Food & Drink

As I sit at my little round table at the Martini Bar waiting for the rest of my party, my cell phone rings.
My friends are at the Old Mill Martini Bar. “Aren’t we eating dinner?” they ask.
“Do they even serve food at the Downtown Martini Bar?”
Like many other diners, my friends didn’t know that behind Bendistillery’s velvet curtain sits a tiny kitchen from which 16 different dishes appear. This is a common misperception about downtown’s spot for locally brewed spirits and custom crafted adult beverages.

inside JD’s house. As a Southerner with Irish roots, I’ve always had a particular fondness for whiskey. In my neck of the woods, whiskey soothes the gums of teething babies. My family’s cough syrup consisted of whiskey and honey, in roughly equal parts. By the time I was seven, I had developed an appreciation for my father’s favorite cocktail: Seagram’s Seven and Seven-Up.

So, when I found out about the 9th Annual Whiskies of the World Expo in San Francisco, I signed up for a 2½ hour seminar called “Grain to Glass.”

inside JD’s house. As a Southerner with Irish roots, I've always had a particular fondness for whiskey. In my neck of the woods, whiskey soothes the gums of teething babies. My family's cough syrup consisted of whiskey and honey, in roughly equal parts. By the time I was seven, I had developed an appreciation for my father's favorite cocktail: Seagram's Seven and Seven-Up.
 
So, when I found out about the 9th Annual Whiskies of the World Expo in San Francisco, I signed up for a 2½ hour seminar called "Grain to Glass."

Hangin’ in the half shell at BrickhouseTastefully appointed in brick, dark wood and oversized oils, Redmond’s Brickhouse Steak and Raw Bar is located downtown on historic Sixth Street and has the urban-meets-rustic aesthetic that is perennially popular in Bend restaurants.

On my first trip, I sampled just the happy hour menu as I heard it featured one-dollar raw oysters on the half shell. Show me a cheap oyster and I’ll show you a happy diner. Oftentimes when oysters are offered for discount prices there is no choice as to which type you will get and the less expensive oysters are usually served. I was expecting something generic like the ubiquitous Blue Points.

Hangin’ in the half shell at BrickhouseTastefully appointed in brick, dark wood and oversized oils, Redmond’s Brickhouse Steak and Raw Bar is located downtown on historic Sixth Street and has the urban-meets-rustic aesthetic that is perennially popular in Bend restaurants.

On my first trip, I sampled just the happy hour menu as I heard it featured one-dollar raw oysters on the half shell. Show me a cheap oyster and I'll show you a happy diner. Oftentimes when oysters are offered for discount prices there is no choice as to which type you will get and the less expensive oysters are usually served. I was expecting something generic like the ubiquitous Blue Points.

Sublime Richness At Fireside RedLocated in the upper Old Mill area, Fireside Red bills itself as featuring “American Tapas with global influences.” The menu is chock full of eclectic eats served as small portions or as “family style” dishes designed to share.
The space is upbeat and lively, with an open kitchen and six-seat chef’s counter, a large bar stretching across one wall and an area that can be screened off and used as a private dining room. The south wall is solid windows, over looking the twists and turns in the Deschutes River that gave our fair town its name.
Executive Chef Jeremy Baumgartner has created dishes that are as different in origin and flavor as they are in presentation. The “Fire and Ice” salad in served on a long rectangular plate covered in thinly sliced cucumbers and dappled with lime granita, pickled onion, habañero macerated tomato and mint froth. The mac and cheese is served in a simple ramekin with crusty breadcrumbs and paper-thin slices of fragrant truffles crowning the dish.

Sublime Richness At Fireside RedLocated in the upper Old Mill area, Fireside Red bills itself as featuring "American Tapas with global influences." The menu is chock full of eclectic eats served as small portions or as "family style" dishes designed to share.
The space is upbeat and lively, with an open kitchen and six-seat chef's counter, a large bar stretching across one wall and an area that can be screened off and used as a private dining room. The south wall is solid windows, over looking the twists and turns in the Deschutes River that gave our fair town its name.
Executive Chef Jeremy Baumgartner has created dishes that are as different in origin and flavor as they are in presentation. The "Fire and Ice" salad in served on a long rectangular plate covered in thinly sliced cucumbers and dappled with lime granita, pickled onion, habañero macerated tomato and mint froth. The mac and cheese is served in a simple ramekin with crusty breadcrumbs and paper-thin slices of fragrant truffles crowning the dish.

Wine dinners seem to be gaining momentum as we head into spring with CHOW, Bistro Corlise, Jen’s Garden and Jackalope planning monthly regional or varietals themed meals with an expert on hand to describe the wines and pairings. Jackalope continues to offer cooking classes, which have been wildly popular over the last two months. Both the wine dinners and the classes sell out quickly.
Spring is also bringing with it extended hours for many local spots. Townshend’s Tea has extended their weekday hours until 11pm for a little late-night tea sipping. Zydeco is now open Monday nights, and Fireside Red has started serving lunches daily and Sunday brunch.

Wine dinners seem to be gaining momentum as we head into spring with CHOW, Bistro Corlise, Jen's Garden and Jackalope planning monthly regional or varietals themed meals with an expert on hand to describe the wines and pairings. Jackalope continues to offer cooking classes, which have been wildly popular over the last two months. Both the wine dinners and the classes sell out quickly.
Spring is also bringing with it extended hours for many local spots. Townshend's Tea has extended their weekday hours until 11pm for a little late-night tea sipping. Zydeco is now open Monday nights, and Fireside Red has started serving lunches daily and Sunday brunch.

Chow Aims For the Perfect Pairing.Anybody who has talked to me in the last few months about new restaurants, knows how I feel about Chow. Breakfast and lunch at this relatively new eatery are fabulous. There are plenty of standards on the menu like biscuits and gravy and eggs benedicts, but the variety, quality and reasonable prices are what keep bringing me back.
For lunch the multi-grain salad with fried chickpeas is a must, as well as the pumpkin gnocchi with crispy parma ham.