Back to Sam (again)

Ashland, Oregon, July 23, 2011—

YES, THERE ARE other restaurants in town: we've liked Amuse and Loft in the past and I'd like to revisit them; and there's a new place, Coauine, that sounds good. But there are only so many days, and Charlene's cooking cannot be resisted; besides, it's a tradition now that the eight of us, who gather every year for a week of plays here, take one dinner at New Sammy's, and this is the only night we're not spending in the theater.

Off we go, then: and I order a nice green salad, lettuces from New Sammy's garden (click on the photo for a bigger view). Afterward, local suckling pig roasted in milk, with rosemary polenta, new carrots and potatoes, and sweet onions — all from the same garden.

Roasting suckling pig in milk brings out the sweet tenderness of the meat and, I think, suppresses the slightly sour taste I often find (and, it must be said, like) in the meat, a taste I've attributed to gastric acids that have somehow permeated the flesh. This pork was succulent, no surprise, and I was delighted.

Viognier, RoxyAnn (Rogue Valley), 2008 (crisp, balanced, fine varietal); Zinfandel, Sausal "Century Vines" (Alexander Valley), 2007 (full, powerful, yet immediately partnering with the pig)

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