Food & Drink

Although the Jackalope Grill has been open a little more than three years, there's something very enduring and lived-in about it. You'll find no scene or gimmicks here. You can expect the old standards in the background to be playing at low volume, the crowd to be civilized, and the service to be professional and knowledgeable.

It’s 31 degrees. Grey clouds fill the morning sky.

It's 31 degrees. Grey clouds fill the morning sky.

Bacon larded Red beet blood-enriched sauce. Yummy.It takes a devious mind to come up with the concept for a pork feast like Chef Jason Logan did for a recent special seating at his soon to be gone restaurant, Bistro Corlise. Then again, you'd have to be almost as warped to voluntarily attend. We're not talking about a barbecue or a banquet featuring the whole animal sitting peacefully on the table with an apple in its mouth. No, Logan certainly utilized the whole pig, but deconstructed into 15 courses celebrating some of the pig's most glorious parts, as well as some not-so-glorious.

A couple dozen of Bend's bravest diners were on hand, which unsurprisingly consisted of a veritable who's who of area chefs who couldn't pass up the opportunity (including representatives from the Deschutes Brewery, Marz Bistro, the Astro Lounge, 28, Willakenzie Winery, Cork, Jen's Garden, Giuseppe's, and Hey Cupcake), a few curious food and wine writers, and a smattering of other adventurous eaters-oh, and of course, some unsuspecting companions who didn't know what they were getting themselves into. In a succession of small plates, the porcine anatomy was explored from the furthest extremities-snout, foot, ear, and tail-into the very heart of the animal, literally.

Bacon larded Red beet blood-enriched sauce. Yummy.It takes a devious mind to come up with the concept for a pork feast like Chef Jason Logan did for a recent special seating at his soon to be gone restaurant, Bistro Corlise. Then again, you’d have to be almost as warped to voluntarily attend. We’re not talking about a barbecue or a banquet featuring the whole animal sitting peacefully on the table with an apple in its mouth. No, Logan certainly utilized the whole pig, but deconstructed into 15 courses celebrating some of the pig’s most glorious parts, as well as some not-so-glorious.

A couple dozen of Bend’s bravest diners were on hand, which unsurprisingly consisted of a veritable who’s who of area chefs who couldn’t pass up the opportunity (including representatives from the Deschutes Brewery, Marz Bistro, the Astro Lounge, 28, Willakenzie Winery, Cork, Jen’s Garden, Giuseppe’s, and Hey Cupcake), a few curious food and wine writers, and a smattering of other adventurous eaters-oh, and of course, some unsuspecting companions who didn’t know what they were getting themselves into. In a succession of small plates, the porcine anatomy was explored from the furthest extremities-snout, foot, ear, and tail-into the very heart of the animal, literally.

Line em up, knock em downAs Obama sweeps the country with hope and transformation, might there also be change in what is perhaps the most obnoxious way that girls garner attention at the bar-the girl-on-girl make out session? Yes, we have all seen it. Some drunk girl notices that no men have lavished any attention on her so she grabs her best friend by the face and forces her tongue down the back of her throat. Her friend (no stranger to the game) sloppily kisses back never failing to run her hands through her friends hair and to let out some sort of “I-once-watched-a-porno” moan.

Line em up, knock em downAs Obama sweeps the country with hope and transformation, might there also be change in what is perhaps the most obnoxious way that girls garner attention at the bar-the girl-on-girl make out session? Yes, we have all seen it. Some drunk girl notices that no men have lavished any attention on her so she grabs her best friend by the face and forces her tongue down the back of her throat. Her friend (no stranger to the game) sloppily kisses back never failing to run her hands through her friends hair and to let out some sort of "I-once-watched-a-porno" moan.

Fresh. fantastic.It isn’t often that a restaurant succeeds in striking the perfect balance between deference to the traditions of its cuisine, the creativity of its chefs and the concerns of its audience, but Kanpai Sushi and Sake Bar has done it. It’s fine dining for every day that manages to be both intimate and festive. That’s probably why it feels appropriate for virtually all occasions and moods. You’re as likely to see a patron in ski pants grabbing a bite on his way down from the mountain as a quiet couple celebrating their anniversary over candlelight and sake. From the inside out, Kanpai offers a near flawless sushi dining experience-whatever you’re looking to get out of it.

Fresh. fantastic.It isn't often that a restaurant succeeds in striking the perfect balance between deference to the traditions of its cuisine, the creativity of its chefs and the concerns of its audience, but Kanpai Sushi and Sake Bar has done it. It's fine dining for every day that manages to be both intimate and festive. That's probably why it feels appropriate for virtually all occasions and moods. You're as likely to see a patron in ski pants grabbing a bite on his way down from the mountain as a quiet couple celebrating their anniversary over candlelight and sake. From the inside out, Kanpai offers a near flawless sushi dining experience-whatever you're looking to get out of it.

The once bustling merenda space will reopen as 900 Wall in April. After being courted by several big name chains, the space formerly
occupied by Merenda has a new tenant in 900 Wall, a local group
spearheaded by former Merenda GM Mike Millette who plans to open his
new restaurant in early April. The restaurant will include some minor
touchups of the restaurant’s interior, which has sat unused since
Merenda closed its doors in early January. Millette said the restaurant
will be instantly recognizable to Merenda fans, but will feature a
retooled menu, which former Merenda and Deep chef Cliff Eslinger is
testing right now. The new menu will put focus more on dishes that are
accessible and recognizable to the general public. Millette said the
restaurant would like to expand from its base of upwardly mobile urban
diners to casual and family diners.

“Jody’s food was tremendous,
but there are some people who were really not that knowledgeable about
food,” Millette said. “We’re still a meat and potatoes town.”