Rigoberto's Taco Shop

Rigoberto's

I have a friend who requested a review of Rigoberto's and over beers I agreed to go with him. I agree to a lot of things over beers. Stupid ballet tutu. I selected the Carne Asada Taco, the Carnitas Taco ($2 each), and couldn't resist going for 3 rolled tacos with sour cream for $2.80. TACO TOWWWWN!


First I tried the Carne Asada. After a couple of bites I somehow was flooded with memories of all those womp rats that I used to bullseye in my T-16 back home. The "steak" was about as consistent as chunky ground beef.

The Carnitas taco was much better. Plenty of fatty pork piled high between two soft corn tortillas. I was pretty pleased with the carnitas but it isn't good enough for me to go back. Well, if I happened to be over near the 3rd street Rigoberto's at some random time of night and nothing else is open, and I'm drunk...sure, I'd gladly go back.

The "rolled tacos", or Costco Taquitos for everyone else, were dry on the inside, soaking wet from the pile of sour cream on the outside, and completely covered with cheddar. Save your $2.80.


I'm glad to report that I have not had any unscheduled bowel movements after eating at the 3rd street Rigoberto's. I will also admit, that for $2, the Carnitas taco was a healthy portion and is worth a try if you get suckered into going.

Rigoberto's Taco Shop
1913 NE 3rd St.
Bend, OR 97701
541.388.6783

bistro corlise - latest to close

I'm very disappointed in you who have not tried bistro corlise and helped keep one of the finest restaurants in Bend open. I just received an email from the very talented Jason Logan announcing the upcoming closure.

I'm sad. I thought you all loved me. We have a good thing going here. I tell you where the good places are and where to avoid. If I say that somewhere is good, you should believe me AND eat there. Come on people!

"Sadly, this email is not offering another wine dinner or food event. I am writing to announce that I have decided to sell the restaurant. ... Without the community's willingness to at least try what we have to offer, I cannot justify staying in Bend.

The last sixteen months have been a wonderful creative time in my life, as we have offered over fifty different menus. These include regional wine dinners, National Sparkling Wine Day, and finally our Head to Tail Dinner. I am proud of my culinary ideals, principals, and philosophies and I will continue to press on and seek challenges in the future.

We will be open our regular hours through Friday, March 6th. We will be closed the 7th and 8th, as I have been invited to cook for an event at Ken Wright Cellars. I have not yet decided if we will be open the following week."




bistro corlise
916 NW Wall St.
Bend OR 97701
http://www.bistrocorlise.com/

Ariana Restaurant

Ariana

Ariana Restaurant has been on my list of dining options for a long time. I am sad that it has taken us this long to make it to Ariana's. When the hostess sat us at our table, the Wife mentioned that the last time she'd been in this house was when it was Cup of Magic. The hostess responded, "Gee, its only been four years." The Wife holds grudges. Cup of Magic was her favorite coffee shop and she was hurt when they left. So Ariana was on her shit list for a long time.

But, thankfully I was able to convince her to allow me to take her out to a nice dinner. We took forever trying to make our selections as everything looked great, plus I wasn't that hungry. After looking over the menu again and again, I realized that I need to take one for the team and order more than I wanted.

We started off with appetizers of Beef Carpaccio and Moules Frites:

Seared Beef Carpaccio - ($10)
Thinly Sliced Pepper-Crusted Beef Tenderloin with Truffle Oil, Horseradish Crème Fraiche, Parmegiano Reggiano, and Scallions

Moules Frites - ($13)
Mussels Steamed in White Wine with Shallots, Garlic, and Herbs Served with Hand Cut Truffled Frites and Roasted Garlic Aioli


I thought that the appetizers would be small as they are in most fine dining restaurants but these were massive. I was getting scared that we wouldn't be able to finish our main courses.

The carpaccio was sooo thin and tender that it was easy to spread on the crustinies which gave the crunchy texture to a very soft dish. After a few bites I ended up scraping off many of the scallions which I thought were over bearing...plus the Wife doesn't like making out with my onion breath.

The mussels where great but the highlight of this app was the Truffled Fries. I call them fries, you can call them frites if you want but a spade is a spade, these are fries. They were soooo good, crispy, salty, and drizzed with truffle oil.

We ate every bite of the apps while we waited for the main courses. I selected the lamb shank and the Wife can't refuse the pork chop.

Lamb Shank - ($26)
Slow Braised for Hours in Cabernet Served Over Creamy
Parmesan Polenta with broccolini

Pork Chop - ($24)
Honey Brined Thick Cut Pork Chop Oven
Roasted and Served Over Fingerling potatoes,
Cipollini Onions, and Bacon with Whole-Grain Dijon Sauce


The lamb was so tender and just fell off the bone. For not being that hungry when I started dinner, I ended up stuffing myself silly. I can't complain about anything. It was all amazing.

The Wife's pork chop was cooked and seasoned perfectly with a little sweetness from the honey. Damn this dinner was the bomb!

Finally the Wife enjoyed the Bananas Foster Cake dessert:
Brown Sugar Banana Cake Drenched in Rum Toffee
Sauce and Served Warm with Vanilla Ice Cream


If you haven't been to Ariana Restaurant yet, you now have my permission to go. I didn't really get the Mediterranean side though. I guess Mediterranean food is a wide range of cuisine but to me, it seemed like new American. Sort of comfort food prepared in a fancy pants way. Either way, it was good.

Ariana Restaurant
www.arianarestaurantbend.com
1304 NW Galveston Ave
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 330-5539

Band of Brothers and Jake's Diner Spaghetti Feed

Spaghetti Feed to Fund Bend Heroes Memorial

The Bend Band of Brothers and Jake's Diner are partnering for a spaghetti feed to raise money for the Bend Heroes Memorial to be built at Brooks Park near the west end of Veterans Memorial Bridge on Newport Ave.

This event will be held at Jake's Diner on Sunday February 22nd from 4pm - 6pm.

The cost of the meal will be $10 per person (cash only). All the proceeds will go to the Bend Heroes Memorial fund. Children under the age of 6 are free.

For more information, please contact Ray Hartzell 389-4476, Dick Tobiason 388-5591, or Jake's Diner 419-6021.

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/

Since I haven't had the speghetti at Jake's, I'll just post the most recent photo of the Pastrami Burger that I had.

Italian Cooking School - Day 2

Over the last couple of weeks I have been attending Dr. Juri Sbandati's Italian Cooking School and I posted Day 1's review a couple weeks ago. Well I never got around to writing about Day 2 so here we go.

On Day 2 Juri taught us how to make Pollo alla Cacciatora (chicken cacciatore), Risotto ai Funghi Porcini (Mushroom Risotto), and Stock.

First we started with the Cacciatora since it needed to bake in the oven for about an hour. Juri showed us how to break down a whole chicken. It was quite easy the way he showed us and I'm totally confident in being able to do this again and again as needed. We toss the chicken in flour and browned the chicken while cutting up some celery, onion, and carrots.

Once we got all the ingredients together and into the oven, we began our Risotto. I was really excited about making Risotto even though it was mushroom (not my favorite). I've never made risotto before and I always see it on Hell's Kitchen or the F Word with Gordon Ramsey.

Juri keeps us at our burners to make sure nothing burns. We sauteed the mushrooms, garlic, and parsley. Add white wine and reduce. Then we set aside and start on the rice.


Juri shows us the proper techniques of tossing the rice trying not to stir too much in order to keep the rice unbroken. All the while we slowly add in just enough broth to keep it wet but not drenched.


We drank more wine and ate our Risotto ai Funghi Porcini. Sooo good but I needed more salt this time. After week one, I was scared to use too much salt again. More wine, then I tell my mushroom joke that a friend told me a while ago.

A mushroom walks into a bar and the bartender yells "Hey, we don't serve your kind here." The mushroom responds (in an Italian accent for whatever reason) "Heeey, I'm a Funghi!"

By now the Cacciatora is ready and we dish up.


Oh mamma! The chicken is fork tender and the meal eats like a hearty stew. Juri's trying to explain how to make the beef stock but I don't pay too much attention as I can't stop eating my Cacciatora.


Left overs a plenty and the Wife is waiting impatiently for me to bring them home. She loves mushrooms! We warmed up the rest of the risotto and cacciatora the next night and grubbed.

Sbandati Personal Chef Services
1466 Ne Revere Ave
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 610-6278

What are you doing for Valentine's Day?

I was too busy (read Lazy) to put together a Valentine's Day post. I was also too busy to plan something for the Wife and I to do. Most likely, we will end up getting the Heart Shaped Pizza from Papa Murphy's like we always do.

So if anyone has any ideas or wants to host BOR and the Wife, let me know.

Comments are welcome. What are your Valentine's Day plans?

White America

My Edamame post delivered one of my all time favorite comments - "you arrogant anus." Now, my Bubble Tea post has delivered another favorite. I absolutely love logging into my eMachine and seeing all the comments and emails that I receive (all two of them). The latest and greatest is"

"i have never read such a close minded review in my life. Although you didnt like it, you could have given a more respectable review not talking about back in YOUR day, not everyone grew up in white america as you did."

How dare you not capitalize "America" you nazi!

Where exactly is "white america"? Is that on Hwy 97? Is it at the Sister's Rodeo?

OK, truth be told, I'm white. Yup, I'm a white male. So if you see some one at a restaurant and its a white male, its probably me. Go ahead and come right up to me and say hi. But what you don't know is that I was black for two years. At least I thought I was. Quite a tallent if you ask me. To be able to turn on the lingo and blend in with the crowd like a Cameleon. I found myself being the only white guy at parties all the time. I had nicknames like the White Shadow and Paul Revere (Beastie Boys reference). That really should be its own blog, stay tuned for - www.iwasblackfortwoyears.com

How does white America relate to my hatred of Bubble Tea? If you've read any of my reviews, you'd know that I am very close minded. I am stuck in my ways and my opinion is the only one that matters. Bubble Tea sucks!

Thanks for the comment though. I laughed.

bistro corlise

The Wife is kicking me, and I'm kicking myself for not trying to get us seats at bistro corlise's Head to Tail Dinner on Feb. 22. The event is already sold out but I still needed to mention it. 15 course dinner of deliciously pork heaven. Chef Logan is working some serious magic with this pork filled menu from Confit of pig heart and sprouted lentils to Pork blood Ravioli with pig snout filling to braised pork tongue and ham hock with cabbage.

KICKING MYSELF! I want some pig ears...I like pigs feet! I'm sad.

The Wife and I went to dinner at bistro corlise the other night and we can't stop talking about it. Seriously, if you haven't been to bistro corlise, stop crying about the restaurants that are gone and not coming back and get out there to one of the best restaurants in Bend.

We ordered some wine with Allison's help - hostess with the mostess. We strategized our dinner plan and placed our order. We enjoyed our wine and watched people walking by - including one couple that was calling it quits for the evening. He didn't want to quit but she'd had enough. His hug was not returned and they went separate ways. I like window seats.

For our first course I ordered the Pork Sausage with pork belly and turnip ragout ($9) and the wife wanted the camaroli rice with lamb sweetbread, shaved lamb heart, and mustard seed vinaigrette ($9)


All good things about both of these dishes. Our plates went back spotless. We put the plates side by side in between us and just snacked on both. I was avoiding the chanterelle mushroom looking things in the Wife's rice under the lamb sweetbreads. Finally I couldn't avoid them and gave it a try. Very meaty. I was happy and then I found out that it was not mushroom, but the lamb heart shavings! I was in heaven. I've never tried lamb heart but I would gladly do it again.

Oh the sweetbreads were so tender and saltylicious. The first time I ever tried sweetbreads was the first time I visited bistro corlise. On that visit they were veal and very good. I liked the lamb even better.

Next up was the salad course and we selected the bean salad with air dried ham, oil cured olives, preserved lemon, and olive oil ($9). I was against the idea of a bean salad until it arrived at the table. I dove in soooo fast that I forgot to get the photo. We quickly put it back together and I took the shot while the Wife impatiently tapped her toe.


Air dried ham under and throughout the salad. It was more of a ham salad vs a bean salad. Unfortunately for me, the bean was lima. I ate around them. I don't like lima beans.

Next up were the main attractions. The last time I went to bistro corlise I said that I wanted to come back for the duck. Luckily for me, the duck was on the menu. Seared duck breast with duck confit, parsnip, and natural jus ($31). I was a little apprehensive about getting the duck as the $31 price tag was a little high for me but said eff it.


Definitely worth the money. The breast was cooked and seasoned to perfection. Not too much going on with it letting the quality of the duck speak for itself. The parsnips soaked up the jus and were little bites of salty soaked vegg. If you're going to eat veggies, soaking them in duck juice is the only way to go. I also liked the little bits of duck niblets throughout.

The wife went for the seared hanger steak with pearl barley and wild mushrooms ($20).


She loved it, said it was hearty. I didn't really care for her main but she ate it up. I was focused on my duck. I excused myself to utilize the facilities. When I returned to the table, my plate was more in the middle of the table, not where I left it. The wife tried to play it off. She steals.

Chef Logan, who had delivered some of our dishes himself and heard our disappointment about not getting in on the Head to Tail dinner, treated us to the dessert that will be served at said dinner. Chocolate and blood truffle, candied cocoa nibs, cumin vinaigrette.


MMMMmmmmm blood. The nibs were good, no complaints. Very interesting dessert. If it weren't for the sweet chocolate coating, I don't know if I could have eaten all of it, the blood/chocolate inside was quite bitter. But the combo was good.


Like I said, if you haven't been to bistro corlise yet, get there. It is some of the finest dining in Bend.

bistro corlise
916 NW Wall St.
Bend OR 97701
http://www.bistrocorlise.com/

Taco Bell = Crap - Deliciously Disgusting Crap

Taco Bell

Taco Bell is and has always been gross. Yet for some reason, I can't stay away for more than two years at a time. Every two years or so I just get this craving for Taco Bell. I want to devour like 8 tacos with 16 packets of fire sauce. So the other day the Wife was out running errands and I took full advantage.

I stand in line so I can review the menu and figure out a plan of attack. My conscious gets the best of me and I decide not to stuff my fat face and just select the two items that I've seen on TV. The Cheddar Bacon Gordita Crunch ($2.49) and the Cheesy Double Beef Burrito ($0.89).

I never thought that I would ever find something that bacon does not belong on. In theory, this makes sense, cheddar, bacon, ground beef, taco shell...but something goes wrong. Maybe it was the special sauce or the taco shell but bacon did not belong. I still ate it of course but drenched the entire thing with fire sauce to help drown out the special sauce. That shit freaked me out. Ick.


I always love how commercials and images on company web site's show such tasty, pretty, hearty dishes but when you actually get the item, it's smashed, sloppy, and gross. Taco Bell is no exception. Everything I get from Taco Bell always looks gross and sloppily assembled.

I didn't like the Cheddar Bacon Gordita Crunch but the Cheesy Double Beef Burrito was pretty good and only .89 cents. That's a deal. Of course the photo doesn't show much, just a lumpy mess but it was tasty. Hopefully this will be on the menu two years from now when I get a craving to go back.



Taco Bell
1104 NE 3rd St
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 389-5179

Baldy's Customer Appreciation Week and BaldyFest

BaldyFest

This week Baldy's is doing their Customer Appreciation Week which will lead up to Saturday's BaldyFest. Last year I showed up and took some photos of the 70lb pig roasting away in the smoker and got a sample of the pork...soooo good. Its nice to hear that in these trying times, you can still get some great food super cheap.


This week you can get some $4 specials (as it is their 4th Anniversary):

4 bone ribs for $3 (that's $9 full racks)
Baldy Burger sliders $4
Pulled Pork Sandwich $4
Brisket Sandwich $4
Smothered Fries $4
Smoked Wings 1/2dz $4
Smokehouse Chili bowl $4

ALL Specials are for dine in only.

$4 Drink specials all week as well w/$2 local micro beers.

On Saturday they'll be doing the bash at Baldy's aka "BaldyFest". They'll have the band Blackstrap playing, the PIG will be spinning, and they'll have prizes and giveaways. That's 2-7pm on Sat. Feb 7th. Then on Sunday, Baldy's actual anniversary, Brian (aka Baldy) will rest.

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

http://www.baldysbbq.com/

Tony's Deli

I bumped into a couple of friends at Starbucks -- Side note on Starbucks...shut up...I don't care about your fancy pants coffee shop. I don't even like coffee. The Wife likes Starbucks and that's where we go....shut up -- after eating the Two Taco Tuesday special at Taco Del Mar and they had just come from Tony’s Deli. They swear by the Cheese Steak and eat there all the time. So I thought I'd revisit good old Tony's and see if things have improved since my first visit.

So I went to Tony's a few times before writing this review. First time back I didn't get the cheese steak but thankfully, someone at my table did and I was able to get a good look at it. It looked great and they loved it. But I opted for the Italian Club - turkey, pancetta, tomato, avocado, pesto, romaine, mozzarella and mayo on sourdough.


Very fresh and bright, clean flavors. I thought the pancetta instead of bacon was a great change of pace as well as the pesto. It was a very good club.

I couldn't stop thinking about that cheese steak though and had to go back just for it. I really wanted it to be good and when I took my first bite, the bread was sooo soft and the steak was cooked perfectly.


Cheese Steaks at Tony's are not the variety you'd find at Gino's or Pat's in Philly with their cheeze wiz, greasy mess. The meat is thicker than the paper thin stuff you'll find in Philly and much better quality. A normal cheese steak at Tony's comes with steak, grilled onions and peppers, provolone and mayo on their classic crusty roll. Sooooo good! Best cheese steak sandwich in Bend. We can't stop talking about it. That bread! Oh man, it is crusty on the outside and soft on the inside (kinda like me).

Tony's Deli has some of the best customer service as well. Always friendly and accommodating, eager to help out with your order and make recommendations. We went in for an early dinner and got to the door at around 6pm (they close at 6:30pm which we were unaware). They looked like they were done for the evening as everything was spotless. I had to ask if they were still open and even asked if we should get our orders to-go. They were totally cool and said it was perfectly fine. They jumped into action and we had our cheese steaks in no time.

I'm pretty sure it was the owner that came out and asked us how everything was. He assumed that the Wife was the one that opted out on the peppers and onions on the two cheese steaks we ordered. He was probably assuming that not getting the stinky onions and peppers would be lady-like. Well, I'm the nancy in this case. I wanted just cheese and steak. For me, that is what a cheese steak is all about. Cheese and steak.

If you like cheese steak, give them a try and let me know what you think. I don't want to hear about your favorite east coast cheese steak as I don't care and this is about Tony's Deli. If you know of a better one in Bend, I'd really like to hear so I can disagree. On a final note, the side dishes at Tony's could use some serious help. Just serve some chips man.

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