First visit: Jul 2012
The year after we decided to sell our summer townhome in Denver, we agreed to take an extended work/vacation somewhere in the US. I chose Oregon and Washington, as other than Seattle, I had very little exposure to either state. The first week of the trip was in Bend, and I worked all 5 days, and we would venture out for lunch and dinner. And beers... lots of them (after work hours of course...). Later I would refer to this jaunt as our first dedicated craft beer trip. For beer lovers, especially back then, Oregon was ground zero. Even the Bend tourist board got in on it, and encouraged everyone to try each brewery, and you would get a trinket at the end. We did just that but I can't remember what we got. We stayed in a cute small one bedroom / one bath cabin just outside downtown, where many things were walking distance. It was a fantastic start to the trip - and one of the best travel week's we've experienced.
We also enjoyed the food there, and over time I hope to discuss each of the (great) ones that are still open. Our favorite lunch place was certainly Los Jalapenos, and we went 3 times on our visit, including on the day we left. Some of you may remember me going on about how Taco Fiesta might be the best taqueria I've been to, and it's in the unlikely city of Baltimore. But now that I think about it, we loved Los Jalapenos just as much. In the unlikely town of Bend. Great salsas and tacos! It was a hit with both Mrs. RJG and myself, and she's really picky when it comes to food from her homeland. Since she never got a chance to eat at Taco Fiesta, I'm pretty sure she may vote Los Jalapenos as her favorite in the US to date.
Mrs. RJG reminded me that her dish here was the Camarones a la Diabla. She said it was super spicy and the rice and beans were hot and delicious.
7/28/12 (new entry)
Comments