Brand 33 at Aspen Lakes

Location: 16900 Aspen Lakes Drive, Sisters

Hours: 6 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, 6 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday.

Price range: Lunch $6 to $20, dinner appetizers $8 to $13, entrees $15 to $34

Credit cards: American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa

Kids’ menu: On request

Vegetarian menu: Pasta primavera and butternut squash ravioli are among dinner entrees

Alcoholic beverages: Full bar

Outdoor seating: Large patio

Reservations: Recommended for dinner

Contact: www.aspenlakes.com/restaurant or 541-549-3663

Scorecard

OVERALL: B+

Food: A-. Excellent food preparation was highlighted by a savory rack of lamb

Service: B. Inconsistent; dinner server was pleasant but uninformed, and timing was off

Atmosphere: A-. Picture windows frame the Three Sisters from an expansive pine-log lodge

Value: B+. Moderate prices are in keeping with other fine-dining restaurants in the area

Next week: Dojo

Visit www.bendbulletin.com/restaurants for readers’ ratings of more than 150 Central Oregon restaurants.

It was 130 years ago that Enoch Cyrus, whose grandfather had crossed the Oregon Trail from Tennessee, established a Central Oregon cattle ranch and distinguished his herd with a “33” brand.

Four generations later, that emblem lives on at the Aspen Lakes Golf Course, thanks to Enoch’s grandchildren’s grandchildren.

Keith, Matt and Brian Cyrus began building Aspen Lakes in 1987; when Brian left the partnership in 1993, he was replaced by their sister, Pam Mitchell. Together, the Cyrus siblings — whose other businesses include land development, irrigation, excavation and, of course, cattle ranching — have developed a golf resort of national acclaim. Brand 33 is the course’s fine-dining restaurant, open to the public. With Chef William J. Cary III in the kitchen, it is one of the best in the Sisters area.

The restaurant occupies a grand, Craftsman-style lodge that seats about 80 diners beneath a high-peaked ceiling with hand-crafted chandeliers. Tall picture windows look across a spacious deck and frame the Three Sisters in the near distance. Local oils and watercolors adorn the pine-wood walls above a hardwood floor. Fresh flowers add color to each table, and light jazz plays in the background.

Service glitches

My dining companion and I were less impressed by Brand 33’s service than we were by the atmosphere.

Although we had a dinner reservation, there was no hostess to greet us on our arrival. Our server was very pleasant, but she was poorly informed on the restaurant’s limited list of wines by the glass and wound up retreating to the kitchen to ask the chef for his recommendation.

She also was uninformed about the menu — regarding dishes that were not available on this evening, for instance, and which recipes had changed ingredients — and her timing was far from perfect. It seemed to take forever to get our appetizers (we grazed on very dry and tasteless bread as we waited), but our salads arrived long before we were ready for them.

We did enjoy the starters. Tender rings and tentacles of calamari were fried in a very light panko batter and served with a spicy, tomato-based “fra diavalo” (“Brother Devil”) sauce. Artichoke hearts, also breaded in panko, came with a basil-aioli sauce and a hearty crab dip.

Salads and entrees

We saved plenty of room for dinner. My friend had a Caesar salad with steak; I opted for a house salad with a rack of lamb.

The traditional Caesar was built with romaine hearts, anchovy paste, shaved Parmesan cheese and a tangy roasted-garlic dressing with rosemary croutons. It could have been better if freshly ground pepper had been offered.

My house salad of mixed field greens included shaved Fuji apples and red beets, along with candied walnuts, crispy fried onion rings and bleu cheese crumbles. This eclectic blend was nicely complemented by tart cherry vinaigrette.

My companion’s entree, Brand 33’s signature “Stockman steak,” was an Angus sirloin topped with a pair of seared diver scallops. It was perfectly cooked rare with a warm center, as she likes her meat, and finished with a garlicky Parmesan cheese sauce.

Although the menu had also promised bay shrimp and portobello mushrooms atop the steak, the dish as presented had neither; the portobellos had been replaced by crimini mushrooms, she was told, because the original mushroom order had not been up to the chef’s standard of freshness.

My rack of lamb, lightly crusted with a honey-sweetened cornmeal, was excellent as a nightly special. Nine ribs, four of them doubles, were topped with a bouquet garni. The meat was served with a delicious vegetable medley of broccoli, carrots and green beans, cooked al dente with fresh garlic, and a pasty, less-than-delicious risotto of rice with oyster mushrooms.

Casual lunch

We enjoyed a subsequent lunch in The Frog Pond, a casual, pine-paneled lounge that adjoins the main Brand 33 dining room. Three flat-screen televisions were tuned to football and golf, pleasing most of the diners at eight high-topped tables.

Service here was superb. A single bartender was meticulous in taking orders from several tables and delivering them, with a smile, in timely fashion.

My friend’s Buffalo Ranch Reuben sandwich was excellent. Lean, house-smoked bison pastrami was layered on lightly grilled, marbled rye bread with sweet red cabbage and pickled beet, Swiss cheese, Russian dressing and stone-ground mustard. It was served with thick and garlicky fries, accompanied by a special dipping sauce.

My chicken Parmesan plate featured a lightly breaded chicken cutlet, topped with melted mozzarella cheese (with a sprinkle of parsley) and a house-made tomato-and-oregano marinara sauce. The meat was tender and tasty. Accompaniments were fettucine, cooked al dente and tossed with a light Alfredo sauce, and a medley of vegetables — chunks of zucchini and yellow squash with slivered carrots — in garlic butter.

Brand 33 is much more than a golf-club restaurant. It’s a place that draws fine-food lovers not only from Sisters, but also from Bend and Redmond. If he were around today, Enoch Cyrus would be proud.