Zydeco Kitchen – Bend, Oregon
I’ve been informed by my family that I need to start writing more about food. I guess it makes sense, since looking up new places to nosh is one of my very favorite activities (second only to the noshing itself, of course).
So, I’m going to regale you with a tale about one of my very favorite places to eat in Bend: Zydeco Kitchen.
“Zydeco” refers to a style of folk music from Louisiana, so it’s no surprise that this Zydeco’s menu has a distinctly Cajun flair. This was actually what first drew me to Zydeco – you all know that I am a Southerner in a Westerner’s life, and nothing makes me happier than a hush puppy and some shrimp and grits.
The neat thing about Zydeco’s menu is that it pulls from Cajun traditions without losing the Oregonian sensibility of locally grown and processed foods (they’ll even waive the corkage fee on any wine from Oregon or Washington). Everything tastes fresh and healthy without tasting like a vegan restaurant (no offense, but I’ll see your Chia-seed-cous-cous with almond milk and I’ll raise you one grass-fed ribeye and sauteed broccolini with garlic sauce).
The roasted clams appetizer (with capers, piquillo peppers, olives and lemon butter over grilled bread) might be the best thing on the menu. We first tried it on a frosty night in December, and it was enough to make you want to hide under the tablecloth and never leave. The soft, buttery clams mixed with the tart acids of capers and olives is a match made in culinary heaven, and soaking up the peppery, slightly salty juice with fresh grilled bread – I have to stop, because I’m drooling on the keyboard and it’s getting weird.
Zydeco clearly has more than just inventive flavors going for it, though, because every protein we’ve gotten has been cooked to absolute perfection. The fish is flaky and delicate, shrimp are perfectly finished, steak, duck and pork are all cooked the way you request, not some happy hour cook’s version of what medium-rare looks like. I come from a long line of waiter-eyebrow-raising “burn it!” requesters, but they will even burn it for you, no questions asked.
They have a full bar and an excellent seasonal cocktail menu that isn’t just bits of fruit stuck on the outside of a low-ball, but real, delicious mixes of fresh juices and inventive flavors with just the right amount of high-quality alcohol. Bend being Bend, they also have a great craft beer list, and, as I mentioned, some good local wines. Back in December, I had a version of a whiskey sour that forever changed my view on the humble party drink, and for Mother’s Day I indulged in a marionberry margarita that was a northwestern summer in a glass.
Zydeco embodies one of the things I love about the new food revolution – it’s possible to get a truly gourmet meal and five star service without ordering Chicken Cordon-Bleu and wearing a tux. We’ve sat inside and out and the waitstaff is well-timed (none of this “you’re in the middle of a super emotional story, may I ask how you’re enjoying the halibut?”), knowledgeable and friendly. When my mom ordered her Wild Boar Tenderloin well-done (burnt!) the waiter wrote it down without so much as a condescending eyebrow twitch. You want it well-done, it will be the most delicious well-done tenderloin you’ve ever tasted, and we won’t even judge you for it.
It’s a good place to eat, is what I’m saying. Now, show of hands, who actually hung in for 600 words about my food loves?
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