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About The Bulletin. (Bend, OR) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (June 3, 2021)
Thursday, June 3, 2021 • The BuLLeTIn GO! MAGAZINE • PAGE 13 FOOD TRUCKS & CARTS p.14 bendbulletin.com/goeat Continued from previous page The SCP (Soul Community Planet) hotel group calls itself a holistic hospi- tality company centered on the values of personal wellness, social good and the environment. Lots of wood, an- tiques and plants decorate white open spaces throughout the hotel, including the inside area of The Rooftop, with a windowed ceiling and walls to reveal the lovely view when the weather is less than ideal. Fire tables, fireplaces and heaters in the outside area help keep diners warm on chilly days. Now that it is spring, a planted wall is covered in flowers. The Rooftop’s menu offers healthy, fresh food. General Manager Tobias Colvin told me in an email about the local sources with whom they work. “Currently we work with 5 King- doms Farm out of Sisters for our com- posting program, Gorilla Greens out of Bend for our micro-greens and sprouts, which give a wonderful taste to a lot of our menu items. With the growing season starting in Central Oregon, we are growing our partnerships with a few new farms including Sungrounded Farm out of Terrebonne, Deschutes Gourmet Mushrooms between Bend and Redmond, among 5 to 6 other farms we are vetting for their vegetables and fruits.” My friend started with a Scratch Margarita, which I safely sampled. It’s made with premium silver tequila, Abi- qua orange liquor, freshly squeezed cit- rus, cucumber, and agave nectar, and it is served on the rocks. It was the perfect balance of sweet and tart with a kicker of tequila. I skipped the alcohol as I had to drive back to Bend. We decided on a sampling of small bites. None were particularly “small.” The Shoyu Ahi Poke bowl had a gen- erous serving of rice. The flatbread was about the size of an individual pizza, and the Forager Burger was full-size. The Shoyu Ahi Poke bowl was made to meet the restaurant’s healthy fresh- ness goal. Chunks of fresh, raw ahi tuna are flavored with a hint of shoyu and piled on a bowl of calrose rice. There wasn’t enough sauce to spill over and flavor the rice. Macadamia nuts, Maui onion, green onion and sesame added hints of a variety of flavor. The seaweed and gochugaru Korean chili flakes were the dominant flavors. The menu lists that the bowl has Maldon salt. As Or- The flower wall is beginning to bloom on The Rooftop at SCP Redmond. Flatbread with buffalo sauce and celery leaves egon’s Jacobson Flake salt is excellent, I’m unsure why he didn’t use a local option. A spoonful of macaroni salad sat atop the rice, similar to poke bowls I’ve had in Hawaii. I was happy for the creamy dressing in the salad to add fla- vor to the rice. All of the flavors were fresh and light, and if you like it that way, you’ll enjoy it. I prefer my poke with a little more drama. My friend and I loved the vegetarian Forager Burger. Despite its name, this is a meatless patty handcrafted from porcini mushrooms and quinoa. It had a meat texture but was bursting with a nutty umami flavor. The caramelized red onions balanced the patty with sweetness. The gruyere Swiss added a dimensionally stronger flavor than a simple Swiss cheese. Arugula gave a taste of pepper. A generous slather of charred green onion aioli was the perfect complement to the rest of the burger. It was served with crispy Kettle Chips that are manufactured in Salem. Flatbread is listed on the menu, but the toppings change seasonally. The flat- bread we ordered had buffalo sauce. The server enthusiastically recommended it. We didn’t expect the overpowering vine- gar of chicken wing sauce. It was topped with small bites of cauliflower and cel- ery leaves. The combination of the bitter leaves and the strong vinegar of the sauce was not a flavor profile that my friend and I enjoyed. The menu also includes tastes that go well with the custom cocktails. The Rooftop offers these items a la carte. If you order three or more items, they will come on a board with locally sourced seasonal jam and mustard. Items in- clude roasted Spanish nuts, citrus-mar- inated olives, matiz sardines, Point Reyes blue cheese or French Prairie brie with rosemary crackers, salami fin- occhiona, or hot coppa pork salume. It’s such a great space; I plan to re- turn with friends on a warm summer day for a cocktail and Forager Burger or a board of small bites. That’s just what The Rooftop intended. e e Reporter: barb@barbgonzalezphotography.com
