Ashland, 7: New Sammy's; Pasta Piatti

Ashland, Sept. 23—

BACK FOR LUNCH to New Sammy's, where the lunch is one of the last bargains left: $15, not counting dessert or wine. After the little fava-bean-paste flatbread amuse-bouche I dug into a bowl of pork stew with hominy and black beans and polenta, in a rich sauce nicely balancing smoky red peppers and cumin. Dessert was figs with Scotch whisky ice cream, a nice big piece of shortbread on the side.

Côtes du Jura, Rubis (Pinot noir and Troupeau), Domaine Berthet-Bondet (very nice indeed)

•New Sammy's Cowboy Bistro , 2210 South Pacific Highway, Talent, OR 97520; tel. (541) 535-2779

Dinner at Pasta Piatti, around the corner from our house. This has been a reliable ordinary for years; the outdoor terrace is comfortable; the pasta unexceptional but satisfactory. Tonight, though, the place seemed quite different, the food and service much better and more interesting. I had a spinach salad, tasty with bits of bacon, blue cheese, and pear slices; then a rib-eye steak, nicely grilled, served in a marchand du vin sauce, with broccolini and truffled mashed potatoes on the side. A small cup of spumoni finished things off nicely.

Pinot Grigio, De Canal, 2008; Nero d’Avola, Planeta la Segreta, 2007␣

•Pasta Piatti, 358 E Main St, Ashland; tel. (541) 488-5493