Ariana

Ariana Restaurant has been on my list of dining options for a long time. I am sad that it has taken us this long to make it to Ariana’s. When the hostess sat us at our table, the Wife mentioned that the last time she’d been in this house was when it was Cup of Magic. The hostess responded, “Gee, its only been four years.” The Wife holds grudges. Cup of Magic was her favorite coffee shop and she was hurt when they left. So Ariana was on her shit list for a long time.

But, thankfully I was able to convince her to allow me to take her out to a nice dinner. We took forever trying to make our selections as everything looked great, plus I wasn’t that hungry. After looking over the menu again and again, I realized that I need to take one for the team and order more than I wanted.

We started off with appetizers of Beef Carpaccio and Moules Frites:

Seared Beef Carpaccio – ($10)
Thinly Sliced Pepper-Crusted Beef Tenderloin with Truffle Oil, Horseradish Crème Fraiche, Parmegiano Reggiano, and Scallions

Moules Frites – ($13)
Mussels Steamed in White Wine with Shallots, Garlic, and Herbs Served with Hand Cut Truffled Frites and Roasted Garlic Aioli

I thought that the appetizers would be small as they are in most fine dining restaurants but these were massive. I was getting scared that we wouldn’t be able to finish our main courses.

The carpaccio was sooo thin and tender that it was easy to spread on the crustinies which gave the crunchy texture to a very soft dish. After a few bites I ended up scraping off many of the scallions which I thought were over bearing…plus the Wife doesn’t like making out with my onion breath.

The mussels where great but the highlight of this app was the Truffled Fries. I call them fries, you can call them frites if you want but a spade is a spade, these are fries. They were soooo good, crispy, salty, and drizzed with truffle oil.

We ate every bite of the apps while we waited for the main courses. I selected the lamb shank and the Wife can’t refuse the pork chop.

Lamb Shank – ($26)
Slow Braised for Hours in Cabernet Served Over Creamy
Parmesan Polenta with broccolini

Pork Chop – ($24)
Honey Brined Thick Cut Pork Chop Oven
Roasted and Served Over Fingerling potatoes,
Cipollini Onions, and Bacon with Whole-Grain Dijon Sauce

The lamb was so tender and just fell off the bone. For not being that hungry when I started dinner, I ended up stuffing myself silly. I can’t complain about anything. It was all amazing.

The Wife’s pork chop was cooked and seasoned perfectly with a little sweetness from the honey. Damn this dinner was the bomb!

Finally the Wife enjoyed the Bananas Foster Cake dessert:
Brown Sugar Banana Cake Drenched in Rum Toffee
Sauce and Served Warm with Vanilla Ice Cream

If you haven’t been to Ariana Restaurant yet, you now have my permission to go. I didn’t really get the Mediterranean side though. I guess Mediterranean food is a wide range of cuisine but to me, it seemed like new American. Sort of comfort food prepared in a fancy pants way. Either way, it was good.

Ariana Restaurant
www.arianarestaurantbend.com
1304 NW Galveston Ave
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 330-5539

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