For the many times we've been to Oregon, we've never actually ventured out to Bend. Well, on our way back up to Vancouver, we decided to bypass I-5 and head through Central Oregon instead. It was also a good opportunity to check out Painted Hills and to drive along I-84 hugging the Columbia River. Arriving in Bend, it resembled Kelowna, BC. A centrally located medium-sized community with lots of character and of course, places to eat. We had existing reservations at 900 Wall, which is incidentally their address as well.
To get our greens for the meal, we began with the Kale Salad that was more than just greens. It featured bits of salami, pickled onions, olives, tomatoes and pecorino atop charred bread with ricotta. As you can imagine, this was one hearty salad. Whenever you add meat, it suddenly has extra body and umaminess. But it didn't end there, the bread offered up crunch and nuttiness while cooled down with creamy ricotta. Add in the tangy tomatoes and acidic onions, this was one impactful salad. In the background, you'll noticed we got a couple orders of the Deviled Eggs in both mild and spicy. I love how these are making a comeback. These featured tender egg whites with creamy egg yolks. I preferred the spicy as it did offer a kick that made them very appetizing.
Next, we had the Roaring Springs Ranch Beef Carpaccio with truffle oil, parmesan, fried capers, grainy mustard and arugula. With paper-thin slices of beef, the carpaccio essentially melted-in-our-mouths. Absolutely no chewing necessary. Flavors were restrained where it allowed the beef to be the star. Only a background hint of truffle oil and the salty nuttiness of the parm provided some compliment to the beef. Loved the crispy toasts that were placed on top.
Since the kids love charcuterie, we went for the Oregon Board featuring chicken liver pate, Olympic Provisions salami, Jack cheese, quince, figs, mustard, apples and pickles. Good mix of items where the salami did its best impression of saucisson. Pate was very rustic in texture where it was chunky rather than smooth. Love the accompaniments where the sweetness of the quince and fig balanced off the saltiness of the salami.
To get something from each menu category, we ordered the stone oven Italian Sausage pizza. The hand-stretched sourdough crust was really good with chewy tang and nuttiness. With a bit of leoparding, the crust was universally crispy, even at the center. I wished there was a bit more tangy tomato sauce though. There wasn't a shortage of cheese though. Loved the meaty sausage that wasn't too fatty. This was a good pizza.
After all these appies, we decided to go for only 2 larger dishes including the Duck Confit with farro, cherry mostarda and pistchio butter. This was a well-composed dish with classic complimentary flavors. The duck leg was moist and tender with enough saltiness while the skin was properly rendered. Of course the tangy cherries went well with the duck. Pistachio butter added a creamy nuttiness.
Our other large dish was the Double R Ranch Teres Major prepared medium-rare. This lean cut was actually really juicy and super tender. Lots of good meat flavor as well. It was complimented by black pepper parmesan butter as well as a small amount of red wine mushroom sauce. Plenty of luxurious texture and aroma going on here. The considerable amount of fries were fresh cut and crispy. We really enjoyed this dish.
We even got the Grilled Corn because it was in another section of the menu (had to get one item from each!). Although the corn could've used more uniform charring, it was still supremely delicious. Each niblet had a sweet pop and it didn't hurt that there was ricotta salata and pickled jalapeno aioli either. These added creaminess as well as a tangy spiciness. Reminded me of street corn. I actually ate the whole thing myself.
Onto dessert, we shared the Powdered Sugar Beignets with 3 sauces including bittersweet chocolate, raspberry and vanilla mousse. Normally, I'm not a fan of beignets outside of New Orleans, but these were pretty good. They were crispy on the outside and pillowy soft on the inside with air pockets. I loved dunking them into the raspberry sauce because it was tangy and sweet. As you can tell, we enjoyed our meal at 900 Wall and can see why Bend is such a dining destination. I hope to be back sometime soon since there are many more places to check out. Maybe when I visit Crater Lake in the future...
The Good:
- Well-prepared eats
- Excellent service
- Relatively reasonable prices
The Bad:
- Parking is a real challenge in that part of town
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