Quick Bites: We’re International, Baby

The Bend restaurant merry-go-round has continued to spin over the past
few weeks. The most recent casualty (again) was Fireside Red, the
departure of which officially confirms that the area around Industrial
Way is suitable for kayak shacks and law firms but cursed for
restaurants. R.I.P. Honkers.

In more positive developments, the
eagerly anticipated Joolz opened Friday to strong weekend crowds who
mostly heard by word of mouth that the eclectic restaurant with a
Middle Eastern-inspired menu was serving dinner. Owner Julie Hamden
said customers responded well to their concept that fuses dishes
evoking her Lebanese husband's upbringing (Mixed Nut Dukkah and Lamb
Flatbread Pitadilla) with the Northwest influenced fare (Simspon Ranch
Elkburger). Look for the restaurant whose appropriate tagline is "where
the mezze meets the mesa" to add lunch sometime in the next three
weeks.

The Bend restaurant merry-go-round has continued to spin over the past
few weeks. The most recent casualty (again) was Fireside Red, the
departure of which officially confirms that the area around Industrial
Way is suitable for kayak shacks and law firms but cursed for
restaurants. R.I.P. Honkers.

In more positive developments, the
eagerly anticipated Joolz opened Friday to strong weekend crowds who
mostly heard by word of mouth that the eclectic restaurant with a
Middle Eastern-inspired menu was serving dinner. Owner Julie Hamden
said customers responded well to their concept that fuses dishes
evoking her Lebanese husband’s upbringing (Mixed Nut Dukkah and Lamb
Flatbread Pitadilla) with the Northwest influenced fare (Simspon Ranch
Elkburger). Look for the restaurant whose appropriate tagline is “where
the mezze meets the mesa” to add lunch sometime in the next three
weeks.

Baked halibut at the south Bend bistro.I read an interview in the New York Times last week with celebrity chef
Tom Colicchio of the Craft restaurant family and most recently of Top
Chef fame. When asked about his cooking philosophy, he said, "Buy the
best you can find or afford and don't overmanipulate it. If I cook a
scallop, the best praise you can give me is that it tastes like a
scallop." Chef Lars Johnson of the South Bend Bistro in Sunriver seems
to subscribe to a similar doctrine, serving the freshest ingredients
with bright flavors and clean, considered preparations that maximize
what is inherent in the food.

The kitchen isn't the only area where
this sophisticated simplicity and adaptability shines. The cozy dining
room situated in a little house adjacent to the Sunriver Village Mall,
plays on the residential architectural elements. Tables peer out framed
windows with parted curtains at the beautiful outdoor deck overlooking
the woods. A terra cotta tile floor is scattered with mismatched area
rugs adding warmth to the space. Lighting is intimate, and wall
treatments are alternately wood, straw weave, and textured plaster
dotted with framed photographs of nature scenes. A single purple tulip,
appropriately in season for May, adorns each table, and tablecloths are
beige, a nice departure from the usual white, indicating a slightly
different, homier take on high-end.

Baked halibut at the south Bend bistro.I read an interview in the New York Times last week with celebrity chef
Tom Colicchio of the Craft restaurant family and most recently of Top
Chef fame. When asked about his cooking philosophy, he said, “Buy the
best you can find or afford and don’t overmanipulate it. If I cook a
scallop, the best praise you can give me is that it tastes like a
scallop.” Chef Lars Johnson of the South Bend Bistro in Sunriver seems
to subscribe to a similar doctrine, serving the freshest ingredients
with bright flavors and clean, considered preparations that maximize
what is inherent in the food.

The kitchen isn’t the only area where
this sophisticated simplicity and adaptability shines. The cozy dining
room situated in a little house adjacent to the Sunriver Village Mall,
plays on the residential architectural elements. Tables peer out framed
windows with parted curtains at the beautiful outdoor deck overlooking
the woods. A terra cotta tile floor is scattered with mismatched area
rugs adding warmth to the space. Lighting is intimate, and wall
treatments are alternately wood, straw weave, and textured plaster
dotted with framed photographs of nature scenes. A single purple tulip,
appropriately in season for May, adorns each table, and tablecloths are
beige, a nice departure from the usual white, indicating a slightly
different, homier take on high-end.