Sisters serves up a culinary wonder

Seldom, if ever, the stars align in such a way to provide Sisters with azure skies, an radiant sunset, a culinary feast, and three dozen guests around an imperial table, facing a scenic back drop of unparalleled beauty. This happened on July 20.

The occasion was engineered by TR McCrystal, owner and chef of the acclaimed Jen's Garden restaurant. His objective was to highlight an obvious, but often ignored, fact. Good food calls for good ingredients, and good ingredients must be: wholesome, well handled and, if perishable, fresh. Freshness is an ephemeral quality and it stands to reason that the closer the source of the product, the fresher it will be. This inspired TR for the theme of the menu: A farm dinner featuring Rainshadow Farms organic veggies and Pono Farms meats. Not a single pepper, beet, lettuce, rhubarb, or piece of meat traveled more than a couple of miles to delight the palates of the lucky guests.

I am not a food critic, but I am a man who has endured hundreds of so-called banquets in many countries.

To this aficionado, the ethereal chick pea fritters with sweet pepper and corn chowder were new to my taste buds, as was the thinly sliced PonoWagyu with candy beets and its memorable wine sauce.

The roasted, herb stuffed pork loin over mushroom risotto and braised greens Marsala, or the contrasty tart/sweet rhubarb strawberry pie, from TR's master hands were a total delight.

Plus, of course, the wines.

Five pairings were offered.

If asked for a vote, mine would go for the wines of local, or quasi local, origin.

A Walla Walla Valley Cabernet, and a velvety, not-so-innocent Willamette Pinot.

If I were a French producer of wines, I would be seriously worried.

The feast unfolded at the Summit of Pine Meadow Ranch and was attended by its matriarch, Dorro Sokol, and the omnipresent Rebecca Sokol always warm and welcoming. The paying attendees were delighted - not only by the quality of the menu and impeccable service and table setting, but also because they had a great time and realized they were treated to a bargain. This writer spends a lot of time in Manhattan. Some of its starred restaurants could come up with an equally outstanding dinner, but I could not afford it!

Sisters, this small city of barely 2,000 inhabitants, proved once more that when called for, it can stage an event to rival in style, quality, and charm anything that a big international center can offer. As for beauty, Sisters, would win. Big time, any time, hands down.