The Bend Ale Trail, Crater Lake, And The Oregon Food Scene



"I went to brush something off my cheek, and it was the floor."
-Raymond Chandler 

Have a gander at this:

There is a little town in Oregon called Bend.  The main attraction here is something known as "The Bend Ale Trail".  This is a brewery pilgrimage that lists 17 local breweries, all within pretty close proximity to one another.  When you look up the trail online (Bend Ale Trail), you are given a complete rundown on how one should go about hitting all the breweries, where to get your official "Ale Trail Passport", along with pertinent information like cab companies, eating locations, places to stay, etc.

"VINI, VIDI, VICI", my friends.....well, 7 out of 17 isn't too shabby (1 wasn't even open to the public and another other was in Sisters Oregon).  Besides, some of the ale trail breweries just didn't capture my interest... (cough, cough) Deschutes and McMenamins...

The ale trail pilgrimage begins with picking up your passport at the Bend Visitor Center, or printing online.  When you have made it to each brewery, they give you a stamp to show you have been there.  Once you have collected all the brewery stamps, you return to the visitor's center to collect a "prize" of some sort at the end.  As if copious amount of beer and the experience isn't prize enough, right?

It is said that one can tackle the entire trail in a single day.  We are choosing to divide it a little.  No sense in going buck juicy wild here.  Besides, pacing myself has never been my strong suit.

Keep reading so we can get to the real nitty-gritty and start talking beer, brewery reviews, food, and FUN!

Of Gipsy Kings and Beerfesting

 

This weekend, we had the great pleasure of attending the Gipsy Kings' 25th Anniversary tour concert at the Chateau St. Michelle Winery, in Woodinville, WA.  The Kings released their most recent album, Savor Flamenco, last September, which I must say, is a phenomenal piece of work, and amazing that these chaps have such longevity in the business. 

 



 

This being our (Madre, Padre, (K), and myself) first concert at the winery, we came prepared like troopers with snacks, drinks, seats, and smiles.  Madre put on a killer spread of cured meats and fruits, while I brought along the crackers, hummus, and a homemade Spanish Tortilla.  If you are unfamiliar with the Spanish Tortilla, check out the post about "Pinxto".  Basically it is a brick of delicious onion, potato, and egg, traditionally served in pintxo bars (tapas bars as well) in northern Spain.  Needless to say, there were some very envious onlookers as we munched away before the show.  The afternoon was fairly warm, but by show time, when the "Sons of the Gipsy Kings" kicked things off, the temperature had evened out to be perfectly comfortable. 

 

Pintxo - A Bite Of Spain In Seattle

www.pintxoseattle.com

It's sunny and it's warm today in Seattle.  The air hangs heavy and still as we sit sipping a chilled beer and glass of house cabernet.  Tuesday's workday is all wrapped and the masses adjourn to take advantage of what is left to be had from the day's failing sunlight. 

I've been pretty excited to try "Pintxo" since the first time (K) and I walked past it one evening.  After all, Mom's side of the family does originally hail from the Basque region of Spain.
 
Growing up in New Mexico, we specialized in our own specific variation of Latin food.  While we combine the many flavors of Spain (Due in part to the colonization by the Spanish), Mexico (Those that where assimilated), and our own local twists, flavors, and spices to make something you can only find in New Mexico, we really don't eat tapas or pintxos per say.  When we eat, it's a full meal deal.  Posole and carne adobada, tamales and pinto beans, tortillas, chile, chile, and a whole lot more chile (again it's an "e" not and "i".  This ain't Texas we're talking about).

Pintxos (Basque), or pinchos (Spanish) is the northern Spain version of tapas, a small snack typically eaten in bars while hanging out with friends or family.  The main difference between pintxos and tapas (aside from regional name change) comes from the aspect that pintxos are usually served "spiked" or skewered to a piece of bread.  What hooks me is the love of using Spanish sausage and all variations of fish (smoked, salted, pickled, etc.)

Pintxo in Seattle, Belltown if you will, aims to focus and bring the flavors of Spain to us through fresh, locally sourced ingredients.

Blah, Blah, Blah, let's get down to how the food is, shall we?

Paddle Boarding & Beer Tasting

This weekend, (K) and I decided to take full advantage of the nice weather now that it is coming to mid-August.  It also didn't hurt to stay away from the madness along the Queen Anne waterfront due to the Annual Seattle Hempfest in full swing.

For the longest time, I had been dying to try Stand Up Paddle Boarding.  It looked like good core and upper body exercise, you are out on the water just cruising around, and it's probably the closest thing I will get to surfing in the near future.  If you don't know what Stand Up Paddle Boarding is, either you are from the mid-west, or living under a rock.  I mean that in the nicest way.  It has kind of become the new thing to do, at least around here that I am aware of.  Green Lake, Lake Union, and Lake Washington are prime spots for partaking in this activity.  All you really do is grab your board, hop on it (staying on your knees until you get your bearings), then slowly standing up on it while you use this gigantic single bladed paddle to give a little cruising speed.

After we managed to recover from ending up at the totally wrong beach (NWPS northwestpaddlesurfers.com/ has two locations along the Kirkland WA waterfront), we grabbed our boards and got to it.  I must say, my legs certainly felt it the next day.  It can be a bit wobbly, but you catch on fast.  I only had one incident where I almost ended up in the drink, but dropped like a stone onto the board from my feet and managed to recover before tipping over and really loosing it.

While not like the typical sweat drenching, metal slugging gym workout I was used to in the past, I did work up a nice lather cruising around Juanita Beach Park.  Of course, a workout not being my primary goal, it was just nice to get out on the water and relax.  There were plenty of amateurs (look at me talking like a pro) zipping around, running into each other, and cutting awfully close to my board.  I can't help but wonder:  With a entire lake free to board on, why the hell are they cutting me off and getting in my way like a Las Vegas cab driver???

Needless to say, if the opportunity should present itself, go for it.  It was a lot of fun and great way to spend a few hours outside.  While I am no longer in a rush to go out and buy a board (I thought it was going to be my new "thing"), I would definitely do it again.  Actually, I have to do it again since I bought another Groupon thinking this is what I was going to be doing all summer long.