Blacksmith has been a staple in the Central Oregon fine dining scene for 18 years. Many people choose to dine there for birthdays, anniversaries and other celebrations. It’s a solid choice. Food is consistently good, and the dark ambiance makes for an intimate or private meal setting. When I first moved to Bend, I remember going to the bar at Blacksmith. It was the first restaurant opened by Gavin McMichaels, who became a known restaurateur in Bend. The u-shaped bar surrounded a talented, creative woman bartender who was studying mixology .

It was early November, light snow was falling and the two flatscreen TVs were announcing that Obama would be president. Two months later, I took permanent residency in Bend. In those days, late at night, the bar and lounge would be transformed into a dance club. I’ve returned, primarily for celebrations, every few years.

Nekol Bardwell and Todd Bardwell bought the restaurant in February 2017. They retained the talented Bryan Chang, who quickly worked his way up from line cook to sous chef and ultimately to executive chef.

The restaurant can’t open when there is no indoor dining. The area surrounding the restaurant is private property. Plus, as General Manager Beka Lowry-Evans told me, “Blacksmith is about the ambiance, not eating steak on the patio.” It’s nice that it is finally running again, but they are closed Monday and Tuesday due to lack of staff.

Servers explain what is in each dish as you would expect from a fine dining restaurant. As our server delivered an amuse-bouche, he rattled off the ingredients — Alaskan salmon and creme fraiche on a large radish slice sprinkled with green onion. Smokey, dilly fresh, it loosened the tastebuds.

Next, rosemary bread from Big Ed’s was brought to the table. A plate was placed atop a shot glass then flipped to spill out the proprietary dipping sauce. The deep brown house-made mixture includes balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire, a little olive oil and honey. Toasted coriander and mustard seed give it a delicious uniqueness that goes well on the bread when eaten with a good steak.

I’d been told the Caesar salad was one of the better versions around. My friend and I split the salad. Chopped romaine lettuce was lightly tossed in a creamy dressing that had more of an anchovy edge than garlic and dusted with fresh parmesan. A baked parmesan crisp and two large polenta “croutons” accompanied the salad. The polenta was crispy and soft in the middle with a distinct corn flavor similar to their polenta fries.

Blacksmith is known as being one of Bend’s best restaurants to get a steak. Their meat is High Desert grass-fed beef that has been dry-aged a minimum of 24 days. Dry aging brings out the deep flavor of the steak. The Rogue Mignon was incredibly flavorful and tender. Served atop a garlic potato sauce, a small round of Rogue smoked bleu cheese is placed on a grilled filet mignon. It’s then topped with lightly roasted asparagus spears and a variety of microgreens. The meat and vegetables were expertly cooked to perfection. The fresh greens offered a balance to the rich creaminess of the cheese and sauce.

My friend chose the Chicken Marsala. It was a hardier than the typical preparation with lightly breaded chicken sitting on roasted garlic mashed potatoes. A pool of thick brown marsala sauce filled the scoop of the plate. It was topped with rich mushrooms and microgreens. The chicken was tender enough to be cut with a fork.

We opted for a side of fried Brussels sprouts. These were among the best Brussels I’ve ever had. Sliced and flash fried, they are light as air. The Chef’s secret is that they are cooked in fish sauce, which takes away their bitterness. Puffed rice adds another dimension and an almost nuttiness.

It had been a long time since I’ve gone to a bar’s happy hour and was happy to venture out to Blacksmith one Saturday night. There were only two tall chairs on each of the bar’s three sides. If a party had four people, there was room to sit them together without infringing on others. Plexiglass was hung from the ceiling and separated the bartenders from the patrons. It so happens that all the bartenders are women, which brings back memories.

They offer various creative drinks, including a Marg Fresca — a margarita with Azuñia Blanco tequila, fresh-squeezed orange juice, coconut water and a splash of pineapple and lime juice, rimmed with chili lime salt. The Coco-Mojo is made with Plantation Silver Rum, Humm Coconut Lime Kombucha and muddled mint. I opted for the Garden Gimlet. Distinct Aria Portland dry gin is mixed with fresh lime juice, agave and muddled cucumber and cilantro. Refreshing and easy to drink, it went with my happy hour eats and starters.

I couldn’t miss a dish called “Our Famous Mac and Cheese.” It comes with smoked cheddar, bacon or truffle (or you could mix two). I first tried a mix of bacon and truffle. It’s challenging to use truffle oil in a dish, as it can hijack the other good flavors. It was too potent, and the server agreed to replace it.

The second try was the smoked cheddar and bacon mix. It was quite satisfying. The smokey cheddar and bacon complemented the creamy cheesiness. The lightest dusting of bread crumbs added texture.

The Crab Corndogs were the only disappointment of all the dishes I tried. Six corndog-breaded, crab-stuffed lollipops came with fried caper tartar sauce. The breaded exterior overpowered the crab. Perhaps larger chunks of crab could have stood up to it. The tartar sauce needed more fried capers to get enough mix of the flavors. The bite I took where I scooped up most of the capers was tasty, but then there were no capers left for the rest of the sauce.

For much of this past year, Blacksmith has been closed, and I’m happy they survived. It’s a taste of what Bend was like a decade ago.