busting a culinary move at the bite.As the saying goes, those who can’t do, critique. Okay, maybe that’s not exactly how it goes, but when it comes to cooking and me, that’s certainly the case. Generally, I sit in judgment anonymously at a corner table scribbling in my notebook at a safe distance from the action in the kitchen. But at last weekend’s Top Chef competition at the Bite of Bend, I had the opportunity to witness eight of the area’s best go head-to-head live, and never has the depth and talent of Central Oregon’s culinary pool been so evident. Chefs were given a list of the pantry’s contents in advance but not the main protein they’d have 45 minutes to incorporate into both an appetizer and an entree.
Judgment Days: Top chefs slug it out at the Bite of Bend
Posted inFood & Drink
Judgment Days: Top chefs slug it out at the Bite of Bend
busting a culinary move at the bite.As the saying goes, those who can't do, critique. Okay, maybe that's not exactly how it goes, but when it comes to cooking and me, that's certainly the case. Generally, I sit in judgment anonymously at a corner table scribbling in my notebook at a safe distance from the action in the kitchen. But at last weekend's Top Chef competition at the Bite of Bend, I had the opportunity to witness eight of the area's best go head-to-head live, and never has the depth and talent of Central Oregon's culinary pool been so evident. Chefs were given a list of the pantry's contents in advance but not the main protein they'd have 45 minutes to incorporate into both an appetizer and an entree.
Posted inFood & Drink
Oregon Rocks!: Terrebonne Depot offers a taste of Oregon history with a backdrop that can’t be beat
dining by the tracks at terrebone depot.I’ve never been much for climbing. Stairs, okay. Ladders, fine. But rocks, particularly when they’re positioned at a dead right angle to the ground, absolutely not (and for the hundredth time, honey, no, I will not be your belay bunny). But even if carabiners and crampons aren’t your thing, summer in Central Oregon wouldn’t be complete without a visit to Smith Rock. With a network of trails on and around the dramatic rock formations, Smith Rock State Park, less than 45 minutes from downtown Bend, is one of the most accessible daytrips in the area (day-use fee, $3). Work up a sweat and an appetite with a hike to spectacular panoramic views on the Misery Ridge Trail-more scramble than climb and manageable even for us mortals-and down along the Crooked River past some of the world’s premiere climbing routes dotted with the intrepid souls who travel from far and wide to attempt them.
Posted inFood & Drink
Oregon Rocks!: Terrebonne Depot offers a taste of Oregon history with a backdrop that can’t be beat
dining by the tracks at terrebone depot.I've never been much for climbing. Stairs, okay. Ladders, fine. But rocks, particularly when they're positioned at a dead right angle to the ground, absolutely not (and for the hundredth time, honey, no, I will not be your belay bunny). But even if carabiners and crampons aren't your thing, summer in Central Oregon wouldn't be complete without a visit to Smith Rock. With a network of trails on and around the dramatic rock formations, Smith Rock State Park, less than 45 minutes from downtown Bend, is one of the most accessible daytrips in the area (day-use fee, $3). Work up a sweat and an appetite with a hike to spectacular panoramic views on the Misery Ridge Trail-more scramble than climb and manageable even for us mortals-and down along the Crooked River past some of the world's premiere climbing routes dotted with the intrepid souls who travel from far and wide to attempt them.
Posted inMusic
Grades, Stomps and Rhodes
That ain’t the real axl.
We’re still icing our eardrums after a busy weekend of live music and figured we would have recovered by now. But hey, it’s a good sort of hurt, you know? The sort of pain that you can put up with if it means you get to see the sort of bomb-diggity shows we did since last week’s riotously awesome and overtly self-aggrandizing edition of this column.
Thursday night we made a stop at Boondocks for a completely costumed set by Appetite for Deception, a, you guessed it, Guns N’ Roses tribute band that we graded as such. Dress: B+…Excellent pant tightness, great bandana usage, only knock was the gratuitous Axl costume change – into polka-dotted tights nonetheless. Vocals: A…that dude really sounded like Axl. Arrogance: C-…when we go to see a GNR tribute, we, as an audience, expect to be treated with little, if any, respect. These Appetite guys were like friendly crossing guards.
Posted inMusic
Alternately Alternative: Idaho’s Finn Riggins bends genres with or without the Internet
Finn Riggins battle it out, Idaho style.The wave of bands hitting the airwaves in the early 1990s - Green Day, The Offspring, Nirvana and Oregon's own Everclear - has always been described as punk rock, or post-punk rock, mostly because of the music's attitude and the musicians' appearances rather than the music, which bears little resemblance to punk rock's working class roots and overtly political message.
To me, none of those bands ever came close to sounding like the original punk rock bands of the late 1970s, like The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Ramones or the Dead Kennedys, and it's pretty lame to lump together a band like Green Day in the same breath as The Clash.
Enter Idaho's Finn Riggins. Eric Gilbert (keyboards, vocals), describes the Finn Riggins sound as alternative, but to me it sounds closer to the music created by punk rock's pioneers than the typical "alternative" sound. It's loud, it's dirty, it's obnoxious, it's in-your-face, gut-busting, hair-pulling rock and roll with lyrics that make you think beyond whether or not you are an "American Idiot." But Finn Riggins' music is also melodic, full of hooks and riffs that will stick in your head for days after listening to their 2007 debut, "A Solider, A Saint, An Ocean Explorer."
Posted inCulture
Our Picks for the Week of 6/25-7/1
Bend Pride '09
through saturday 27
The fifth annual celebration of cultural tolerance is well underway with an Open Mic for Rights on Wednesday 6/24 (7pm) at the Silver Moon Brewing Co. On Thursday 6/25, the whole family is invited to an evening of outdoor, old-fashioned "Gaymes" at Juniper Park (5-8pm). The all-ages Queer Prom is Friday night (8pm), and you're welcome to don your sweetest prom attire (which is required) and get down to DJs Babylove and Lucius to support the Human Dignity Coalition's Queer and Allied Youth Program. The big event is Saturday for the Pride Festival on Troy Field (1pm) where you can meet up at Troy Field and decorate your bike before riding through downtown. If you need more details, visit humandignitycoalition.org.
Rainn Wilson: Art and Faith
thursday 25
Check out our interview with Mr. Wilson (better known as Dwight from The Office) in the Culture section and then head to the Old Stone this Thursday night and see Wilson's discussion regarding faith and creativity. 7:30pm. Spiritual Awareness Community at Old Stone Church, 157 NW Franklin Ave.
Posted inNews
Finally a Majority on the Metolius: Dems rally for the river and OLCC offers an olive branch
Using a razor-thin majority, Oregon House Democrats pushed through the cornerstone of their effort to protect the Metolius River basin from destination resort development. With a bare minimum 31 votes, Dems, under the leadership of Brian Clem (D-Salem), rallied after a narrow defeat last week to pass the HB 3298, which designates the Metolius basin as an "Area of Critical Concern." The move puts the area around the revered river effectively off-limits to destination resorts, including a pair that had been endorsed by Jefferson County, the local planning authority in the basin.
"This is such a momentous vote. It was such a complex issue…we're thrilled to see this pass," said Erik Kancler, executive director at Central Oregon Landwatch, which lobbied aggressively in favor of the bill.
The vote was a dramatic reversal from last week when House Democrats were unable to find the critical 31st vote to pass the bill. Rather than let the bill die, Clem orchestrated a second vote on Monday while the party leadership lobbied some of its members who had initially voted against the bill, including House Speaker Dave Hunt. They found the vote in Rep. Larry Galizio (D-Tigard) who said he was convinced to change his vote after getting a phone call from the bill's architect, Gov. Ted Kulongoski, who ironically squelched a similar protection bill sponsored by Ben Westlund in 2007, but then had his own change of heart.
Posted inNews
On the (Fun) Bus: How a Panda Made Me Realize I Might Like Gambling
It’s 10:20 – precisely – on a Wednesday morning and I’m running at what in the post-athletic phase of my life passes for a sprint across the Target parking lot, chasing a 40-foot charter bus with the word “Classy” written in cursive on its side. For the first time in my life I am (without irony) about to miss a bus. And I should mention that this isn’t just a bus, but a “Casino Fun Bus.”
Then, the air brakes hiss on the behemoth and it comes to a halt, a pair of spectacled eyes peering back at me through a massive side mirror. The door opens and I sheepishly board, hurriedly saying something mostly apologetic but slightly embarrassed and take a seat with eight pairs of eyes taking a quizzical look at the out-of-breath and slightly sweaty man 40 years their junior sitting in the third row. Again, this is the Fun Bus, a free shuttle that twice a week busses Central Oregon residents up to Kah-Nee-Ta Resort and Casino on the Warm Springs reservation for about four solid hours of fun, or gambling, or both.
Posted inOpinion
The Come-From-Behind Metolius Victory
The Metolius Basin protection bill arose from the dead last week, and everybody in Oregon who cares about the irreplaceable treasure that is the Metolius River should give thanks for its resurrection.
The bill, HB 3298, designates the Metolius Basin and an adjacent three-mile buffer zone as an "Area of Critical Statewide Concern," protecting it from major development - including two destination resorts that had been proposed there.
A week ago HB 3298 was all but buried after it failed to gain the necessary majority of votes in the Oregon House. In a tactical move its supporters "put it on the table," delaying further action in the hope of switching over at least one of the five Democrats who had voted against it.
It worked. On Monday, June 22, the bill was brought to the floor again. This time Rep. Larry Galizio of Tigard changed his mind, and the measure passed by a vote of 31-28.