Food & Drink

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.

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.

The Cab Franc from the vineTraveling west out of Colfax, Washington recently, I was hit with the unmistakable aroma of Cabernet Franc. Not just any Cab Franc either, but something out of France's Loire Valley. It took a minute to realize it was the burnt grass stubble sticking out of the snow along the roadside ditch. "Of course!" you say, "burnt roadside ditch stubble." Since assuming the lofty position of the Source's newly established wine columnist, I've been working hard to fortify my wine vocabulary. "I like it!" and "Mmmm!" are clearly no longer adequate.

The Cab Franc from the vineTraveling west out of Colfax, Washington recently, I was hit with the unmistakable aroma of Cabernet Franc. Not just any Cab Franc either, but something out of France’s Loire Valley. It took a minute to realize it was the burnt grass stubble sticking out of the snow along the roadside ditch. “Of course!” you say, “burnt roadside ditch stubble.” Since assuming the lofty position of the Source’s newly established wine columnist, I’ve been working hard to fortify my wine vocabulary. “I like it!” and “Mmmm!” are clearly no longer adequate.

When the food is this good, there’s no time for photosJust when Bend seems ready to engulf Redmond in its culinary shadow, another eatery pops up to shed some needed gastronomic sunshine on the northern burb. In this case, it's a breakfast establishment the likes of which Redmond has yet to experience.
Although the building is old and has a look that suggests it may have once housed a similar eatery, the Spot Café is shiny and new. Located right downtown with a cool retro sign and a full glass front, it's reminiscent of the diners of old.
The Spot is owned and operated by partners Scott Gennrich and Scott Byers. Both arrive with experience; Gennrich is a part owner of the Astro Lounge and Byers is a veteran of several local restaurants, including, Bluefish, 28, and Seasons at The Seventh Mountain Resort where he was the executive chef.
Rather than tackle a dinner menu, they opted for a more manageable route, focusing on breakfast and lunch. The interior is pleasant and clean, if a bit stark; it reminds me of Alpenglow 10 years ago. Piles of fresh-baked goods greet diners at the counter, while food servers bustle through the swinging kitchen door with steaming plates of food.

When the food is this good, there’s no time for photosJust when Bend seems ready to engulf Redmond in its culinary shadow, another eatery pops up to shed some needed gastronomic sunshine on the northern burb. In this case, it’s a breakfast establishment the likes of which Redmond has yet to experience.
Although the building is old and has a look that suggests it may have once housed a similar eatery, the Spot Café is shiny and new. Located right downtown with a cool retro sign and a full glass front, it’s reminiscent of the diners of old.
The Spot is owned and operated by partners Scott Gennrich and Scott Byers. Both arrive with experience; Gennrich is a part owner of the Astro Lounge and Byers is a veteran of several local restaurants, including, Bluefish, 28, and Seasons at The Seventh Mountain Resort where he was the executive chef.
Rather than tackle a dinner menu, they opted for a more manageable route, focusing on breakfast and lunch. The interior is pleasant and clean, if a bit stark; it reminds me of Alpenglow 10 years ago. Piles of fresh-baked goods greet diners at the counter, while food servers bustle through the swinging kitchen door with steaming plates of food.

As of late, Bend is becoming known as a food destination. It wasn't always that way.
When I first moved here in 1996, eating out was a rare event. I was working for peanuts, just like everyone else I knew. And there were only a few good places to go. Deschutes Brewery and Bend Brewing Company were always a good bet, and my husband liked Dude's Night at McKenzie's, where he could grab a cheap burger and beers with the guys, or indulge in Bend's only salad bar. Ethnic food was even more challenging. We could get decent Thai at Toomie's, or basic Italian at Giuseppe's. But even good Mexican food was hard to come by in those days - never mind Indian, Spanish or Ethiopian.
So potluck dinner parties became the default dining option among our 20-something crowd. Nary a week went by that we didn't bring "something to grill and something to share" to one friend or another's Westside hovel.