Two out of Three Ain’t Bad: Phoenix Café foray into fine dining needs refining

Posted inFood & Drink

Two out of Three Ain’t Bad: Phoenix Café foray into fine dining needs refining

Intern

The lamb chops at phoenix. When the Phoenix first opened, it was immediately recognized as a gastronomic oasis in the Old Mill office area. Weekdays bustle as the restaurant serves solid breakfasts and lunches to desk jockeys. Recently, this little out-of-the-way spot started serving dinners, hoping its daytime success would cross over to the nighttime meal.
 
With this in mind I set out sample the new menu. My dining partners and I arrived at 6:30 on a Saturday night. I was glad to see the large houseplants had been moved, as palm fronds tickling the back of your neck is nice in some instances, but not during dinner.
There were three specials and three house soups. The menu offered beef, seafood, poultry and pork prepared in a variety of semi-international ways. I opted for the Medallions of Pork served with a sauce "au poive" (a misspelling of the French word for pepper or peppercorn sauce, which should have read "au poivre"). My dining companions both went for specials - one chose the lamb chops with a Dijon demi-glace, and the other opted for the filet of salmon with a Mediterranean tomato-based sauce. We took a gander at the wine list. Finding nothing but below average house wine by the glass, we stuck with water.

Posted inMusic

Life on Greenwood: Why the edge of downtown might be the center of the nightlife

Mike Bookey

Bring on the night. Nightlife in Bend is peppered throughout the downtown area (and a few, but not many non-downtown locales) but for whatever reason, it's on the fringe of downtown that live music is taking hold. On Saturday, April 26, in only a matter of a block, or maybe a block and quarter, there were four venues, with four different musical acts all playing simultaneously. All four joints were pouring beers, and all four were pretty much packed.
 
As is standard on a Saturday night, the Domino Room was bumping. It wasn't a national touring act rocking the stage but rather Bend's own hip-hop super group, Person People. While the rumors we reported of Talib Kweli and KRS-One appearing on PP's new album turned out to be unfounded, it seems that the seven hip-hoppers and their live band don't need the assistance of rap legends to find greatness.

Posted inMusic

Alter Ego Lo-fi Meets the Delta

Intern

Richard Swift as Onasis EP
 
Secretly Canadian
★★★★✩
Its surprising to know that singer-songwriter Richard Swift is more or less a local artist. Originally from Eugene, he's since relocated to Los Angles and begun to gain some steam in the music business. Since releasing Dressed Up for the Letdown last year and touring with indie-rock vets Wilco, Swift has certainly brought some indie-rock street-cred to his name. In his new double album EP, he becomes his Krautrock-inspired alter ego, Onasis, and the repercussion is twenty songs of instrumental genius. Think 1950s blues infused rock and roll played lo-fi, unpolished and occasionally graced with a seedy 70s bar organ. Swift is famous for shining the spotlight on forgotten sounds and giving them his own twist.

Posted inMusic

Deja Blues: Keb’ Mo’ is Coming Back…and We Didn’t Even Have to Send Him a Gift Basket

Mike Bookey

Mo’ Betta Blues. There are few artists who just keep coming back to Central Oregon, eventually emerging as local favorites, even if the musician already has all the national and international fame and respect of which he or she could dream. While it's understandable that big-name acts with big reputations and discographies would pull the 40-foot tour bus off of I-5 long enough to pack 5,000 sun burned, grass-stained fans into the Les Schwab Amphitheater, well-recognized names are also returning to Bend to pack the Tower, or even the Sisters High School auditorium, as in the case of blues man Keb' Mo'.

Posted inCulture

Our Picks for the Week of 5/8-5/14

Mike Bookey

Riverfest

through sunday 11

It's the second, and last, weekend of Riverfest, so get out there and dig into the array of events still left on the tray. We suggest slapping on your volunteer hat and helping out with the Deschutes River Clean-Up on Saturday morning. Meet at the Les Schwab Amphitheater at 9am for a free breakfast, then go clean that river!
Flowmotion, Brent Alan and His Funky Friends
thursday 8
OK, so we gave this a pick last week, but we thought we'd give it yet another spot on the page this week because, well Flowmotion is just that friggin' good. The Seattle multi-genre rockers are on their way down to the Joshua Tree Music Festival, and are stopping off at the OSC to give Bend a taste (and a dance party) before coming back for 4 Peaks in July. 21 and over. 7pm. $12, $8/advance. Old Stone Church, 157 Franklin Ave.

Posted inNews

Home of the Mega Church? City to weigh application for Westside Church expansion

Eric Flowers

Bend's Westside is known for its mature ponderosa pines, quaint mill-era cottages, dirt alleys and boutique shops, and, depending on how a Bend hearings officer rules on a pending application, possibly mega churches. The Church of Latter Day Saints has already staked out its claim on the Westside with its sprawling and largely treeless worship complex on Newport Avenue and Mt. Washington Dr.
Now Westside Church is eyeing a major expansion of its buildings and grounds just a few blocks east of the LDS property.

Posted inOpinion

BAT and Dial-a-Ride Cutbacks

Intern

Although it hit a couple of potholes along the road - the worst being the purchase of some second-hand buses that turned out to be lemons - Bend Area Transit has become an important part of the city's transportation system. It provides close to 6,000 rides a week, many of them to people who have no other way of getting around.
 
Now the City of Bend, facing a $12 million budget shortfall, wants to cut back service on BAT as well as on Dial-a-Ride, the companion system that provides transportation for seniors and the disabled. We understand that the city has to make tough choices now that the easy-money days of the real estate bubble are gone. But this is a bad choice, at a bad time.

Posted inOpinion

Rock Stars vs. Porn Stars: Sex tapes, classroom wizards and city scale acupuncture

Joseph Oguiza

Text Me a Dime Bag
Back in the dark days before Blackberry's and smart phones, college kids had to score their illicit drugs the old fashioned way - with Ma Bell and the doorbell. Not anymore, at least at San Diego State University where authorities recently arrested 75 students in a massive drug dealing investigation. According to the Associated Press, one of the suspects had recently sent out a mass text message to his "faithful customers" informing them that he and his friends would be unable to provide cocaine over the weekend while they were in Las Vegas. The message also advertised an ongoing "sale" and listed the reduced prices for some drugs.
In all, authorities nabbed two kilos of cocaine, 350 Ecstasy pills, as well as marijuana, hash, mushrooms and methamphetamine. Among the places raided was the Theta Chi fraternity house where authorities said fraternity members were openly dealing drugs.
Which got Upfront to thinking that there are a lot of frat traditions that probably should be abandoned: binge drinking, hazing, racial discrimination etc. But maybe that whole trafficking in barrels of Bush Lite wasn't such a bad business model after all, at least when you look at the alternative.

Posted inOpinion

Technology Marches Backward

Intern

Letter of the Week  
I am disappointed with the new Bend Broadband billing method that penalizes customers for their Internet use. One reason I moved to Bend was because they had high speed Internet service. I use the high speed Internet to its fullest. I download media content through my wireless TIVO interface for viewing on my TV, I stream Internet music through our stereo, and I use Skype to web cam my friends and family. Isn't this exactly the type of usage that Bend Broadband fostered with their TV and print ads?
According to you, most Bend Broadband customers (91%) use less than the 10 GB per month. However, isn't the trend towards greater usage? Aren't the people who are simply surfing the web and reading their e-mails likely to start using newer media services? I believe that while I might be "pioneering" uses for the Internet, I am not that far ahead of the majority of customers. Isn't this a step back in technology? Will customers be discouraged from trying new non-Bend Broadband services for fear that they will overuse their service?

Posted inOpinion

Recessionary Musings

Intern

2008 recession! Why do companies lay people off and then hire them back two months later? Why would anyone give loyalty to a company when they know at any given moment that they can be cut loose? If a company wants loyalty from their employees then they should inform all personnel that a down time in business is not very far off and hours may have to be reduced. Simple communication is all that need apply here, and then there will not be any further resentment towards that company.
I was recently laid off and had no warning - just pull me into an office and announce, "Sorry dude, we gotta let you go due to lack of work for you." Now that company may say two months later, "We need you since it is now busy," but why would anyone go back knowing how unstable the management is?

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