Category: Blog

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Brewed Awakenings Coffee Roasters

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Down the street from ordinary.

So I said I’d do it, and here it is my first drive thru coffee review and here we are. Recently I’ve switched my everyday coffee over from Dutch Bros (Sorry, I still love you guys) to Brewed Awakenings. Mostly because when I have to go to Sunriver they are there, or if I’m on the East Side of Bend. Unfortunately these are the only two locations in Central Oregon making it an out of the way trip sometimes to quench your cravings (but don’t fret, there’s some other companies that are just as good around the city).

Coffee: Enorme Madagascar Vanilla Espresso on Ice ($4.75)

What can I say, i feel like I’m in a Harry Potter movie ordering this drink lol, but it has a strong coffee flavor, madagascar vanilla beans floating in the bottom with a whipped cream topper, and ti quenches my thirst every time. I’d drink two of them if I could handle that much coffee. I usually add an additional shot when I know I’ll be in a long day of driving, and need the boost, and it doesn’t overpower at all.

THIS was the coffee that inspired this series of posts on finding the best coffee drive thru in Central Oregon, and as of now it tops the list! I honestly will go out of my way to get this coffee once i try the other companies unless something better comes along… And right now, it is close as the next coffee place has a more convenient location, and coffee that is very close to just as good.

Verdict? Get some brewed awakenings and be happy.

Click below to check out their social accounts, and as always if you visit tell them Rideshare Rex sent you!

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Rating: 5 out of 5.
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El Sancho Burrito Shop (Aka Runaround Sue)

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What can I say about El Sancho, they are a favorite spot here in our family, they have 2 locations (*wink wink*) and a couple food carts scattered around town and serve up some tasty food, and have fun atmosphere’s at their locations.

So when we heard they were opening up a pop up shop close by, I was instructed that we were having some take out from there this weekend. Yes instructed…

Lunch: Well what do you think we got? lol.

Shrimp Fajita Burrito ($15) What can i say, it was so good apparently I couldn’t even get a bite. It also went by so fast, the camera couldn’t catch up with it.

Pork Chili Verde Burrito

Pork Chili Verde Burrito ($14) Well this is what I got, and it was pretty good, the pork wasn’t quite melt in your mouth, and it came with plain white rice, with a side of lettuce, pico, sour cream, and guac on a home made tortilla. I can’t say I was super impressed with it, it was a better value than the Skin Inn Taphouse, but not quite as flavorful. Overall though, it was a tasty burrito.

The pop up also featured a home made salsa bar, most of them were hot or spicy salsa’s, so i opted for the avocado salsa which I thought wouldn’t be on that scale, but was i wrong, it had some heat to it!

I love what El Sancho is doing with this pop up shop, unfortunately we missed the first two, but won’t miss any more going forward. I rexamend you find a location while in town, you won’t be disappointed!

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Rating: 4 out of 5.
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Elly’s Ice Cream

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Where ice cream meets inspiration

First I want to apologize for the photo of Elly’s Ice Cream, it really doesn’t do them any justice, but from the jump obtaining this ice cream didn’t really go as planned which I’ll address when I do my review of Bontà Natural Artisan Gelato.

So we were unable to eat at Bontà due to them being “closed” at the time, so we decided to go to Ben & Jerry’s… Wait what? Ben and Jerry’s are all over the world? ok cool I guess we’ll go to Baskin and…. wait? They’re not local either? Ok let me find a local place to get some ice cream. Elly’s, ever heard of them? Me neither. let’s go!

Elly’s ended up being on the way West Side located at The Grove which is a “Food Hall” per their website, but really reminds me of a cafeteria style building or a mall food court with penalty of options to eat and drink and sit and enjoy.

Now something you need to know about me, when I dine out, there is a very high probability that they are either a. not going to have an ingredient or dish that we specifically came there to eat, or b. they are going to mess up our dish, or give us something completely different. I think I’m going to come up with a tag for this. How about NWIW NOT WHAT I WANTED. This way, we can really keep track of how absurdly often this happens. I better go back and update some previous posts.

So as it begins, we wanted to try a Gone Glamping, but alas they didn’t have any Marshmallow Crèam which according to our scoopologist “really makes the dish”, so we moved on.

We got a 1 scoop ($3) and a 2 Scoop Waffle Cone ($7.25) of Vanilla and Strawberry and Cream. To be honest I don’t remember what the 1 scoop was as it’s been a few weeks since we’ve been. Sadly to say, it was ice cream, although it was locally sourced and natural ingredients, it really wasn’t that impressive. Maybe if we had stayed and enjoyed it inside, or weren’t already put off from not getting our first choice, but I can attest that there will be higher ice cream on the Great 8 List.

So to recap, if you’re in the area, and want ice cream, it’s there, if you have means to go elsewhere, I’d recommend you check the Great 8 List.

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Rating: 2 out of 5.
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The Hideaway Bend

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When you have an almost 3 year old, sometimes alcohol and bar food calls your soul. How do I know this? Experience lol. So we decided to check out the local dive down at the Hideout Bend. First impressions is that they have done a good job with the name, if you didn’t know this place was here, it’s cause it’s hidden well. Second is I pick up and take patrons here often, so this fall I can attest to the work they’ve done upgrading their parking lot and outdoor space. But hey, let’s get to the food.

Beer: I went with a S1nist0r Black Ale from 10 Barrel Brewing Co. (5.7% ABV 28 IBU Schwarzbier $4.75). Now normally I wouldn’t be doing a beer review on an Anheuser-Busch beer, so how did I end up here? Well it was probably the most local beer I could find that was a dark beer, so options were limited. It was a good beer though, dark and malty, just how I like em’. Find my review on Untappd here!

S1nist0r Black Ale from 10 Barrel Brewing Co.

Dinner: You’re going to find your run of the mill bar food with appetizers, salads, burgers, and pizza.

I opted for the Nachos Carnitas ($16) House braised pork, refried beans and housemade queso over a plate of warm corn chips. Topped with chipotle sauce, sour cream, four cheese blend, fresh cilantro, pickled jalapeños and salsa.

It was pretty much what I expected it to be except for two things, the meat was cold, like it was supposed to be warm, but wasn’t, second, the chipotle sauce was excellent, but there wasn’t enough of it.

Nachos Carnitas

We also had the Buffalo Mac & Cheese ($15) Five cheese, grilled chicken and our Buffalo hot sauce. Topped with crisp panko flakes, bleu crumbles and green onion.

I’m not a big Buffalo sauce fan, but I’ll tell you that this thing was spicy but I heard no complaints from the other side of the table, so I’ll take it that it was better than the nachos lol.

The Hideaway in Bend was pretty much what I thought it was going to be, a locals type of place with a decent amount of taps, friendly faces behind the pours, and a nice atmosphere to just hand out (they had a TV wall with couches). I believe this is the spot to watch NFL Patriots games in town as well.

All in all, if you are on the South East Side, this would be an option for you as they do most things well, but nothing quite better than other sports bars in the area.

Click below to check out their social accounts, and as always if you visit tell them Rideshare Rex sent you!

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Rating: 3 out of 5.
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Ski Inn Taphouse Hotel

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Sunset View

We decided to take a day trip to McDowell Creek Falls on my day off for a little hike (I’ll save you a review on that as it’s not in Central Oregon) but on our way there we decided that we had to try the new Ski Inn Taphouse in Sisters, Oregon. We drive to the valley via Hwy 20 & 22 many times as I grew up in the valley and my mom still lives there, and we’ve watched as they have transformed this spot into the Taphouse.

As you know, I’m a big beer fan, and we were met with an online menu system via a QR Code to get started. I settled on a nice dark beer that unfortunately was on a tap that blew earlier that day. There wasn’t much on the menu local that I hadn’t tried already, so I settled in on a Cider.

Cider: English Pub 7.5% from Portland Cider Co ($6). A nice pint of tart crisp cider was just what I needed after a nice hike at the falls. Check out my full review on Untapped. Check out their full drink menu here.

Dinner: We decided to split dinner with two entrees Pulled Pork Sando ($17) & Chili Verde Burrito ($18).

Pulled Pork Sando ($17)

The Pulled Pork Sando came with a side of fries or coleslaw, I was pretty disappointed that the sandwich didn’t come with anything besides pork and the bun, having the coleslaw on the burger in addition to the fries would have gave it a nice contrast to the softness of the sandwich.The bbq sauce was enjoyable and the bread roll was well put together. The fries were cooked perfectly crispy and were seasoned well, i enjoyed them.

Chili Verde Burrito ($18).

The Chili Verde Burrito came with a side salad which was nicely sized with fresh tomatoes and cucumbers. The burrito itself we asked for pico on the side (cilantro soap genes) and received the sour cream and guac on the side as well and it came topped with sliced jalapeños. The Verde sauce was very mild, and the pork was beyond fork tender. This was the favorite dish of the two in my opinion, but I’d say that neither were $17-18 dollar dishes and were priced a little high for the quality.

For a Taphouse I’d have to say that their food and drink menu were a little lackluster from expectations, but their outdoor seating and environment will keep people coming through the doors.

Click below to check out their social accounts, and as always if you visit tell them Rideshare Rex sent you!

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Rating: 3 out of 5.
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Cabin 22 Bar and Grill

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We decided to go have lunch at Cabin 22 before seeing The Kings’ Man at the Regal Theater.

We opted to sit at the outside patio where there were some nice big tables and chairs with propane fire columns and large round fire pits to sit around with while having some libations.

Look at the fire pit and seating over a BlackBerry Cucumber Mojito.

Beer: I started out with a FivePine Chocolate Porter from Three Creeks Brewing Company ($7), based on the recommendation of our waitress, Shannon, based off of my burger selection. It was a refreshing, dark, sweet, chocolaty treat. Check out my review on Untapped https://untp.beer/Ne71A

FivePine Chocolate Porter from Three Creeks Brewing Company

Our burgers came out shortly after order which is always a good sign.

Lunch: Winter Signature Burger ($17.95) Prosciutto Chip, Goat Cheese, Sweet Potato Crisps and a Balsamic Glaze.

All Burgers Served with Lettuce, Tomato, Onion & Kosher Pickle on Big Eds Pretzel Bun Served with Cabin Dipper Fries or Cajun Tots.

Winter Signature Burger

I thoroughly enjoyed this burger, although none of the burgers ordered were cooked to the temperature asked (they all look cooked medium well) we all enjoyed. Specifically I liked that my burger came with the right amount of cheese, enough to let you know it was there, but not too much that it was over powering. The crisps were a nice addition, but unfortunately I didn’t get any hint of balsamic glaze. the Cajun Tots were crisp, and well seasoned with a flavorful but not overpowering cajun rub. One last thing of note, the cabin dipper French fries were pretty cool, they were like French fry scoops and I’d recommend them as well.

With a nice selection of beer, wine, spirits, and cocktails and burgers, pizza, and sandwiches, Cabin 22 is a rexamendation 100%.

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Lucky’s Woodsman

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What can i say about Lucky’s that I didn’t say in my review on Yelp?

Read Rex H.‘s review of Luckey’s Woodsman on Yelp

https://www.yelp.com/biz/luckeys-woodsman-bend?hrid=PngupXh5ZgJTW8rV1nQd3g&utm_campaign=www_review_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)

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The Blacksmith

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I’ve always wanted to try The Blacksmith while I’ve picked up and dropped off riders from there the last 6 months. Everyone has always said they were looking forward to, or really enjoyed their meals. Recently I had the opportunity to dine at The Blacksmith for my parents anniversary dinner.

Appetizers: So we started the night off with a salad selection. I went with the Roasted Beet ($13) Mixed greens tossed in lemon herb vinaigrette aside roasted beats, creamy buttermilk goat cheese and beat emulsion with candied almonds.

Now for anyone who know’s me, i love a good beet salad, and this was a good beet salad that paired very well with the goat cheese and candied almonds. I rexammend this salad for sure.

Main Course: For my Entree i decided on going with the Steak and Fries ($50) New York strip topped with house cut Truffle Parmesan fries and green onions in an herb demi glace. I went with a rare temperature, and was pleased with how it turned out. It didn’t have the best sear on the outside, but had nice grill marks, and the inside was a little more done than rare which was nice. The fries were crispy, and well coated in the demi glace and truffle/parmesan. I have to say, the fries were the more rexcellent part of the meal.

Dessert: When offered dessert, instantly I was hooked when our waitress said they made in house ice cream, and by was I not disappointed. I went with the Ice Cream Trio ($12) Three of our delicious house made ice creams which the current flavors were Vanilla Bean, Chocolate, and Coffee. And what I can I say but all 3 were rich, creamy, and flavorful, but my favorite was the Vanilla Bean, followed by the Coffee. Rexammended for sure.

Overall The Blacksmith lived up to the recommendation tastebud wise, but was a little heavy on the wallet. Although I was a guest in this trip, The Blacksmith looks more like an option for a Client Work Dinner, or a special occasion like an Anniversary, Valentines Day, or Birthday.

Click below to check out their social accounts, and as always if you visit tell them Rideshare Rex sent you!

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Rating: 4 out of 5.
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