Tonight (the 30th) KouseFly is playing at the M&J Tavern:

In the mood for shelled salted peanuts, cold beer and good local original music? Want to perform your tunes? M&J Tavern, on Greenwood downtown Bend, hosts an open mic on Wednesday nights and Kousefly is set to play a its originals tonight and future events. The event kicks off at 8pm. Stop by and join us!

They're starting to get around! This Sunday they'll be at Grover's.

The M&J is at 102 NW Greenwood, on the corner of Greenwood and Hill—you can't miss it.

Plus, I never knew the M&J had an open mike night til now...

Summer is here—or at least the summer event season is. Nearly. Or something. I saw a banner today for the Bite of Bend, which is going on in just over two weeks time, on June 16th and 17th (Saturday and Sunday).

What's different this year is that it's taking place in Downtown Bend, rather than the Old Mill District where it's been for the last few years (or maybe it's always been down there). I like the Bite of Bend, even though it mostly consists of wandering around looking at food. But still.

For newbies, their description is pretty good:

The mission of The Bite of Bend is to celebrate our local culture and create an event that accurately reflects the food of our region. New this year will be the Oregon Marketplace, showcasing food and farm grown produce from around Oregon. The majority of our entertainment is also local. In this way, businesses that support our event benefit from the network of goodwill associated with The Bite of Bend.

This event is free to the public and includes a wide array of activities such as a children’s area, performance stage, beer garden, fine food and wine as well as a live Iron Chef competition; not to mention local food booths offering “bites” of their locally created provisions.

They have 28 participating eateries listed, though I wouldn't be surprised if there's more when that weekend rolls around.

The Iron Chef competition they have is one of my favorites, though I never get to hang around long enough to watch a full match. And people look at me funny when I get enthusiastic about it. Check out this year's Iron Chef schedule/competitors:

Saturday

• 12:00pm Zydeco vs. Marz Bistro
• 1:30pm Jens Garden vs. Black Butte Ranch
• 3:00pm Broken Top vs. Seasons
• 5:00pm Hans vs. Café 3456

Sunday

• 12:00pm Semi Final Round
• 1:30pm Semi Final Round
• 3:00pm Final Round

They've taken it up a notch this year, with a whole extra day of finals. I'd put money on Zydeco.

There's also plenty of music and activities in the Children's Area scheduled, so there should be plenty to do. Mark your calendars!

Not too long ago I was mentioning The Source's Dining Guide and commented that there should be a site that puts all the dining guide stuff together... well, we're not quite there yet, but I just found out that the Bulletin has a very comprehensive restaurant guide online here.

You can search by restaurant name or, even better, by cuisine style, region, price, outdoor seating, and vegetarian items, and they appear to have 161 restaurants in their directory. The listings are consolidated with the Bulletin's reviews of them, and even better—they allow users to rate each restaurant as well.

I like the summary information for each listing, too. It's a very good step in the local dining guide arena, but still not completely comprehensive; there's at least three Mexican restaurants that aren't covered (one of which, Super Burrito, has been around for years, even).

It's a good resource, however, and good for the Bulletin for putting it online and not behind their paywall. I still think there needs to be a single, all-in-one site for this stuff, though.

We're heading off to Portland for the weekend, so don't expect any posts or updates for a few. Hope everyone has a good Memorial Day!

We had breakfast at The Victorian Café last weekend, and it reinforced my belief which I'll boldly state here that the Victorian is the best breakfast place in town. There's a number of reasons for this:

• The quality of food. They're widely considered to have the best eggs benedict around (I've seen this asserted in a number of publications), but everything I've had there is beyond excellent. This last time I had the Salmon Benedict (smoked salmon, yum) and my wife had their new French Toast special, and I don't think either of us has had better.
• The quality of service. Everyone there provides excellent service, is super friendly, and is attentive and timely. John Nolan, the owner (whom we knew before he owned it), makes it a point to visit everyone's table and chat or at least say hi.
• It's affordable. No, it's not greasy-spoon cheap, but what place is anymore? All of their menu items are very reasonably priced, and you get huge portions for your money.
• It's genuine. It's a feeling you get: totally not pretentious (though they could probably get away with that), employees seem happy to be there, it's a comfortable atmosphere.

There are only two drawbacks I can think of; the first is how long the wait can be on busy mornings. Wait times of up to and over an hour are not uncommon, and they don't have much in the way of a waiting area, so the crowd can get backed up. And they don't take reservations—you get your name on the list in the order you get there.

The other drawback is parking—they have limited space in their parking lot and, being on the westside, parking elsewhere is at a premium. The fact that they're located on the corner of the Galveston roundabout doesn't help this situation any.

But you know what? It's worth the wait, and the parking. We've been going there for years, literally, and we have never had a bad meal there. That's another factor in their Best of Bend distinction: consistency.

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

Music reminder: tonight, May 23, local indie-alt band KouseFly is playing live at the Bendistillery Martini Bar downtown. It starts at 7:30-ish and there's no cover charge.

I saw this on Deschutes Brewery's site today, from their "Bitter Truth" newsletter:

Deschutes Brewery’s Annual Open House is scheduled for Saturday, June 16th from noon until 4:00 p.m. Come tour the brewery, sample fine ales, talk to our brewers and enjoy tasty snacks. This is our fourth year for the Open House and everyone who visits has a great time. Bring your family and friends for this once-a-year opportunity. All ages are welcome!

It's down at their main brewing facility at 901 SW Simpson. I need to get that on my calendar. I've never been on their brewery tour, can you believe that? All this time I've lived here, and I'm a beer guy, too...

Found this posted on the back door of the old roller rink, or Domino Room, or whatever they are these days:

I never knew Bend Brewing made a Desert Dog Ale. Anyone know anything about it?

Pole Pedal Paddle tomorrow! It's Bend's Olympics (maybe Bend's "Iron Man" would be more accurate), and it's sure to attract the crowds. The race starts at Mt. Bachelor and ends at the Les Schwab Amphitheater. The official site also states that the Amphitheater "area will host a day-long festival of various foods, music, sponsor booths".

And, the Bulletin has a dedicated Pole Pedal Paddle page. Looks like a source for their PPP articles as well as some good race stage maps, so you can see exactly what each leg of the race entails.

I stopped in to Bend's first men's salon yesterday for a haircut and to check the place out. I had my coupon for a free 'cut, and walked in about 4:30.

It's a nice place; newly built out, with all brand-new fixtures and appliances. There are three chairs/stations, two sinks for washing hair, a massage chair and an area for (future) manicures. One corner is the waiting area, with a comfortable couch (new and really comfortable), a chair, and a big-screen TV. There are even cigars available for sale—though you'll have to smoke them outside.

You get a complimentary beer or wine with a haircut. When I walked in, Jaysun, the owner and barber, was finishing up on a guy before me, and invited me to help myself to a beer and make myself at home. The fridge is full of Mirror Pond Pale Ale, a selection of some Mexican beers, some Fat Tire Amber Ale and a couple of other cheaper ones.

I didn't have to wait long, and got a good haircut (washed first). Jaysun is friendly and talkative, a good guy. He's banking that Bend is ready for a men's-only salon, and has put a fair amount of time and effort into getting his place ready. He charges $30 for a regular haircut, though he's been getting a lot of walk-in business (free haircuts) from the coupons.

Unfortunately, $30 is a bit more than my regular budget for a haircut, so we'll see; I'd like to go back though. The other "minus" against it for me is that my "regular" barber is downtown within walking distance of work; JayT's being in the Old Mill District is not as convenient for me.

Check it out; it's a nice place to get a good haircut and a beer.

JayT's Hair Parlor for Men
530 SW Mill View Way, Suite B
Bend, OR 97702
(541) 306-6912
Hours: Tuesday thru Friday, 10 to 8; Saturday, 9 to 3

The sign (simply a list of credits), and the park under development.

Live music tonight! Local band KouseFly is playing at Volcano Vineyards tonight, May 17, starting at 7pm:

The Bend, Oregon Alternative/Pop duet, Kousefly, is set to kick off its 2007 spring/summer tour on top of Volcano Vineyards on May 17 at 7pm. That's right, Beatles and U2 style, on the roof of a small historic brick building located on Brooks Street, downtown Bend. "Definitely a great advantage of being a small band is we can play our music almost anywhere you can fit our PA system, guitars, amps and two cool musicians," says Brian Hinderberger of Kousefly.

While enjoying a glass (or two) of independent wine you can expect listen to original independent rock music mixed with a few covers that have inspired their style of music, including R.E.M., The Ravonettes and Pink Floyd. The following week, Wednesday May 23rd, Kousefly is playing at the Bendistillery Martini Bar, once again on Brooks Street, downtown Bend. That show is also starting at 7pm. Both shows have no cover!

So, next week at the Bendistillery downtown, too... I'll blog that reminder next week.

A quick note about East Bend Liquor's new location... apparently they've moved up the street a few blocks on Highway 20. So instead of their old spot in that shopping center on the northeast corner of Hwy. 20 and 27th, they're now next to Bed Mart.

I haven't been to this new location yet, but I'll check it out soon.

In the meantime, here's a blog post from the old Bend Restaurants blog (from about a year and a half ago) talking up East Bend Liquor. I'm in agreement, they're the best liquor store in town.

Today's election day—did you get your ballot returned yet? If not, the County website has a PDF of ballot drop sites where you can turn it in. All ballots are due by 8pm tonight, and it's too late to mail them—postmarks do not count, they have to be in the County's possession by the deadline.

Had lunch at La Costa Azul, the new "Authentic Mexican Family Restaurant" up on the north side, on the corner of Layton and Empire, this weekend. They've just opened, and still have some kinks to work out, but overall, we thought it was pretty decent.

They have a nice space, a mixture of booths and tables, but not a very big waiting area. The decor matches the name—"the blue coast"—with a big beach/lagoon mural on one wall and other ocean-themed art around. They have a small bar area near the entrance, but they didn't have their liquor license yet—we overheard them telling someone it would be today (Monday) when they got it.

So we couldn't judge the quality of the margaritas. :)

They serve lunch and dinner, pretty typical fare, and reasonably priced. They also have a lunch specials menu with everything for $6.99, a pretty good deal. The food was good; I had a super fish burrito, "wet" style (smothered in red sauce, cheese, and pico de gallo) which was tasty (and big!), my wife had the pollo a la crema, which she enjoyed.

The only real complaint we had—those "kinks" I mentioned—was with the service. It wasn't bad—it was just evident that they were suffering from "just opened" and "not enough staff" symptoms—our waiter was very good... when he remembered to check on us. We were at a corner table a bit out of the way, and as a result we had to wait a bit longer than we should have. But all things considered, that's forgivable, and everyone was helpful.

I'd definitely go back.

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

Jen reports on the new eastside incarnation of Longboard Louie's.

The interior is brightly painted. There are some great surf images and art, and a few boards add to the atmosphere. The dining room is much bigger than the one at the Westside location. Large windows look out onto an uninspiring view of a strip mall parking lot and Highway 20.

The menu is basically the same, with the notable exception of Chile Cheese Fries. (Which is really too bad... they are really tasty!) All the other standards (Hollenbeck, MBC, and fish tacos) are available - plus they have a "create your own burrito bar" with lots of options.

Final verdict: stripmallish and not as cozy as the original, but she's confident that the food will be as good as the westside's.

The latest issue of The Source has a really good article on some of the sketchy dealings coming to light at the Humane Society here in Central Oregon. I think everyone should read it, even if you're not an animal person; since the Humane Society is a non-profit, it's our tax dollars that help support it.

These dogs and cats are often quickly euthanized with little record that they ever entered the shelter’s care – thanks to creative record-keeping that allows shelters like the Humane Society of Central Oregon to exclude animals like Annie from their often rosy adoption statistics.

Critics, including a former shelter staff member, say that shelters like the Humane Society of Central Oregon are misleading the public about their adoption rates, and in turn the likelihood that an animal will find a home when it is left in their care. Just as importantly, they say, the stats also hide the true problems of animal overpopulation in a region like Central Oregon, where the shelters in Bend, Redmond and Prineville are often running at or close to capacity.

...

When asked whether the shelter would benefit from some form of outside oversight, similar to Oregon’s veterinary medical examining board, Roden said she wasn’t sure that would be an appropriate requirement for a non-profit.

Maybe it's just me, but it seems to me that outside oversight is exactly appropriate for a non-profit like this.

Last night we decided to try Greg's Grill for the first time. It's the new upscale restaurant down in the Old Mill District that just opened to much fanfare from the Bulletin, which revealed, among other things, that they spent "around $225,000 training the Greg's Grill team of 120 employees" over the week prior to the opening. Wow.

Brace yourself: it's not a cheap dinner. ("Cheap" being relative around here, of course.) The average entree costs about $25, beers are over $4, and even the kids menu has a $10.99 rib plate (usually, kids menus average $4 to $5, in my experience). However, the ambiance, the service, and the food all made it worth it.

The interior is vast, a cavernous lodge-hall construct (my wife commented that it reminded her of the "Sunriver lodge resort" look) with 27-foot high ceilings and lots of natural wood. It doesn't look that big from the outside, but it does look good.

The service was very, very good—though with the emphasis they placed on service in that Bulletin article, it should be. Our waitress was sharp, funny, and prompt. Very helpful, too.

Steaks are the order of the day, though they do offer chicken, seafood, and some pasta as well. I ordered one of their "signature" dishes, the Danish BBQ Baby Back Ribs, which were very good—hardly any fat, and a good sized portion. They come with extra sauce, baked beans, the grilled veggies, and potato pancakes. The pancakes were the potato side; I haven't seen those on a menu too often, and they were tasty.

My wife got a steak and two baked sweet potatoes (because the cook thought "one was too dinky"). The steak came with a smoky sauce that was really good. The kids' mac and cheese was very gourmet, too—they loved it.

Overall, I think they'll do very well, both overall and down in the Old Mill. The only problem I foresee is the parking; the Old Mill isn't exactly renowned for their abundant and accessible parking, and with the construction they have going on there right now, it doesn't help the situation any. Otherwise, it was all around a good experience.

Greg's Grill
395 SW Powerhouse Dr.
Bend, OR 97702
(541) 382-2200

Just a couple of quick blurbs about things happening up north, along Empire Avenue.

The new Empire Car Wash is open. It's a full-service car wash and they had an ad in Sunday's paper for a free wash (good through May, I think). They also have a sign out on their corner (Empire and Highway 97) advertising something called "King Kong Coffee." We didn't see a coffee stand, though.

La Costa Azul, a new Mexican restaurant, just opened yesterday on the corner of Layton and Empire, across the street from the Central Oregon Gymnastics Academy. They're doing lunches and dinners, possibly with a seafood slant. It seems like an unusual place for a restaurant because that area seems a little industrial-ish—storage centers and large administration buildings all around—but it does serve the less-visible residential neighborhoods around there, so hopefully it'll do well.

I don't know how many people have seen this yet, but Bend has been named one of Inc. Magazine's top 10 boomtowns. It's their annual "best of" entrepreneurial cities. Bend is actually highlighted twice: as one of the top 20 small cities for doing business, and one of the top 10 overall (the "hottest cities for entrepreneurs").

A bit about how they select these things:

As always, our rankings... put the focus on job growth, which we believe is the best measure of economic vitality. Strong job growth suggests that an economy is expanding—which means plenty of opportunity. What's more, the Small Business Administration estimates that as many as three-quarters of new jobs are created by small companies; as a result, regions showing strong job creation are likely to be hotbeds of entrepreneurial activity. To compile the rankings, Inc. examined job-growth data, supplied by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, on 393 metropolitan statistical areas. We analyzed current-year employment growth, as well as average annual job growth over the past three years, and compared job growth in the first and second halves of the period comprising the past 10 years. We also analyzed job growth by industry sector.

Um, okay. According to Inc., our hottest industries are "Business Services" and "Financial Services."

I wonder what the current Bend Bubble blog will make of this.

I came across the Riverside Market yesterday, nestled down in the older part of southwest downtown. (How's that for vague?) Actually, I think I'd seen it before, but I don't rightly remember, so let's say I "discovered" it.

The Riverside Market is a typical small neighborhood market, established snugly in the middle of an otherwise-residential area. Think 7-Eleven in terms of product: packaged and quick foods, beer, wine, pop, tobacco, etc. They have a small seating area outside and enough parking for a half-dozen or so cars.

I found a quick blurb about the market here:

A great location in Bend between Downtown and the Old Mill District. Ride along the bike path next to the Deschutes River all the way to Farewell Bend Park. The Riverside Market first opened back in the 1930's and is a neat little neighborhood market with all the basics.

Riverside Market
285 NW Riverside
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 389-0646

Tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo already! I'm having trouble getting my head around that; it feels like it should still be a couple of weeks away. At any rate, the Bend Restaurants blog has a list of some Cinco de Mayo things going on, so I'll shamelessly steal his hard work and list them here (though you'll have to go to his page for the full scoop—see, I'm not totally ungenerous. Heh):

• La Rosa has a big party planned.
• Jokers Bar & Grill has a party starting at 5pm.
• There's a fiesta at the Grandview Hall Cafeteria at COCC.
• 541 Lounge is having a party—free nachos and salsa all night.
• The Tower Theatre is having a fundraiser.
• And there's an afternoon Cinco de Mayo event at the Bend Library.

I'm cutting this close to last-minute... but Elise Michaels writes:

The String Rats (formerly EMC) will be at WineStyles of Bend tonight. The town will be hopping during Art Gallery Walk, so be sure to stop by before or after your hopping!

Note the new summer music hours: 7-9pm. Lots of yummy wines for you to sample while you groove to 'rats music.

The alt-country String Rats are Elise Michaels, Mark Gillem, Ted Brainard and Craig Brown. They play everything from originals to Dire Straits to Lucinda Williams to Mr. Johnny Cash. Make sure you stop in as part of your Friday night plans.

Tonight's the First Friday/Art Walk (jeez, is it that time already?) and while much of the action is centered downtown, WineStyles is located on College Way just off the Newport/College Way roundabout—at 1740 NW Pence Lane.

The latest issue of The Source has their annual Dining Guide included with it. In it they've named Jen's Garden over in Sisters as their Restaurant of the Year. (Their website isn't updated as I'm writing this to reflect the new Guide.)

I like their Dining Guide, it's a good consolidated source of restaurants (reviews and information), but they're not completely comprehensive; while all the "name" restaurants are represented, a lot of the smaller/cheaper places are omitted entirely. Of course, they're doing a "best of"/favorites thing, and the 70 they have makes for a good list; if you combine this with their cheap dining guide of a few months ago, you'll really be cooking with gas.

Now, if they could just consolidate all of their dining guide items into one easy-to-navigate-and-search site, something like "BendEats.com"... anyone listening over there?

(Yesterday.)

See also.

I noticed some construction going on at the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Lava Road downtown, on the northeastern corner that is otherwise bare (you can see it in the Google Maps photo, in the center). All the dirt's turned over, piles of it, and there's landscaping going in. There's a sign reading "Mary Jane's Park" with some text, but I haven't yet been able to stop and read it (or take a picture).

A Google search led me to a PDF from the Deschutes County Historical Landmark Commission—the April 2004 meeting minutes. Under the "Mini Park" issue, here's some of the text:

There will be a kiosk, three benches, plants, a light fixture. Perry gave a handout to the Commissioners showing several designs of Bend City Park kiosks. He felt the best model was one from Hollingshead Park. They have done research on fonts for the sign. Samples of cedar shakes and donated timber for the kiosk and benches were shown. The bench is a design from mirror pond. It is four feet wide with an open design. It is mounted with two steel posts painted black.

A plant list was also submitted. They will be mostly native, berry type shrubs to attract birds. The list was provided by Central Oregon Vegetative Zones comprised by Chris Hart Anderson. The light bulb would be a 40 watt, single fixture.

...Douglas Knight asked what the name of the park would be. Nunzie Gould answered that one name has been suggested, Mary Jane Park , she is a 50-year resident of the neighborhood. Douglas Knight would like to see a name that adds to the historic nature of the area. For financial reasons did they decided not to put a back on the bench. Perry said it made for better sight through the park with no back and people would not linger on bench.

Don Stevens asked about irrigation. Perry says Debra Hogan will recommend that the City provide water to the park. Jim, neighbor, will provide power. Don Stevens commented that since the light fixture is hidden, could a jelly jar fixture work. Perry says he would be happy with a center hanging fixture instead of the side mounted one.

Jon Sholes asked if the irrigation would be underground or a drip system. He felt there would be some damage done in this park. Perry says it will definitely be underground. It would be a three system control with a timer.

"Mini" is the right term; the park will only be about a tenth of an acre. I'm pretty sure this will make it the smallest park in town; the two current smallest that I can find on the Parks & Rec list are Pageant Park, at 0.29 acres (though it's adjacent to Harmon Park—does that count?), and the Hixon Park Block, at 0.3 acres (located near McKay Park).

Yesterday Duncan wrote on his blog that pfundamentals is closing, and in today's Bulletin there's a business blurb saying the same thing. pfundamentals has been downtown for 15 years, a solid little niche gift store. I always wondered where they came up with the name; turns out the owner's name is Pfund. Go figure.

pfundamentals
835 NW Bond St.
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 385-6727

Check 'em out before they're gone...

Saw in today's paper the schedule of events for Riverfest... the week-long series of river-awareness events, many of which are free. The website does a better job of describing it:

It's that time of year once again. Time to dust off the hiking shoes and emerge from winter ready to enjoy one of Central Oregon's premier natural features, the Deschutes River. It is time for Riverfest!

Riverfest is the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council’s annual weeklong celebration of the Deschutes River. Through the resources of multiple partners, a series of events are being hosted between May 4th and the 13th. Events range from learning more about fly fishing techniques to plunging down whitewater rapids.

I thought it sounded kind of cool, though I've never participated in the past. And even though a lot of the events are free, they do require registration. There's plenty to do, too, including river walks, hikes, whitewater rafting, fly fishing, and more. Call their hotline at 633-3765 to find out more.