Central Oregon Road Trip
Chloe and the PDX-TV crew
visit Central Oregon.
More Road Trips
Travel Log for Central Oregon Road Trip
PDX TV Reports just can’t get enough of our www.Doitnw.com Road Trips, and what’s not to love? You get to see a great new part of Oregon, and you check out amazing restaurants when you get there! This month, PDX TV Reports travels to a favorite winter destination Bend, Oregon! Chris, my photographer, is an avid winter sports guy; so he couldn’t wait for our latest adventure! My favorite Winter sport is sitting on the couch, but I found out there’s much more to Bend than just the great outdoors!
Chris and I left the TV station in our little livepdx.com Scion at 7am. Note to all road trippers, if you are heading over a Mountain Pass in late September in a tiny little car with low profile wheels and street tires…check the weather forecast first! Chris was taking pictures of the snow with his camera phone and grinning ear to ear while I engaged in a 15 mph climb up the summit with my hands clenched around the steering wheel! =) 3 and ½ hours and one lightly snow covered mountain pass later, we arrived safe and sound and starving in Bend!
Our first stop was the Pilot Butte Drive-in. If you ever hear that “everything is bigger in Bend”, I’m pretty sure that Pilot Butte Drive-in was the catalyst for this saying! Their home-made biscuits are dubbed “Super Biscuits” because of their size, their hand cut chicken-fried steak is as large as a dinner platter, and their country gravy is made with three kinds of meat…three kinds!! But you haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen the 18 oz Pilot Butte Burger! This burger is the size of a hubcap, a juicy delicious hubcap! The buns alone weigh
one pound! If you think that’s big, wait until you see the double Pilot Butte Burger…that’s right…two 18 oz patties, another bun thrown in the middle and it’s served up on a pizza pan surrounded by what I’m going to estimate is an entire potato field full of fries! The menu is rounded out by hand-made sandwiches, salads, and Hand-scooped shakes (I tried 14 varieties...and it was worth every minute of brain freeze)! After our shoot, we had just enough time for my starving photographer to wolf down a bacon cheese-burger, then we jumped in the car and headed for our next destination!
Video: PDX-TV Reports
One of Everything | Bigger in Bend | Got It Covered | Hamburgers | Milkshakes
Now That's a Big Burger | Super Biscuits
I knew Baldy's BBQ was going to be good, because as soon as I stepped out of the car, you could smell the woody, smoky, meaty aroma of good BBQ. Baldy’s has won several awards for their BBQ and their rib specifically, and it’s easy to see why! Slow smoked for six hours and basted in a secret BBQ sauce that is so good they sell it to customers by the large nalgene bottle-full (no kidding, that’s what they sell their sauce in)! Brian, the owner has worked over the years to perfect his recipes and he just flat-out loves BBQ. His slogan at Baldy’s is “Taste the Love” and you definitely can! From the tender brisket, to what my photographer called “the best ribs ever” to the BBQ smothered pork fries (those are amazing by the way), You really can taste the work and quality that goes into the dishes at Baldy’s! When you stop in, Brian, the owner, showed us a 
secret dish. It’s not on the menu, but it’s what Brian eats at the restaurant. He called it a BBQ sundae, and I know every guy out there is going to want one of these! It’s garlic mashed potatoes, topped with pulled pork, Baked Beans, and BBQ sauce! Even though this bowl of BBQ’ed comfort food isn’t on the menu, if you go into Baldy’s and ask for Brian’s Sundae, they’ll make it for you! My photographer Chris, bought one of those nalgene bottles full of sauce, which he referred to as “My Precious” for the rest of the trip, and we piled back into the car for our third stop in our Central Oregon Road Trip!
Video: PDX-TV Reports
Award Winning Ribs | Best BBQ in Bend | Customer Favorites | A BBQ Sundae?
Taste the Love Or Get Sauced | Cats Meow | $10 Rack of Ribs
When I told folks around the station I was going to Bend for a Do It NW.com Road Trip, I had three people on three separate occasions ask me if I was going to Pine Tavern Restaurant. When I told them I was, they all said the same thing “get the scones”! Pine Tavern Restaurant is a Bend legend. This cozy warm restaurant boasts beautiful views, polished woodwork and an honest to goodness tree growing up through the middle of the restaurant! Pine Tavern gave us an all access pass to their kitchen and we got to see a beautiful chicken marsala prepared (fire and all), then we got to watch as an ahi special was prepared that would rival any 
restaurant in Portland (pomegranate seeds, jasmine rice, beets, brie, and a sweet corn and vanilla bean béarnaise were just a few of the ingredients in this beautiful dish), I also got to learn how to make up a Mud Pie, and yes…we did get to try out those famous scones! The scones weren’t what I was envisioning when I heard the term scones, they were more like sweet pillowy warm rolls, which you slather in honey butter! YUM! I can see what all of the fuss is about.
While I could barely fit in any more samples, I did manage to choke down some scones and bites of Ahi special, then, it was back in the car for our last and most western themed stop!
Video: PDX-TV Reports
Prime Rib & More | Smoked Salmon Salad | Seared Ahi Special | Delicious Chicken Marsala
Incredible Mud Pie | There's a 300 Year Old Tree Sticking Through the Roof!
Tumalo Feed Company is a cheerful yellow building with steer horns on the walls and red checkerboard table cloths. The feel of the restaurant is at once rustic and charming. Tumalo Feed Company is known for steak, and for good reason. The chefs at Tumalo understand steaks and cook them perfectly. The great thing is, they also prepare many other items perfectly, from roasted quail to lobster tail, the meals are large and delicious! Another thing I loved about Tumalo Feed Company is that every meal comes with a free Onion ring appetizer, and the 
sides are served family style and steaming hot in cast iron pans. I also got to try something a little different at Tumalo Feed Company…Inland Oysters; this dish is also called Rocky Mountain Oysters, and John, the owner of Tumalo Feed Company also called them the “Tenderest cut of all”. I did try the Inland Oysters, which are deep fried and served with a hot mustard BBQ dipping sauce, and I’ve got to say…they were pretty good! Tumalo Feed Company is just plain fun, and it’s not just dinner, it’s an experience!
Video: PDX-TV Reports
Find It All | 1890's Cowboy Atmosphere | Award Winning Steaks | Cultural Influences
Chloe Eats Mountain Oysters | Steak Recommendations | Lobster Too
You’ve got to do a little drive to Bend when you get a chance. This winter, it will be beautiful with the snow, and in addition to the fantastic restaurants, there is also a great shopping district, and of course, for all of you winter sport lovers…there is the mountain! When you take a road trip to Bend, check out www.Doitnw.com before you go. In addition to the great restaurants I visited you’ll find lots more Central Oregon locations listed! Because www.Doitnw.com covers the entire state of Oregon and SW Washington, you can use it to plan stops on your road trip or find a destination, but the great thing is, every restaurant you find on the site will be locally owned and after trying restaurants from almost every region on the site, I can promise that the food will be delicious! Happy Road Tripping, and if you find a restaurant on www.Doitnw.com that I should visit, or if you just want a more detailed explanation of what the heck an Inland Oyster is…email me, facebook me, or Twitter me! Until then, all this writing about food made me hungry…I’m going to go grab a snack!
Chloe Houser
PDX-TV Reports
