The year began as any new year, with promises of healthy food trends and restaurant reviews. In a typical year, I would look back at different dishes and types of popular food. To state the obvious, 2020 has been anything but typical. Restaurant trends were about finding new ways to stay in business creatively while serving food safely. We saw takeout where we’d never imagined it would be available. We had happy hour in an alleyway and relied on food delivery apps. But if there was one trend that persisted throughout 2020, it was that of community and giving around food.

To fulfill my resolution to get healthy, I started the new year with a juice cleanse from a couple of local health food restaurants. Mother’s Cafe, Salud (now reopened), and Ora (temporarily closed) offered detox juice plans in Bend. Just Cut Juice Bar had a delicious juice-fast regimen in Redmond. To continue to take off those holiday pounds, I found keto (low carb) options — cauliflower pizza crust from Bend Pizza Kitchen, low carb Chinese dishes from Chans, and zucchini zoodles from Olive Garden. The year showed promise.

February continued as usual, with reviews of new restaurants including Bend Izakaya Ronin and Monkless Belgian Brasserie, and two new eateries in Redmond — Carnaval Mexican Restaurant and Becerra’s Bistro on 6th. Becerra’s had great hope, having invested 22 months in restoring a 1926 hotel site as its dining room. They brought escargots to Redmond. But a month later, they would not survive the curse of 2020.

Restaurants were among the businesses most affected by the pandemic lockdown in mid-March. COVID-19 spreads easily indoors when people are seated too close together as they had been in popular restaurants. The first precaution was to shut down restaurants, to not allow dining in.

As Cliff Eslinger, co-owner/ executive chef of 900 Wall, said, “It’s been like opening a new business every other week because things are changing so rapidly. We are constantly adjusting.” What ensued were ever-morphing creative solutions to keep the restaurants in business. South Bend Bistro was the perfect example of going-with-the-flow. It started with takeout of its fine-dining unique bistro menu. It opened its large patio during summer. As the cold weather hit, they added 17 portable heaters to the OSHA required socially distanced tables and 75% open airflow.

Although a few restaurants closed down temporarily, many more offered takeout. Some eateries like Washington Kitchen and Cocktails found it to be a successful business plan that will continue after all pandemic restrictions are lifted.

We pulled together an ever-changing list of restaurants that were offering takeout. Instead of reviews, I visited restaurants following a different theme each week—Latin, pubs, Asian, Italian.

Restaurants who you could never imagine offering takeout began posting menus for pickup or delivery. Now, you could get a fine Osso Bucco from Jackalope, steaks, and sides from Bos Taurus, the full Mediterranean menu from Joolz, and delicious meals from bistros like 900 wall, Chops, and South Bend Bistro. We could get great food while isolating ourselves in our homes. And it wasn’t just dinner. We could now pick up a variety of breakfasts and brunches, complete with Bloody Mary kits from Victorian Cafe, mix from Cafe Sintra, and the Lemon Tree.

It’s a bittersweet pleasure for these restaurants’ fans as much of a challenge that it’s been for businesses. While we can’t enjoy the ambiance and excellent service, we don’t have to schedule a reservation or wait for a table to enjoy the delicious food.

Some menus were altered to accommodate food, put the food in a box, and not eaten right away. Chow and the Victorian Cafe added more breakfast sandwiches and burritos as they travel better than the typical Eggs Benedict menu items.

To offer that fresh-from-the-kitchen experience, Take and Make meals became popular. You can get a box of ingredients to make your own pizza from 10 Barrel, detailed directions for cooking a high-quality steak from Bos Taurus or step-by-step reheat instructions for a full Thanksgiving dinner. Heat up and assemble instructions for Ramen were popular. It is available from Miyagi, Bend Izakaya Ronin, and the new Bop Culture delivery-only ghost kitchen.

As the weather turned nice, outdoor dining made it possible to add tables to make up for some of the restaurants’ reduced seating. The city council and downtown association agreed to let restaurants put up canopies and tents in a few parking spots. Now all of the restaurants were sidewalk cafes. San Simón’s Tin Pan Alley tables felt like a small European sidewalk bar. For a while, it almost felt normal and charming.

Reviews could begin again as I visited Chomp Chomps’ Japanese street food, ate crocodile at Southern Comfort in the 9th Street pod, devoured the divine sandwiches at Hogan’s Hoagies at Rivers Place food pod or enjoyed an amazing burger at Incred-a-Bowl or Detroit Pan Pizza at Abe Capanna’s. Loyaute, a fine-dining pop-up outside the Elixir Wine Company, was a taste of luxury Chef’s dinner.

While we grieve the loss of a few excellent small restaurants like Red Martini and Becerra’s Bistro on 6th, a few brave souls opened during the pandemic shutdown. Vine-N-Tap in Redmond opened right as the first shutdown was announced. The original plan was to be a dinner restaurant with wine lists and beer on tap. They switched gears successfully thanks to Chef Jenny West that makes an art form out of breakfast and sandwiches. Westside Cafe opened in Redmond in May, also serving excellent locally sourced fresh food. Their journey has been challenging, and they are hoping to keep the doors open through the coming year. Deschutes Junction took over Round Table Pizza in the middle of all the pandemic restrictions.

Rather than scrutinizing restaurants when they aren’t working under optimal conditions, I went in search of the best sandwiches, salads, soups, breakfast burritos, donuts, and more.

With the cool weather of fall, indoor dining was again closed due to a second surge of COVID-19 cases. Outdoor dining was allowed, but now it was too cold to sit outside.

Again, local eateries got creative, from extended awnings with additional heaters to individual wooden structures for tables at San Simón to individual plastic bubbles around tables at 5 Fusion and other restaurants.

Throughout the year, it was inspiring to witness the heart of our Bend community. When the initial shutdown stopped business-as-usual for the local restaurants, many of their loyal patrons contributed by buying gift cards that they gave away to families in need. Other generous regulars sponsored programs like one that supplied lunches for hospital workers from Nancy P’s.

Despite their decrease in revenue, these restaurants came to the aid of a community in need.

More families became food insecure. Each week, Zydeco offered free meals to affected families, including restaurant workers, frontline medical staff, teachers, and veterans. Village Baker and Laughing Planet provided free lunches to kids who weren’t at school to receive the free meals that so many families need.

The generosity continued after the Oregon fires. Over fifty families came to Central Oregon when they lost their homes and all possessions. Despite the hardships from decreased business this year, restaurants rallied to help. At first, they donated at their own expense. Joolz, Red Robin, Greg’s Grill, Zydeco, Jackalope, Bend-o-Bento, 5 Fusion, Barrio, Nancy P’s, Bad Boy BBQ, Java Jungle of Bend, Bend Pizza Kitchen, Chick-fil-A, Mazatlan of Redmond, 10 Barrel, Terrebonne Depot, and The Dough Nut, all donated food to help the evacuees.

The difficulties for restaurants will go on in 2021. If you are able, treat yourself to eat out a couple of times a week. Let’s continue to support these exemplary members of our community.