After my cousin's wedding in the Oregon high desert we headed even further
south into the heart of the desert to the wonderful city of Bend. Recently the
Pronghorn golf resort was purchased by Auberge Resorts which will be opening a
luxury hotel there in 2015. For now they have several restaurants for dinner,
but all have the same menu. We were not aware of this but happy we chose
Chanterelle for fine dining as the views over the desert sunset were
spectacular, and the temperature inside was 70, while outside it hovered at
97.
Chef Kevin Linde was off that night, but his team was superb. I have sadly
misplaced my dining notes so must rely on memory and their website. I did have
an awesome Crater Lake Vodka Martini with olives stuffed with blue cheese from
the famous Rogue Creamery (which we visited later on the trip and fell in love
with). Deviled Eggs came in a trio of Oregon Truffle, Traditional with Caviar,
and Peppered Bacon. They were all great but the truffle was quite mild for our
mushroom loving taste.
For our main course we both had the Porcini Dusted Elk Tenderloin with
Confit Fingerling potatoes, Creamed Swiss Chard, Black Truffle and Foraged
Mushroom Demi-Glace...it was amazing and the wine they suggested was an intense
red blend called Tyrus Evan Ciel du Cheval 2007 Claret made from 52%
Cab/31%Merlot/10%Cab Franc and 7% Petit Verdot from Red Mountain in SE
Washington State, but bottled in Oregon.
Sadly our recollection ends there, but we adored dinner much more than the
resort as the internet was not working and we were quite frazzled being in the
desert with no connections!
2nd posting on same
Okay-I found my notes and must apologize....
We actually started with a white wine which manager Ben also suggested,
Harper-Voit "Sur Lie" Pinot Blanc 2013 from the Chehalem Mountains of the
Willamette Valley which was a huge winner with us both.
Sammie & Shelby gave superb service all evening which was a blessing
after our frazzled nerves from the lack of internet!
There was unexciting plain bread and focaccia that was awesome with a
dipping oil with Malden sea salt, lemon zest and rosemary.
The knives for the Elk were Laguiole and the crystal was Riedel all the
better for a good impression.
My starter was the Scallop Ceviche with a creamy Tarragon-Lemon Mignonette,
Serrano chili, salted watermelon and tortilla crisps that was so refreshing in
the intense heat.
Will opted for the Marionberry Tart with Tillamook Vanilla Ice Cream for
dessert and I tasted. It was a memorable event, but I couldn't remember
everything a week later!
