Typhoon – Bend Oregon

2007/12/08

 

Typhoon – Bend Oregon

Typhoon is phinally here! With three Thai restaurants in Bend already, why is it that Bendites have been waiting eagerly at the windows of Typhoon for it to open like that lady in the old Mervins after Thanksgiving sale commercials with her face all pressed on the glass saying “Open, open, open” over and over again?
I have not been to any of the Typhoon restaurants and was dying to find out what all the hype was about. The wife and I tried to get some reservations for a Saturday night but nothing open until after 8:30…crazy. I like the early bird special so I can be in bed by 7:30 so we settled for Sunday.

We started off with the Nibble Platter appetizer which comes with Veggie Spring Rolls, Chicken Satay, Lemongrass Pork, Bags of Gold, Kra-thong Tong and Fried Wontons.


Veggie Spring Rolls – good, for being veggies…the wife liked them.
Chicken Satay – chicken on a stick, tender and flavorful, excellent when dipped in any of the three sauces
Lemongrass Pork – pork on a stick, tender and flavorful, excellent when dipped in any of the three sauces
Bags of Gold – first time having these and since they were also fried, quite good
Kra-thong Tong – like a mini chicken pot pie but with a tough sounding name KRA THONG TONG!!!
Fried Wontons – Its a fried wonton, what do you want, dip it and enjoy

We love the appetizers like this so you can get a sampling of a variety of dishes.
Next we went with the Crab Phad Thai off of the specials menu. I love shell fish and I am always looking for some great Phad Thai. Crab in the Phad Thai is something new for me but blended nicely and there was a good portion of crab in the noodles. The noodles were prepared perfectly and the ground peanuts were a nice touch.

Five-Spice Crispy Duck – Served with steamed buns, cinnamon plum sauce, green onions and cilantro. Now I don’t get duck very often but the times I’ve had it, it was juicy and tender. I figure this duck would be the same but with a nice crispy skin.

The buns were nice and soft and we tried desperately to pull the duck apart to build little sandwiches. Unfortunately the duck was really dry and tough. We didnt say anything cause we didn’t really know if this was how it was supposed to be prepared or not. Either way, we didn’t care for it at all. It was like duck jerky.

Next up was the Pineapple Curry. The pineapple gave the spicy curry this subtle sweetness which was a great addition.

 

We enjoyed our dinner very much aside from the overcooked duck. For the dishes above, a cup of tea (from their insanely huge menu of teas) and a couple Tsing Tao beers, we only spent $76. I thought we’d spend a lot more.

After having such a good first experience for dinner, I wanted to try one of the other curry’s and went back for lunch a couple days later. On this visit I tried the Panang Curry. Not so sweet and more peanutty, I was excited. But what I received was a small cup of curry for $9 and a scoop of rice.

I wish I put a spoon or something with this photo cause it was sooo small. You can see how one of the peppers is taking up half of the cup. I was hoping for about twice as much as I received for that price. It tasted great, but I left hungry.

Typhoon is great for dinner, but right now I’d rather go to Toomies for the lunch special over this cup o curry.

Typhoon! Bend
Franklin Crossing Building
550 NW Franklin Ave., Suite 148,
Bend, OR 97701
541-385-8885
http://www.typhoonrestaurants.com/

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

A few minutes with Gavin McMichael

2007/12/06

Just before the Blacksmith Restaurant closed down for renovation, I was able to get a few minutes to talk with Gavin McMichael, Executive Chef and Co-Owner, about what to expect with the new restaurant/bar. I realized that I have never really reviewed a meal at the Blacksmith on this blog even though I have been there for dinner many times. I did review one of the desserts once but I just haven’t made it there for dinner over the last year or so (since starting this blog).


I told Gavin that I hadn’t been back for dinner in a long time because the wife and I started thinking of the Blacksmith as a special occasion restaurant. Somewhere I would go to celebrate an anniversary, a promotion, or a birthday. Gavin totally agreed. He said that many people had type casted the restaurant as “special occasion”.

To remedy the situation, the Blacksmith will relaunch December 10th with many of the same classic dishes but with the option to get smaller plates. I’m thinking American Tapas or in the Blacksmith’s case New American Tapas. But unlike any tapas I have come across that stick to Spanish or Mediterranean dishes, you can get small plates of items like the Pork Chop with Mac’n’cheese (by far my favorite on the menu). This will allow patrons to sample 3 or 4 of the main courses and sharing them with their significant others instead of stuffing themselves with one main entree.

For the wife and I, this is great news. She’s convinced me that ordering more appetizers instead of two main courses is the way to go. You get to try much more. That’s why I love going to things like the Deschutes Beer Dinner…you get to try things that you normally wouldn’t.

So the new menu will have appetizers and then your main courses like normal, but you can order any of the main attractions in appetizer portions for a reduced price. You’ll still get all the same stuff that comes with the main dish, just smaller portions of it. Again I can’t be more excited about this as previously, it would break my wallet while expanding my belly trying to eat a full entree.

Also coming with the relaunch is a killer bar where the main entrance used to be. Now you can swing by for lunch or a quick bite after work, sit at the bar, watch the game on one of two 42” flat screen TVs while sipping on one of many specialty drinks, a glass of wine from a huge selection, or one of 12 draft beers.

Blacksmith will also offer a private dining section that can be reserved for special occasions, events, office gatherings/meetings, or whatever.

I am definitely looking forward to checking out the new menu, portions, bar, and dining room (hint hint Gavin) as soon as they open their doors on Monday.

the Blacksmith restaurant
211 NW Greenwood Ave,
Bend, Oregon 97701
541.318.0588
http://www.bendblacksmith.com/

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →