Change Ruffles the Status Quo at Pine Tavern — In a Good Way

Change Ruffles the Status Quo atPine Tavern — In a Good Wayby LINDEN GROSS for Cascade A&EThings are changing so quickly at Pine Tavern that the servers can barelykeep up:New ownerBill McCormick, co-founder of the McCormick & Schmicks, anational chain of seafood restaurants, and the former owner of JakesFamous Crawfish restaurant in Portland.New dcorremodel features include five intimate dinner nooks withcurtains that can be drawn.New daily menu that meshes new fare with beloved classics.For decades Pine Tavern wasnt just the place to dine in Bend, it wasalmost the only place to dine if you wanted to treat yourself. Over theyears, each changing of the guard has brought something new and excitingto the table. This latest change in ownership (just the fourth since therestaurant was established in 1936) promises just that.The bar was almost full when I arrived at 5pm. By the time my friends andI headed into dinner a little over an hour later, the dining room waspacked as well. We settled into our window-side table overlooking MirrorPond and after much scrutiny of the new menu managed to agree on threeappetizers and two salads.The grilled half an artichoke served with melted butter was sensational,with the smoky flavor elevating a somewhat bland vegetable to a sublimenew level. Id suggest ordering one for every two peopleor not sharing atall. The accompanying arugula salad with a wonderfully tart lemon-peppervinaigrette provided the perfect palate cleanser.I was delighted to find the same salad accompanying two large Dungenesscrab cakes. I was less thrilled with the crab cakes themselves, whichcould have been crispier. And while they were fresh as could be, we allfound them under-seasoned and agreed that a little more onion or shallotwould help.I had no quibbles with the Cajun Shrimp & Grits which were perfect. Theshrimp piled atop the grits in a lovely presentation which included leeks,bell pepper, garlic, shallots and onions (so thats where they went) wereplump, tender and super flavorful. Comfort food goes seaside. Yum.Both salads were tasty. The Caesar could have used a smidge more dressingand a more even-handed toss, so the nod and eight thumbs up went to theArugula and Roasted Beet Salad with goat cheese, red onion and balsamicvinaigrette.When it came time to think about our next course, we eyed the impressiveentre salads before settling on our selectionsa mix of Pine TavernClassics, Seafood Entrees and Chefs Specials. The Lobster Scampi withtomatoes, garlic and shallots in a white wine butter sauce was asdeliciously decadent as it sounds. The linguini it was served on, however,tasted too strongly of lemon. A lighter hand on that front would provide abright note without overpowering the star of the dish. The duck breastneeded less time in a hotter pan, which would have resulted in a bettersear and rarer, juicier slices of duck. But the balsamic reduction saucewas the perfect foil, and even our non-duck lover liked the dish.Two of our entrees were hands-down winners. The 16-oz. Bone-in Ribeyetopped with blue cheese compound butter, which after much debate we hadselected over the prime rib, was ridiculously good. I cant remember whoannounced that it was one of the best rib-eyes shed ever eaten. I was toobusy diving in for another bite.The Blackened Thresher Shark was equally wonderful, especially because weasked for a side of beurre blanc, my favorite butter sauce for fish, inaddition to the mango chutney the shark came with. Its intoxicating withthe beurre blanc, announced Deb. Id have the shark again tonight if Icould, but unfortunately we didnt leave a single bite so no leftovers.By the time we got to dessert, they had run out of two of our topchoicesthe house-made scone bread pudding served with Irish Whiskey Sauceand the Mixed Berry Cobbler. We consoled ourselves with the Sky High MudPie (oh yea) and the old-school Strawberry Shortcake which one of myfriends announced was like a warm hug from Grandma. Our hands-downfavorite, however, was the silky, creamy, eggy and utterly lovely classicVanilla Crme Brulle. It just doesnt get any better than that.Yup, its true. The more things change, the more they stay the same.Pine Tavern Restaurant967 NW Brooks Street; Bend541-382-5581 www.pinetavern.comOwner: Bill McCormickHours: Lunch: Mon-Sat 11:30am -4:30pmDinner Daily 5:00pm-close