Restaurant review: The Brown Owl and more

Published 12:00 am Thursday, August 11, 2016

Lisandro Ramon didn’t rush into his latest venture. His transition from operating a food truck at The Lot to building out an old warehouse space in Bend’s newly rechristened Box Factory (previously the Old Mill Marketplace) took several months. The final result was worth the wait.

Bridging the gap between food cart and sit-down pub, The Brown Owl has retained its bright yellow truck — that’s the kitchen end of the operation — while providing an intimate and atmospheric adjoining space for dining and drinking.

A mix of industrial metals and recycled timbers, highlighted by an antique canoe inverted above the bar as a light fixture, the room is concealed behind a garage door that lifts open whenever weather cooperates. There’s seating for about 30 at tables and a bar on the main floor, another dozen on a second-level loge.

Ramon, the father of three young children, envisions this “owl’s nest” as a family-friendly destination where youngsters will be welcomed. Patrons order from the truck and, as they wait for their name to be called, grab a stool or table and place a drink order. The early response has been a positive one.

Eclectic menu

As executive chef as well as owner of The Brown Owl, Ramon has developed an intriguing and eclectic menu that adapts well to Oregon’s food-cart culture. The meals I’ve recently sampled don’t exactly blow me away, but they are hearty and creative, and certainly worth the price paid: Nothing here costs more than $12.

A classic carry-over from the original food-cart menu is “The Sando,” featuring a breast of buttermilk-fried chicken topped with an egg (fried medium, over easy) on toasted sourdough from Big Ed’s Artisan Bread. It’s finished with a slice of cheddar cheese and mixed greens tossed with mustard, and it’s delicious.

On other visits with my dining companion, I’ve sampled a burger, a burrito and a Cubano sandwich.

The burger was excellent, the Painted Hills beef shaped by hand and served with pickled red onions and hand-cut, house-spiced fries.

The burrito was vegetarian but not vegan: Black beans and egg were mixed with caramelized onions, peppers, cheddar, cream and salsa. The Cubano, curiously cooked in a panini press, offered ham and roast pork loin dressed with mustard and garlic aioli, along with Swiss cheese and thinly sliced house pickles.

I wasn’t crazy about the corn and cabbage salad, which might better have been described as coleslaw. In addition to white and red cabbage, it had carrots, chives, pickled red onions and grilled corn, all tossed in a tart buttermilk vinaigrette. A little sugar or honey would have gone a long way toward balancing the vinegar’s bite.

Nearby options

Across the Box Factory parking lot, beside Atlas Cider, are three other food carts for diners who seek variety. I enjoyed a barbecued chicken wrap ($8) from Curb B Q (j.mp/CurbBQ), which also offers pulled pork and tri-tip sandwiches, brisket salads, cilantro-lime chicken tacos and other savories from its own smoker.

The Indian-style dishes from The Curry Shack (facebook.com/thecurryshack), such as a vegan aloo gobi with naan bread ($9), are the best you’ll find for many miles around. And while I have yet to catch Blackened Dragon (blackeneddragon.com) open, it has quickly earned a reputation for its Cajun-Asian street food, including crab cake BLT lettuce wraps with avocado vinaigrette ($9).

Just across Arizona Avenue from the Box Factory, a block from the new Market of Choice, is Bangarang Haute Cuisine (bangarangbend.com), a former Willamette Valley caterer that relocated this year to Central Oregon.

Award-winning chef Dave Bodi focuses on sustainable seasonal cuisine sourced from local providers, and his ever-changing menu features dishes that would raise eyebrows in a brick-and- mortar space — such as sumac-infused crostata with heirloom marinara mustard-green pesto, shiitake mushrooms and chicken confit ($11). It may be the best deal in town.

— John Gottberg Anderson can be reached at janderson@bendbulletin.com.