gossip-hungry town. This
past week we chased down one of the juicier rumors that had been
fermenting for several weeks – that new kid on the block 10 Barrel
Brewing was going to take over the lease at the former Rising Star
building to launch a homegrown McMenamins-style pub just south of
downtown. Such a possibility would no doubt be intriguing, alas the
guys over at 10 Barrel said the deal for the Rising Star building is
off the discussion table – and likely for good – for the same reasons
that Rising Star folded, primarily the dismal economic climate.

“We
had a really cool plan, but it’s not exactly the small homey kind of
easy-to-operate place. It’s a little more of a chunk than we felt
comfortable biting off right now,” said Garrett Wales, one of three
partners in 10 Barrel who also serves as the operations manager.

Hummus, check, kebabs, check, spirit apparition server, check. With the corpse of Bistro Corlise still warm, and its cherished memory fresh in my mind, I figured I'd instantly and probably unfairly compare, contrast and ultimately find fault with whatever took its place. That was before I heard about Joolz. The latest from Ramsey and Juli Hamdan, owners of the Jackalope Grill until 2005 and more recently Barking Squirrel Kitchen and Catering, Joolz couldn't be further from the classic French cuisine of its predecessor. The menu, tagged "Where Mezze Meets the Mesa," features traditional Middle Eastern flavors and recipes (Ramsey is of Lebanese extraction) with Southwestern accents and a nod to local ingredients and preparations. Being a recovering big city gal, constantly craving the many and varied ethnic foods of my former life, they had me at halloumi-and hummus and kafta and kebabs.

The room, while largely retaining the layout and the core fixtures from the old space, has been thoroughly beJoolzed with assorted pieces of Middle Eastern flare like hanging metal lamps, hookas, camels and bright shocks of cloth to complement the orange and brown drapery. Mesa touches, most notably a series of stylized mounted horns from various ungulates, are interspersed in keeping with the concept. The result is a comfortable, festive dining room with great lighting and a large and lively bar area that's ripe for the happy hour scheduled to begin in the next week or so.

Hummus, check, kebabs, check, spirit apparition server, check. With the corpse of Bistro Corlise still warm, and its cherished memory fresh in my mind, I figured I’d instantly and probably unfairly compare, contrast and ultimately find fault with whatever took its place. That was before I heard about Joolz. The latest from Ramsey and Juli Hamdan, owners of the Jackalope Grill until 2005 and more recently Barking Squirrel Kitchen and Catering, Joolz couldn’t be further from the classic French cuisine of its predecessor. The menu, tagged “Where Mezze Meets the Mesa,” features traditional Middle Eastern flavors and recipes (Ramsey is of Lebanese extraction) with Southwestern accents and a nod to local ingredients and preparations. Being a recovering big city gal, constantly craving the many and varied ethnic foods of my former life, they had me at halloumi-and hummus and kafta and kebabs.

The room, while largely retaining the layout and the core fixtures from the old space, has been thoroughly beJoolzed with assorted pieces of Middle Eastern flare like hanging metal lamps, hookas, camels and bright shocks of cloth to complement the orange and brown drapery. Mesa touches, most notably a series of stylized mounted horns from various ungulates, are interspersed in keeping with the concept. The result is a comfortable, festive dining room with great lighting and a large and lively bar area that’s ripe for the happy hour scheduled to begin in the next week or so.