Food & Drink

Hong Kong has long been known by locals as one of the Bend's stalwart Asian restaurants offering up consistently solid takes on Cantonese, Szechwan and Mandarin dishes. Locals also know Hong Kong as home to the Bamboo Room, a little lounge around the back of the restaurant through a windowless door that announces "No Minors".

Hong Kong has long been known by locals as one of the Bend’s stalwart Asian restaurants offering up consistently solid takes on Cantonese, Szechwan and Mandarin dishes. Locals also know Hong Kong as home to the Bamboo Room, a little lounge around the back of the restaurant through a windowless door that announces “No Minors”.

Mid-January probably seems like a strange time to bring up what you’re going to eat this summer. But if you were a farmer, growing your own food, you bet you’d be thinking about it now. And if you want to buy into a local vegetable crop, now is the time to do your research and join a CSA.

CSAs (an acronym for Community Supported Agriculture) are a way for the food buying public to create a relationship with a local farm and to receive a weekly bag of produce, flowers, fruits, eggs, milk, meats, or combinations of different farm products during the growing season – typically late spring through early fall. By making a financial commitment to a farm, people loosely become “shareholders” – thus the term CSA share.

Mid-January probably seems like a strange time to bring up what you're going to eat this summer. But if you were a farmer, growing your own food, you bet you'd be thinking about it now. And if you want to buy into a local vegetable crop, now is the time to do your research and join a CSA.

CSAs (an acronym for Community Supported Agriculture) are a way for the food buying public to create a relationship with a local farm and to receive a weekly bag of produce, flowers, fruits, eggs, milk, meats, or combinations of different farm products during the growing season - typically late spring through early fall. By making a financial commitment to a farm, people loosely become "shareholders" - thus the term CSA share.

Somehow Nelly’s “Hot in Herre” appeals to a generation that I’m quite positive he did not intend to appeal to. I’m contemplating saying, “No shirt, no service,” but I’m still caught off guard that a doughy 58-year-old man has decided to dance half-naked at the service bar.

Somehow Nelly's "Hot in Herre" appeals to a generation that I'm quite positive he did not intend to appeal to. I'm contemplating saying, "No shirt, no service," but I'm still caught off guard that a doughy 58-year-old man has decided to dance half-naked at the service bar.

Hustle and bustleWhen I first moved to Bend I had a hard time trying to figure out what exactly was going on at the Parrilla Grill, located at the 14th Street and Century Drive roundabout. It looked like a neighborhood bar, but outside in the parking lot there was a massive clothing sale going on, so for a few days there last year I thought it sold skiing apparel.

A couple of weeks later, when I peered through the windows and noticed people were eating inside, I decided to venture into Parrilla and see what the place with the “Sorry, We’re Open” neon sign was all about. After spending the better part of seven years living in North Carolina, where good Mexican food is about as easy to come by as good home-made fried chicken is in Bend, I was pleasantly surprised to learn Parrilla offers an experience of epic proportions.

Each year on New Year's Day, no matter how hung over I am, I host a brunch. Continuing a long family tradition, I serve black-eyed peas, collard greens and pork chops. In my family, these foods are considered lucky when you eat them to start off the year. The greens represent dollar bills, and the black-eyed peas symbolize coins. The pork is supposed to be for health, but I've always found that claim rather dubious.

There are other stories explaining why Southerners eat black-eyed peas, greens and pork on New Year's Day. One scenario blames it on the "War Between the States," during which Union soldiers regularly burned crops and raided Southern kitchens. Black-eyed peas were considered livestock feed, so the soldiers ignored fields of them. When they were finished taking or destroying everything they considered edible, Southerners made do with the rejects, which meant black-eyed peas, greens and hog jowls. So, for some Southern families, these foods are served in remembrance of their Confederate ancestors.

Each year on New Year’s Day, no matter how hung over I am, I host a brunch. Continuing a long family tradition, I serve black-eyed peas, collard greens and pork chops. In my family, these foods are considered lucky when you eat them to start off the year. The greens represent dollar bills, and the black-eyed peas symbolize coins. The pork is supposed to be for health, but I’ve always found that claim rather dubious.

There are other stories explaining why Southerners eat black-eyed peas, greens and pork on New Year’s Day. One scenario blames it on the “War Between the States,” during which Union soldiers regularly burned crops and raided Southern kitchens. Black-eyed peas were considered livestock feed, so the soldiers ignored fields of them. When they were finished taking or destroying everything they considered edible, Southerners made do with the rejects, which meant black-eyed peas, greens and hog jowls. So, for some Southern families, these foods are served in remembrance of their Confederate ancestors.