News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Brad Wood and Antonio Flores plate a couple of breakfasts at The Cottonwood Café.
There's something especially pleasant about sitting down to a delicious, well-presented breakfast in congenial surroundings.
Folks in Sisters are discovering that pleasure at The Cottonwood Café, located at the former home of Jen's Garden. The players who made Jen's Garden a fine dining destination in Sisters are on board for this new venture: Jennifer McCrystal and her former husband, T.R. McCrystal, and chef Brad Wood.
"T.R. and I are still business partners," Jennifer explained. "It's kind of that 'take what works and maximize on that.' Choosing what your strengths are and playing to that."
The partners have shifted their focus in the new restaurant in a couple of significant ways. The Cottonwood Café serves breakfast and lunch (breakfast is served all day, from 7 a.m.; lunch starts at 11 a.m.). And while the quality that made Jen's Garden stand out is still at the forefront, dining at The Cottonwood Café is well within most folks' reach. The most expensive menu item is $13.
That menu includes classic breakfasts, including a variety of scrambles, a couple of special takes on eggs Benedict and creative specialties like Huevos Motuleños and Cotton Cristo. Lunch offers a selection of soups, salads, and sandwiches.
"We started with about 70 items and pared it down and pared it down," Jennifer said.
The focus was on providing creative, fun food at reasonable prices.
"We wanted to do something that was affordable and accessible to everybody," Jennifer said.
That has allowed an "organic little mixture of people who come together" at the café. "To me, that's what it is about - to have a little community gathering spot." That extends to the staff, who are all Sisters folks and enjoy chatting with their neighbors who come to dine - and with the new visitors who come through the door. It's a hometown feel that also appeals to a growing trend toward culinary tourism.
"We're pulling people from all over," McCrystal notes.
With children aged 9 and 13, it was also important to have evenings free for the parents - for the first time in years. It's an early day, but service wraps up at 3 p.m.
The Cottonwood Café is open Wednesday-Sunday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 403 E. Hood Ave. During summer, that will expand to Tuesday as well, and the owners are working on outdoor seating. Reservations are only taken for parties of eight or more. All else is first-come, first-served.
For more information call 541-549-2699.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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