Zydeco Kitcen & Cocktails

Zydeco is a highly-rated restaurant in Bend. It's located at 919 NW Bond Street in downtown Bend. It has a southern influence.

 

Barbecue Shrimp & Southern Grit Cake--$12. This was an appetizer but the portion was large enough for an entrée. This wasn't exactly New Orleans but it was tasty and had a nice flavor that wasn't too spicy.

 

 

Tricolored Beet Salad Topped with Goat Cheese, Pistachios and Extra Virgin Olive Oil--$7. I love beets and I loved this salad. The beets were sweet and delicious and worked so well with the goat cheese and the mixed salad greens.

 

 

Redfish with Zydeco Sauce, Dungeness Crab Meat (it's the small mound on top of the fish), Sautéed Spinach & Mash Potatoes--$26. You can get it grilled or blackened. This was absolutely delicious. The redfish was perfectly cooked and the sauce was delicious. This was by far my

 favorite dish all weekend.

 

 

 

2013 08 31

Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Bend

From Crater Lake, it was 2 hours and 15 minutes to our final destination, Bend, OR. Bend is located on the eastern edge of the Cascade Range along the Deschutes River and has a population of 90,000. When we got into town, the first thing we noticed was a smell that was a combination of pine and cat urine. My husband didn't notice the smell until the next day and figured it out. It was the smell of Cypress. Well, I'm not a fan of the smell.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites at the north edge of town, 20615 Grandview. This was a nice place with comfortable beds and a hot breakfast in the morning.

 

Lobby area.

 

Breakfast is not fancy but the biscuits & sausage gravy was good. There was also a cheese omelette and sausage links. The pancake machine was not working on the weekend we were there. For those on a healthier diet, there is yogurt and fruit. But, hey, we were on vacation and we splurged on the calories (and fat).

 

The next morning, there was biscuits and gravy again. The other hot options were scrambled eggs and bacon.

2013 08 31

Crater Lake

Just under 2 hours northeast of Medford is Crater Lake. It's part of the National Park System and entry is $10/car, which is good for 7 days. It was formed when Mount Mazama erupted 7700 years ago, causing the mountain to collapse. Centuries of rain and snow filled the caldera, creating the lake. It's the deepest lake in the US with a depth of 1943 feet and it is amazingly blue. The park's north entrance is closed in the winter.

 

The rim drive circles the lake. From the west entrance at Annie Spring, drive north to the Steel Visitor Center, where you can view an informative video about the park. This is the view from Discovery Point on the west side of the lake.

 

From Discovery Point, look to the right to find Phantom Ship, one of 2 islands in the lake. (It's the tiny jagged island.)

 

The other island is Wizard Island. It's a volcanic cinder cone that can be accessed by boat tours

2013 08 31

Rogue Creamery & LillieBelle Farms Chocolates

Rogue Creamery is just north of Medford. This artisan cheese shop is located just off I-5 in an industrial area and we thought the GPS must've been wrong until we came upon it.

 

Rogue Creamery is located at 311 N. Front Street.

 

My favorite is Flora Nelle Blue Cheese. It won the Gold at the 2012 World Cheese Awards in Birmingham, England. The bonus is that this is one of their least expensive cheeses--$23.99/lb.

 

Right next door is Lillie Belle Farms Chocolates.

 

My favorite was the Do Not Eat This Chocolate bar. It's a blend of milk and dark chocolate with chilies. It's just the right amount of hot.

2013 08 31

Buttercloud, Medford

From Ashland, it was a quick 20 minutes north to Medford. We stopped at Buttercloud to have lunch. They specialize in biscuit sandwiches.

 

Buttercloud is located at 310 Genessee St.

 

Chipotle Porter Pulled Pork--$6.50. This had a nice tangy flavor and the pork was tender. This was my favorite sandwich.

 

Beef & Blue--$6.75. Beef brisket sandwich with housemade tomato jam (although I couldn't taste it) & Rogue Creamery Smoky Blue Cheese (couldn't tell it was smoky either). This was my least favorite sandwich.

 

Chicken & Chile--$6.75. Chicken breast, cilantro mayo, roasted poblano pepper, Tillamook pepper jack & tomato.

 

Smoky Mac & Cheese with Rogue Creamery Smoky Cheddar--$4.50. This was made with penne pasta and had a nice crunchy topping.

 

Braised Collard Greens--$2.50. We order it whenever it's on the menu. This was delicious.

2013 08 31

Mix

We had read about Mix on Yelp and stumbled upon it in the downtown area of Ashland. It's a bakery & coffee shop.

 

Mix is located at 57 N. Main Street.

 

Salted Caramel Tart--$4.75. The caramel was gooey and the crust was delicious and crumbly. A little expensive but worth it.

 

Lemon Meringue Tartlet. A little too tart but the meringue was good.

 

We also tried the macaron but it was too crumbly and wasn't good and I didn't care for the gougere either. It just wasn't that flavorful.



 

 

 

2013 08 31

Thursday Night Dinner

It's been 2 years since I started going to Thursday night dinner. Still can't believe I can get a 4-course dinner with wine pairing for $24.95.

Bruschetta Di Mare--Topped with Day Boat Scallops & Jumbo Prawns, Spicy Aioli & Heirloom Tomato Salsa paired with 2011 Alexander Valley Vineyards Chardonnay, Wetzel Family Estate. What a great dish. I just love the aioli. It works so well with the seafood.

  

 

Ravioli D'Anatra--Filled with Duck Mousse & Trio of Cheeses Served with Roasted Mushroom-Endive Confit, Crispy Herb Butter & Balsamic Glaze paired with 2011 Paul Hobbs Winery CrossBarn Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast. This was a nice Pinot and worked well with the mushroom confit.

 

Bistecca Ai Ferri--Grilled Marinated Flat Iron Steak Garnished with Ragout of Organic Toy Box Summer Vegetables, Olive Pesto & Russian Banana Potatoes Served in Barolo Wine Sauce paired with 2009 St. Francis Winery & Vineyards Merlot, Sonoma County. This was perfectly cooked and just the right amount of rareness. The Barolo sauce is so rich tasting.

 

Formaggio E Tartufi--Point Reyes Blue & Mt. Tam Triple Cream Cheeses Served with Candied Walnuts, Wine Poached Fruits & Homemade Chocolate Truffles paired with Fonseca Porto Bin No. 27 Finest Reserve, Portugal. This was the first time a cheese course was served. I loved it! The Blue is creamy and delicious. The wine poached raisins were amazingly flavorful. Loved this dish!

2013 09 05