Broken Top Bottle Shop & Ale Cafe

It's about freakin' time that the veg-heads get a good dinning option in Bend, because let me tell you, I was getting tired of the Mushroom Ravioli at Deschutes.

New in town, and now having been open for 1 month, (congrats guys!) the Broken Top Bottle Shop is a win win WIN in my book.

After enjoying the Roasted Beet Salad (which I remember more clearly as being a grapefruit salad) there a couple weeks ago with a friend who had the Taco Special, I saw they had a Veggie Reuben on the menu and knew I'd be back soon. With the hubby.

Hubster has made it his life's mission to appreciate the Reuben in every way shape and form. He's broken his vegetarian vows many a time for a cow Reuben. I don't blame him for breaking down at Katz's deli in New York, playing the travel card, but it was a particularly low moment when he spent a week slowly breaking down his defenses and finally giving in to eat one at Arby's "because the guys on the Reuben forum on the interwebs said it was good!" It wasn't that good. We make grilled cheese veggie Reubens in the casa - fried in mayonnaise - and wish that there was a place in town that could do it better. Not sure about better, but definitely worth the $10 price tag, BTBS did it up right with smoked tempeh this time.

It had all the good stuff on it like smoked tempeh (in house - right on) Kraut, 1000 island, cheese and all on a really nice looking marbled rye bread that they said was local (right on) forgot to ask where it was from, damn.

I had the veggie Philly Cheese Melt WITH au jus on the side. Dee-lish. It had even more good stuff on it like smoked portobellos, cheese, garlic mayo on a panini grilled brioche bun. Yes. So rich I couldn't finish it, when was the last time I said that about a veggie sandwich.

Both sammies came with nice house side salads - and I mean nice - with greens, cucumbers (with the seeds scooped out all fancy style) housemade croutons, pickled onions and blue cheese dressing (which I think cam out of a bottle but was still tasty). And both also came with 3 precious bread and butter pickle slices on the side, some of the best I've had ever, they had to be house pickles, but forgot to ask again... Damn.

Beer menu was good, and I think maybe it was different than when I was there before but couldn't' quite remember. Anyways had the El Torero IPA from some Portland brewery. Good but not particularly memorable.

Ambiance was nice, good Grateful Dead music just a little louder than the background noise, nice warm, cozy (yellow as you can see from the photos) lighting, and good service in that really-happy-you're-there-new-business kind of way which is really truly endearing and I hope it lasts for a while before they start to get bitter and over it.

$10 veggie sammies seem pricey, but they really were delicious and quite inspired. If only they had some kind of nice Happy Hour deals...

All in all, I loved it, can't wait to go back, and I know H-band is down because on the car ride home he said, "man, I can't wait to taste my way through that menu..."