BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Here’s a story that’s sure to make you hungry, featuring a ‘modern cowboy steakhouse’ in Bend.
And if you’re a Food Network fan, you might recognize some of these names.
At Hawkeye and Huckleberry, customers come for the food and drinks but stay for the service and atmosphere.
“This place consistently has such great energy!” Neil Connelly, a repeat customer, said in a recent interview with KTVZ News. “The cocktails are phenomenal! The food is always phenomenal and consistent. Every single person that works here just absolutely loves working here.”
“It’s like our local ‘Cheers’ bar,” said Tomi Connelly. “I had one of the steaks – it was so good. It was like buttery.”
That’s the goal of one of Bend’s hottest food spots, created by chefs Brian Malarkey and Carlos Anthony — who you might have seen on Food Network.
“I have worked with Brian Malarkey, our owner, for the last 17 years. This is my 15th restaurant with him,” Chef Carlos told KTVZ. “I was so excited about the opening of this place, and I came out here for a couple of weeks to help open, and I fell in love with it. Not only the restaurant, but fell in love with Bend, with the people, with all the exciting things you can do.”
Chef Carlos originally planned on being in Bend short-term, to get the restaurant off the ground.
But those plans quickly changed.
“(Bend) really took me on, and I fell in love with it. I recently married, so as soon as my wife decided she also loved it, we moved up here as soon as we could. I’ve come up here full-time, and I’ll never look back,” Chef Carlos said. “You have to be in here every day. You have to be listening to what people are coming in and talking about because it’s easy to be a flash in the pan. It’s hard to be something that lasts and that has substance. Really, I actually feel very privileged to be here.”
Now he’s focused on bringing fresh food to the table.
“We have this incredible access to the food we serve. Having our own ranch in Tumalo is like nothing I’ve ever experienced. It’s ranch to table. And to be able to source something so connected to Central Oregon and then bring it directly to the restaurant, that’s a chef’s dream,” Chef Carlos said. “It’s not just from our ranch. There’s incredible farmers out here, incredible ranchers. We work with Rainshadow (Organics), an incredible farm down the road. I love how much Central Oregon has to offer!”
And he says he couldn’t do it without their incredible staff.
‘When you make a restaurant, it’s about 50% food, and the rest is who you hire. Having good people, good staff, good bartenders, and good servers that make that experience,” said Chef Carlos. “Listen, people will come to a restaurant for a celebrity chef, but they will come back for the service.”
“The staff here is incredible. Great energy. They bring a good time here,” Neil said.
You can check out the menu by clicking here, or head on down to Hawkeye and Huckleberry at 225 SW Century Drive.
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