Deschutes Brewery’s 5th Annual Crab Bake

Deschutes Brewery’s 5th Annual Crab Bake

This past Saturday was a great day. I started off with a 6th Gear Sangwich and met the Monkey and finished it off with all you can eat crab at Deschutes Brewery 5th annual crab bake. I am a whore for some crab. Seriously. I love shell fish especially crab and lobster. So when I got an email from the Deep Rapper about the crab bake, I was in.

The wife can’t stand the smell of crab or lobster so I save $75 and I still get my fill of beer and all the crabs I can handle. It’s a win win win….win.

I arrived just after 6 and am slapped in the face by the Island sounds of Bill Keale giving a Hawaiian twist to some classic songs. I quickly get a pint of the absolutely delicious Green Lakes Organic Ale which I stuck with for the entire night aside from a miss timed blown keg episode where I was forced to slosh down a tourist favorite, Mirror Pond. Longest 10 minutes of my life.

Back to me whoring it up for some shell fish. I took my pint to my table, dropped off my camera and jumped in line for some oysters. Fresh raw oysters in the half shell you can keep, I don’t dig on the slimy uncooked raw oysters in buffet style fashion. I’ll stick with the cooked Oysters Rockefeller or in this case, the seafood medley as they had renamed it from the time I viewed the menu online to the printed version on my table.

I grabbed three Oyster Medley’s and spooned on a sample of each of the three sauces available, one cayenne pepper sauce (probably too spicy for the Monk), one cocktail, and one mystery clear, buttery/oily looking thing with pepper and garlic mixed in. All were great and the cooked oysters mixed with all sorts of goodies and some bacon…a winner in my book.



Next up was the Crab Vol-au-vent or as any regular chap would say - Seafood filled Puff Pastry. The Brewerman summed it up nicely when he said “I could eat 20 of those”. Sounds like a challenge for another time. They were good and not to heavy on the mayo which I sort of expected.



Ah the Crab Louie. Redmond Rodge didn’t make it out to this event like he did the last time but he’d have done the same as I did…eat the crab, leave the veg. My wedge of iceberg could have taken down the Titanic. I barely touched it. I want CRABS!!! (yeah, make your jokes…I don’t care)



At last, a HUGE mixing bowl was placed in the center of our table. I have never stood up to take a photo of food in any restaurant to date, but I was in awe. It was massive. We dug in. I devoured a whole crab and took my time to get all that I could out of each one not wanting to be wasteful. But once that second bowl of crab boil was place on our table, I was all about the claws, large leg portions, and body meat. I didn’t waste much time with the smaller portions of the legs and whatnot.



And I had to take a photo of the Coffee Pot full of clarified butter.



I was sad as our bowls didn’t have any sausage as promised by the menu. As I went up for another pint, a friend at another table shared the same disappointment. I talked to a couple of the friendly waitresses and wouldn’t you know it, later in the evening a small bowl of sausages topped with one peel and eat prawn was placed in front of me. Thank you Missy and Jen!

Then there was dessert but it had coconut which I don’t really care for and I’m not even a big fan of dessert anyhow so here ‘s the photo of the Keylime pie and we’ll move on.



Awesome night all around. I absolutely love these events and wish I would get more notice for when they are doing something up at the mountain room. They should have an RSS feed on the events page.

Monkey Likes the 6th Gear

The wife and I were on our way to Soba for a late lunch on Saturday when I saw the sign for SpeedShop and realized the wife had not been there yet. I was excited to get another shot at the 6th gear.

As we sat waiting for our order, a man stood at the register waiting to place his. He orders his sandwich with the 6th gear. Keith, the owner, mentioned that I was getting the 6th gear as well and pointed me out. There are only two names on the 6th Gear Sign up sheet, so it's pretty obvious that I'm not Danielle.

The customer asked "Are you BOR"?

I paused thinking if I could pass it off as not being BOR in anyway....not a chance as Keith totally outed me. "Yes" I answered.

"I'm Monkey in the Box" he replies and we shake hands.

That was pretty funny. He even ordered the same sandwich as I get every time - The Roost. We chatted while we both ate our turkey sandwiches with the spicy sauce. Of course on his blog he says I was whimpering over the spice. I don't whimper and I took the heat like a man. It does make my nose run though. I love that stuff. As I remember it, the Monkey had to take his sandwich to-go as the heat was too much for him. He tried to hide the pain but we saw right through it.

Most of the bloggers I've met, don't know that I'm BOR. I'm not even sure if most of them know that they've met me. I've met Jake, Jen, Dave, Jon, Shannon, Duncan, Chris, Brian, Lyle, and Elise. It is amazing how tight knit the Bend Blogging community really is. Now the Monkey knows my face. Its only a matter of time before my identity is public knowledge.

Oh well.

Sweetheart Donuts

Sweetheart Donuts - Bend Oregon

I was driving down 97 (or 3rd street) and noticed Sweetheart Donuts sitting there. Lately I have noticed that I scan the streets for restaurants that I have not been to that I'd like to visit and write about. I realized as I saw the 25 year old donut shack that I have never had a donut from there.

That's a shame. So this morning I made it a point to swing by and grab a box. For only $6.60 I was handed this box of delicious donuts.


I'm not going to lie and say they were all incredible since I only ate one. I mean, I'm a fatty but I'm not about to polish off a box of donuts all to myself. I shared with some office folks and I kept the maple bar for myself. The dough was light and after a quick toss into the microwave for 5 seconds it was soft and warm. I nuked it since the box of donuts were so cold just from the parking lot into the office.

The maple frosting was spread on generously and very rich. With my coffee, it was a great start to a Friday. The wife enjoyed her Coconut donut (ick). She said it was "blah blah blah" I wasn't listening since it was Coconut. Nasty. I took a quick survey and everyone said their donut was good. It could have been that no one wanted to say anything about a free donut but whatever. I don't care, I don't really even work there.

Sweetheart Donuts
505 Ne 3rd St
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 389-7928

Speedshop Full Throttle Deli

The Speedshop Full Throttle Deli "will supply you with the best East Coast Style Deli "Sangwiches" (made with Boars Head provisions), salads & local micro brewed beers & wines."

I was chilling at the Best Happy Hour spot in Bend Oregon with some friends a couple weeks ago. While mingling with some of the other guests I heard about this new deli near Pizza Mondo downtown. This guy was telling me about the nuke paste that the Speedshop Deli will put on any sandwich that kicks up the heat and adds great flavor.

Not one to back down from a challenge, I thought I'd give Full Throttle Deli a shot. This little deli is located in the upstairs portion of the Speedshop apparel clothing store. Seems like an odd combination to me. Feels like you're in a showroom or fancy garage with the metal walls and gear all along the walls.

Who cares about any of that? I'm there to eat some spicy sandwiches or "sangwiches" as they call em. I browse through the sandwiches like the Burnout and the Red Line which are all chuck full of Boars Head Meats - MENU. I settle on the Roost - roasted turkey, swiss cheese, roasted red peppers, lettuce & nuke sauce.

Nuke Sauce? What about this nuke paste I heard so much about? They charge me about $0.75 for the first gear. They will go up to 6 gears. If you get 6 gears they will give you a free soda. The owner explains that the nuke paste is a blend of chillies and peppers with some other goodies. Each gear he basically adds more of this paste. 1st gear is a thin layer on the bottom, 2nd gets a layer on top, then its just more and more until you get to 6th gear where you get about 3 tablespoons of the paste.

I take my sandwich, soup, and beer and sit down gearing up for some grub.


The ingredients were top notch and very filling. The freshly sliced turkey was piled high on a delicious roll. The slaw had an Asian vibe to it and was a nice change of pace from the mayo slathered slaw at 99% of the restaurants in Bend. The nuke paste in first gear added a nice bite and the flavor of the blended chillies and peppers really made this sandwich unique. I've never had the opportunity to add that much spice to any sandwich before. I HIGHLY recommend getting at least one gear.

Now, since this first visit, I made it back and jumped from first gear to sixth gear. They charged me an additional $1.75 to shift up to 6th gear but gave me a $2 soda for free. I signed the paper on the counter accepting my membership into the 6th gear club and waited in anticipation. A friend had arrived before me and ordered his sandwich with the first gear and found it rather hot. I was getting nervous.

My first two bites were just fine, I could feel the heat but it wasn't unbearable. Then I hit a bit more nuke paste and was burning up. The free soda was a life saver as I slowly ate the first half of the sandwich. The owners swung by to check on me.

"Well you had 4th gear the last time you were here right?" He asks.

"1st gear only" I say in between gulps of fire quenching beverage.

"1st to 6th?!?! Who does that?!?!?"

Now I feel better. I get glances from the other patrons, one of which was on his 3rd gear and probably feeling manly. But no, I am all that is man. 6th gear puts hair on your chest! Why settle for anything less than the best? Go for the gusto. All or nothing. This is how I dooze it.

Even writing this I can feel my lips tingling. At one point during the second half of the smoking hot Roost, I lost feeling to the left corner of my mouth. I was sweating. I asked for a second napkin as my nose was running so much I needed a separate napkin just for it.

I finish proudly and feel good. I wasn't hurting too bad but kept my snot rag in my pocket as we leave since my nose hasn't stopped running. My dad once told me "A meal isn't a meal unless it makes your nose run".

I received more props as we head downstairs from the other owner and her friend who's working on the front window display. High fives around, and I leave feeling like a rock star. I'm hooked. 6th gear! I dare you.

I dare you.

Speedshop Full Throttle Deli
805 NW Wall Street
Bend, Oregon 97701
728-0303
M-F 10am-8pm
S-S 10am-5pm
http://www.bendspeedshop.com/

Decoy Bar and Grill - Bend Oregon

It is not difficult to convince me to try out a new bar and grill and The Decoy (pronounce 'di quah' jokingly amongst my friends) is just that. I was able to join the power lunch crowd recently to check out the The Decoy. I felt a little under dressed as tables around me seemed to be wheeling and dealing with their stocks and bonds and yields, buy / sell, hooplah. I might have been the only person there without a tie.

The Decoy is a nice bar with an elaborate and sort of spendy menu. I looked over the dishes and ended up settling for one of the least expensive items, the Turkey Club for $9. That plus my $8 drink and I was already breaking the $20 mark (including tip).

When my "club" arrived I was sort of confused. What does this look like to you:


To me, it looks like a turkey sandwich with bacon. So then I started thinking about what constitutes a club sandwich vs a regular sandwich. In my opinion a club sandwich should have three slices of buttered toast, cut into quarters, and contain chicken or turkey, ham or bacon, crispy lettuce, juicy tomatoes (which I usually leave off as it can make a mess of things), and mayo.

The above sandwich had two thick slices of toast and was cut in half. The house mayo was a nice touch and added some flavor. The bacon was thin and forgettable and barely noticeable in the photo. It was alright. I wasn't really impressed with the fries either. They were thin and oily if not too thin and burnt.

I'm sure there are other dishes that are much better than this one and I'll probably go back to give it another try. I must try the burger and Laurie and Jon both are loving it. But as far as the club is concerned, I wont order that again.

One thing I have to mention is the water....it tastes like dirt. When restaurants/bars fill your water glass with the same gun they use to spit out your soda, it tends to pick up a stale, dirty flavor. Both my friend and I agreed that the water was not good. Give me some regular tap water instead and I'll be happy.

Laurie has a review of The Decoy Bar and Grill HERE.

Roundabout Bend will post how Decoy is celebrating their one year anniversary soon I'm sure.

The Decoy Bar and Grill
1051 Bond Street, Suite 100
Bend, Oregon 97701
(541) 318-4833
http://decoybarandgrill.com/

Victorian Cafe - Bend Oregon

Victorian Cafe

In my recent Best Breakfast in Bend Oregon 2007, I did not name The Victorian Cafe as the winner and a few people have disagreed with me. I knew that would happen but what I did not realize is how important a good breakfast restaurant is for a lot of people. I mean you guys take breakfast very seriously and the loyalty is astounding.

I was lucky enough to get into the Victorian Cafe with zero wait time recently. The wait time is one of the only clomplaints anyone has about the Vic. On weekends you can expect to wait a good hour before being seated.

I went on a weekday and around 9:30ish and we were seated pretty quickly. I was going to go for some of the eggs benedict that are so highly regarded by everyone but instead I opted for the chicken fried steak special. I can't resist fried steak covered in gravy. I just can't!



The only complaint I have is that I ordered the eggs over easy and I should have asked for them over medium. Over easy eggs AND the gravy was a bit on the messy side. The chicken fried steak was crazy good and the gravy was perfect.

I can't wait to go back for one of the drink specials they have for the winter and some of those eggs benedict. Hopefully that will be soon. Here are some other reviews of the Victorian Cafe:

Hack Bend
Bend Living

The Victorian Cafe
1404 NW Galveston Ave.
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 382-6411

Cafe Yumm - Bend Oregon

Cafe Yumm!

I'm confused by Cafe Yumm and the people that eat there. Sure the food is healthy, the restaurant is the "Greenest" I think I have ever heard of, and it's located in the Old Mill. But I can't help thinking about my non meat eatin, ultimate Frisbee playin, nalgene totin, NPR listenin, dog lovin, Newport shoppin, friend (yeah, only one of them) when I look over the Tempeh filled menu.

I've been through some rough times in my life where money was really short. Back then we'd eat mostly at home and it was mostly something and rice. One dish in our repertoire came from the wife's ghetto days - chili and rice. Chili from a can, over white rice. Since almost all of our dishes included rice, mixing it up with some chili would be a nice change of pace.

Still, chili and rice was what we had and we enjoyed it mainly cause it cost us about $2 for the entire meal. Now I can drop $5 for the small bowl (and the small is really small - I recommend at least the medium size) of glorified beans and rice from Cafe Yumm and remember the good old days. It's just beans and rice.

Ok, more seriously now, when I visited Cafe Yumm, we were greeted by the friendly staff and given samples of the Original Yumm Bowl which was rather tasty. I didn't think that I'd enjoy an entire bowl of it and I usually look for something with more meat...any meat. I settled for the Secret Asian Man™ salad. Not only did the ingredients sound great together but the name is just hilarious.

Organic field greens, red cabbage, carrots, tomato, cilantro, crispy noodles, sliced almonds, Ginger Miso dressing. Choice of seasoned organic Tofu or premium Turkey. Of course I selected Turkey.


For being a salad, it was pretty good. I was still hungry after I was finished though.

The wife really liked her soup and half sandwich. She's thrilled with Cafe Yumm and is trying to convince me to go back. I don't think it's going to make the rotation until there is a pork product on the menu.

Café Yumm!
The Shops at the Old Mill District
325 SW Powerhouse Drive
Suite 130
Bend, OR 97702
541-318-YUMM (9866)
10am-9pm Mon-Sat, 11am-7pm Sun
http://www.cafeyumm.com/

Dishcraft Catering - Hans Restaurant's New Venture

dishcraft catering

While reading Roundabout Bend's spamtastic blog I was confused by the posting about Han's Restaurant. Then I read Hack Bend's post about the inaccuracies on the post. So I figured that I should add in my two bits about the link from Spamabout Bend's post to Han's Restaurant (which is a dead link).

Using my wonderful world wide interweb 3.0 skillz I was able to find the real Han's Restaurant website in hopes to see a new location or plans to reopen and found discraft catering instead. The website appears to be more of a place holder as none of the internal links are working yet. But there is a little diddy on dishcraft catering:

"What is dishcraft catering?
A full service catering company in Bend Oregon; bring well crafted food and good company together for your next event. Offering corporate, drop off, wedding, special event and cocktail party catering. Dishcraft utilizes the freshest and highest quality ingredients while working with you to match both your culinary and budget needs."

Good luck to Heidi and her new venture.

dishcraft catering
http://www.dishcraftcatering.com/

Best of 2007 - Bend Oregon Restaurants

Bend Oregon Restaurants Best of 2007

So far I have reviewed over 80 Bend Oregon restaurants and have really enjoyed corresponding with fellow foodies, restaurant owners, and anonymous enthusiasts who all have their own comments and favorites. I made my comments on the 2007 Best of Bend lists published by the Source, Gusto, and Bend Living. I have given advice to tourists who are looking for a couple spots with specific requests.

I've felt cocky enough to spout off my opinion on topics like dining out with kids, when to send food back, restaurant tipping, and breastfeeding in restaurants. Now I feel that I would like nothing more but to stuff some more of my opinions down your throat. So I'm doing my own "Best of" but my best of list has to be a little different. Since I provide my opinion on the actual meal that I eat and not so much on the restaurant itself, I figure my "Best of" list needs to be focused on the actual meals compared to others.


I also feel that "Best of" lists are silly when published before the year is over. A good example is Hans getting best dessert....but they are now closed. Must have been insanely good desserts to win the award without participating for a few months of the year. Anyway, since my opinion is the only one that matters, you'll read the following and love it. My favorite restaurants are based on my own personal experiences at restaurants that I've actually visited.

Here we go.

Best Breakfast in Bend Oregon

Best Hot Wings in Bend Oregon

Best Burger in Bend Oregon

Best Happy Hour in Bend Oregon

Best French Fries in Bend Oregon

Best Burrito in Bend Oregon

Best Lunch in Bend Oregon

Best Pizza in Bend Oregon

Best Phad Thai in Bend Oregon

Best Ribs in Bend Oregon

Best Burrito in Bend Oregon - 2007

Best Burrito in Bend Oregon

Back in August of 06 I spent a week's worth of lunches trying a few different burritos around Bend. Since then I have been able to visit and write up a post on Los Jalapenos, Tortillaria Reyes, El Caporal (chicken burrito this time), The Taco Stand, and Taco Del Mar.

Of all these burritos, I can say that it was tough to pick a winner for Best Burrito in Bend Oregon. I really like the speed, price, and quality of the burrito at the Taco Stand and the quick meal at Taco Del Mar after shopping at Best Buy is a great bite for lunch. It really depends on what you want out of your burrito to determine where the best one is. If I'm in the car or on the go, you dont want to deal with a knife and fork so I'd recommend Longboard Louis or Tortillaria Reyes.
But when you weigh the quality and the price, the value you get from El Caporal is unbeatable. Chips and salsa are complimentary, you get rice, beans, and an enchilada style chicken burrito for $8.25. El Caporal's Chicken Burrito is my choice for the Best Burrito in Bend Oregon.



El Caporal West
744 NW Bond Street
Downtown Bend, Oregon
541-322-8916

Best Breakfast in Bend Oregon
Best Hot Wings in Bend Oregon
Best Burger in Bend Oregon
Best Happy Hour in Bend Oregon
Best French Fries in Bend Oregon
Best Burrito in Bend Oregon
Best Lunch in Bend Oregon
Best Pizza in Bend Oregon
Best Phad Thai in Bend Oregon
Best Ribs in Bend Oregon

Best Lunch in Bend Oregon - 2007

Best Lunch in Bend Oregon

There are so many places that you can grab a great lunch meal in Bend. What I look for in a good lunch is speed, quality, and value. I have a job...technically and need to get food quickly from time to time. But I don't want fast food. I want good food in a timely manner.

I like the Downtowner a great deal for a sandwich and some soup but I can't stand the seating situation in there. Especially when a group behind me and my friends decides to snag a seat before they've ordered. I hate this soooo much. You're throwing off the order of things!

Look, you are at the back of the line, you send your friend/kid/significant other to go grab a table. This is soooo wrong. What about the people in front of you? They are waiting to order and then grab a table. So what if by the time they order there are not any tables? Their food arrives and they have no where to sit....yet you haven't even ordered yet and you have a table waiting for you. We live in a society people!! Take your seat after you order and all will run smoothly as it should.

For my money, the Best Lunch in Bend Oregon is found at Toomies. For only $5.95 you get a small green salad with some peanut sauce, rice, phad thai, and whatever your main selection is. I always go for the chicken red curry with some extra spice to it. I ask for three stars over the normal two. I think it means they throw in an extra dash of crushed reds but whatever, it's hot.


Toomies Thai Restaurant
119 NW Minnesota
Bend, OR 97701
541-388-5590

Best Breakfast in Bend Oregon
Best Hot Wings in Bend Oregon
Best Burger in Bend Oregon
Best Happy Hour in Bend Oregon
Best French Fries in Bend Oregon
Best Burrito in Bend Oregon
Best Lunch in Bend Oregon
Best Pizza in Bend Oregon
Best Phad Thai in Bend Oregon
Best Ribs in Bend Oregon

Best Happy Hour in Bend Oregon - 2007

Best Happy Hour in Bend Oregon

I love Happy Hour cause I like to sample different dishes for a cheaper price. Basically I want to gorge myself for as cheap as possible without sacrificing quality. Plus Happy Hour is a great way to end the work day and start your evening. You can eat just a light snack or make it an early dinner, have a nice drink at a discounted price, and unwind. I wish everyday was Happy Hour all day.
Some of my favorite Happy Hour locations are Merenda's and Kanpai. Kanpai is awesome for an early meal and some sushi for a reduced price until 5:30. The Hamachi Kama is a great deal and goes well with some $4 hot sake. I still end up spending a bunch of money cause we order quite a bit off the Happy Hour menu.

But my favorite place to go for Happy Hour is the newly redesigned Blacksmith Restaurant. The bar menu rocks with items like lobster corn dogs, Kobe beef burgers, gourmet hot dogs, ceviche of the day, and so on all for affordable prices. Plus they have 12 beers on tap that only cost $3. It's my new hang out.

Best Happy Hour in Bend Oregon - Blacksmith Restaurant.


Blacksmith restaurant
211 NW Greenwood Ave,
Bend, Oregon 97701
541.318.0588
http://www.bendblacksmith.com/

Best Breakfast in Bend Oregon
Best Hot Wings in Bend Oregon
Best Burger in Bend Oregon
Best Happy Hour in Bend Oregon
Best French Fries in Bend Oregon
Best Burrito in Bend Oregon
Best Lunch in Bend Oregon
Best Pizza in Bend Oregon
Best Phad Thai in Bend Oregon
Best Ribs in Bend Oregon

Best Pizza in Bend Oregon - 2007

Best Pizza in Bend Oregon

I absolutely love Pizza. Next to Mexican cuisine, pizza is my favorite meal. We often get Papa Murphy's since I want my crust cooked, not soggy like many of the chain delivery places make them. I also like the price at Papa Murphy's but sometimes you're already at the house and don't want to go out or you're too lazy to cook up your own pie.

Sometimes I want a pizza delivered or drive and pick one up that's already cooked and ready to go. For lunch my favorite is grabbing a slice from Cibellis and its quite inexpensive. $2.75 for a HUGE slice of pepperoni that's large enough to fill you up.

But my favorite pizza in Bend and the winner of the Best Pizza in Bend Oregon award goes to Pizza Mondo's Run Little Piggy.


Pizza Mondo
811 NW Wall St
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 330-9093
http://www.pizzamondobend.com/

Best Breakfast in Bend Oregon
Best Hot Wings in Bend Oregon
Best Burger in Bend Oregon
Best Happy Hour in Bend Oregon
Best French Fries in Bend Oregon
Best Burrito in Bend Oregon
Best Lunch in Bend Oregon
Best Pizza in Bend Oregon
Best Phad Thai in Bend Oregon
Best Ribs in Bend Oregon

Best Phad Thai in Bend Oregon - 2007

Best Phad Thai in Bend Oregon

I've actually written up a little ditty on the Best Phad Thai in Bend Oregon before so I'll just add in the newbie - Typhoon. We had the Crab Phad Thai not too long ago and it was really good. But was it good enough to win? No.

The Best Phad Thai in Bend Oregon is SOBA Asian Bistro....BUT you HAVE to get extra peanut sauce on the side.


SOBA Asian Bistro
945 NW Bond Street
Bend, OR 97701
Ph: 541.318.1535
http://www.eatsoba.com/

Best Breakfast in Bend Oregon
Best Hot Wings in Bend Oregon
Best Burger in Bend Oregon
Best Happy Hour in Bend Oregon
Best French Fries in Bend Oregon
Best Burrito in Bend Oregon
Best Lunch in Bend Oregon
Best Pizza in Bend Oregon
Best Phad Thai in Bend Oregon
Best Ribs in Bend Oregon

Best Fries in Bend Oregon - 2007

Best Fries in Bend Oregon

I've had fries all over Bend Oregon and for me, the fries really compliment your meal. The fries I had on my visit to JC's Bar and Grill were probably my least favorite. The oil needed to be changed in a bad way. The sweet potato fries at CHOW were very tasty, just a little inconsistent on the texture.

The special sauce at Dandy's makes up for their fries being a little on the mushy side. The shoestring fries at The Hottest Dog compliment their weiners nicely. And I know I'm going to upset some people but I do NOT like the "chili" fries from Longboard Louis.

When Deschutes is making their own fries, they are hard to beat and with their own mustard, should probably win for best fries in Bend Oregon.

But that honor is going to Merenda's pommes frites. They are top shelf and have the best presentation for fries.

Merenda Restaurant
900 NW Wall St
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 330-2304
http://www.merendarestaurant.com/

Best Breakfast in Bend Oregon
Best Hot Wings in Bend Oregon
Best Burger in Bend Oregon
Best Happy Hour in Bend Oregon
Best French Fries in Bend Oregon
Best Burrito in Bend Oregon
Best Lunch in Bend Oregon
Best Pizza in Bend Oregon
Best Phad Thai in Bend Oregon
Best Ribs in Bend Oregon

Best Ribs in Bend Oregon - 2007

Best Ribs in Bend Oregon

Note that this is NOT the category for Best BBQ which there is only one BBQ place in town ... Baldy's. There is NOT another BBQ restaurant in town. Just Baldy's. Trust me. So this category is all about the rib.

There are some great ribs out there at places like Deschutes, Marz, Kona Mixed Plate, and from what I hear, Zydeco. But can any of them in all their different styles of ribs compete with Baldy? His ribs are awesome and his sauce is good enough that my family received bottles of it for Christmas (not their only gift, I'm cheap but not that cheap).

Best Ribs in Bend Oregon goes to Baldy's


Baldy's Barbeque
235 SW Century Dr
Bend, OR 97702
(541) 385-7427
385-Ribs

Best Breakfast in Bend Oregon
Best Hot Wings in Bend Oregon
Best Burger in Bend Oregon
Best Happy Hour in Bend Oregon
Best French Fries in Bend Oregon
Best Burrito in Bend Oregon
Best Lunch in Bend Oregon
Best Pizza in Bend Oregon
Best Phad Thai in Bend Oregon
Best Ribs in Bend Oregon

Best Burger in Bend Oregon - 2007

Best Burger in Bend Oregon

I absolutely love a Bacon Cheeseburger and any place that does a solid burger, wins a place in my heart. I've had burgers all over Bend and of course the best burgers come from the places that specialize in such. So all the best of lists always have the same two mentioned....Pilot Butte and Dandys. We'll, I'm not much different. The only difference for me is that I rarely make it to Pilot Butte that much.

There are many places in Bend that will serve up a mean burger. Pilot Butte obviously, Village Grill, Cheerleaders, Deschutes with their hand made buns, Jake's Diner with the Megaburger, McKay's Cottage with the $10 burger, but for me, the Best Burger in Bend Oregon comes from Dandy's Drive-In.

My favorite part of the post I wrote about Dandy's is:

"If you go to Dandy's Drive-In and you're driving your F25000 Diesel Mac Truck Hemi 2x4 V89, do me a favor and shut your stupid engine off. People like to have their windows down but no, you need to keep your nasty engine running right next to me for 15 minutes while you chit chat on your old cellular telephone while waiting for your chocolate malt to take back to your double wide. I don't like you. But I do like the Grand Dandy."

The Grand Dandy is insanely good. Get it.




Dandy's Drive-In
1334 Ne 3rd St
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 382-6141

Best Breakfast in Bend Oregon
Best Hot Wings in Bend Oregon
Best Burger in Bend Oregon
Best Happy Hour in Bend Oregon
Best French Fries in Bend Oregon
Best Burrito in Bend Oregon
Best Lunch in Bend Oregon
Best Pizza in Bend Oregon
Best Phad Thai in Bend Oregon
Best Ribs in Bend Oregon

Best Hot Wings in Bend Oregon - 2007

Best Hot Wings in Bend Oregon

If a restaurant that I visit has Hot Wings on the menu, I have to try them. I love hot wings. I love spicy chicken in general but hot wings are just awesome. I've tried wings in all sorts of places in Bend such as Hardy's, Baldy's, Applebees, BBC's, Deschutes, Cascade Lakes Lodge, Outback, Red Robin, and Village Grill.

I can't find a place in town that consistently serves the flats or wingettes instead of just the drumettes. I like the flats much better and they tend not to have any weird pieces or chewy bits like the mini drumsticks do. But I'll take what I can get.

Hardy's has a combination of drumsticks and flats and also sport the hottest wings I've ever had in Bend. I've had hotter and I have a great story about it that I'll share some time. But from my sampling of the wings in Bend, Hardy's isn't even in my top three.

I love the traditional "Franks Red Hot" style of hot wing sauce on my wings. I don't need the coke sauce or the crazy thai peanut sauce. Just give me the normal hot sauce or possibly a honey BBQ from time to time to mix it up.

Baldy's made my list in third place for the best wings in Bend Oregon but I can't put them any higher. Their wings are tender, the sauce is great, the breading is great, they're almost too good that I think there is something shady going on. I'm disappointed that Baldy's will no longer let me split the wings amongst the BBQ and Hot. The wife likes BBQ, I like hot. let me split the order man.

BBC or Bend Brewing Company has my favorite hot wing sauce in all of Bend. Unfortunately the consistency is not there. Some times the wings are drenched in sauce and are cooked to perfection, other times they can be dry and overcooked. If they were more consistent, I would have chosen the BBC as top honors.

The award of Best Hot Wings in Bend Oregon goes to Deschutes Brewery. Deschutes has the most consistent and an amazing flavor to their hot wings. I'll get a half order of wings on almost every visit. I look forward to eating them again and again.



Deschutes Beer Pub
1044 NW Bond Street, between Franklin and Greenwood
Bend, OR 97701
541-382-9242
http://www.deschutesbrewery.com/BrewPub/default.aspx


Best Breakfast in Bend Oregon
Best Hot Wings in Bend Oregon
Best Burger in Bend Oregon
Best Happy Hour in Bend Oregon
Best French Fries in Bend Oregon
Best Burrito in Bend Oregon
Best Lunch in Bend Oregon
Best Pizza in Bend Oregon
Best Phad Thai in Bend Oregon
Best Ribs in Bend Oregon

Best Breakfast in Bend Oregon - 2007

Best Breakfast in Bend Oregon

Breakfast is not a big priority for me but when I do go out to eat, I want either a great omelet or some awesome biscuits and gravy. I know that many will say Victorian Cafe or Alpen Glow and I'm sure you have your reasons. I can agree that the Victorian Cafe is a great place to eat breakfast and they have a full bar. The price is fair for breakfast, drinks I found a bit high priced and on weekends, it's going to be a wait.

Alpen Glow has great quality and freshness to their ingredients but the portions are small and the price is too high for me.

The huge portions, great food, little wait, and huge portions are some of the reasons that my favorite breakfast in Bend Oregon is Jake's Diner.


Jake's Diner
2210 NE Highway 20 (Behind the A&W and the East side Liquor Store)
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 382-0118
http://jakesdiner.blogspot.com/

Hours:
5:30AM to 9PM Monday through Saturday
5:30AM to 7PM on Sundays

Best Breakfast in Bend Oregon
Best Hot Wings in Bend Oregon
Best Burger in Bend Oregon
Best Happy Hour in Bend Oregon
Best French Fries in Bend Oregon
Best Burrito in Bend Oregon
Best Lunch in Bend Oregon
Best Pizza in Bend Oregon
Best Phad Thai in Bend Oregon
Best Ribs in Bend Oregon