The Downtowner - Bend Oregon

The Downtowner

It has been a long time since I have written about The Downtowner. With the Speedshop gone, I think the title of Best Sandwich goes to The Downtowner. I do like the food there, I just don't like the seating situation which I've documented many times.

Well, they have ditched the over sized tables but it is still cramped in there. I get annoyed seeing the single diners taking up an entire table. I'd like to see community style tables or a better bar situation for the single diners. Tables are for groups. Take your solo ass back to your office and eat.

A friend and I had lunch at the Downtowner recently and I went for the Club, house style. House style means they put on some of Mom's homemade mustard. A secret recipe that resembles Hickory Farms Sweet Hot mustard.



Oh man! What a meal. I couldn't finish all four sections. Soooo good! The only thing I wish it had was a little avocado. It may be too much though as each bite was quite a mouthful. This is my winter favorite Club since Krista's is closed for the season.

I can't think of a better sandwich shop in Bend. The Downtowner is coming correct.

The Downtowner
852 Brooks Street
In the breezeway in downtown Bend
Free downtown delivery
(541) 388-2467

Super Bowl @ Baldy's

Baldy's BBQ

Yesterday I posted on the Bend Oregon Restaurants blog, twitter, and facebook asking for info on where to get deals and eat on Super Bowl Sunday. A couple of comments came in but details are lacking. Then Baldy himself (Brian) contacted me and said he had a test run of the special Super Bowl Wings that he's serving on Sunday ready and invited me to pick some up.

Brian gets it. I like food. Give me free food and I'll write about it. Brilliant.

He sends me on my way with a sampling of the Super Bowl Special wings fresh out of the smoker. I take them home to the wife and to get some photos so you can drool over them and be jealous of me.

1/2 dozen wings - $2.50
1 dozen wings - $5
25 wings - $10
50 wings - $17.50




Seriously, he's giving them away! These aren't some chump ass Costco wings. They aren't breaded and deep fried only to get soggy by the time you get them home. No, these are just as big as Deschutes or BBC's but these are not fried, instead they are smoked to perfection. After he slathers on the Cat's Meow (spicy BBQ sauce) or his regular BBQ sauce, they damn near taste like the famous Baldy's ribs. Even the sauceless wings were amazing and packed with smokey goodness. What better way to prepare wings than smoking them? Unless you wrap them with bacon, I don't know.

The wife and I absolutely devoured the wings. These were the Best Wings I've Ever Had and that is no joke. I don't take wings lightly. I can't believe Baldy's is giving these suckers away for so little. I've already got plans for Super Bowl but after these wings, I'm ready to place the order for $50 to take with me.

Now, don't think I'm a sell out because I am sweating Baldy's wings right now. I have always liked his BBQ and all those times I paid for my meals. Just because he gave me free wings to help spread the word, doesn't mean I wouldn't judge them as if I had paid. I'm always honest when it comes to food. These wings are money and he's not asking enough for them.

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

http://www.baldysbbq.com/

Where to Eat/Order for Superbowl 2009

Super Specials on Super Bowl Sunday

I know of a couple of places that are offering specials for Super Bowl Sunday. If anyone knows of specials going on that are not mentioned, please let me know and I'll update.

Super Bowl Deals

Baldy's Barbecue is offering a $20 all you can eat Ribs and Wings (dining in only) starting at 3pm and ends at the end of the game. The wings will be smoked and covered in BBQ sauce instead of breaded and fried like they normally offer on the menu. I got to sample the wings already and they are absolutely amazing - Baldy's Super Bowl Wings. As always, you can get regular menu items to-go as well as order the special wings in bulk to-go. Call for details.

1/2 dozen wings - $2.50
1 dozen wings - $5
25 wings - $10
50 wings - $17.50


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


Tony's Deli

Tony's has Full Racks of St. Louis Style Ribs - Basted with Tony's Homemade BBQ Sauce and comes with signature cole slaw for $21.95 per rack.

Buffalo Style Wings (all drumettes) served with celery sticks and blue cheese dressing:
1 dozen - $9.50
2 dozen - $18
3 dozen - $26.50

Ribs and wings combo - 2 racks of ribs, 2 dozen wings, slaw, celery, blue cheese dressing for $59.95.

I haven't had the ribs or wings at Tony's. Just a couple sandwiches including my favorite cheese steak sandwich.


Tony’s Delicatessen
320 S.W. Century Dr., Suite 410
Bend, Oregon
647-1653


McMenamins - Old St. Francis School

I have not enjoyed service or food quality at McMenamins ... in ... like ... forever. But I have gone to watch Monday Night Football on the Big Screen and it is quite nice.

Superbowl on the Big Screen
Doors at 1:30 p.m. Free All ages welcome

Who ya rootin' for? Does it really matter? Fans and bandwagoners are all welcome -- come out for some football, fun, beer, pizza, popcorn and more.

700 NW Bond Street
Bend, OR 97701
541-382-5174


SEVEN NIGHTCLUB
Event: SUPERBOWL SUNDAY
What: Sporting Event
Host: Megan K
Start Time: Sunday, February 1 at 2:00pm
End Time: Sunday, February 1 at 11:00pm
Where: SEVEN NIGHTCLUB
"It's Superbowl Sunday, with 20 plasmas screens so you don't miss a play. Poker tournament, free food and giveaways.. gonna be awesome!"

I would love to hear from anyone that know what JC's Bar and Grill, Decoy, Deschutes, BBC, Cascade Lakes, Sidelines, The Old Mill Martini Bar, and Summit Saloon are doing. It would be nice if restaurants would get their own damn websites or at least update the ones they have....at least update your stupid myspace pages. If I find anything out, I'll update.

Deschutes Brewery 7th Annual Crabfest

Deschutes Brewery 7th Annual Crabfest

After the 5th Annual Crabfest I swore that I would attend every year. I swear alot and it doesn't actually get me anywhere. So for some reason I wasn't able to attend last year and I've cried myself to sleep on my huge pillow ever since. Luckily, I was fortunate enough to get a seat at this years crabfest and was giddy all week in anticipation of doing my part to keep the crab population in check.

Deschutes Crabfest started at 6pm and we were told to get there right at 6 so we wouldn't miss the oysters. We arrived just a few minutes after 6 and never saw an oyster. Turned out that the menu had changed slightly and instead of oysters, we got crab cakes and crab crostini.


Passed Appetizers - Red Crab Crab Cakes w/ Lemon Dill Aioli and Dungeness Crab Crostini w/ Chevre Mousse, Dungeness Crab Topped with a Pale Cocktail Sauce.

As always, my first beer glass must have had a hole in it as it was drained quite fast. So on pint #2 of Green Lakes Organic Ale I at 1 crab cake and 7 crab crostinis. They were sooooo good. And when you run in the BOR entourage or "entBORage", you get treated nicely. We had plenty of hot waitresses bringing us plenty of food. I'll take full credit for the attention even though it just so happened that a couple of off duty Deschutes waitresses were at our table. I had to refuse more and more appetizers in order to make sure I had room for crab.

Next up, the Plated Appetizer - Seafood Beer-Tini - Tropical Ceviche including Halibut, Prawns, and Dungeness Crab.


I'm starting on beer #3 as the Beer-Tini is placed in front of me, after the ladies are served first of course. I really like how Deschutes Mountain room servers serve the ladies first. I'm a fan of ladies first, holding doors, pulling out chairs, shit like that. I pick out the seafood and leave most of the icky veggies. I'm here for scavenger flesh only.

Next up is the Plated Salad - Blue Louie featuring Blue Crab. Salad? Really? I guess it's necessary for the women folk.


I ate the crab and then handed the plate off to the closest waitress. Bring on the gawd damn crab already!!

Beer #4 and the big ass bowls of Classic Crab Boil hit the table. Oh wait, I forgot to mention the two big baskets of house made rosemary rolls that were placed on our table just before the crab boil arrived. The baskets lasted a minute before we moved them to the counter next to us, untouched. Stupid Bread. I'm hear to destroy crab damnit! I have bread at home. Dungeness Crab, Kielbasa Sausage, Peel and Eat Prawns, and New Potatoes, Served with Drawn Butter, and Lemon Wedges.


I dive in like Leonidas leading his 300 warriors to battle. I command the table "Give them nothing! But take from them everything!" Beer #4 sits undisturbed for a long time as I take down half a crab, a few prawns and some sausage. The last time I went to crabfest my friend broke down an entire section of crab before eating any of it. I liked this technique and used it 3.5 times Saturday night. Here's my first run:


I kept a tally of all my conquests just like when I was in college chalking up mad amounts of notches on my head board. I'm kidding....I didn't go to college. I counted crab legs as the actual leg portion as well as the body meat which I just lumped into a pile. So when I say that I ate 17 crab legs, that counts the body meat as well. I'm awesome.

I made an error by pouring the hot drawn butter into my ramekin before I had even started crushing crab shells and ripping the prawn's protective layer from it's flesh. So by the time I ate my crab, the butter was luke warm at best. So on round's two and three, I just went for freshly poured butter.


I started making Shell Fish S'mores in a variety of combinations. Each dunked in a fresh bowl of butter to keep it glistening and deliciously amazing. Sausage, crab leg, and prawn. Effing amazing!



Amazing!! And look how wet and wrinkled my fingers are. Gross!

Finally the Plated Dessert - Mocha Cream Pie with Chocolate Cookie Crust


Too sweet for me, one bite did it. But I had to use the photo of my friend adding the crab leg in for some reason. She kept making this crab leg kung fu motion with it as if the crab leg was about to steal my dessert's rice cakes. I really think she thought I was filming video. She's silly.

I showed off my stat sheet to a few of the fellow diners as well as one of the waitresses, Missy. She looked over the list and was impressed but said "that's cute". Four beers = cute. I was ashamed. BUT...now that the eatin was done, time to drink. I finished with an astounding 8 pint. 7 pints of Green Lakes and after that tap blew, 1 pint of Mirror Pond. My final count:

8 Appetizers (7 Crostini and 1 Crab Cake)
17 Crab Legs
12 Prawns
9 slices of Sausage
8 Beers
0 Redmond Rodge

I don't find this to be that great. I'm pretty sure that others ate more than I did. I'm happy with my performance and felt great the next morning. Anyway, I found it amusing when one of the waitresses told us of a couple on the other side of the room that told her "we want to be the last people here." A young couple out of Portland, silly in their ways, thought that they'd give us a run for our money. I've attended 5 or 6 events at the Mountain Room and have always closed the joint down. That's just how the entBORage rolls.

I was pleased when I heard that the waitress responded with "well, you'll need to beat that table over there" while pointing to our group. The couple ended up sitting in the lounge area reading magazines while we wrapped up our evening. I decided to go over and say hi. I talked with my new friend Brendan and his wife about Bend and why they drove all the way from Portland just for the Crab Fest. Its really that good.

We were the last group there, but Brendan and his wife technically stayed a hair longer. It was a great night.

Scanlon's at the Athletic Club of Bend

Scanlon's Restaurant

Scanlon's is located in the Athletic Club of Bend and is still alive and kicking. Back when the Wife and I moved to Bend, there were only a few fine dining options available. But not too long after the head chef left Scanlon's and opened up Cork, Scanlon's sort of fell off the fine dining route. The food was still expensive but not that good. We stopped going.

Not too long ago we took a relative with us back to Scanlon's. Mainly because she had her 1 yr old with her and when you go to Scanlon's, you can drop your youngins off at the child care center, for free. While we were there I noticed Gavin McMichael (Executive Chef and co-owner of the Blacksmith) in the open kitchen and it sort of tripped me out. Apparently, he has been helping get Scanlon's back on the right path. After going back a few weeks later we met Brad Wood, formerly the Executive Sous Chef for Jody Dent @ Merenda, who is now the Executive Chef at Scanlon's.

On that visit I had a Salami and Prosciutto Sandwich and fell in love with it. I didn't have a camera and so when the Wife wanted to go to lunch on Martin Luther King day, we heading back to Scanlon's. Thankfully the sandwich was still on the menu and for only $8.

Salami and Prosciutto Sandwich - mozzarella, mustard, olive relish, greens:


The sandwich wasn't as big as the $12 loaf of bread you can get at NY Sub Shop but it was well worth the $8 to sit in a nice clean restaurant and the quality is top shelf. I liked this lunch a lot. I didn't leave stuffed or feeling heavy (at least no more than normal with my fat ass), just right. The Wife selected the Natural Chicken Sandwich - prosciutto, arugula, aioli, cranberry chutney, on house made foccacia for $9.


Her sandwich was good but just not for me. Seemed too girly. I like a manly sandwich like mine.

I'll go on record and say that Scanlon's is well on it's way back to the vanguard of Bend's Fine dining. Check out their menu's on their site. Also, I noticed that they have a Prime Rib Sunday Dinner for $19.95 going on. I'm planning on being there this Sunday since there isn't any football this weekend. Go Steelers!

Scanlon's
61615 Athletic Club Dr
Bend, OR 97702
541.385.3062

Italian Cooking School - Day 1

Last Monday I attended the first night of Dr. Juri Sbandati's Italian Cooking School. I have a few jealous friends that wanted to hear about the evening so I thought I'd do my best to give a summary. If you wanted to attend but thought the price was too high, let me tell you, this is by far the best cooking school/class that I have ever attended. It is well worth the price of admission.

Juri spent a few minutes talking about why we always say that there isn't any real Italian cuisine in Bend. He explains how the same type of tomatoes that they'd use are not found here and shows us the types of ingredients that he's found that are as close as we can get.

He gives us our weapons for the evening which consist of a large knife and cutting board. On this night we are going to make two dishes - Penne Alla Chiantigiana and Maiale in Crosta di Pane. Very fancy way of saying Penne pasta with Chianti gravy and a pork loin stuffed in a baguette and then wrapped with bacon.

I've had both of these dishes before and was thrilled to find out that I was going to learn how to make it. With most cooking classes I assumed that Juri would do most of the cooking and simply show us how it is done. Not here. He showed us how to clean a leaks and dice them up and then gave us our own to dice. Everyone got their own pan, burner and ingredients and we made everything ourselves. It was so nice to do it all ourselves and then got to eat our own creations and taste each other's.

My pasta came out a bit on the spicy side but that's how I like it.


While the Chianti sauce was simmering we worked on the tenderloin dish. So simple yet sooooo brilliant. Pork loin, loaf of bread, bacon. Juri showed us how to make his "green salt" seasoning and we seasoned our loin and began wrapping the log with bacon.



While the pork log was in the oven we got to sample different cheeses while sipping on wine, and tasting 20 year aged balsamic vinegar. We shared stories and got to ask questions as they came up. Having a small class allowed us to get individual attention and really learn how to make these delicious dishes.


My pork came out a little on the salty side but it worked out just fine. Actually, the pork loin was perfect, the bread was salty. Juri tried to warn me when I was seasoning the bacon but I didn't listen. It still tasted fine. While every thing was simmering and cooking Juri showed us an easy Port Reduction and that helped cut the saltiness of my pork.

We got to take home our left over sauce and about 3/4ths of the Loin Log. I warmed mine up in the oven two days later for dinner and it was still amazing. Soooo good! I can't wait for day 2 as we're making Risotto. I've never made risotto before, I'm excited.

Restaurant Closings Update - Bend Oregon

Bend Oregon Restaurant Closings

It doesn't look good for Bend restaurants right now and there doesn't seem like there is good news on the horizon. Maybe the restaurants are praying that Obama can work some magic on the economy. I don't have any answers. But I keep getting asked for an update on my earlier restaurant closings post.

I have had a very busy week setting up my Facebook Profile and Twitter (please "Friend" me and/or Follow me) amongst other projects that I'm working on. Anyway, if there are additional closings that I don't mention, feel free to comment or email me and I'll add them.

But first, in December I received an email from a concerned waitress looking for work here in Bend. Here's a portion of that email:

"In my hunt to make myself known in my job hunt, I made friends with a local restaurant owner. He very recently had to shut his doors for a few months. A few days later Volo did too. I was wondering if there was anything we could do to raise people's awareness in the community about supporting our local restaurants and the possibility of losing them if we don't?"

I found this email odd as this person is wanting to support local restaurants but mentions (obviously) Fireside and Volo. What makes a restaurant local? I think what the emailer meant to say is that we need to support the non-chain restaurants. Cause Fireside Red's owners are from Vegas (from what I understand) and Chris Jones was from Montana with a head chef from NY. Both of these restaurants opened and closed during 2008. Would Merenda and Deep count as local? Am I considered a local even though I wasn't born in Bend? If we stick to only true local restaurants, what would our options be? Jake's Diner? I'm sure Lyle wouldn't mind one bit.

In my mind, good food is good food. I don't care where you're from or what your background is. If you can serve up a mean steak, then I like you. The idea of supporting local restaurants doesn't make sense to me. We all work hard for our money and should be free to spend it wherever we like. If you like subway, go for it and live happy. I am going to continue to visit restaurants that I like and will hope that the good ones stay in business. Good luck to you restaurant owners.

Restaurant closings since my last update:

---------------------------

Deep

I'm sad to see Deep go even though I was only able to eat there a few times. Every time we stepped foot in there we would drop at least a bill ($100) and leave hungry. The food was great and I loved the 9 bites but man, that place hurt my wallet.

---------------------------

Merenda

I didn't eat at Merenda very often at all. The wife and I had a nice dinner there and never had a problem with service. I'm not sure why Merenda didn't make the rotation for us on a more regular basis. I LOVED the happy hour and really enjoyed the complimentary flat bread and and roasted garlic.

---------------------------

Volo

Volo revamped their menu to make it more affordable but I didn't even get a chance to go back in there before the doors were closed. Rumors were flying that the owner took all the wine and computers and bolted. Then it's rumored that he was forced by the banks to come back. I don't know what's going on but I did enjoy the food while they were open.

---------------------------

Fireside Red

Supposedly Fireside Red is only closed for the winter. We'll see.

---------------------------

Village Grill

I enjoyed going to the Village Grill on Sunday mornings for some screwdrivers and the $5 breakfast buffet. I have no idea how 7 is doing as I haven't made it in there to sample the goods.



Restaurants that are still closed from the previous post:

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In an exception to the above comments, 38 Degrees appears to be closed. I can't seem to get the official word but I've driven by a couple of times when they should have been open and they were not. That's sad, I really liked the sangria flights. Their tuna was always great and I loved their clams and chorizo (when the chorizo was not dried out). Instead of just blaming the economy on this one, it could be that 38 Degrees really didn't have the best location. Could be a combo of things but their food and service were good.

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Kayo's Roadhouse in Bend and Redmond has closed. A reliable source shot me an email and was able to find the Z21 news story to confirm that in fact Kayo's is done. The news article mentions that Kayo's is probably best known for the buckets of peanuts and the shells on the floor. I never got around to writing my review of the one trip I made it over to the East side for dinner at Kayo's, but it would have focused on the same point.

The food was bland. We tried the appetizer sampler which was a cut bomb of overcooked chicken wings, huge potato skins covered in cheddar, mozzarella sticks, and spring rolls. We totally should have waited to order our dinners until after the appetizer. After sampling the appetizers, we weren't really hungry.

I had the bacon burger which was overcooked and the Kraft singles slice of American was tough to wash down even with my huge beer. The wife got the ribs which were some of the worst we've tried. We ended up taking a bunch of left overs but ended up throwing them out as they stayed in the fridge way too long.

I never got to the Kayo's review as all of the photos came out way too dark. I couldn't get a good photo but trust me, there wasn't a way to get a "good" photo out of what was on our plates. Great peanuts and really cold beer are the best parts of Kayo's.

---------------------------------------

Ernesto's closed their doors. I didn't post my review of Ernesto's before I heard of their closing. I had visited for lunch as a dare about a week before the news of their closing was announced.

A friend and I went to Ernesto's for lunch. After reviewing the menu we both decided on getting the buffet which consisted of soup and salad bar, pasta with a choice of three sauces, pizza, some sort of chicken dish, and then the special of the day. I think it was a Wednesday and prime rib was the special.

I decided to try all three pasta sauces, tomato, pesto, and Alfredo. In order from left to right, or right to left, or mix matched (doesn't matter really) they were blah, blehk, and boring. I also tried a slice of the pizza which looked really dried out but tasted ok. Old pork is still good pork in my mind. I just call it aged and be done with it...until I'm running to the restroom in the middle of the night. Damn you aged pizza!

The prime rib was a waste of time. I got a couple of good bites out of it. My favorite parts of the meal was the salad, bread, and water. Actually, the soup was pretty good. They had the normal minestrone soup out front but the waitress told me about the specialty soup of the day in the back, chicken pesto. It was rather good.

-----------------------------------

Pepe's Restaurant moved back to Madras. "I'm going back to Madras, to Madras, to Madras, I'm going back to Madras, no, I don't think so." Could you imagine if LL Cool J lived in Central Oregon? No, I don't think so.

I wrote up my review of Pepe's Restaurant and am actually sad about this restaurant leaving. I really liked going to Pepe's. I went up to Portland for the International Beer Fest and saw that Pepe's has a restaurant right on the main strip in Madras.

Port of Subs - Bend Oregon

Port of Subs

Port of Subs, located off Empire near KOHD and a building that has a huge red sign that reads "KARATE", is your run of the mill sub shop. When we were walking in my friend says "Karate" and I'm all looking around like a turd until I see the huge sign. I wonder what goes on in there. Maybe they sell soup.

I knew nothing about the Port of Subs other than hearing their ads on ESPN Radio while I shower, listening to Colin Cowherd give me the low down the day's sports news/drama, and nurse my hangover. So a couple friend and I fill up the gas tank and make the long drive out to Empire and visit the Port of Subs for lunch. Looking over the menu I quickly decide on the fast ball...good ol' number 1 - Ham, Salami, Capicolla, Pepperoni, and Provolone. No brainer.

Instantly the friendly sub sandwich artists fly into action and begin slicing up the cheese and meats on their deli slicer. Apparently this is the gimmick for Port of Subs to make them different than chains like Subway but not different than almost any deli. Freshly sliced meat. Mmmm boy what a difference. Actually, I'm not sure if it really is a difference or not. I think it's a ploy. That's how THEY get you. Its the establishment my friends.

After getting my meat stacked on a foot long log of sour dough, I get my toppings in the normal fashion and pay around $9.50 for the footlong, chips and 32 ounce soda. I think $9.50 gets you a refill at NY Sub Shop.


I made a mistake on the sour dough. It was way too heavy for that long of a sub. I couldn't finish. I should have gone with white or wheat (the only other two options). I just got so excited about sour dough. I don't often hear that as an option on a sub and now I know why.

Port of Subs makes a better sandwich than Subway and Quizno's in my opinion but holds nothing on a good sandwich shop like the Downtowner or (RIP) Speedshop. I would eat at the Port of Subs again out of convenience but honestly, its not convenient for me.

Port of Subs
www.portofsubs.com
63056 Lower Meadow Dr
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 388-1580

La Costa Azul

I visited La Costa Azul a long time ago and commented on Hack Bend about my experience. I ended up never writing the review for some reason though. So I recommended to some friends that we should give it a try. After being seated and snacking on the chips and salsa we ordered drinks. Everyone but "watching my calorie intake - Lucas" kept it real by ordering Negra Modellos or Pacificos.

The salsa had an odd flavor. I can't quite put a finger on it but it tasted weird. It was slightly spicy but lacked the traditional tomato salsa flavor. I still ate it cause I was hungry but it wasn't my favorite.

We ordered lunch and another round of beers (and a diet coke). And then we waited. And waited. And waited. While we waited the hot hostess kept coming back to our table, looking at us through her Lisa Lobe glasses and explaining why it was taking so long. I felt bad for the top half of her sweater as it was stretched out to capacity. She must have back problems with how off balance and top heavy she is. Best part of "diet coke's" lunch was when Miss Mammaries had to reach across the table to the other side and totally encroached on his personal space.

Anyway, I ordered the Picadillo Enchiladas. When we ordered our food we were told that they had run out of rice and so we would get double the beans. That's totally fine with us but instead of just serving us double beans and no rice, I think they held back on serving our food until they had time to make a fresh batch of rice. When Hispanic Lisa Lobe and her Sweater Kittens finally arrived with our food, she stressed that the plates were hot. She used oven mitts to put the plates down. As anyone does when you're told that the plate is hot, you touch it just to see how hot it actually is. We all did and all our plates were cold.

My enchiladas were cold and the rice was a shade away from being plain white rice. Definitely not worth the wait just for freshly made rice. My enchiladas had barely enough meat for one enchilada let alone two, and were as flat as pancakes. No one at the table had anything nice to say about their dishes and after waiting as long as we did, no one was impressed. The food was cheap at only $6.99 for lunch, but the 12 ounce beers were $4.25 each! That's just silly!

"Diet Coke" and I had to leave before the check arrived so I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to La Lisa Lobe but thought I'd pay tribute with a Spanish translation of a snippet of Stay.

"Usted dice que oigo solamente lo que quiero:
I don' t escucha difícilmente, don' atención de la paga de t a la distancia que you' re funcionamiento a cualquier persona, dondequiera
I don' t entiende si usted cuida realmente,
I' m que oye solamente la negativa No, no, no, malo"

La Costa Azul
63055 Layton Avenue
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 322-3986

Pastini Pastaria - Bend Oregon

Pastini Pastaria

When I heard about Pastini Pastaria coming to Bend I thought, "Great, another cheese ball Olive Garden wanna be, or worse, Johnny Carino's." Seriously, why can't we get some great Italian restaurants here? Search Google for "italian, bend oregon" and you'll see some very VERY sad results:


Johnny Carino's, Bella Cucina, 5 pizza places, closed down Ernesto's, and of course, the mecca of Italian cuisine...Sun Mountain Fun Center. I mean nothing reminds me of Florence more so than skee-ball, bumper cars, bowling, and a shit load of unruly children shoveling daddy's quarters into stupid ass "games" just to get a handful of tickets redeemable for a tootsie roll. The last time I was at Sun Mountain I turned in about $30 worth of tickets for a cannoli and reminisced about the sun setting over that beautiful vineyard in Tuscany.

Anyway, the wife and I headed out to Pastini Pastaria not knowing anything about their Portland roots or having any good expectations. Looking over the menu I was pleased with the prices. Very inexpensive and I was impressed with the portion sizes/quality.

The wife was having a difficult time deciding on three salads for her Pastini Salad Sampler ($9.75). She's a huge fan of salads so she was in heaven with the options. She had to choose any three from the list of Insalata Verde, Caesar Salad, Caprese, Tuna-White Bean, Ziti Pasta Salad, Spinach Salad, Artichoke-Chicken, Panzanella, Butter Lettuce:


She selected the Artichoke-Chicken, Caprese, and Tuna-White bean and loved all three. I did not like it. Salad = BORing. She's supposed to get something that we can share or that I can eat when I'm done horking down my food. Selfish.

I quickly decided on the Ziti Con Molta Carne for $10.50:


Bolognese meat sauce with grilled Italian sausage and two of our savory handmade meatballs. I was able to eat about 1/2 of the dish before I used the wife's ghettofab technique of "eatin da meat." Cause as she says "that's the expensive part." I was stuffed and very impressed with the quality and flavor of my meal. The meatballs were good but I couldn't get enough of the sausage. Very well done Pastini.

I might have to stop saying that we don't have any good Italian restaurants in Bend with Pastini Pastaria kicking it down there in the Old Mill. I'll need to visit a couple more times before I can completely be sold. But I will gladly go back to Pastini Pastaria when I need my next fix of lil' Italy. Well, that or go back for some Putt Putt and Pasta at Sun Mountain of course. Italian my ass. Way to go Google.

Pastini Pastaria
THE OLD MILL IN BEND
541-749-1060
375 SW Powerhouse Drive
Bend, OR 97702
On the river across the street from REI
Hours: Sun-Thur 11:30 - 9; Fri & Sat 11:30 - 10
http://www.pastini.net/food_menu2.html

Italian Cooking School

I'm excited to announce that I will be attending Cooking School with famed Personal Chef, Juri Sbandati. One of the great benefits to the class is that the students get to take the food home. So I might not be going out to eat as much over the next month. That's another plus since I'm broke.

I'd love to hear from anyone else that is taking the class. Details below.


"Learn how to cook the Italian way. Discover the roots and history behind Italian cuisine today. Explore historical recipes dating back 600 years. You can take private lessons, organize a group in your home, or you can come to us and learn how to cook with a small group of students in Bend, Oregon.

This course is very special and uses many gourmet imported ingredients from Italy. We also bring fine wine into the class. Please email us with any interest or inquiries about the school.

WE WILL BE OFFERING A LARGER AND MORE ECONOMIC COURSE FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T WANT THE FULL PACKAGE AT THE END OF NOVEMBER. Please call for information - (541) 610-6278.

WE ALSO OFFER COOKING CLASSES FOR THE FAMILY WHO IS UNDER A BUDGET BUT WANTS TO EAT HEALTHY AND WELL. ALLOW JURI SHOW YOU HOW TO GROCERY SHOP AND COOK FOR A FRACTION OF THE PRICE THAT YOU NORMALLY SPEND WEEKLY."

Sbandati Personal Chef Services
1466 Ne Revere Ave
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 610-6278
info@sbandatipersonalchef.com
Sbandati Personal Chef Services