Larks

Ashland, Oregon, July 20, 2011—

ALL EIGHT OF US gathered for dinner tonight at the local hotel restaurant, where we remembered having had a decent meal a few months ago. I wasn't as impressed with it tonight, for one reason or another; perhaps simply because it was noisy. (My chair was a foot from the stools at the bar, and there were a lot of guys standing there on this Friday night.)

Oh well. The not-quite-Caesar salad was okay — no raw egg or anchovies, of course, but decent romaine, dressing, and Parmigiano. The meatloaf was okay too, ditto the mashed potatoes and mixed stir-fry of vegetables: but there was too much of it, and I've yet to learn one doesn't really have to finish everything on the plate, no matter what your parents insisted on, seventy years ago.

Pinot noir, Melrose (Umpqua Valley), 2007 (a little thin and flat)

• Larks, 212 East Main Street, Ashland; (541) 488-5558