Why go to Ashland, Oregon? Well, probably for a small orgy of theater-going. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, based in the small, lovely town, plays nine months a year. Three stages, including a large, outdoor Elizabethan-style one, often mean four different shows a day, not all Shakespeare, at the height of the season.
But this, the first of two posts, is about food, what's served up in the Rogue River Valley. Lots of restaurateurs offer local foods, from wheat to meat. And since this is Oregon, wine, too.
We stayed at the Ashland Springs Hotel, which abuts the festival grounds and charming Lithia Park, complete with duck pond and frisbee field. Larks, the hotel restaurant, is a charming room decorated with bird drawings, and it loves locavores. We sampled a grilled Tillamook cheese sandwich with a slice of local tomato on sourdough bread, excellent soups like a curried sweet potato bisque and a sausage-halibut chowder. A chorizo Benedict with an fine, tart hollandaise pleased, not least because it arrived on sourdough toast, a smart change to avoid the sometimes-tough English muffin, the traditional base. Two lemonades are offered, one with lavender, flowers we saw all over town, and another changing special, this one flavored with marionberries, a blackberry hybrid cultivated in Oregon. The lavender was more subtle, but the tang of the marionberry charmed.
Ashland Springs Hotel
212 E. Main St., Ashland, OR
1-541-488-5558
Lunch Mon.-Fri., Dinner nightly, Brunch Sat.-Sun.
Credit cards: Yes
Wheelchair access: Good
Smoking: No
Entrees: Lunch/Brunch $9-$14, Supper $21-$29
A half block away is Pangea, a small, order-at-the-counter spot good for a quick bite. We wolfed down a MaHarissa wrap, lightly spicy chicken seasoned with harissa, plus vegetables, including excellent roasted sweet peppers, and a panini with grilled marinated mushrooms, pesto, spinach and sun-dried tomato. A spicy Moroccan vegetable was the soup that day, and a lemonade du jour is another bright spot. The crowning moment, however, was an amazing vegan coconut-ginger rice pudding, stunningly creamy.
272 E. Main, Ashland, OR
1-541-552-1630
Lunch & Dinner daily
Credit cards: Yes
Wheelchair access: Difficult
Smoking: No
Entrees: $6-$11
Near Ashland Creek, which chuckles its rocky way through the heart of town, we found Agave. Seating perhaps 20, it was doing a land office business — mostly young locals — early on a Saturday evening. Tacos and tamales are the focus of the short menu, perhaps not perfectly authentic, but very tasty. Fabulous guacamole, with fresh thin chips, was a don't-miss, and the ceviche was tasty and fresh, tangy with bits of jalapeno. A taco of duck confit caught our eye, and then our nose and mouth. The single house-made corn tortilla held a goodly amount of duck, topped with shredded cabbage, a little pico de gallo and a light shower of cheese. Surprisingly, the taco al pastor of quickly grilled bits of beef was just as good, similarly presented, and tender with crisp notes here and there. The house salsa, a green one, while good, was pretty much superfluous.
A serious margarita, despite its plastic cup, and a near-perfect watermelon agua fresca kept us hydrated while we watched the very young staff fly around. Joe thought they reminded him of the servers in the movie "Mystic Pizza," complete with a young Julia Roberts look-alike.
Agave
92 N. Main St., Ashland, OR
541-488-1770
Lunch & Dinner Tues.-Sun
Credit cards: Yes
Wheelchair access: Difficult
Smoking: No
Entrees: $4-$9
While Agave offered, among other desserts, a coconut flan (coconut seems to be the hot flavor of the year in Ashland), we went to a dessert shop called Mix to top things off. Across the street and across the creek from Agave, it boasts outstanding, house-made pastries and ice cream. The dark chocolate coconut is nice, but the salted caramel made our jaws drop. The best version of salted caramel ice cream we've ever tasted, it includes bits of actual caramel, adding to the fun.
And Mix offers Stumptown Coffee. Coffee is something of a religion in the Pacific Northwest, and Stumptown is one of the most highly regarded producers, with limited production. It's much sought after and provided a revelation; even the expresso is smooth and non-acidic. For those who don't understand why some people complain about Starbuck's, try some of this to find out how good coffee can be even when it's not deeply roasted. Mix uses it in ice cream, too, a few finely-ground grains adding texture. But frankly, instead of the coffee ice cream, we'd advise an affogato, a scoop of ice cream with a shot of espresso poured over it.
Mix
57 N. Main St., Ashland, OR
1-541-488-9885
Breakfast through after theater daily
Credit cards: Yes
Wheelchair access: Fair
Smoking: No
Ice cream and pastries: $3-$7