Lunch at Bob’s Red Mill

In my previous posting, I discussed Bob’s Red Mill visitor’s center and store.  What I didn’t mention is that there is also a restaurant in the building that serves Bob’s products.  You order at the counter deli style, pay and then sit in either the loft or off to the back of the store.  Bob’s Red Mill restaurant offers breakfast and lunch menus Monday through Saturday.  They have regular as well as vegetarian menus and many of their menu items are available in gluten free versions.

We arrived at Bob’s about 1PM and we were very hungry!  We went inside the store and walked up to the restaurant counter to order.  I selected a Reuben sandwich and my wife ordered a Veggie Supreme sandwich.  We passed on their offering of great looking desserts and bottled drinks.  We collected some glasses of water, went up to the loft, and found a table that looks out over the store.

While we waited for our sandwiches, I went to explore a little bit around the store.  At the bottom of the loft stairs, I studied a small display on millstones and their origins.  Next, I looked at the demonstration mill setup, things were moving inside, but they were not processing any grain.

Our sandwiches arrived after about a ten-minute wait and we proceeded to enjoy.  My Ruben sandwich contained grilled corned beef, sauerkraut, 1000 island dressing, and swiss cheese on rye bread.  Several raw baby carrots, multi-grain chips and a wedge of pickle accompanied the sandwich.  The corned beef was very moist and tender.  The 1000 island dressing and swiss cheese gave the sandwich a nice bite.  The multi-grain chips were excellent and we ended up purchasing a package to bring home.

My wife’s veggie supreme sandwich contained sautéed onions, mushrooms, and green peppers with tomato, guacamole, black olives, melted swiss, and provolone cheese on gluten free bread.  Baby carrots and wedge of pickle accompanied her sandwich.  She was surprised that when her sandwich arrived it was hot as she was expecting a cold sandwich, this was a pleasant discovery.

I shared a few of my chips with my wife and she shared a bite of her sandwich with me.  I enjoyed her sandwich because I discovered many different flavors within the vegetables as I chewed.

If in the area, I recommend a visit to Bob’s Red Mill store, visitor’s center, and restaurant.  Next time we are in that area we will be stopping there.

Adventures In Food: Author: Kerry Howell

Bob’s Red Mill

I have seen grain and other products from Bob’s Red Mill in several stores that we frequent.  My wife has purchased some of the cereal products to try, but I hadn’t given much thought to the company and what it may offer.  Based on a recommendation from a friend, we took a field trip to Bob’s Red Mill in Milwaukee Oregon to see what they were all about.

We drove to the visitors center and store and found that it is a very busy place.  So busy that we were a little concerned that we would not be able to find a place to park.  On entering, we found a delightful store with isles stacked high with all types of whole and milled grain products.  Bob’s Red Mill is a unique company because it has two independent manufacturing lines: one for regular grain products and the other is completely gluten free.  The actual mill is about a mile down the street from the visitors center, andt Bob’s Red Mill does offer guided mill tours weekdays at 10AM.

Our friend uses a gluten free diet and on the shelves of the store, I was surprised at the number of gluten free items that Bob’s makes available to support these diets.  Product range from a large selection of grain products to pancake mixes, brownie mix, cookie mix, biscuit, cake, cornbread, and even raisin bread mix.  Just because you don’t use flour doesn’t mean you have to forego some treats.

Bob’s sell products a variety of forms: bulk, 25-pound bags, and smaller bags depending on the type of product.  I was very surprised to see that they sell bulk spices by the ounce.  The offering of products range from the typical; flour and grains to the unexpected; Evaporated cane juice and Xanthan gum, a little something for everyone.

We picked up some organic thick rolled oats (some for us and some for our friends), some multi-grain chips, a bag of small tapioca pearls, and a bag of bean and grain soup mix.  I will have additional reports on some of these products in the future.

I checked out the Bob’s web site and they have over 1400 recipes online and available for down printing.  I quickly checked out the recipes for baked goods and Bob's Aebleskivers caught my eye.  We have and aebleskiver pan, but we have never made them.  Bob’s Red Mill posting the recipe may prompt us to get out the pan and try it out.

Adventures In Food: Author: Kerry Howell