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Larks Home Kitchen Cuisine -July 22, 2005, Medford Mail Tribune
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Many of the Rogue Valley’s finer restaurants serve fresh greens and other ingredients grown by local farmers. Larks, the new restaurant in the Ashland Springs Hotel, goes one better: The menu credits the local growers by name.
Salads on the menu include Larks house salad with Whistling Duck Farm organic greens, dried cranberries and candied Willamette Valley hazelnuts with Marionberry vinaigrette ($6). Or Fry Family Farm spinach, crisp bacon and Crater Lake bleu cheese with warm balsamic dressing ($8), and poached pear salad with Blue Fox Farm arugula, goat cheese and toasted walnuts with citrus vinaigrette ($8).
And that’s just the beginning.
Executive Chef Damon Jones visits the Ashland Grower’s Market weekly for fresh ingredients. According to the menu, he uses them to create "comfort food from scratch."
The unwary diner venturing into Larks’ cool, airy dining room might be taken aback by a fine dinner house featuring fried chicken ($15) and meat loaf ($13), both paired with mashed potatoes and gravy. But there are more esoteric entrees as well, and if our sampling on a recent evening is any indication, the "comfort food" items should be anything but ordinary.
My wife and I chose Larks to celebrate our wedding anniversary. The choice turned out to be everything we could have wished.
We ordered curried lamb soup from the chalkboard list of specials, along with the special salad that evening, duck confit atop crunchy bok choy with a creamy dressing sprinkled with dried cranberries.
The soup alone could make a light meal. A rich curry broth loaded with rice, shreds of lamb and just the right amount of heat arrived topped with a dollop of sour cream. Delicious. The salad was equally special.
For the main course, my bride selected pan-seared Alaskan halibut with summer vegetable relish, an aromatic white rice and — the inspired touch that made the dish — lemon Frangelico butter. The fish was perfectly cooked, moist and tender. The Frangelico (hazelnut liqueur) elevated the sauce above what would otherwise have been an above-average piece of fish with lemon and butter.
I opted for the seared duck breast with a blue cheese and bing cherry demi-glàce. Again, the sauce transformed the beautifully cooked duck into something far beyond the ordinary.
For dessert (on the house in honor of our occasion) we shared a cup of heavenly vanilla bean pudding accompanied by a large butterscotch cookie inspired by a 1932 family recipe.
The space that previously housed the Bull’s-Eye Bistro has been transformed, with a wood-grain floor, cream walls and wicker chairs in muted tones. Some tables feature settees with cushions and pillows instead of chairs.
A lighted art deco bar stretches the length of the back wall. The overall effect is wonderfully relaxed —elegant without being intimidating. The staff sport vintage ties on white shirts, adding to the 1940s approach of designer Becky Neuman.
Our tab for two, including cocktails, a glass of wine and coffee, but not the tip: $81.48. That’s special-occasion territory for many of us, but Larks also features a cafe menu with sandwiches and lighter fare — and a Chocolate Cafe from 2 to 5 p.m. featuring Endangered Species truffles, Dagoba hot chocolate and other sinful delights.
Larks Home Kitchen Cuisine is at 212 E. Main St., Ashland, in the Ashland Springs Hotel. Hours are 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5-10 p.m. daily. Reservations recommended for parties of six or more. Call 488-5558 or see www.ashlandspringshotel.com.
— Gary E. Nelson |
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• Ashland, Oregon 97520
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