Zydeco Kitchen & Cocktails

When I travel I always want to find the food. In fact, typically when my wife and I travel, my task is to find the restaurants that I want us to try– that’s not to say she doesn’t have a voice in the matter.

Our most recent trip down to Central Oregon over Christmas was no different for us. Sure, we had family gatherings and plans to fulfill, but we were able to step away for a nice “date lunch”. Unfortunately, due to the holidays– we went out on the 24th– the first restaurant we tried to go to was closed. But, it all worked out for the good when we strolled down the street to Zydeco Kitchen and Cocktails.

Zydeco is snuggled right in the heart of Bend, Oregon, sharing the streets with local breweries, businesses, and boutiques. From the outside, Zydeco looks pretty much like any other business found in the downtown core of Bend– trendy and sleek. Yes it is those things, but it is also a fantastic place to grab a bite.

I know I am not an interior designer by any sorts but I do find joy and pleasure in how a restaurant looks. Zydeco had a chic, mid-century feel to it. The dining room was filled with cool grays, earthy warm tones, and sleek designs. The whole atmosphere helped transport you from the streets of Bend to an uptown, swanky eatery found in New York.

Now, of course we don’t go to a restaurant for the atmosphere alone. The food must be a shining aspect of the restaurant, and Zydeco doesn’t fail in those marks as well. As usual, when we go out to eat, we try to maximize our food exposure by sharing multiple dishes– and there were many dishes we wanted to try. To start, we shared the Artichoke and Corn Fritters, House-Smoked Trout Dip, and the Zydeco Mixed Green Farm Salad. Then we rounded out the meal with their Shrimp, Andouille, and Crawfish Jambalaya.

The appetizers stole the show at Zydeco. The artichoke and corn fritters came out crispy and delicate. The sweetness of the corn played beautifully with the buttery taste of the artichoke. Combine a bite of this with the honey-jalapeno and mayo sauces on the plate and you have yourself a flavor experience like no other. The subtle sweetnesses of the fritters led perfectly into the tart and fruity appeal of the mixed green salad.

I know, a plain ol’ mixed green salad doesn’t sound like much, but that all depends on how it is served. Zydeco’s salad was a bed of mixed tender greens with dates, tomatoes, goat cheese, hazelnuts, and croutons; not your simple mixed salad. What made this dish stand out among a table full of delicious food was the way the flavor palate was developed with tart vinaigrette, smoky-sweet dates, smoothness of the cheese, and the nuttyness of the hazelnuts, made more pronounced by the perfectly crunchy croutons. So far, we’ve had sweet and buttery, tart and nutty; now for the most delicate plate to come to our table.

The house-smoked trout dip was, by far, my favorite dish we had that day. Personally, when I think of a smoked fish dip I think of a “fatty-rich” concoction usually heavy on smoke flavor and thick with mayonnaise. And I’m not saying there is anything wrong with that. In fact, dips like that have their place on our tables, but there is so much more that they could offer. Zydeco surprised me with the lightness in which they approached their trout dip. The smoke from the fish was subtle at best, providing a simple earthy hint to the dip, much like the light oak flavoring on a good aged bourbon. The base of the dip was airy and smooth, well seasoned, and paired beautifully with some simple lavosh crackers; providing the best vessel to highlight the fish.

The main course of jambalaya was about what you would expect from a jambalaya. The rich tomato-based sauce provided a strong back drop to the well cooked basmati rice and succulent morsels of shrimp and crawfish. The andouille was present in the dish, but I felt that the thin slices of the sausage were masked by the other flavors and textures. The shining star of the dish was the cornbread, yes cornbread. I don’t know about you but I have had my share of cornbread textures, and this one was something new to me. Moist, dense, and crummy, the bread held onto its flavor all while sopping up the remains of the jambalaya. It almost seemed as if honey was dripping out of the bread, asking you to take one more bite.

If you can’t tell, I thought the food was quite good, the atmosphere felt warm and inviting, but the service could have been a little bit on the better side. Our server was very friendly, helpful, and attentive to start, but after we ordered, that attention seemed to be directed somewhere else. This could also be said of the bar staff. My beer came out quickly, while my wife’s mixed drink wasn’t brought to the table until after the food arrived; and we could see the bar with nobody behind it the whole time we waited. All of this could be excused by understanding the staffing of restaurants and the floor, but it was a mistake with our order that I find harder to excuse. We asked for our three appetizers to come out together and then have the jambalaya follow; that did happen but not with much time in between. Our table was already quite full with three dishes that only had a couple of bites out of them, then our server brought out the main course saying the kitchen misfired the dish too early. So, she made room on the table and set in down. In my opinion, they should have either held it or re-fired the dish at the right time. However, even with the service we had, it was a great meal for us to enjoy.

All in all, this was a fantastic restaurant to visit. The food was superb and the service mediocre. I would recommend anyone to swing by Zydeco next time they’re in Bend.