The Bistro and Rhojo’s team up to give Harney County residents a taste of something different

By Lauren Brown
Burns Times-Herald

Thursday and Friday evenings in downtown Burns just got a little more interesting as Rhojo’s offers up three-course Italian dinners with Nights at the Bistro, located in the 300 block of Broadway.

Rhojo’s combines the talents of Rhonda Petty and her son, Chef Michael Johnson.

Johnson graduated from Burns High School and went on to culinary school, graduating in 1999. He was employed at Il Fornaio, a five-star Italian restaurant in Portland, where he worked his way up to sous chef. At Il Fornaio he learned to make pasta by hand, prep the entire restaurant and at one time managed 30 prep cooks. He also served celebrities such as former Trail Blazer Scottie Pippen and band members of the rock group Everclear.

Johnson went on to be a culinary consultant, helping restaurants retrain staff to become more efficient. He ran a Greek restaurant in North Bend and then left the restaurant business to be a mortgage broker for a while.

Now that he has returned to Burns, he is ready to get back in the kitchen. “I’ve still got the skills and the knowledge to do it. So that’s what I’m doing,” he said.

Johnson and Petty hope to open their own restaurant called Rhojo’s within the next year, but until then, he is happy to be working out of the open kitchen at the Bistro. “This will give the town a little more exposure to our food,” he said.

Johnson describes the Nights at the Bistro experience as a unique niche in Burns. “We’re doing five-star quality at family prices,” he said.

The three-course menu changes weekly. Diners receive an appetizer, salad and choice of entree. Iced tea and water is included in the $13.95 price (which is also subject to change depending on the menu). Last week, the appetizer was an antipasto plate of marinated baby artichokes, kalamata olives and salami.0

Diners chose between entrees of penne de salmon and lasagna primavera. The salmon entree consisted of penne pasta with sauteed garlic, diced tomatoes and wild, Alaskan-caught salmon tossed in the chef’s marinara and vodka cream sauce; finished with extra-virgin olive oil while the primavera featured fresh lasagna noodles, grilled eggplant, zucchini, mixed mushrooms, diced tomatoes, bocconcini mozzarella, parmesan and the chef’s marinara.

Homemade desserts are also available for diners but are not included in the meal price.

Petty likes the atmosphere at the Bistro and is grateful for the collaboration with Bistro owners Kelly and Samantha Landon. The Landons feel that it’s important for local businesses to work together and are pleased to host Nights at the Bistro to provide some variety among the dining establishments in town.

Petty noted that the open kitchen gives customers an opportunity to interact with the chef. “Michael has a chance to come out and talk to people and see how they liked the meal,” Petty said.

Johnson said that Nights at the Bistro is a true collaboration. “It’s a family business. I’m the head of the operation, and she’s the backbone,” he said of Petty.

Rhojo’s requires that diners make reservations, which can be scheduled for any time between 6 and 9 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays.

Weekly menus are on display at the Bistro. Diners can request that menus be e-mailed or faxed by calling 589-1034. Leave a message, and Petty will return your call.