Just as a good book can take a reader to another place and time, a fabulous meal can transport a diner to another world. Enter Trattoria Sbandati of Bend where guests are transported to the world of peace, love and porchetta.
“I think of my restaurant as an act of love. I can say that we still passionately and stubbornly love what we do,” Chef Juri Sbandati said of his restaurant tucked into an unassuming small business strip on Bend’s west side. “It is a way to celebrate life, family and, of course, the motherland Italia.”
Sbandati’s, as locals refer to the eatery, has been welcoming guests and treating them like family since 2009. That’s when Sbandati opened the doors, uplifting the local culinary scene with foods inspired by his native Tuscany. Sbandati’s cuisine tells a story, a tale of another land–the homeland of Sbandati–the capital of Italy’s Tuscany region and birthplace of the Renaissance–Firenze, also known as Florence. The restaurant’s emblem is the symbol of Firenze, the Florentine red iris.
Dining at Sbandati’s is a joyful trip to the Old Country where artisanship is at the heart of the culture, where creating food with two hands in the pursuit of beauty is still honored and revered. The chef’s craft shines through in his menu, and the food itself comforts and nourishes; simple ingredients meld together in perfection for bites that satisfy the soul. “The core of our menu is a tribute to my family origins. And we have curated an all Italian wine list,” Sbandati said.
On the Menu at Trattoria Sbandati
In classic Italian style, the trattoria’s menu begins with antipasti. Those starters naturally include bruschetta, cured meats and the piatto di formaggi misti which is a selection of imported Denominazione d’Origine Protetta Italian cheeses served with organic Italian fig jam, walnuts, pine cone syrup, sliced pears and aged balsamic from Modena. The combination is simple perfection and just enough to stimulate the appetite for more.
The primi (first course) selections range from soups of the day to pastas. The trattoria regularly has seven different kinds of handmade pasta on the menu, made only with 100% Italian flour and Sicilian sea salt. One of the customer favorites, according to Sbandati, is the pasta dedicated to his wife, the Rebecca Special. The handmade saffron pasta is tossed in a sauce of olive oil, garlic, black olives, oil-soaked sundried tomatoes, cayenne pepper and soft burrata.There’s also the penne pasta tossed in spicy tomato sauce, a hand-cut spaghetti and pappardelle alla Chiantigana. This house made pappardelle is served with a traditional sauce from the Chianti region made with Italian sausage, fennel, tomato, leeks and Chianti wine topped with Parmigiano Reggiano.
Sumptuous secondi courses (main courses) include the restaurant’s well-known polpette, a must-have featuring chef’s family recipe of tender ground beef meatballs cooked and served in tomato sauce with melted mozzarella on top and a delicious side of sauteed spinach. Tuscany is also famous for its beef. The seasonal special Tagliata di Lombatello con Cavolo Verzotto e Acciuga, hanger steak with sauteed savoy cabbage, does not disappoint. Not only are the dishes beautifully plated, the flavors are amazing, transporting the eater with every bite to a place of love and connection.
The final dessert course or dolci, must not be skipped but rather savored and lingered over. The tiramisu, based on a Sbandati family recipe, is made with mascarpone cream, ladyfingers dipped in coffee and a chocolate finish. A sweet cream panna cotta with fresh berry sauce also graces the dolci menu,as well as a bongo, the Florentine version of a profiterole—an éclair stuffed with cream and topped with melted dark chocolate and powdered sugar. Buon appetito!
Once a month, Rose Archer’s cozy house on Bend’s east side is magically transformed into an intimate restaurant. Over three evenings, she welcomes 60 strangers into her home for a dinner party. It’s a dream come true for the professional chef who took an 11-year break from the food business. “I wanted to be in food again. I wanted it to be a part of my life, and I wanted to throw the most amazing dinner parties ever once a month,” Archer stated emphatically before hosting one of her dinners.
Rose Archer of Luscious Supper Club
After years of dreaming about it, Chef Archer’s Luscious Supper Club was born in December 2022. From that very first dinner party of 14 hand-selected guests, the club has expanded to three gatherings of 20 people each over one weekend a month–with a waitlist of more than 1,100.
Archer and her small team work hard to create an “energetic feeling that’s different from going to a restaurant.” Before anyone arrives for what’s typically a seven- or eight-course supper club meal, the chef and her crew, who’ve been prepping for days beforehand, huddle together and set their intention. “We are here to make each night special and magical. I want people to feel so lit up when they leave that they bring that light back to their own dinner tables, to their own communities, to their own neighbors and that ripples out,” Archer said. That connection starts in Archer’s kitchen where she’s focused on creating something as good for the staff as for the customer. “There’s no front of the house, no back of the house, we’re one team who puts love and energy and light into the food.” In her words, “It’s fun, fine dining.”
She strives for a direct connection with each person attending. Everyone is greeted at the door. If it’s wintertime, they’re shown to the dining room area for welcome drinks and a half hour of socializing. If it’s warmer weather, the happy half-hour takes place in Archer’s beautiful outdoor garden area.
Being invited into someone’s personal space, amongst their plants and books and belongings, has a tendency to open people up. It’s not long before lively conversation ensues and soon, everyone is beckoned indoors to take their seats at two impeccably set long tables. With gorgeous fresh flowers as centerpieces, just-right mood music and ambient lighting, guests are drawn in, getting their first glimpse at the evening’s menu. That’s right, supper club tickets are bought without even knowing what food will be served.
Archer doesn’t divulge the menu until the night of the dinner because she might not decide on what to cook until a few days beforehand, depending on what’s in season or what she finds at the market. “I am inspired by what’s freshest and most amazing right now in this moment.” No matter what month it is, the entire menu screams the season, thanks in part to time spent cooking in Paris, Italy and the Bavarian Alps. Archer explains her style as “very seasonal with a Western European aesthetic, featuring lots of herbs and lots of fresh.”
Whether it’s heirloom tomato gazpacho and salmon tartare in the summer, or hot baby rose potato filled with gruyere puree in the fall, each seasonal offering and each plate invites a collective gasp of awe. With the effusive chef making timely appearances tableside to gush over ingredients or relate an engaging, personal story, guests get to know her and each other over the likes of savory blue cheese tart with golden raisin verjus or perhaps butter-poached spot prawn with Sungold tomatoes. The conversation is lively, engaging, relaxed and connected.
Guests can see Archer and her team at work in the nearby kitchen to appreciate the attention to every detail. Most don’t want the night to end. It’s not unusual for Luscious guests to bond over the delicious meal and end up exchanging numbers and getting together post-Luscious. That is the connection that Chef Rose Archer was hoping for all along.See eatluscious.com.
First image: Tangy and sweet Limoncello Profiteroles complete a meal.
“A space unlike anything else in town.” That’s how Executive Chef and Proprietor John Gurnee described Lady Bird Cultural Society, the new restaurant founded and created by Gurnee and his wife and business partner Amanda. John has an extensive, impressive culinary background including a stint as chef de cuisine at the acclaimed Wayfare Tavern in San Francisco. He moved to Central Oregon in 2014 and was executive chef at Drake for more than eight years and led the opening at Washington Dining & Cocktails in NorthWest Crossing. Lady Bird is the couple’s first venture together.
Small plates include a Tuna Crudo over an herbaceous chimichurri sauce.
“Going back since we first met, over twenty years ago, we’ve been dreaming up restaurant concepts, and they’ve all had a bird theme or name. I grew up an avid bird hunter. I refer to my lovely ladies, my wife and two daughters, as my flock,” explained Chef Gurnee. “Part of what sucked me into the restaurant business in the first place was the familial aspect and now Lady Bird is something that can grow a new work family and add to our flock.”
About the Restaurant
Recently opened in The Old Mill District in Bend, the Gurnee’s Lady Bird is beautiful and extraordinary, simultaneously elegant and flamboyant—think 1920s vintage art and throwback pieces with modern twists. Imagine black and white tile with splashes of hot pink as well as a private VIP dining room wallpapered with dancing cranes. Feel the welcoming ambience aglow in golden light cast from chandeliers as you walk through the doors. Hear music of a bygone era. Then get ready to eat and drink.
Amanda and Chef John Gurnee, founders of Lady Bird Cultural Society.
Perhaps you’ll want to first get comfy in the posh lounge and enjoy a prohibition-era style cocktail or a distinctive wine. There are classic martinis and negronis, house-made cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages that are all very ingredient driven. “We built a bar that I would be proud to work at myself,” Gurnee said. This entire venture is like a Broadway show he explained, “I feel a bit like an entertainer. We’ve designed the set, created the score, set the scene and built the cast of characters to execute our vision.” Gurnee likes to see people have a good time but his favorite part is challenging himself to create new things, prepare food he hasn’t prepared before and see guests delight in that food.
Words from Chef Gurnee
Here’s how Chef Gurnee described the menu at Lady Bird: “Simple, approachable dishes that let the ingredients shine.” He recalled the first time he walked into the building down in The Old Mill, “There was the wood-fired oven. It took me back to working with a wood-fired grill and oven years ago. I’ve always wanted to get back to a place where I was cooking with live fire.” He’s cooking a myriad of things in that oven now, “kissed by the flames to impart the flavors.” Wood-fired oysters, wood oven-roasted mussels and artisan pizzas are examples.
Seasonal and local ingredients abound in house-made pastas such as Rigatoni à la Vodka and Duck Egg Mafaldine with mushrooms and mascarpone. The visually impressive Balsamic Beef Short Rib over soft polenta is sure to become a favorite. Other standouts include house-aged meats and game, caviar and classic French-based desserts. The Limoncello Profiteroles featuring choux au craquelin, limoncello curd and white chocolate anglaise, pair perfectly with after dinner drinks and coffees.
Music is another reason the Gurnees are excited about Lady Bird’s location. They’re both avid music fans, and they’re excited to be able to open their doors in the summertime and hear the sounds emanating from the nearby venue. Amanda smiled as she described her husband as someone who “puts his heart and soul into whatever he does.” Twenty years in the making, Lady Bird is a place the Gurnees have built, and it’s something special: a place with beautiful food and a magical ambience located on the river where the birds abound and the music dances across the water.
