Tag: Bend

Bend

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Baitong on Wheels 2

The Truck

The return visit to “The food truck that everyone is talking about.” The bold tagline they backed up in the first visit. Unfortunately the sequel didn’t quite live up to the original.

Menu

Another day out thrifting for my Amazon Book Store, ResellerRex, and I took @socialmediaridesharerex to BoW ready to knock her socks off with a dish I thought she’d really like, but alas the Crispy Garlic Chicken wasn’t quite to her taste. But for me…

Lunch: pineapple 🍍 shrimp 🍤 fried rice 🍚 – Jasmine rice 🍚 infused with yellow curry flavor stir-fried with Pineapple 🍍 shrimps 🍤, cashew nuts, raisins, and onions 🧅. $12.95

After getting knocked out of my chair in my first visit, this was like going to go see Jaws 2 after seeing Jaws, a complete let down. But hey, I still got one of those fire Thai Iced Teas, so it wasn’t all bad. But for the PFR, it was just bland and oily, there really were 0 spices used, and too much oil in the frying. The only thing that gave it any flavor were the raisins and cashews. Unfortunately a total miss on a spot I really hyped.

Drink: Thai Iced Tea $4 yeah, I could drink a gallon of this.

I’m still interested in going back to BoW to try a few other dishes specifically the Pad Thai, Thai Basil Chicken 🐓 , and Spring Rolls & Crab 🦀 Won Tons.

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Bangers and Brews Eastside

Gourmet sausages with an Argentinian Flair

After a long day of hunting books and thrifts, we decided to have a nice sit down dinner at Bangers & Brews Eastside. We’ve been wanting to check out one of the sausage places in town & decided a trip to the Eastside location was a great place to start.

You start out at a cafeteria style line ordering first & then choosing a place to sit.

Menu
Drink list

There is inside seating,

and a split patio seating shared with Hablo Tacos.

The Hablo side

Winter set up with heaters, and open air flow in the summer.

You can order the traditional 1X2X1 or off the specials menu, and lastly have sides.

After ordering we took our beverages out to the patio and found a table, and old whisky barrel with a new top & high bar stools and we were set.

I opted to get the Reuben’s Lager which was a solid lager option from a Seattle brewery. Besides on tap, there was a cooler as well stocked with alternative drinks & fountain sodas as well.

Reuben’s Lager

We opened up with the 12” Pretzel and cheese for an appetizer, but before we received that we were brought out some warm bread and chimichurri. honestly the bread fell apart easily, and was not easy to dip in the sauce. And this will be the last complaint you’ll hear from me.

Weak bread

A warm buttery pretzel with a nice hot creamy cheese sauce with a good salt to pretzel ratio. A good opening once we got passed the bread fiasco.

I went with a (1) Elk/Pork Brat (2) Caramelized Onions & Sauerkraut (1) and Chimichurri. There is also an option to go bundles which I did choosing to have mine on a bed of mashed potatoes.

Elk/Pork Brat

The chimichurri is nice with a cilantro kick, gravy is semi sweet & pairs well with the slightly gamey sausage, carmelized onions are a little under cooked and gives a nice texture difference to the sausage and potatoes. The sauerkraut portion is a little lacking but flavorful & melds well with the rest of the components.

Overall I’m impressed with both the price point & amount of food provided in the portion. I think this place is great (I ended up taking my dad to the Westside location a few weeks later. Smaller venue, longer wait times, go to the Eastside.) and am excited to try out some other combos & sausages. 💯 Rexamend this as a go to while in town!

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Baitong on wheels

Baitong on wheels

“The food truck that everyone talks about” pretty bold tag line, but nothing they can’t back up. Located in the River’s Place food cart & tap house, BoW was one of 5 local carts available. I was on my way to Nik’s Snacks, but unfortunately Nik was closed that day, but I’m glad BoW was there to back him up.

Menu

With classic Thai offerings, I was immediately drawn to the crispy garlic chicken $10.95 , crispy fried chicken in homemade honey garlic sauce topped with fried basil and chopped bell peppers with a side of rice.

Crispy garlic chicken

Wow, this was perfectly cooked white rice, crispy chicken with enough sauce to keep the rice company while you pair a fried basil leaf with a perfectly portion sized bite of chicken. This is a Rexamendated dish 💯!

When I first saw my plate, I was a little underwhelmed by the amount of food, being 6’4” and 260 lbs I though my I’d end up needing an additional snack after lunch, but boy did that rice fill me up fast, and it was easy to finish the whole meal and feel satisfied.

Thai Iced Tea $4, the first time I had a Thai Iced Tea I knew I was in love. There’s just something about a nice iced thirst quenching Thai tea that does wonders on a nice sunny day, and Bow makes an excellent tea to compliment your meal if it’s a touch too early for a🍺 .

This is a must visit if you are a Thai Food connoisseur, or wanting to try an entry level Thai dish for the first time. Mmm

All gone

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JJ Coffe Co. North (Java Jungle)

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Iced Cherries Jubilee

Well, this wasn’t the scheduled stop today, Joe Mama’s was on tap, had a giant white open sign on their building, a flashing open sign in the window, and no one in sight. Wah wah wah…

So I pressed on to the airport and pulled up yelp to fin another coffee shop on my way I knew was on Empire, but I guess I dreamt that shop last night in my sleep.

I knew Java Jungle was the last stand North towards Redmond, so I had my out to check them off the list, and I’m glad I did.

I’ll get to the coffee in a minute, I want to address the shop itself, it’s not easy to get to, they have a second location that coincidentally is the last coffee stand South you can get in Bend, that’s good real estate there. The Barista’s were kind of lack luster, one said it was her last day and it took a bit for them to come to the window.

Coffee: 24oz Ice’s Espresso with Cherries Jubilee and Heavy Whipped Cream ($6.25) is what came out of my mouth. I thought it was smooth. It wasn’t. She was like, what? Cherries Julie’s? 🤦🏻‍♂️ I said it again, fail, said it a last time and we were on the same page.

HOW DO YOU ORDER COFFEE LIKE A NORMAL PERSON??????

Ok, flavor profile is amazing Cherries Jubilee consists of White Chocolate, Amaretto, and Cherry flavoring. After the first sip I was presently surprised at the combo, a little heavy on the cherry, but still good. And then it hit me. Coffee. I tasted coffee with my flavoring! Yes! Good coffee!

Final word. Give them a try you’ll enjoy it. Totally climbing up the list on the great 8.

Rest of post will be update when on a computer.

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Highball Barbershop

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Update! Well well well we’re back to talk about the Highball again. My little guy was in need to a fresh cut, and honestly with the recent bump up in price from barbershops (Highball added $5 to their cuts) I thought I’d go to the local “Kids” Barber at the outlet mall cause they have the race car to sit in, and all that jazz. But thankfully they weren’t open. Why thankfully? Well they wanted $45 for a kids hair cut. FORTY FIVE UNITED STATES AMERICAN DOLLARS! Yes you read that right.

Back to the Highball, i rolled in without an appointment which is usually a bad idea, but it was a Tuesday, so there wasn’t a wait, I just had to have the new guy (Sorry this post is so late I forgot his name) give my little guy a cut.

They both did an amazing job, I can’t say enough about the owner Tim and his ability to find the best barbers in town and get them in his shop. No fancy chairs, no gimmicks, my kid sat stone faced

Stone Face

still and took his cut like champ and had a good time the whole time. Just look at how happy he was.

Having a laugh with the shop

I’m serious, this is the place to get a haircut if you are 2 or 90, you’re in the right place. I asked him what the price was (knowing full well it was $25, YES TWENTY FIVE NOT FORTY FIVE) And as a frequent guest, it was $20 for his first cut. I just can’t explain anymore why Tim is the man, and Highball is the place to get your ears lowered.

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Rating: 5 out of 5.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Yes 10 stars

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Rideshare Rex

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The Human Bean

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Cold Brew With Sugar Free White Chocolate and Heavy Whip Cream

So the coffee you see above is the second coffee I was given at this location. The first one wasn’t what I ordered, and that could have been me, or it could have been her, but most likely it was the confusing menu offered at The Human Bean. Like a few other places, getting ice’d espresso didn’t seem to be a problem, but at the Human Bean, if you want an iced beverage, it’s coming from their cold brew stash only. Which usually, I’m not too put off by, it’s what I get at Dutch Bros, but I’ve been on iced espresso kicks lately at other places, so that was a little disappointing. So on to the coffee.

Coffee: Cold Brew With Sugar Free White Chocolate and Heavy Whip Cream ($3.75) So this is my go to at Dutch Bros, and in general until I found out ice’d espresso existed, and well that’s what I prefer now. This coffee was just, bland, didn’t have much flavor, and it’s probably wrong to compare it to the iced espresso’s in the other reviews, but I had to include it for the fact that they just don’t have a comparable drink. I see on their menu they have a frozen espresso (granita) but to be honest I don’t feel like the flavor will be their either. But I am going to try it just in case.

Update: I just looked at their website, and under espresso it says enjoy it hot, iced, or blended. So now I know, it is their local menu/barista on this fail. I guess I’ll try again after I get to everyone else.

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Rating: 1 out of 5.
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Rideshare Rex

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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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Rideshare Rex

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Busy busy busy

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We’ll it’s been awhile since I’ve posted and I have quite a few updates to go over.

First, didn’t work today, it was snowing and honestly, I just wanted to stay in and be warm, also the other night we were watching the EPIX show Pennyworth, and I had to explain Scotch Eggs to my SO, then today I had to make them cause she’s never had them. It was a pain in the ass, but they were well received.

I was kind of disappointed earlier this week as I was picking up Mitsu from a Turo rental, and my next booking cancelled, this was her 3rd cancel, so I wasn’t too put off as she sounded like a hassle, but I was sad I was missing revenue for this weekend.

We took the Escape Hybrid into Ford for a recall servicing, so I was happy I still had Mitsu but once the snow hit I just wasn’t up to working today. But the good news is someone booked Mitsu for the weekend, so tomorrow I need to go get her cleaned up and ready to go. I have some more Turo news to share at a later date 🙌🏽

I don’t have any brewery or restaurant reviews upcoming, but I am working on two things. One is I’ll be compiling the Great 8 list of the best 8 places to get X (burger, taco, ice cream cone, etc.) it is currently under construction, and second I couldn’t believe with all my planning I haven’t reviewed any coffee shops! As a rideshare driver, I like a good iced coffee with an extra shot to get me through long mornings, or evening sessions, so look for 3 coffee reviews to come up this week while I’m stuck waiting for planes at the airport.

Like I said a lot has gone on since my last post, so hopefully this rides you over until I hit you with a Java overload of posts to keep you up to date on where the best coffee is in town!