When trying the food fare around Bend, Oregon, there are many unique options to choose from. Today's experience brought us to a cute spot just one block away from our office in the Franklin Crossing Building in downtown. We had such a great time that we had to learn a bit more about this culinary delight's head chefs. From being private chefs on 205' International Mega Yachts to settling back down in Bend, Oregon with a small, boutique brunch spot, Mac and Betsy have truly made culinary their passion; we had the opportunity to experience a small taste of their years of expertise this morning at The Lemon Tree.
We began with some wonderfully executed beverages from their coffee selection. The chai tea was expertly prepared with a thick layer of foam on top and the right level of sweet and spicy. We also tried the espresso... accompanied by one of their famous "snowballs," which featured a nice nuttiness and a delicate sweetness. We were delighted with our drink selections.
Our server, Cheri, was a wealth of knowledge for our various questions and was able to help guide us in our indecisiveness with some excellent specials and suggestions towards doing "half orders" so we could try two different items on the same plate. Cheri recommended we try one of their in-house prepared scones to start so we had to try the Peaches and Cream one. This scone was light, very moist, had a nice crunch on the edges and was neither too sweet nor too bland. This scone was an excellent option to share and we had plenty left to take home for later.
We also elected to try the Avo Hash Smash, which featured crispy hash browns topped with fresh avocado, grape tomatoes and two poached eggs (I choose to do without the eggs but added shrimp). This dish was delectable with wonderfully spiced hash browns that were not too salty and the perfect amount of avocado. The addition of shrimp made this dish a fabulous brunch item for someone who is not the biggest fan of eggs.
Have you ever found yourself torn between two menu items? Lemon Tree has a welcomed salutation; why not get both? While trying to decide between the crab cake and steak benedict our waitress Cheri informed me that we could get both in a half & half benedict! What a lovely surprise! So, naturally, we had both and were very happy with both dishes. The crab cake was stuffed with large pieces of crab and not at all fishy. The steak was served sous vide (a method of meat preparation which is very new for us) and very flavorful. The hollandaise sauce for the benedicts was so delicate but equally flavorful.
How do we all feel about hot sauce? Love it? Love that! Well, the Lemon Tree has two exceptional hot sauces we cannot stop raving about. Our personal favorite was the Squirrel on Fire HOT sauce which adds some serious* heat (*approachable serious in our opinion but one of us is a spice junky!) with a habanero kick in the finish. Their Green Coyote hot sauce is also packed with flavor with less of a throat punch. Each paired well with both of the benedicts.
Overall, our experience at The Lemon Tree in Downtown, Bend was very enjoyable and we really appreciated all the international influence that Mac and Betsy brought to their fare. Do we plan to go back? Absolutely. We are eagerly looking forward to trying the Shakshuka, Goreng, and Coronation salad next time!
-The Bend Premier Foodies
