TRIP PLANNER: CAVE JUNCTION PG. 84
Where Science + Coffee Meet
Seaweed in the Kitchen
DIY: Chicken Coop Design Tips
Your Guide to Oregon’s
FOOD TRUCK PODS AWARDS SPOTLIGHT REVITALIZED
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Steeplejack Brewing
Steeplejack
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Steeplejack
When this 1909 church on a highly visible corner of Broadway went up for sale, there were only two bids on it, one of which was from a developer who wanted to tear it down. Instead, it was sold to the owners of Steeplejack Brewing, who restored it themselves to fashion a craft brewery, bar, restaurant and coffee house.
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Hennebery Eddy Architects/Josh Partee
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University of Oregon Gerlinger Alumni Lounge Rehabilitation This is a meticulous restoration of a 1922 Georgian-style building associated with two key figures in the university’s history: Irene Gerlinger, the first woman Regent, and Ellis Lawrence, the first dean of the architecture school.
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Applications for the 2023 DeMuro Awards are open now. Learn more or apply at www.restoreoregon. org/apply-for-the-demuro-awardsexcellence-in-preservation
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EAT THIS Á La Carte at The Lot, Bend
Keep On
Truckin’ Truckin Saviors during Covid, food truck pods are surging in creativity around the state written by Jean Chen Smith
After all, there are more than 500 food trucks in Portland alone, although because of the challenges they face, this number is not an exact accounting. Food pods are a group of individual food trucks that are in one area and have become even more popular during the pandemic. Here we have compiled a list of some of the best pods in Oregon.
T. Nolan Imagery
IF YOU LIVE in Oregon, chances are you are not a stranger to the food truck phenomenon.
Central Oregon Crosscut Warming Hut No. 5 is in Bend and is popular with beer drinkers as it offers locally crafted beer as well as those specific to the Pacific Northwest. Wine is available on-site as well. There are three different food cart offerings that are sure to satisfy. Abe Capanna’s Detroit Pan Pizza serves deep dish, thick crusted pizza like you have never tasted before! Here you’ll encounter perfect proportions of dough and cheese with a large selection of toppings. Bluma’s Chicken & Waffles is great for sandwiches, but go for what they are known for— chicken and waffles, boneless deep-fried chicken with Belgian waffles. Did you want maple syrup and hot honey with that? Sure, why not! Gyro Power is an ode to Mediterranean street
food, serving up plump falafel, hummus, and of course tzatziki. Ample seating—both indoor and outside—is available. Check the website for a list of concerts and events. (www.crosscutbeer.com) Another great spot in Bend is The Lot, which was established in 2013 and offers four food carts and its taproom serving beer, cider, hard seltzer and wine. Choose from Fricken Fraco, which has fried chicken and fish taco offerings, Burgz N Dogz, Maki Maki Sushi, and Á La Carte, which serves up fries, salads and delicious tacos. The seating area opens up in the warmer months and can be enclosed in winter months, along with ample heat and heated benches to keep hungry visitors cozy. (www.facebook. com/TheLotBend) The Barn in Sisters is thirty minutes from Bend. Set in a spacious barn, it does not disappoint in ambience. The Taphouse serves local brews, and there are currently four food
ABOVE Crosscut Warming Hut No. 5 in Bend is a great indoor/ outdoor venue for foodies and local beer aficionados. (photos, from top: Steve Heinrichs Photography, The Bite)
In the small unincorporated town of Tumalo sits The Bite, well-known for its superb carts such as Rico’s Tacos, NorthFresh Sushi, Pine Marten Pizza and the meaty sandwich cart The Rogue Chef.
trucks on-site: Rootbound for vegan eats, Boone Dog Pizza, Chulita Tacos and Pop’s Southern BBQ. Rootbound has amazing salad options such as winter rooted salad and ingredients change with the seasons. Pop’s has a sumptuous brisket and a delicious smoked chicken. You will want to box that up and take some home. (www.thebarninsisters.com) In the small unincorporated town of Tumalo sits The Bite, well-known for its superb carts such as Rico’s Tacos, NorthFresh Sushi, Pine Marten Pizza and the meaty sandwich cart The Rogue Chef. Popular with locals and tourists, it does get crowded, especially if the weather is nice. But with lots of seating options, it is a great way to enjoy a day in Central Oregon. The Rogue Chef is Stefan Pena, who has been in the food industry for more than twenty years and was formerly the head chef at Peerless Restaurant & Bar in Ashland. His cart serves cheesesteak, grilled cheese, garlic fries and reuben sandwiches. NorthFresh Sushi serves creative Japanese food such as kimchi ghost pepper poké and tempura jalapeño poppers. All of those in a sushi eatery! The cart brings in fresh fish delivered daily and works with reliable and sustainable suppliers throughout Oregon. (www. thebitetumalo.com)
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trip planner
Cave Junction
A town built around a dog’s discovery written by James Sinks IS IT southwest Oregon’s Redwood Highway into Cave Junction, or are you following the yellow brick road? Maybe both. The ribbon of asphalt meanders through odd foliage to whimsical art and mystical creatures (and real lions), to where houses float above the ground, to fields of intoxicating flowers, and to where you can gain plenty of courage (at least, the liquid sort). No munchkins—true—but plenty to munch on. And while you won’t find Toto, Dorothy’s trusty companion in The Wizard of Oz, the community owes much to a different famous dog, Bruno. In 1874, Bruno and a hunter named Elijah Davidson were tracking a bear when the dog disappeared behind underbrush. Davidson followed and found himself in the stunning crystallized caverns that now anchor the Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve. Today tens of thousands of visitors annually roam those same passages to chambers such as the cathedral-like Ghost Room. Designated by President William Howard Taft in 1909 and expanded to include more surrounding acreage in 2014, the magical place— one of just three marble caverns in the National Park system—is a regular waypoint for natural wonder-seeking travelers between the redwoods and Crater Lake.
The caves welcome people from late-March to October and sleepy bats come winter. Before Bruno’s discovery, indigenous Takelma tribes might have known about the caverns, but any oral history didn’t survive combative European settlers and smallpox, said longtime park ranger George Herring, who leads the monument’s education programs. Incorporated in 1948 where the Redwood and Caves highways meet, Cave Junction has ridden the boombust cycles of the mining and timber industries and is now a cannabis-cultivating capital. Some of the farms are even legal. Meanwhile, to keep piquing tourists’ interest, local businesses are always brainstorming, said Ben Filip, who owns Bruno’s Cavern tavern downtown. “Lots of places in Oregon have rivers and outdoor activities, like we do, but other places don’t have caves,” he said. Roughly 2,000 people live in the city, but not in that number is Bigfoot, rumored to reside nearby. If you don’t bump into the hairy beast, you can still snap a selfie with a 7-foottall wooden statue at a Bigfootthemed shopping plaza. Also, grab cones at Yeti’s Ice Cream & Treats before heading to see some lions, tigers and ziplines.
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Oregon Caves National Monument in Southern Oregon is a fascinating tour of the unexepected underworld.
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