THE BULLETIN • FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2013
restaurants
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Ingredient-focused A lthough Kristin wa s a passionate cook, she lacked formal training. So while the couple worked on building restoration for a year and a half, Kristin studied at the Cascade Culinary Institute and worked in downtown Bend at both Zydeco and Staccato. She came away convinced that high-quality ingredients are the most important element in cuisine. "It's what you're using to start with," she said. "So although I consider our style atTerrebonne Depot to be new American, I call it 'ingredient-focused cuisine.'" In my recent visits, nothing has demonstrated that focus so well as the lettuce wraps, listed as an appetizer on both the lunch and dinner menus. In fact, these are so far ahead of the P.F. Chang's variety, they deserve their own trademark. The key ingredient in Kristin's version of the wrap is pork belly, thick slices cured in-house, balancing smoky meat with savory fat. Diners fold these into leaves of butter lettuce, add some hoisin sauce, and sprinkle in a quotient of tart minced lime, spicy jalapeno peppers, salty roasted cashews, cool cucumbers and savory cilantro. They may be the best wraps I've ever had. When my dining companion and I stopped at the Depot after several hours of hiking at Smith Rock, we also shared two other dishes. Not as showstopping as the wraps, we still thoroughly enjoyed them. A trio of fish tacos were made with fresh ahi t una, searedmedium rare,served in warm corn tortillas with avocado and cilantro. Our complaint was that the flavor of the tuna was overpowered by a surfeitof red-cabbage slaw, mixed with mango, and a sweet-and-spicy, sauce of honey, lime and jalapenos. The ingredients were outstanding in themselves; there was just too much of them. Baked ziti was a c lassic comfort dish. The pasta tubes were baked with a s avory t omato sauce, ricotta a n d mozzarellacheeses, and big chunks of I t alian sausage. There was nothing really out of the ordinary with this dish, but it was perfectly prepared.
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freshblackberries,raspberries and blueberries. Like everything else here, it was delicious. There's no doubt that Terrebonne Depot is, indeed, on solid footing. — Reporter: janderson@ bendbulletin.corn Ryan Brennecke /The Bulletin
The flat bread appetizer from Terrebonne Depot inciudes fig jam, bacon, Gruyere cheese, arugula and balsamic reduction.
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SMALL BITE La Magieis now serving a
Well trained When we returned for a formal dinner a few nights later, we were greeted by a Burlington Northern freight train rambling past the Depot. Trains pass several times a day, on rails only about 50 feet east of a solid wooden deck where as many as 30 diners may be conversing beneath shady umbrellas. Inside, the mood is casual but classy, like a h i gh-end tavern. Diners — equal parts Smith Rock v i sitors, U.S. Highway 97 travelers and area residents — sit at nicely varnished wood tables and chairs beneath hanging lamps. The dining room seats about 65, including about a dozen at a central bar. As it had been at lunch, service was friendly and attentive, never intrusive. To begin, we shared a kale salad that might have been a meal in itself. The green leaves were tossed with hazelnuts, coarsely chopped red onions and chunks of Oregonzola cheese from the Rogue Creamery. The salad was finished with an avocado vinaigrette that perfectly balanced the other flavors. Two house-made soups, accompanimentsto our entrees, were excellent. I was partial to thesavory chicken-ricepotage, made with short-grain rice and big pieces of white meat, along with celery, onions, carrots, green peppers and thyme. But my companion's tomato-basil bisque was also very good. Her 8-ounce top sirloin was
cooked rare, as she likes it, with caramelized onions and Or-
ribboned basil. They w ere stackedupon fivefresh asparegonzola on a bed of peppery agus spears and a bed of faro, arugula, with a balsamic driz- a hulled wheat grain, cooked zle on garlic mashed potatoes. with diced onions. This was I h a d A l a skan h a l ibut an outstanding dish, one that I cheeks, a seasonal special. haven't had elsewhere. Three cheeks were c r ustKristin showed off her baked with pistachio nuts and ing skills with a Meyer lemon topped with a c a prese-like cake, featuring a bottom layer salsa of minced tomatoes and of pudding and a topping of
full breakfast and lunch menu in its downtown Bend location, incorporating the former Soba Noodles. Owner Di Long continues to offer a wide choices of French-style cakes and pastries, but has added a variety of other dishes showcasing her freshly baked breads. Open daily at 7:30 a.m. 945 NW. Bond St., Bend; 541-241-7884, www.lamagiebakery.com.
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