A&E restaurant review August 2011
Kokanee Café ~ Vaut le Voyage (Translation: It’s Worth the Trip)
LINDEN GROSS-Author
I heard about the Kokanee Café shortly after moving to Bend. Five years later, my dining
companion and I finally made it there with a friend involved in the San Francisco restaurant
scene in tow. “The further we drove out in the woods, the lower my expectations,” he would
confess halfway through dinner. It’s hard to blame him. Who would expect to find such superior dining by the intersection of RFD 1419 and 113?
You know you’re in for something special as soon as the bread hits the table. Instead of being served with butter, it’s accompanied by a mixture of ground fennel and sesame seeds, pine nuts and almonds that you mix in olive oil.
Our starters shared that same sense of distinctive deliciousness. We slurped up one of the day’s specials, a chilled strawberry-peach soup with a star anise-, cinnamon- and lemon balm-accented champagne base that made it light and bright.
The grilled asparagus tart with its perfectly poached egg on flaky phyllo crust, with a caperaioli and shavings of parmesan was as good as it sounded. The crab cakes were lovely, with an almost creamy texture. The evening’s winner, however, was the Japanese-style minced scallop Ceviche topped with Tobiko and served with fried wontons and a seaweed salad. This positively brilliant appetizer isn’t on the menu, but it should be.
“Food should be fun,” says executive chef Roscoe Robertson, whose cuisine is as influenced by
his extensive travels as by his three-year apprenticeship under a French chef. “It should make
you happy.”
No problem there. My pan roasted duck made me positively joyful with its crispy skin and
tender, juicy meat. The lemon broth on the plate countered the richness of the bird and the
earthiness of the accompanying mushroom risotto, while lightly dressed arugula provided the
perfect peppery foil.
“Oh wow,” exclaimed my dining companion upon tasting his 12-ounce rib-eye, served with
demi glace, smoked blue cheese butter and tomato and thyme jam. “This gives new meaning to
tender.” Personally, I could have done without the tomato jam topping, but that’s just because
my palate runs to savory. The other two at the table loved how the sweetness of the jam married
with the bold flavors of the blue cheese butter and the steak.
Finally, the lamb shanks braised with chamomile and apricot and served with pine nuts and
currant relish were succulent and surprisingly delicate in flavor. Of course, I would have been
happy just to feast on the garlic whipped potatoes served with both meat courses. Yum!
Dessert followed.
Three words best describe that experience: Don’t miss out. The dense
chocolate mousse served with a light hazelnut meringue cookie, freshly whipped malted cream
(now there’s a taste sensation) and dots of pinot noir syrup was delicious. But the butterscotch
crème brulée, which was so generous in size that we dubbed it crème brulée on steroids, was like
eating the best butterscotch pudding combined with the best crème and the best brulée you’ve
ever had. Elegant comfort food at its finest on that front.
Toward the end of our scrumptious meal, a couple who had just finished dining at the bar in
jeans and T-shirts stopped by our table. We had assumed from their dress that they were locals.
Despite the recent remodel which has taken the Kokanee Café from country kitchen to sleek in
terms of decor, the restaurant still manages to comfortably blend campers with Bendites out for a
sophisticated evening.
“We’re Mr. And Mrs. Frumster,” the visiting couple joked. Then they got serious. “I’m 58 years
old and this is the best meal I’ve had in my whole life,” the woman announced. After a few
minutes of chitchat, they said goodbye. “Will you marry me?” she asked chef Roscoe as they left
the restaurant. I was tempted to ask the same question myself.
A&E restaurant review August 2011
Linden Gross 541-317-1509
Kokanee Café
25545 SW Forest Service Road; Camp Sherman
Phone: (541) 595-6420
www.kokaneecafe.com
Owner: Peter Lowes
Open May – October (Check for specific dates)
Hours: Dinner: 5 p.m.- close
Photos courtesy of Chuck Greenwood Photography
