I don't think this is really a hot take, but it seems like most of the really exciting and innovative food happening in Bend is coming from food carts. Don't get me wrong, I think some of our dine-in restaurants are incredible, but I see the carts consistently predicting food trends and looking to the future for what direction Central Oregon's tastebuds will head. That's one of the reasons I always gravitate to events featuring a bevy of randomly chosen food trucks (especially ones that I can't always find around one of our many food cart pods): if I can try a little food at a lot of carts, then it helps me keep my finger to the pulse of the Bend food scene.
I'm not great at predicting the trends, but I'm pretty fantastic at eating lots of different things and then talking about them, so here we are. I walked around last weekend's Fall Fest (put on by the sister company of the Source Weekly) and ate entirely too much food at a wide variety of food carts. Some of the spots were familiar to me and others I'd never heard of before, but one thing they all had in common was their diversity of flavors and desire to be forward-thinking with their menus.
Kook'i
I started with Kook'i, the mobile bakery that normally lives at General Duffy's in Redmond. Knowing that I had many other stops to make, I just went with the Apple Pie Roll, which was the perfect opening salvo for the day. It's basically a cinnamon roll with apple pie filling covering it like a sweet fruit hat. The pie filling was fresh and delicious without being too sweet or cloying, but the cinnamon roll itself was truly a marvel. Aesthetically gorgeous layers surround a cinnamon flavor that doesn't overpower the apple or the roll itself, leaving a dessert that feels more divine than sinful.
"So much love goes into our desserts. We truly care about the ingredients and processes we use to reach our end goals with every item we serve," says Heather Ward, co-owner of Kook'i along with her husband Aaron Goss. "All of our desserts come from family recipes that we have adapted with predominantly Oregon-based companies providing our ingredients."
Carmelitas
For something a little more savory, I hit Carmelitas tacos and tamales. As delicious as its Asada and Carnitas tacos were, it was the Al Pastor and Pollo Adobado tacos that really blew me away. So many local Mexican spots overcook their Al Pastor, leaving it chewy and greasy, but Carmelitas' was perfect. Tender, flawlessly browned and with a wedge of pineapple that elegantly brings out the delicate dance of sweet and spicy found in the best Al Pastor. Also, the chicken mole tamales were pretty fantastic, with the mole leaning less chocolatey and hitting more like a thick, dark chipotle.
Carmelitas did a pop-up at On Tap, but is in the process of finding a new location.
"What sets our tacos apart is the hours of preparation that happen before our tacos make it in our customer's hand," says Mary Florian, owner of the cart along with the entire Florian family. "From our house-made marinades, which are fully made from scratch using my late grandmother's recipes (Her name was Carmen and has become a generational name within our family, hence the origin for name of our business), my dad's preparation of the meats on site — you will see him working hard on his grill (or smell the rich flavors coming from our booth) — and hand chopping meat on his mesquite block, which is also traditional to Mexico!"
Bend-Yay Beignets
Since I'm a child, I once again went for the sweets and discovered Bend-Yay Beignets. These beignets are square and massive, much larger than any I've had before, but somehow manage to be lighter than they look. Obviously, I had to try the Pumpkin Spice beignets because I'm hella basic (they were perfect and the pumpkin didn't overpower the sweet fry of the dough), but I also went with the Desert Sage and the Juniper Berry beignets and they were all delicious. Each one truly tastes like a West Coast fusion of the classic New Orleans staple.
Zorba the Greek
For dinner, I hit Zorba the Greek, the perfect capper for my day. The gyro called The Mighty Athena was honestly the best one I've had in Bend. Filled with charbroiled chicken thighs, pickled onions and tomatoes on a warm and fresh pita, this thing truly is mighty. But it's the jalapeño tzatziki that ties the gyro together into something remarkable. The combination of spicy and sweet is a knockout and I couldn't recommend the Mighty Athena more.
From the fantastic sweet crepe confections of Crepe-Oh!-Holics, to the classic Old Bend consistency of Ricos Tacos, the always amazing TOTS!, the Bend Institution of Dump City Dumplings, the elevated perfection of the Corndog Company and the Mediterranean deliciousness of The Bob, Fall Fest was not playing around with food this year.
Did I eat too much? Yes. Do I regret it? Also, yes. But man, I had a great time.
