Fairytales from a foodie world – the pages turn and it’s a new chapter. I’m living the life of a consultant now, on the road four days a week, eating out every night.  Every foodie’s dream come true. So much fodder, so much food, so little stomach to fit it in! I’m fortunate that I’ve been sent to the sleepy resort town of Bend, OR which seems to have more craft breweries and good restaurants than most small cities.  So while these may not be as relevant for Seattle readers, if you ever need a recommendation for a restaurant in Bend, there’s definitely no shortage for me to write about. I started this blog as a way to share my love for food, and so it continues, in a far, far away land, called Bend, OR.

Every day we go through rounds of choices for places to go – and have decided that we’re not going to repeat any restaurants for the next 3 months. That’s 3 months x 4 weeks a month x 4 days a week = 48 restaurants! Most people don’t even eat out that often in a year!  So today’s choice was Baldy’s BBQ.

BBQ Extravaganza – brisket, ribs, chicken, and pulled pork; the brisket was by far the best part of this sampler tender and smoky but not as fatty as I would have liked, the ribs were also pretty tasty, pulled pork played well with the rest of the BBQ, but the chicken was a little charred for my taste. Besides, BBQ chicken is my least favorite form of BBQ. Overall, a very respectable sampler.

fried okra – perfectly cooked, just done in the middle so it’s not too slimy, but not overcooked to mush, fried with just the right amount of batter, but could have used a little more seasoning
corn pudding – sweet corn in a custard; my first experience with corn pudding and it reminded me of the Japanese corn croquets except without the breading on the outside, delicious!
mashed potatoes – with bacon, and a healthy spread of butter, rustic, but so satisfying
honey jalapeño cornbread – a little on the dry side without enough kick or sweetness, skip it

cherry cobbler – tart cherries with almond cake under a layer of almond slivers smothered by whip cream and vanilla ice cream; the tartness of the cherry filling keeps the dessert from being too sweet and it’s a great way to help digest all of the meat you just ate

For $45 dollars, the sampler could easily feed four people and included four sides. I ate the left overs for lunch for two days and it was still worthy of bragging about for lunch, though my pulled pork my have become a little dry. They use a slightly tangy, mostly sweet BBQ sauce, a little too sweet for my liking, but true BBQ fans will know that it’s really about the quality of the meat that matters. Definitely try the brisket!  We also had fried pickle spears, which is a treat for those of us who aren’t able to get a hold of fried pickles easily. And I will also vouch for the French fries that I might have snuck off my co-worker’s plate.  There’s no shame in our group when it comes to food.  That’s half the fun, ordering a variety of dishes and trying a bite of each. And then ordering dessert.  I’m in good company.  🙂

Overall, I enjoyed Baldy’s BBQ and their 80’s playlist. It’s nice to find BBQ in a place where you would least expect it, especially in such variety with all the prerequisite sides.

SUMMARY
Overall: happily ever after
Highlights: brisket, fried okra
Footnotes: the cubano pulled pork and ham sandwich with fried pickles also looked delicious