There’s an oversized original oil painting on the wall of the Dogwood Cocktail Cabin that sets the mood for Bend’s newest dedicated cocktail lounge.

The work of Colorado artist Phillip Newsome on commission from Dogwood owners Doug and Phoebe Pedersen, it depicts a diverse group of human-like animals enjoying a cocktail party in woods that might well be in the Pacific Northwest.

The rest of the decor keeps pace. Longtime Bend residents will recognize the bones of the old Astro Lounge, which moved from this space two years before the Dogwood opened. But there is a new bar crafted from a fir log, sliced lengthwise, and behind it, a mock tree extends from ceiling to floor where a brass pole once stood. Varnished wood cocktail tables were cut from, perhaps, the same 50-year-old tree. A window opens wide to the outside on summer days.

The animal theme is accented by hand-carved frogs in an antique chandelier and wall sconces. Across the room, a quirky raised wall nook leaves just enough room for a quiet tete-a-tete for two. Romance might be better served upstairs, where an upgraded staircase leads to a pleasantly renovated loft space.

The full remodel was nothing new for the Pedersens, who returned to Oregon — Doug was born and raised in Portland — after six years in mountain-bound Crested Butte, Colorado. There, they gutted and converted an 1891 miner’s shack into the original Dogwood Cocktail Cabin, the model upon which their Bend lounge was based.

Colorado to Bend

Phoebe Pedersen said the couple had moved from Portland as newlyweds for a change of pace. But after several seasons in Crested Butte, a ski town at the end of a one-way road high in the Rocky Mountains, they began considering “a second location in a larger, more accessible area,” she said.

“We wanted a certain size and type of lifestyle,” Pedersen said. “We were looking at Boulder, Colorado, and Asheville, North Carolina. But Doug realized he wanted to be near family. It’s hard to take Oregonians out of Oregon. I can’t handle the rain (of Portland), so Bend is a healthy compromise in our marriage.”

They signed a lease on the space in October 2013, moved to Bend in December, began construction in January and opened in May.

And while the menu of a baker’s dozen small plates is cocktail-driven, it is “very foodie inspired,” Pedersen said — much more so than at the original Colorado location, if only because of the immediate availability of fresh produce. Indeed, the Dogwood menu card acknowledges many of its suppliers.

“Finding a chef was probably the hardest thing when we opened here,” she said. “We wanted a menu that paired well with our drink menu.”

About the food

They found the person they wanted in Nick Ragazzo, who was cooking in Portland after a post-culinary school stop in Memphis. “He liked the spices and worldly influences of our drink menu,” said Phoebe Pedersen. “And he’s from the Philadelphia area, where I grew up, so I had a soft spot.”

In several recent visits, my dining companion and I have sampled eight of the lounge’s small plates, which might be defined as “international tapas.” “We are always experimenting and trying new things,” said Doug Pedersen, so the menu “changes on a fairly regular basis.”

From the top down, here’s what we tried:

• Watermelon salad, a refreshing summer dish, coupled sweet chunks of melon with peppery arugula and chopped tomato. Goat cheese balanced the tartness of pickled melon rind and preserved lemon vinaigrette.

• Fried mac and cheese was my companion’s favorite. Macaroni and gruyere were blended with sage and green apples, light breaded and subtly drizzled with truffle oil. A quick visit to a hot oven, after frying, left them free of any greasy quality.

• Tandoori chicken wings were my top choice. Three full double wings, baked with Indian tandoori seasoning, were served with lightly spiced cauliflower and eastern Mediterranean tzatziki, a cucumber-yogurt side dish.

• Lamb gyro steam buns also came with tzatziki, along with tomato and cucumber. A drizzle of mint gastrique helped to bring out the flavor of the ground lamb in this imaginative adaptation of Chinese hum bao.

• Steak tartare was made not with finely chopped steak, but with lean ground beef. Topped with an egg yolk, it had a tasty mustard-seed side to accompany gherkins and arugula, along with house-made potato chips.

• Cider-braised pork belly was disappointing because the meat lacked the fatty tenderness typically associated with pork belly. The preparation was intriguing: spicy, roasted slices of peach with green beans and crushed hazelnuts.

• Lobster mushroom agnolotti featured small, ravioli-like pastas filled with fresh mozzarella cheese and basil, and coated with a puree made from delicate lobster mushrooms. Despite a garnish of green and red tomatoes, it didn’t burst with flavor. The agnolotti floated on a sea of butter and oil.

• Shrimp and grits had a terribly misleading name. In this dish, a blend of shrimp, scallops and crab with Cajun andouille spices was stuffed into a sausage casing, then served on a bed of sweet-corn grits with overcooked, braised greens and bacon jam. The grits were the best part.

Drinks and brunch

Many Bend residents have discovered the Dogwood Cocktail Cabin for its unique martinis, margaritas and other cocktails, made with the Pedersens’ own fruit infusions. The Xanadu martini, for instance, blends cantaloupe and honeydew melons with vodka. The Bee Sting margarita, my spicy favorite, combines tequila with the juice of habanero peppers, mint, lemon and honey.

Service was, in a word, inconsistent. Although always friendly, its quality varies markedly depending upon the server. We found one waitress to be exceptional, another careless in her attention to detail, to the point of failing to check back on food and drink orders.

For a short time, the Dogwood served a half-dozen Sunday brunch choices. The list included a breakfast salad, with two soft-boiled eggs on greens with bacon and waffle croutons; a Monte Cristo sandwich with pork belly, gruyere and an egg baked into the bread; and light, golf ball-sized beignets served in a bag of powdered sugar.

The experiment didn’t draw sufficient numbers of diners to continue, and it has been shelved for the immediate future. One can hope the brunch is rekindled at some point, as downtown Bend has a dearth of gourmet Sunday dining options.

— Reporter: janderson@bendbulletin.com