Unless you happen to drive through Culver on Saturday, when the annual Crawdad Festival in Veterans Memorial Park will see hundreds, maybe thousands, of “mud bugs” served between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., there are only three places to eat in the little Jefferson County town.

That’s if you don’t count the local market, which has a pizza oven and sandwich deli wedged between its video-rental and fishing-lure displays.

This is important to know if you live in Culver, of course. But as the community has only 1,300 residents, most of whom already know where to eat, it’s probably of more concern to residents of Bend, Redmond and other Central Oregon towns who are on their way to or from meandering Lake Billy Chinook.

Culver straddles the Culver Highway, about 5 miles from The Cove Palisades Resort and Marina, which sits on the shore of the popular boating and fishing lake. Although the town isn’t on a major highway, it’s easy to find for those driving north on U.S. Highway 97: Some 5.3 miles north of the Maragas Winery, take a slight left-hand turn at a junction and follow signs 2½ miles into Culver.

Harvest Moon American Grill & Spirits, which opened late last year after a total overhaul of the former Bad Monkey Pub, offers the best individual dining experience in Culver. Unfortunately, the restaurant owners announced on Aug. 3 that they would close for “a month or so” due to a family emergency, forcing the postponement of a pig roast previously scheduled for tomorrow.

In the meantime, the best option is Beetle Bailey’s, a better-than-average burger joint that also serves breakfast all day long. Bill & Berdi’s Round Butte Inn is a local institution, a bar and grill that offers prime-rib dinners on weekend nights.

A fourth restaurant, The Eatery of Culver, closed last month after being open for less than a year. The next nearest restaurants are 4½ miles north in Metolius (population 880). One of them is a family-owned Mexican-Peruvian cafe. The other, the Desert Inn, is a rock ’n’ roll bar and grill.

Harvest Moon American Grill

Willie Nelson is about as close as you’ll get to rock music at the Harvest Moon. The mood here is decidedly country, from the background tunes to the decor to the clientele. Spacious and comfortably rustic, with polished wood floors and rails of stripped pine, the restaurant has seating in two separate dining areas as well as a comfortable bar.

The menu features a lot of wild game, flown in from a Texas ranch. I considered antelope, bison and wild boar entrees, and I was almost convinced to try a wild venison bratwurst sausage. Another country favorite on the list is chicken and waffles.

But I kept my tastes light. I started with a fresh house salad of romaine lettuce, red cabbage, carrot, tomato, cucumber, mushrooms and red onion. My tangy, homemade honey mustard dressing was presented in a small cup on the side.

For my entree, I opted for shrimp scampi, sauteed in white wine and served on a bed of linguine. The half-dozen plump shrimp, which had been properly thawed and lightly cooked, were served with a wedge of lemon. Sun-dried tomatoes and parsley were stirred into the pasta noodles, adding flavor. Two slices of garlic toast accompanied.

Service was prompt, friendly and reliable, from seating and order taking to final delivery of the bill.

Beetle Bailey’s

Many old-timers, myself included, remember cartoonist Mort Walker’s popular strip — more popular in the 1950s and ’60s than today — about a foot soldier, his helmet two sizes too large, and a gruff but soft-hearted drill sergeant. Comic images of Beetle and Sarge adorn the walls of this classic but friendly and well-maintained diner, which comfortably seats 40.

When I visited, it took only two employees, trading off between the counter and the kitchen, to handle a bustling late-morning business. I ordered from a large, hand-painted menu board, then waited for about 10 minutes as my lunchtime breakfast was made from scratch, to order.

My chicken-fried steak — served with two eggs over-easy, hash browns, whole-wheat toast and with three house-made berry jams — was excellent. At $8.49, it was also a value. The breading on the meat was not at all oily. The creamy, country-style gravy had just enough sausage to bring zest to the meal, and the potatoes were of an ample quantity.

Round Butte Inn

Of my three stops in Culver, Bill & Berdi’s Round Butte Inn was my least favorite. A dark, almost windowless lounge, it has a juke box, a pool table and plenty of poker machines along with plenty of formica-topped tables and a long bar.

At my visit, a single bartender took orders and threw meat on the grill while her employer told hunting stories with his buddies at the end of the bar.

I ordered the RBI Burger (an acronym for the lounge’s name) because it was topped with Canadian bacon. Served on a lightly grilled sesame bun, it came with a side garnish of iceberg lettuce, sliced tomato, white onion and pickles, as well as a choice of mustards and other spreads. But the meat was overcooked, and I found that I liked it better when I removed the bacon. Had I known that before I ordered, I could have saved $2.

The Round Butte Inn does step it up in the evenings, especially on Friday and Saturday nights, when it offers prime rib and chicken dinners. It also has a smaller, unattractive, adjoining cafe that serves the same menu to the under-21 set.

— Reporter: janderson@bendbulletin.com