rick r.'s Profile

The pizza looked delicious.  Unfortunately, it fell short.  Everything about the pizza was totally bland.  The toppings were flavorless.  The crust, which has great texture, was flavorless.  The sauce was bland.  The cheese was gooey and that's about it.

The beer selection was uninspired.  They messed up and gave us pepperoni instead of roasted red peppers, which isn't a terrible thing, but consider pulling the cost of that topping off of the pizza.  They did bring a side of the peppers, but again they were flavorless, and couldn't compete with the salty oil from the pep.

This place is probably perfect for families with kids.  With some though thrown into the mix, they could actually produce a darn good pizza, but right now it's LCD.

We came across this spot cruising downtown Bend for a place to eat.  It advertised itself as Mediterranean and high desert fusion...my words not theirs.  This separates them from pretty much anywhere else in Bend, as there doesn't appear to be any specific Bend cuisine out there?  Inside, the place was pretty nice.  Busy for a Monday and new, they were fairly understaffed and under-menued.  Oh well, everyone was friendly.  Prices were a little high, but not ridiculous.  

We ordered camel wings, lamb skewers, hummus, and the veggie and lamb pitadillas.  The wings were smallish for a FotM devotee, and definitely not hot...a bit sweet with a hint of Chinese 5-spice.  

The hummus was pretty good, nice and simple, and mostly garbanzo.  I like a bit more tahini/lemon, but I'm game for other styles too!  They brought more pita when necessary too.  The pitadillas were interesting.  A Mediterranean twist on the ole quesadilla.  Both had greens and thinly sliced radish dressed with a sumac dressing on top.  The veggie one was stuffed with an olive tapenade.  The lamb one was stuffed with seasoned ground lamb, kafta-ish.  The latter was probably my favorite dish.

The lamb skewers were good.  Cooked excellent.  Succulent, tender chunks on metal skewers served over rice.  I think this dish would have benefited from a bit more salt and a squeeze of lemon, but it was honest and good.  Perhaps a drizzle of avgolemono.  The rice was perfectly cooked, but fell a bit short similarly in the burst of flavor department.

The desert offered was a medly.  A ridiculous amount..like four or five samples.  And these aren't dessert sushi samples...each was pretty much a dessert on its own.  They let us order a la carte.  The baclava was great.  Not to sticky sweet, I was able to eat it with my fingers.  And the flourless chocolate cake was also very nice, smooth and rich, yet surprisingly not too dense.

I think there's a lot of potential here.  I have a feeling that I'll never go back because the wait is going to get too long for my tolerance as they dial it in and increase in popularity.  But that's me...not Joolz.

Awesome!  Another east side Thai joint!  Apparently, this is an extension of an existing local mini-chain based in the 'couv (3 locations).  Being a professional, I will not allow that to affect my review.

Well, this one is perhaps a bit more upscale than a  lot of the ones you'll find.  Not expensive, but a little bit more on average.  I just stopped by for lunch with the lady, so it wasn't a date extravaganza.  We shared the panang with chicken and pad khee mao.  The panang was delicious, a bit richer and thoughtful than many thai joints.  It had a nice deep curry flavor.  The drunky noodles were fine, the noodles themselves weren't anything special, but I really liked the tofu, it was lightly caramelized with nice body and flavor.

Portions were decent, maybe a little on the small side.  Service was friendly, but the place was empty on an early weekday lunch.

Once they get through the OLCC process, this could be a good spot for a casual date.

Why is possibly the best pizza in Portland not in Portland?  I don't know, but it is frustrating.  So many places that specialize in pizza, and they're outdone by this little brewery.

First off...double mountain is an awesome brewery.  Most of their beers are top notch.  Get the taster if you haven't before, and you'll probably consider it again if you have.  They have some standbys...IRA, Hop Lava, Kolsh, and a nice pale, these are solid beers.  Then they have they're specialties.  Barrel-aged IRB is a blend of a few of these and some other ingredients (whiskey?), smooth as can be for how big it is.  I really like the IRs.

Then there's the pizza.  Gorgeous cracker-thin crust, fresh, flavorful, and creative toppings, and appropriate cheese and sauce lightly applied.

There's a back room, but  the only outdoor seating is streetside and limited.  Unless I'm missing something, which happens.

Double Mountain is sorta what I wish HUB had become.

This was a nice cart to visit.  Nong was friendly and happy, playing some fun tunes in the background and wearing a domo-kun apron.

I appreciated the simplicity.  Broth, rice, chicken, vegies and sauce.  The sauce is a mild chili-ginger with great flavor, I almost went for a second though, but instead chose to be judicious about spreading it around.

This is basically what happens when you order some up.  Nong spreads out paper, lightly presses rice into a bowl, and turns it out onto the paper.  She grabs a chicken from the giant pot of steaming whole chickens, and skillfully breaks out your portion, one side of either a breast or not breast.  Nong slices the moist chicken and throws in a few chops, then lays it across the rice mound.

I added chicken liver, which came similarly chopped.  A sauce cup is placed in the mix, some cuke and cilantro as well, then it is wrapped up.  The soup is ladled into a cup, more cilantro added, and you get it with a napkin and fork.

As mentioned previously, the sauce was definitely the cornerstone of the flavor.  I would definitely recommend ordering with the liver as well (bringing it up to $7 from $6), it was creamy and delicious.  The chicken breast was simple and nice, easily manipulated with the flimsy plastic fork.  The salad consisted of a few marinated cuke slices and some sprigs of cilantro.  Again, simple, but good.  The rice was plump, brothy and slightly sticky...pretty much just how I like it.  The soup was a nice touch.  Very light, it's not something that I'll pine for in the future, but it does a really nice job rounding out the meal.

When I first approached, I asked Nong how big the serving was.  She replied that 'it's not as big as other carts.'  True, but it wasn't much behind either, and I'm still content six hours later.

Overall, if you're looking for something fresh and tasty, I strongly recommend this cart.  4.5.

Defying categorization, I called this fast food.  Because it's pretty fast.  Really, it's like the Whole Bowl with production line and more options (I've only been to the carts, so don't quote me).

The Yumm Bowl is simple, seemingly healthy fare.  Brown rice, avocado slices, black beans, yumm sauce, and some veggies.  The large isn't all that large, and is a bit steep at 6.75.  The smoky is similar, but with an adobo twist.

For the most part the menus is bowls.  They also have skewers.  Items tend to be asian- or mexican-inspired.

Overall, I'm happy to have this joint within walking distance of the office.  Nothing amazing, but a decent, quick lunch.

Oh, I'm so happy to have found this place.  I've been looking for Lebanese on the far west side for years and just happened upon this joint going to try a new (to me) teriyaki joint.  I talked my neophobic coworker into trying Oasis instead by explaining that Lebanese is non-offensive entry level ethnic food.  I was able to go so far as to share the humous plate.

The humous was great, not timid on the tahini like many places are.  The bread is good.  Different than your typical pita, but that's okay by me.  More like a fry bread.

I got the chicken shawarma sandwich, and it came in the same bread.  While delicious, it lacked the strength of character to maintain integrity.

My neophobe enjoyed his chicken shish kebob.  Gave it an A.

Full disclosure, I was so excited to find a Lebanese joint out here I probably would've given them 6 stars if the bread had held the sandwich up.

Cut to the chase: best Mexican food in its class in Portland (though I'm still looking for better, always).

I think I've finally found the Mexican Restaurant I've been looking for.  I grew up in central California and love the Mexican food there.  I've been unable to find anything in Portland that even comes close.  I'm not talking taquerias, of which we have an abundance of solid entries.  And I'm not talking fancy Portland-style restaurants like Taqueria Nueve (R.I.P.).  I'm talking about a place that gives you delicious chips and salsa up front, has great chile verde and colorado, some tasty flat steaks, and more.

Well, this is the place.  But add in a ton of mariscos (seafood dishes).  Obviously their specialty is things from the sea.  I'm getting around to there, but it's tough to get past my cravings for my staple: chile verde.  There's is delicious, tangy and tender.

I had the chicken fajita last night and it came out sizzling, served on cast iron over a candle.  Holy cow they were fantastic.  The lady got fish tacos, bass I think, not battered or deep fried, but floured and grilled.  They were grub as well.  Served on a massive plate with plenty of rice and beans.

The margarita (rocks, salt) was very good.  Not too sweet, a problem I have far too often.

The salsa is pretty good.  Not amazing, unfortunately, but good enough to keep momentum.  I request the picante salsas, and they bring a red and a green.  Both are very thin, but really flavorful.  The green tastes like essence of lime and jalapeno.  The red is smoky and nice.  They also serve the crispy chips with refried bean dip, a nice touch.

The mariscos look excellent.  You can spend a fair amount on a plate (ranges from 12 to 25).  The more standard dinners range from 8 to 14.  so this isn't a discount shop.  Take a date there who's been craving some truly good Mexican, or go with some buddies, but this is a destination spot.

Overall, decent but uninspired taqueria food.  I had the tacos for a buck each, which is fine.  Typical double-tortilla style, but a bit greasy.  Carnitas was bland and drier than it looked, chicken was moist and pretty tasty.

I'd actually expected a step up from Ortiz's, but the previous tenant had a more interesting menu.  Though a dude was enjoying the pescado plate (whole fish), so maybe there's some other good stuff.

Personally, I'd recommend the Taqueia Uruapan shack in the dirt lot at Cully five points around the corner.

I've been liking this minimalist yoga studio.  For six bucks you can walk-in to the small space, lay your mat down, and get quality yoga instruction.  I've had three instructors at this point, and they've all been great.

It is best to get there early, as some classes will fill up.  I've never seen anybody turned away, but it does get quite cozy.

Due to construction, the entrance is temporarily in the back.  Because of the location on upper Alberta, there is quite a bit of street noise, mostly cars, but there are some interesting characters who wander the area.  During relaxation (I'm not going to try to spell it) a guy walked past practicing his retch-style singing a la Disturbed or Lamb of God.  It was pretty entertaining.

Anyways, it's a great yoga spot for casual and dedicated practicers, though I'm not sure it'd be awesome of you are super-advanced.  I won't have to worry about that for awhile.