Entrees Made Easy – Oregon

2007/09/06

Entrees Made Easy

I had an opportunity to visit Entrees Made Easy in the Bend River Promenade. Entrees Made Easy is “a fun new concept in home dinner preparation.” When you go to Entrees Made Easy, I recommend looking over the online menu in order to go in with a game plan on what dishes you’d like to make/purchase.

Upon arriving I was greeted by an amazingly friendly staff (what up Lloyd and Tina) who gave me a tour of the facilities and a run down of the home dinner prep industry. I was also informed about one of the main reasons Entrees Made Easy has set themselves apart from the competition….with their full kitchen. They make their own sauces, marinades, and rubs right there on the property. The sauces are not sent from a main warehouse out of Georgia or Kerplakistan.

After some instructions I was given my apron and asked to wash up. They are serious about cleanliness. I am quite the germaphobe and I was wondering how they handle having civilians handling food while maintaining the cleanliness. I had to wash my hands before the meal prep, don gloves, then after each meal, dump the gloves, wash up again, then put on a new set of gloves. All I needed were my OR scrubs. Look how clean it is:


Prep work was already taken care of so all I had to do was follow the easy instructions on what to put into which baggy and presto, done.

Entrees Made Easy will slice and dice everything that you need. I know that when I attempt something new from Rachelle Ray’s 30 minute meals, the prep work alone takes me 34 minutes, not to mention the time to go to the store for that one item that I forgot or don’t have in my pantry. I mean, who the hell has fish sauce? Not sure what it is, sounds fishy (buh dun dunt).

I’d like to say that I figured it all out on my own but Tina was there to help me out when I didn’t quite understand the instructions or tried to add in minced ginger instead of garlic….I wasn’t paying attention too well as I was trying to take in everything.

All in all, it was a great experience preparing three, half order meals and I look forward to doing it again. My next post will be about the Chicken Pad Thai that I prepared and we ate that same night. Mmmmm mmmm.

Entrees Made Easy
3188 N. Highway 97 Suite 105
Bend, OR 97701
541-317-4159
http://www.entreesmadeeasy.com/mtb/

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Bend Brew Fest 2007

2007/08/29

Bend Brew Fest

My thoughts on the Bend Brew Fest this year are summed up as follows – Eh (visualize the shoulder shrug if you like). I did like the little wooden tokens instead of tickets or “scripts”. The beers seemed to be the usual suspects and like my sassy lazy friend over at Brewerman, I liked the Yeti the best although LSD comes in a close second.

I wish the Bend Brew Fest would go to a ticket style like the PIB has. The tickets are based on the beer and not on the sample size. All samples are a full glass but depending on what beer you select you give up 1-4 tickets. At PIB I found quite a few great beers for 1-2 tickets. Well worth it. At the Bend Brew Fest you have to talk to your friends and keep a close eye on which volunteers have the heavy hand.

My technique is to go for one, maybe two tickets and hope they overfill while I try to distract them with my clever drunken banter “Hey there, boy this is a great little festival, love the shirt”. Three tickets seems like a waste as there is a maximum they can fill and then there is the head. Rip off.

For food offerings it seems like we’ve given up on restaurants at these events and Munch and Movies / Munch and Music. Just caterers, taco stands, and BBQ trailers. The vendors at Bend Brew Fest included Top Hat Catering, Deschutes Dogs, Rico’s Tacos, Realdelphia, Kasey’s BBQ, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, and Tumalo Farms.

Below are the pictures from Realdelphia cheese steaks, Deschutes Dogs, and the cutest picture ever of a little Cheetara eating some Ben & Jerry’s.



This little girl was with her family next to our group. When we first sat down she came over and just stood there for a minute and no one said anything. Then she growled/hissed at us and walked back over to her table. I was dying. Cutest thing ever. Later I was allowed to take a photo while it was safe as she was busy eating some Ben & Jerry’s.

Bend Brew Fest
www.bendbrewfest.com/

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