Food & Drink

The lamb chops at phoenix. When the Phoenix first opened, it was immediately recognized as a gastronomic oasis in the Old Mill office area. Weekdays bustle as the restaurant serves solid breakfasts and lunches to desk jockeys. Recently, this little out-of-the-way spot started serving dinners, hoping its daytime success would cross over to the nighttime meal.
 
With this in mind I set out sample the new menu. My dining partners and I arrived at 6:30 on a Saturday night. I was glad to see the large houseplants had been moved, as palm fronds tickling the back of your neck is nice in some instances, but not during dinner.
There were three specials and three house soups. The menu offered beef, seafood, poultry and pork prepared in a variety of semi-international ways. I opted for the Medallions of Pork served with a sauce "au poive" (a misspelling of the French word for pepper or peppercorn sauce, which should have read "au poivre"). My dining companions both went for specials - one chose the lamb chops with a Dijon demi-glace, and the other opted for the filet of salmon with a Mediterranean tomato-based sauce. We took a gander at the wine list. Finding nothing but below average house wine by the glass, we stuck with water.

The lamb chops at phoenix. When the Phoenix first opened, it was immediately recognized as a gastronomic oasis in the Old Mill office area. Weekdays bustle as the restaurant serves solid breakfasts and lunches to desk jockeys. Recently, this little out-of-the-way spot started serving dinners, hoping its daytime success would cross over to the nighttime meal.

With this in mind I set out sample the new menu. My dining partners and I arrived at 6:30 on a Saturday night. I was glad to see the large houseplants had been moved, as palm fronds tickling the back of your neck is nice in some instances, but not during dinner.
There were three specials and three house soups. The menu offered beef, seafood, poultry and pork prepared in a variety of semi-international ways. I opted for the Medallions of Pork served with a sauce “au poive” (a misspelling of the French word for pepper or peppercorn sauce, which should have read “au poivre”). My dining companions both went for specials – one chose the lamb chops with a Dijon demi-glace, and the other opted for the filet of salmon with a Mediterranean tomato-based sauce. We took a gander at the wine list. Finding nothing but below average house wine by the glass, we stuck with water.

patio time at the new Super b.Spring has sprung in the food and restaurant industry, even though our schizo Central Oregon weather is hardly cooperating. 12 O’clock Tart (www.12oclocktart.com) has started their Bend lunchtime delivery service featuring fresh, seasonally changing items. No prepackaged soggy sandwiches here. Choose from Peppered Crusted Pork Loin, Spiced Sockeye Salmon, French Nicoise Salad or homemade desserts.

patio time at the new Super b.Spring has sprung in the food and restaurant industry, even though our schizo Central Oregon weather is hardly cooperating. 12 O'clock Tart (www.12oclocktart.com) has started their Bend lunchtime delivery service featuring fresh, seasonally changing items. No prepackaged soggy sandwiches here. Choose from Peppered Crusted Pork Loin, Spiced Sockeye Salmon, French Nicoise Salad or homemade desserts.

Eat a peach. When I was in college in Berkeley, I would emerge from the Ashby Street BART station and head directly for the baau stand. A minuscule woman would open the doors on her little wooden trailer and produce three to five types of baaus – warm, doughy and bursting with flavor. Although this was not my first encounter with dim sum, the experience sealed the deal. Since then, I've loved the Chinese breakfast food.
There are a few places in Bend that offer some dim sum items, but Double Happiness is the only place that does it as it is done in urban Chinatowns and the greater Canton Regions of China. Settled into their new Eastside location for over a year now, DH still offers the best dim sum this side of the Cascades.
It all happens on Sundays starting at noon. Diners receive two menus - the usual book form with all the combos and Americanized dishes, as well as a laminated photo of nine dishes denoted with the letters A-I.

Eat a peach. When I was in college in Berkeley, I would emerge from the Ashby Street BART station and head directly for the baau stand. A minuscule woman would open the doors on her little wooden trailer and produce three to five types of baaus – warm, doughy and bursting with flavor. Although this was not my first encounter with dim sum, the experience sealed the deal. Since then, I’ve loved the Chinese breakfast food.
There are a few places in Bend that offer some dim sum items, but Double Happiness is the only place that does it as it is done in urban Chinatowns and the greater Canton Regions of China. Settled into their new Eastside location for over a year now, DH still offers the best dim sum this side of the Cascades.
It all happens on Sundays starting at noon. Diners receive two menus – the usual book form with all the combos and Americanized dishes, as well as a laminated photo of nine dishes denoted with the letters A-I.

Malbec: A nice little french grape gone badSome friends recently returned from Argentina with a once-in-a-lifetime bottle of Alta Vista Alto Malbec 1999, complete with a 3-digit price tag. With characteristic generosity, they invited a small group over for a Malbec tasting. The theme was decidedly Argentine, and contributions included the $7 Alberti 154 2006, Martino 2003 ($20), Casa Marguery 2005 ($15), and Nandu 2004 ($15). In a sporting mood and with nothing else to offer, I added Domaine de la Pepiere, a $13 Loire Valley Malbec blend.

Malbec: A nice little french grape gone badSome friends recently returned from Argentina with a once-in-a-lifetime bottle of Alta Vista Alto Malbec 1999, complete with a 3-digit price tag. With characteristic generosity, they invited a small group over for a Malbec tasting. The theme was decidedly Argentine, and contributions included the $7 Alberti 154 2006, Martino 2003 ($20), Casa Marguery 2005 ($15), and Nandu 2004 ($15). In a sporting mood and with nothing else to offer, I added Domaine de la Pepiere, a $13 Loire Valley Malbec blend.

Not your grandma’s cinnamon roll. In recent years, it seems malls and airports have become the most likely venues to find a cinnamon roll. Snuggled up against an Orange Julius or a Pizza Hut To Go, big trays of sticky rolls are displayed, leaking aromas of corn syrup and hydrogenated oils that waft through the terminal or multiplex. Regardless of how commercial these spots are, they bring to mind thoughts of warm kitchens, loving grandmas and homemade sweet treats.

A new spot in Central Oregon bases its business around these sticky, sweet, yeasted wonders for which we all have a weakness. The difference is that this spot is striving to create a product that comes about as close to that homemade image as you can get with out grandma on the payroll.

Not your grandma’s cinnamon roll. In recent years, it seems malls and airports have become the most likely venues to find a cinnamon roll. Snuggled up against an Orange Julius or a Pizza Hut To Go, big trays of sticky rolls are displayed, leaking aromas of corn syrup and hydrogenated oils that waft through the terminal or multiplex. Regardless of how commercial these spots are, they bring to mind thoughts of warm kitchens, loving grandmas and homemade sweet treats.
 
A new spot in Central Oregon bases its business around these sticky, sweet, yeasted wonders for which we all have a weakness. The difference is that this spot is striving to create a product that comes about as close to that homemade image as you can get with out grandma on the payroll.