What makes for a good dive bar? A pool table helps, as well as a lack of light. The more graffiti in the bathroom stall the better. And the floor also has to be sticky and grimy, but not too sticky or grimy, or else it’ll ruin the buzz generated by the “Tuesday night shot […]
Chow
Posted inFood & Drink
Let’s Sit Down with Our Partisan Relatives!
Have the Thanksgiving YOU want to have with this guide to places you can avoid cooking
Thanksgiving is a tricky holiday. Anytime I’m celebrating a holiday that has some negative historical connotations (I’m looking at you, Columbus Day), I know there’s also a segment of the Native American population that is mourning. Growing up, if I saw a kid crying at the birthday party I couldn’t enjoy the cake. This holiday […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Little Bites: Conversation Starters
Not sure how to handle this year’s family gatherings in a divided nation? Here’s what to talk about, besides the elephant—and the donkey—in the room. Getting the extended family together often has bumps in the road. Make one offhand comment about the hue of someone’s orange self-tanning lotion and you may just find your head […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Best of Both Worlds
Scoutpost marries tandoor-style breads with thoughtful, local ingredients
You’re in a foreign country, immersed by the sights, sounds and tastes of the nation you’re visiting. While you’re loving the experience and the many foods that the adventure brings, after a little while a small part of you starts to wish that for just a few minutes you could transport yourself into your mama’s […]
Posted inFood & Drink
A Whole New Ale Trail
Portland ups its beer tourism game
The Bend Ale Trail is arguably one of the best ideas that Visit Bend has ever come up with. Thousands of visitors to Central Oregon have picked up a free map and embarked on a tour of the 15 breweries listed inside, and the number of people who’ve completed the entire run is in the […]
Posted inOutside
Ales and Astronomy
Worthy Brewing Shows Off Its New Observatory
In 2012, Roger Worthington had a vision of building his own “Beertopia.” The Worthy Brewing founder and owner describes it as “a mini-campus, a place where a person can make connections, can be stimulated, a place where the mind can expand.” His first step toward Beertopia: Looking to the stars. Worthy Brewing is finishing construction […]
Posted inFood & Drink
A New Barrel-Aged Collage
Deschutes and Hair of the Dog team up for more complex booziness
Four years ago—longer than many people reading this have even lived in Bend—Deschutes Brewery launched a beer called Collage, a collaboration between the Bend-based giant and Portland’s Hair of the Dog Brewing. The beer actually had its genesis earlier than that, in 2010, when HotD owner/brewmaster Alan Sprints stopped by Deschutes’ production facility to brew […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Little Bites: Need a Great Beercation?
Maybe make it a staycation
I know what you’re going to say once you read paragraph #2 of this report: We already know we rule in the craft beer world. Still, it’s fun to remind ourselves how awesome we are. Last week, travel booking site Travelocity released its new “beer tourism” index, which ranks cities on the strength of their […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Barbecue Dreams Come True
Curb B Q melts in your mouth
Ever since I moved to this city in 1999 I have been on the hunt for good barbecue. Each barbecue place usually has a few great dishes, but there’s never a sense of consistency. Sometimes the burnt ends are rock hard or the pulled pork is cold, but mostly the rubs and sauces are never […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Steak Me Home Tonight
Okawa is a hibachi-ball
Okawa Steak House and Sushi doesn’t just sling good food; they give you a show on top of it. The restaurant on Third Street is modeled after the Benihana-style restaurants, which are in turn based on the Teppenyaki style of Japanese cuisine involving fireballs exploding, onion volcanoes, food flying toward your mouth and the chef […]