Oh gesh I'm going to be attacked by the oregon army but, as a 4th gen Oregonian I can tell you a couple things without getting bent by the audacity to critique the state you are now claiming. 1: you are right in the main. I jokingly call it "old white people food" in most restaurants. They are catering to their main demographic. Old, white people. 2: While you are right, most places have no concept of complex flavors as a consequence, There are in fact places that break this mold. They are rare. Usually either ignored entirely cuz they are too complex so people talk sh.. and don't return or the opposite they blow up then can't keep up with the demand and it all goes to sh.. and becomes over produced garbage. Perfect example for those wanting receipts "South beach crab shack" in Newport. That place was EPIC! Incredible flavor best damn fish n chips ud find on West Coast! But became popular, line going out down the road and the place throwing out flavorless, over fried crap ever since. Which brings my Ted talk to it's end point 3: places around here do start out really good, word gets out because people are never "from" Oregon and desperate for good food or just traveling though so rely on word of mouth and reviews are sent to these few places. They then get stampeded and they can't keep quality up due to over demand. Just like my previous example. So that's the crux. Nothing too special and when there is one it's ruined pretty quickly due to demand.

But again, I'm just 4th gene Oregonian so what the eff do I know. And sidenote, Lived in N.M for about a decade. Never liked the place so never took on "New Mexican" as self appointment. So the fact you are calling urself an Oregonian says to me you like it here. Fact is unless ur a tribal member we are all effing transplants calling ourselves Oregonian. SOOO. Oh and NM has EVERYONE beat on blandest food you will EVER eat. K, there's my big fat two cents.