Posts with tag 'Why We Love Central Oregon'

The culinary experiences in Central Oregon never cease to amaze us. From the countless brew pubs to fine dining, there is an abundance of food options for all palates. On our most recent Bend, Oregon food experience, we ventured to the Westside to try the offerings of Nome Italiano. This new Italian restaurant did not disappoint on our ladies' night.

Shortly after being seated, we discovered that the front of house manager is from Tuscany, and he was more than happy to hear that we were interested in enjoying a bottle of the Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano, a varietal not as well known in Central Oregon. In fact, throughout the expansive wine list with over 100 different bottles to choose from, there was only 1 Montepulciano. Needless to say, this wine was absolutely divine and paired very nicely with the various food options we opted to share.

For the anitpasto options we selected the focaccia and meatballs. The focaccia was nicely crisped on the outside while still remaining soft and buttery on the inside. This was paired with a light, green goddess dip that was a wonderful accompaniment. The meatball plate offered two, wonderfully flavored, dense meatballs that opened up our taste buds for what the rest of the meal provided. 

For the main courses, we decided to split three different options so we could try a little bit of everything. The Elk Ragu was really the star of the show of our main courses. This dish was extremely flavorful without being gamey at all and not overly heavy with the sauce. This is a dish we will go back for again and again. We also tried the bucatini pasta which offered a little bit of spice and some nice balance with the basil and crema on top. To finish, we tried their main seafood dish with shrimp, mussels, clams, and calamari all in a rich broth and served with a piece of focaccia. This dish was not overly fishy and the seafood was all cooked to perfection and the shrimp was absolutely exceptional. 

Of course, what would be a visit to an Italian restaurant without a piece of tiramisu? This desert was surprisingly light and not overly coffee forward. The waiter informed us that the dish was very lightly soaked in coffee so as to not overpower the other flavors. We appreciated every bite of this well balanced dessert. 

Overall impressions from our ladies' night out were so positive that we will be back to Nome in the near future. Be sure to book in advance, though, as they are starting to fill up especially at peak dining hours. Thank you Nome for the great dining experience! 

-The Bend Premier Foodies

One of Central Oregon's more popular summer hikes in the Three Sisters Wilderness, we decided to hike Tam McArthur Rim 11-27-21 a few days after the first snow of autumn had fallen.  Three Creeks Lake had icy sections and only one other couple started the hike just a few minutes before us. 

We began our hike utilizing microspikes as the trail was icy and the added gripping security microspikes offer enabled us to quickly climb the initial miles of the hike. The snow deepened as we climbed and the trail became less obvious.  However, we were able to follow the tracks of the couple who started the hike just before us, trusting that they knew where they were going.  

The hike to Tam McArthur Rim levels out near the summit into an open meadow.  On this hike the end of November, we found the wind really picked up here. The final push to the summit was through shin deep snow and while accomplishing the destination of the hike, the cloud cover dropped and our views of the Three Sisters and Broken Top were obscured. We had hoped to take the "unofficial" trail from the Rim to Broken Hand to add additional distance and views to our hike, but with the cloud cover so low and fearful that it would start snowing again, and with no tracks to follow, we returned the way we came. On the way down we passed a few hiking parties coming up. 

All in all, it was a fairly quick hike with a total of 5.3 miles in and back and 1246 feet of elevation gain. We hope to take more of these types of hikes, weather permitting, as we enter winter.

October 16, 2021 was probably one of the most beautiful fall days in Central Oregon that we have seen for many years.  The cool weather in the morning warmed during the day and the sky was a perfect blue with a few high clouds. The snow that fell on the mountains earlier in the week had melted some and it was a great day to take a long hike in the Cascades. We started off the day deciding to hike the Three Sisters Wilderness loop from Soda Creek around Broken Top to Green Lakes and back via Fall Creek to the trailhead.  We had taken this hike last year in late October and thought it would be good to do again.  However, 4.5 miles into the hike the trail branches northeast to Broken Top and ultimately No Name Lake. This time we elected to take the longer hike to Broken Top. 

Starting the hike around 8:30 am, we saw just a couple of people on the path from the Soda Creek trailhead (shares the same parking lot as Green Lakes) to the junction with the Broken Top trail.  As the path climbed, we entered a meadow from which a number of springs flowed and the beautiful colors of Broken Top became more evident. Crossing the Crater Ditch trail, we saw a social trail that climbed steeply to an overlook which provided amazing views of Broken Top's south slope and with a 180 degree turn south, provided some spectacular views of Mt. Bachelor. We decided to travel cross country up a draw to join with the main Broken Top trail and continue on to No Name Lake. The main trail had more people on it, enjoying the beautiful day as we were. Arriving at No Name Lake, the wind picked up, especially at the outlet to the lake where the surrounding moraines channeled the air.  It was nice to see the beautiful aqua blue color of the lake returning several years after the avalanche which killed 19 elk in 2017 and deposited a lot of dirt in the water. 

After a short stay for lunch at No Name Lake, we returned via the main trail to our cut off through the meadow and back to the Soda Creek trail. We arrived at our car around 4:30.  All in all, the hike was roughly 16 miles with 3100 feet of elevation gain.  It was a full day with wonderful views and a great experience.

On October 9, 2021 we were able to check another Central Oregon hike off the bucket list.  The hike to Four in One Cone off Scott Trail in the Three Sisters Wilderness has been a goal for sometime and we were scheduled to hike this earlier in the summer under the new Wilderness Permit System; however extreme wildfire smoke kept us away on our scheduled day. In early October, the hike started with cool temperatures (in the 20s) but warmed during the day to the 50s. The hike is not long (roughly 9 miles round trip) with elevation gain just over 1400 feet. The hike is called Four in One Cone due to the nature of the 4 cinder cones which are adjacent to each other and have the unique topography of being blown out on one side with the remaining rim flowing into the next cone. The views from the top of the cones are fabulous toward North and Middle Sister, Little Brother, The Husband and then north toward Mt. Washington, Three Fingered Jack and Mt. Jefferson. The Collier glacier is easily seen from the cone as is another spot which is now on our list - the top of Collier Cone. On this day, we saw only two other hikers the whole day - and those two thirds of the way back to our car. Early October is becoming one of our favorite times to hike in the Cascades with cooler temperatures, fall color and fewer people making our experience very special.

Today's dining experience has taken us to a long standing café with great eats and great atmosphere. Café Sintra, named after the owner Manuel's hometown in Portugal near Lisbon, is always a great place to gather and today was no different. With a great soccer game on the TV and the hum of happy patrons chattering, you feel the warmth and excitement prior to even ordering your food.

We decided to begin our experience with their home brewed jasmine fruit ice tea. This tea is wonderful down to the very last sip with bold spices and a touch of sweetness. It paired perfectly with the rich flavors of our lunch today. 

To begin, we split a cup of the Portuguese Chicken Stew. Featuring shredded chicken, white beans and roasted chilies topped with mozzarella and sour cream, ...

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