When I was a young lad growing up in Redmond I never paid much attention to food – partly because I didn’t care, and partly because I was too broke to walk in the door.
Returning again as an adult and a professional cook, however, I was constantly reminded that I didn’t miss much. Redmond feels like a culinary wasteland, filled to the brim with mediocre restaurants squeaking by on barely passable food. In every wasteland however, there are always oases. I found one in the Cross Creek Cafe. Nestled behind Redmond City Hall on 8th Street, this gem has become one of the shining lights. Hell, they even serve real pastrami – something I’d completely given up on finding anywhere in Central Oregon.
Quick Bites: Cross Creek shines on the Redmond scene
Quick Bites: Cross Creek shines on the Redmond scene
When I was a young lad growing up in Redmond I never paid much attention to food - partly because I didn't care, and partly because I was too broke to walk in the door.
Returning again as an adult and a professional cook, however, I was constantly reminded that I didn't miss much. Redmond feels like a culinary wasteland, filled to the brim with mediocre restaurants squeaking by on barely passable food. In every wasteland however, there are always oases. I found one in the Cross Creek Cafe. Nestled behind Redmond City Hall on 8th Street, this gem has become one of the shining lights. Hell, they even serve real pastrami - something I'd completely given up on finding anywhere in Central Oregon.
Hearing Voices: The Summit serves up the latest O’Kane building grub
The best bangers and mash in town at the Summit.Local legend has it that downtown Bend’s O’Kane Building is haunted by
the voices of long departed souls. But it’s a different kind curse that
has vexed many of the recent tenants who have struggled and ultimately
failed to gain a foothold in what should be a prime location.
Stuft
Pizza had a good, long run in the huge restaurant space facing Oregon
Avenue. But when rents went north they hightailed it to Highway 97 and
died a slow death. Legends, while always packed on weekends, seemed to
struggle with consistency and imaging problems. Then came the
short-lived catastrophes of On the Rocks and Bend City Grill.
Hearing Voices: The Summit serves up the latest O’Kane building grub
The best bangers and mash in town at the Summit.Local legend has it that downtown Bend's O'Kane Building is haunted by
the voices of long departed souls. But it's a different kind curse that
has vexed many of the recent tenants who have struggled and ultimately
failed to gain a foothold in what should be a prime location.
Stuft
Pizza had a good, long run in the huge restaurant space facing Oregon
Avenue. But when rents went north they hightailed it to Highway 97 and
died a slow death. Legends, while always packed on weekends, seemed to
struggle with consistency and imaging problems. Then came the
short-lived catastrophes of On the Rocks and Bend City Grill.
Fantastic Fiddles: Dropping our jaws with the Celtic Fiddle Festival
The more strings attached the better when you're talking about Celtic Fiddle Festival.Holy crap, it's March. That means that yet again, it's almost St.
Patrick's Day. And that also means that it's quite apt to talk about
Irish-influenced music. But before all you snot-nosed Flogging Molly
and Dropkick Murphy punks get your suspenders in a twist of
anticipation, let's make clear that the following is entirely about
traditional Celtic folk music, which can still be cool.
And it's
especially cool if the folk music is provided by the Celtic Fiddle
Festival - which to the less fiddle-familiar individuals out there is
not actually a festival, it's a band comprised of some of the world's
finest four-string bowers. The group isn't entirely Irish, as one might
expect, but actually features a player from Quebec as well as one from
a Celtic region of France. To add to the geographical and
nomenclature-related confusion we've likely created thus far, Kevin
Burke, the fiddle pioneer known as one of the best living players still
touring, actually lives in Portland. So, in short, Celtic Fiddle
Festival plays Irish-inspired music, without really residing in or near
Ireland.
Essentially Honest And Sweaty
A setlist from any of The Essentials recent live performances explains what the band is all about: legendary music.
Covering the likes of Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding and Prince, while also tossing in some originals, The Essentials should produce a horn-heavy, soulful show at The Annex on Saturday night. The Essentials are a 10-piece mixing bowl of talented musicians that infuses tight percussions, saxophones, keyboards, bass, guitars, trumpets, trombones and soothing vocals to form a throwback sound with a modern feel.
Huge in Japan: Lafa Taylor is looking to make waves in his homeland
Just a few of the many Lafa Taylor fans pack the legendary budokan Arena in tokyo. Watch out Cheap Trick…Lafa Taylor is big in Japan. He's seriously really big - the guy is 6
feet 5 inches tall, and when he had an afro, he was even bigger, making
him tower over the average Japanese citizen.
But in terms of musical
popularity, Taylor is also huge in Japan. The Eugene-reared-but-now-living-in-Portland-as-of-last-week hip-hopper
traveled to Japan a few years ago and was embraced by a duo called Def
Tech known for their Jawaiian (if you guessed that this is a
combination of Japanese and Hawaiian styles, you're right) reggae
vibes. Before Taylor knew it he'd become, well, kind of famous.
A Click Away: Online networking sites are proving to be gathering places for grievers
Kyle Sonnen and girlfriend Laura Deatherage before he was killed in a car crash last month.Just before 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 13 Laura Deatherage logged on to Facebook and posted a short message on the wall of her boyfriend, Kyle Sonnen.
"i love you more than the world and wish i was in your arms up in heaven, i can't live without you."Laura said she can't help but believe Kyle heard her message.
"It was just kind of a way to talk to him - that there's this chance that he sees it," she said quietly, maybe still not sure herself what prompted her to leave him a message on the Internet.
At the very least, it was her way to say another goodbye.
Sonnen, 20, and Deatherage, 18, were traveling on the Mt. Baker Highway outside Bellingham, WA., on Feb. 7 when Sonnen attempted to pass another vehicle in a no-passing zone, according to police. Sonnen's 2000 Subaru hatchback slid off the road and hit a tree, killing him almost immediately. Laura suffered several injuries including a broken femur, a broken wrist and a gash on her head that required 22 staples.
Shelter From the Storm: A hit on Jagger and Barack the Mac
After an 18-year-old audience member was fatally stabbed in a clash with Hells Angels during their notorious 1969 concert at Altamont Speedway, the Rolling Stones decided to stop using the Angels to provide security.
It was a decision that could have cost Mick Jagger his life, according to a new BBC documentary.
The documentary, which aired Monday, featured former FBI Special Agent Mark Young telling how a group of Hells Angels decided to retaliate against the Stones by assassinating their lead singer at his vacation home in the Hamptons on Long Island.
According to Young the bikers set out in a small boat, intending to land at Jagger's place from the ocean side to avoid the security at the front gate. But they weren't as good at handling a boat as they were at handling Harleys - a storm came up, the craft capsized and all the Angels ended up in the drink. Although they survived, they gave up the idea of killing Jagger.
Leading Upfront to muse on whether the Angels might have had the opening lines of "Gimme Shelter" going through their heads as they floundered in the Atlantic:
Oh, a storm is threatening
My very life today
If I don't get some shelter
Oh yeah, I'm gonna fade away
Code Pink Is On Target
This week's letter of the week comes from Bill Bodden who takes issue with notion that people don't have the right to protest outside military recruiting offices. The First Amendment thanks you Bill and so does the Source. As a token of our gratitude were picking up the tab for dinner tonight. You can pick up your $25 gift certificate for Dinner's Ready at our office, 704 NW Georgia, anytime during business hours.
To put it in polite terms, Stephanie Bearse (Feb. 28) chose the wrong target when she criticized war critics in Bend. She objected to Code Pink picketing the recruiting offices where ill-informed young people go to join the military and possibly participate in the fighting in Iraq. The recruiters may be doing their duty and may not lie, but they won't volunteer the whole and sordid truth. They won't tell applicants this is an illegal war or that they may have to fight in it with defective or insufficient armor and supplies. Nor will they tell young women they will be at increased risk of being raped.

