Aaron

Aaron

The Oregon Dungeness crab melt. Just add Coltrane for spice.
Farm to Table, Live Oregon

The Best Things in Life

written by Thor Erickson photography by Tambi Lane I became enamored with crab as a child. About once a year, my dad would arrive home carrying a bucket overflowing with fresh Dungeness crabs and a baguette tucked under his arm. On these occasions, everyone would stop what they were doing and get busy performing their assigned tasks. Dad steamed the crabs. Mom made a salad and warmed the baguette. My sisters cut lemons, lined the dinner table with newspapers and found the crab crackers. I got to put on the record album. Dad would shout from our tiny bustling kitchen, “Anything by Cal Tjader or … Coltrane!” “Coltrane it is,” I would shout back. We would spend hours sitting around the table, picking and eating steamed crab from the shell, dipping it in hot butter and talking and laughing. Everyone’s smiling faces glistening with butter and satisfaction. It was at…

Steens Mountain in winter is an exhilarating outing in showshoes or backcountry skis.
Explore Oregon, Travel Spotlight

Taking the High Road

Oregon’s Outback offers solitude and intrigue in winter or spring written by Joni Kabana People often say “just take the high road,” but did you know you can do this, literally, in Oregon? The highest road in our beautiful state is a stunning drive around the Steens Mountain in southeast Oregon near the quaint town of Frenchglen. The mountain, the largest fault-block type in the northern Great Basin, soars to almost 10,000 feet but it is the surrounding landscape that makes this mountain stand out from the rest. Surrounded by high desert sage, the Steens Mountain commands with dipping valleys and caverns and gorgeous sweeping vistas along every turn. The drivable internal loop is only open during weather permitting times of the year, usually mid-June through October, but visiting this location in off-season has its own very special rewards. With less cars and crowds in the area, standing before this…

Tributary caters well to foodies and oenophiles who cherish the food and wine of McMinnville.
Explore Oregon, Lodging

Tributary Hotel

written by Kerry Newberry With eight luxurious suites set in a beautifully restored century-old building, the Tributary Hotel is an ideal place for wine country idyll. Located on a leafy street in downtown McMinnville, the recently opened destination hotel is surrounded by numerous boutiques and tasting rooms, a smattering of bakeries and the perfect small town bookstore. One of wine country’s most charming hubs, McMinnville has long been a stop for a pinot pilgrimage—many of the state’s top wine estates are a short drive away and some have tasting rooms right in town. This polished addition to the scene brings a gastronomic edge to town. The hotel suites are perched above the highly acclaimed Ōkta, an inventive restaurant led by Michelin-starred chef Matthew Lightner. Both spots share a similar ethos, focusing on exceptional hospitality and an enhanced sense of place, and intentionally debuted together. Their shared vision is to illuminate…

Ōkta, a new star in McMinnville’s dining scene, has its own farm nearby.
Food+Drink, Live Oregon

Ōkta

written by Kerry Newberry Is the most beautiful dish the luminous beautiful dish the luminous ceramic orb cradling Oregon Dungeness crab with silky mushroom custard and stone-ground grits? The whisper thin slices of turnips checkered across rockfish with huckleberry puree and earthy shitake mushrooms—or the sunny meringue snug in a scooped-out lemon sprinkled with lemon thyme leaves? These are but a few of the wonderful and wildly inventive dishes dreamed up by chef Matthew Lightner at Ōkta, the Willamette Valley’s latest epicurean destination. You might know Lightner from Portland’s Castagana, where he built a devoted following with his farm and forage-inspired menu. He then alighted to New York City for a stint at Atera, earning the acclaimed Tribeca restaurant two Michelin stars. His return to Oregon brings this immersive fine-dining experience that taps into all the senses. Each dish resembles a mini work of art—exquisite in presentation with a depth…

Skyline Forest mountain peak viewpoint
Featured

What’s Next for Skyline Forest?

The $127 million question—could this finally be the moment Skyline Forest becomes a Central Oregon Community Forest? written by Kevin Max From nearly any high point in Bend, you can see the vast stand of pines that creates a deep green vista to the northwest, all the way to Sisters. Mountain bikers, gravel riders, hikers, snowshoers, hunters and fly-fishers find solitude here among the mule deer and elk habitat. Ponderosa pines tower over its creeks and springs weaving through the forest’s floor. In its entirety, Skyline Forest is nearly 33,000 acres, or the equivalent of 50.5 square miles. For perspective, Bend, itself, is only 33 square miles. What may come as a surprise to many of Skyline Forest’s users, this vast forest on Bend’s northwest side is not publicly owned. Rather it’s the private property of a Chinese investment firm, Shanda, whose portfolio includes mostly Chinese tech companies.  Here’s where…

A covered deck lets you take in the bucolic scene from The Farmhouse at Tabula Rasa Farm.
DIY, Home + Design, Live Oregon

DIY: Tips for a Successful Airbnb

MAINTAIN INVENTORY No guest wants to have to run to the store for a sponge or toilet paper on vacation. Higgins uses Amazon’s subscription service to stay on top of supplies for the River Cabaan. “A lot of the admin of an Airbnb is the stock and the cleaning,” said Higgins, so streamlining the process with regular deliveries is a time-saver. Have on hand things that visitors commonly forget to pack as well, such as extra toothbrushes and deodorant, said Smola-Foti. DON’T FORGET THE OUTDOORS While the Carlton farmhouse has a lot of dedicated outdoor space, including a deck and covered porch, Smola-Foti makes sure to populate it with ample seating so that guests can take advantage of finding a place in the sun. Likewise, at the River Cabaan, there’s a hammock, too. KEEP IT FRESH No one wants to dry off with a towel that’s lost its fluff, or…

Sugarpine Drive-In owners Ryan Domingo and Emily Cafazzo bring big-city know-how to a charming roadside eatery.
Explore Oregon, Travel Spotlight

Sugarpine Drive-in Adventures

Blending old-school, roadside dining with farm-to-table sensibilities  written by Shirley A. Hancock What is now milepost 1 of the Columbia River Highway in Troutdale has been explored by many: Native Americans, fur trappers, Lewis and Clark and early Model T drivers. Today it’s where you can discover one of Oregon’s most creative outdoor dining experiences—Sugarpine Drive-in.  Husband-and-wife team Emily Cafazzo and Ryan Domingo left the stress of big city restaurants, moved to the Gorge, and opened up shop in a 1920s-era gas station. “We wanted to marry an old-school, roadside drive-in with a modern, farm-to-table restaurant, using local, organic farm produce and pasture-raised meats,” said Cafazzo, who, as executive chef, brings experience gained in the kitchens of some of Portland’s best restaurants, such as Beast. In winter, you’ll find adventurers bundled up, sipping local brews along with steaming clam chowder with leeks, celery root, bacon, smoked potatoes and cream. Or,…

Sarah Skamser stands among nets used by fishing vessels, including those made by Foulweather Trawl, at the Newport International Terminal on Nov. 25 in Newport, Oregon.
Game Changer, Think Oregon

Trawl Goddess of the West Coast

How Sara Skamser is helping preserve Oregon’s commercial fishing industry written by Shirley A. Hancock photography by Amanda Loman In one of the world’s most dangerous professions, Sara Skamser is known as “Trawl Goddess of the West Coast.”  Skamser’s company, Foulweather Trawl in Newport, custom makes commercial fishing nets. It’s the only net loft in the state and the top choice for many of the more than 1,000 Oregon commercial fishermen roaming the West Coast and Alaska. “We roll like a carnival ride out there. One hundred mile an hour winds and waves several stories high can bust out a window, sweep guys off the deck, and stall the engine,” said Kurt Cockran, a fourth-generation commercial fisherman and early adopter of Foulweather Trawl nets. “The one thing I don’t worry about is my nets.” “If they aren’t catching fish, they know it’s not the net, because it came from Foulweather…