Tuna and cannelini

Ashland, Oregon, July 23, 2012—

AFTER A WEEK of truly rewarding but somewhat disorderly eating and drinking, and after a day of driving three hundred miles, we didn't want a whole lot of dinner.

I settled for a classic: tuna and white bean salad. The tuna was grilled to my satisfaction, which is to say very lightly, as you see, and it was first-rate. The salad was a revisionist one, though, with few beans and those Small Whites, not really cannelini; and the tuna was strewn about with sesame seeds, which are certainly not a part of the classic Italian repertory, not in my experience at any rate.

Still, this was a fine summer supper, with lots of decent bread to dip into olive oil and sprinkle with salt; and the dessert was just what we wanted: an affogato — which the establishment had apparently not heard of, but was happy to assemble from an espresso and a scoop of espresso ice cream.

Vernaccia di San Gimignano, 2010; Monica, Arciolas "Perdera," 2008 (a fine savory red, a real bargain here)

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