I don't want to get political here.  But I do find these words prophetic and true.  For your consideration:

 

You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.

You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.

You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.

You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.

You cannot build character and courage by taking away men's initiative and independence.

You cannot help men permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves.

--William J. H. Boetcker in Lincoln On Limitations

 

So Saturday we had our final installment of Rachel:  The Trilogy and today we had a blast shooting The Cooper Kids at Shevlin Park.  So you might naturally expect that I'd be posting some images from either or both of those events right now.  This being a photography blog and all.  Well, you couldn't be more wrong!  Instead I'm going to give you one more installment of "Jeff Eats Bend"!  You see it seems like the more jobs I do that my lovely wife assists on the more eating out I do.  Thats the case because that's how I pay her for her efforts.  Its definitely a win/win situation.  So, I'll just keep it short and sweet.

First of all if you haven't tried Pastini Pastaria in The Old Mill then you should.  Very good food AND great prices.  I had pasta with beef bolognese and it was great.  It wasn't that imitation bolognese with ground beef in it.  This was slow braised beef that just melted in your mouth.  The service is great too.  We walked in and the hostess said they were just clearing a booth that we could have and she went to help them.  Then a guy across the restaurant caught my eye and he hurried over to see if we had been helped yet.  A waitress passed by and asked the same question.  And finally the manager came over and asked us again.  We definitely were not ignored.  Just as good as the food and service was the price was amazing too.  Two entrees, bread, and two glasses of wine all for under $30!  Wow!

Next, I finally made it to Jackson's Corner.  Great place.  I went for breakfast and enjoyed a very tasty breakfast sandwich and coffee.  Service was great and atmosphere very nice.  I'll definitely be back to try the pizza and other fare.

Hurry to the east side and try Celina's Latin Bistro.  I say hurry because when I've ever been there its been DEAD so there's no telling how long they'll be around.  But the food and presentation are FANTASTIC.  Very inventive menu with a lot of variety.  I had spicy prawns with onions, peppers, and mushrooms and (get this) mashed potatoes. The little woman had tacos.  But these weren't normal tacos.  They had a curry sauce on them and they were very good.  The service seems like maybe they're just not used to actually having people in the place.  They're all friendly enough but just a little groggy perhaps.  Did I mention the food is great?  I ordered a mojito while we were there.  Now if you've ever had a mojito they generally serve them in the same glass that a Tom Collins comes in.  Not at Celina's.  Theirs comes in a margarita glass!  

Ok, so that's my culinary musings for the day.  Pictures next - I PROMISE!  

Hey, just a quick note:  check out my son's blog for some fantastic writing!

Lest this blog transform to a food site from a photo site I'll condense a few quick observations about some Bend restaurants here and then I PROMISE to get some more pics and photo related articles up.  Really.

First of all, as previously promised, Volo:  my wife and I went to Volo shortly after they first opened and I thought it was a pretty good joint.  A bit on the spendy side but the food and presentation were very good.  And I really enjoyed the modern yet comfy atmosphere (unlike my experience at Deep but I'll get to that later).  A couple of weeks ago I read that Volo had changed their menu and lowered their prices so we decided to check it out.  Well, the food is still fantastic AND the prices are much better.  I had the filet (I can't help myself - if there's a filet on the menu I am almost compelled to order it) and it was great.  My wife had quail and it too was very good.  We had cocktails and wine in addition to desert all for around $50 - not bad for such a nice meal.  Soni's desert was very interesting.  It was a olive oil gelato with rosemary infused cookies.  A savory desert and she enjoyed it.  I had a slice of walnut chocolate cake which was very nice.  

Now, a quick word about Deep (since I brought it up).  In short I thought it was a nice novelty - interesting food, modern (almost industrial) decor, and well prepared food. But way too pricey for what you got.  The food was very well done but you can get sushi for much less elsewhere.  And the kobe beef on a hot river rock, while very unique and sort of fun, really wasn't worth the price.  Soni and I were a hundred bucks into the meal and felt like we'd just had appetizers.  The atmosphere was really cool, in fact cold.  It wasn't really comfortable or inviting.  Jodi Denton's other restaurant Merenda on the other hand is very warm and inviting.  And I always feel like I get my money's worth.  In fact we ate there the other night and had the roasted duck - FANTASTIC!

 

I know, I know, this is the blog of a photographer.  But a guy's gotta eat right?  And I do love my food.  I love to cook it, I love to watch shows about it, but most importantly I love to eat it (maybe too much).  So last week my son was home from college on his fall break and I took him to lunch at The Bend Burger Company.  It was my first time and we were looking for something quick and simple.  I hadn't been there yet and was looking for an excuse so we went.  

Now I've read a few other reviews of the place and I guess one reason I like to write my own reviews is because those other guys are usually wrong.  ;-)  Actually I read a review on Bend Oregon Restaurants Blog and it was fairly accurate.  My only departure with it is that when I go to a new place I like to try something typical of the place.  Its a burger joint so I tried a bacon/cheese burger while that reviewer went for some frilly Hawaiian Burger.  

The b/c burger was very good.  Nice and messy.  The flavor and quality reminded me of The Pilot Butte Drive-in but not nearly as large as their offerings.  And I find as I get older that's not a bad thing.  I mean I don't really need a 12 pound hamburger and I really don't know anyone except for a few offensive linemen who do.  I also had to get a milkshake (I think that's  law or something - I could be wrong).  The milkshake was very good as well.  The problem I had was that the girl making the shakes (we were sitting at the counter watching her make them) made them in those large metal cups as is usually the case, then she poured them into the paper cups, and then I watched her pour the rest of the shake down the drain!  Why not give the customers the excess? Not enough metal cups?  Put it in a smaller paper cup or something.  

Fries come with the burgers or you can upgrade to onion rings or other items.  I stuck with the fries and as the other reviewer pointed out they were a bit disappointing.  They reminded me of Arby's fries.  You know, they were kind of orange and seemed to hold on to the grease.  Hey!  Bend Burger Company!  Make your own fries!!!  There I said it.

My son, who apparently didn't get the memo about ordering indigenous fare at a restaurant had a chicken sandwich and ice tea.  Apparently he's watching calories or something now that he's not playing sports any more.  Go figure.  He seemed to enjoy what he got.  

So that's my review of The Bend Burger Company.  Next time Volo....maybe.