One of the best

Ashland, Oregon, March 11, 2015—

THIS REMAINS AMONG my favorite five restaurants in the world, and we wouldn't dream of driving past without stopping in. Here you see only one of the reasons: the photo is taken early, before other diners have appeared, from my chair at my table, in one of three small rooms, ours containing only two tables, each for two diners.

Ambiance. But also service: Vern's pleasant hosting and professional (and knowledgable!) wine service, and then the discreet, good-humored waitress, whose name I have once again forgotten…

But you can't eat any of that, and that's where Charlene comes in. After all these years she's still at the top of her form; I think she always will be. To my taste she excels at braises and other such slow-cooked preparations; perhaps her own career is a metaphor for that. We dined on, let's see: I write this up three days later, so I reconstruct from memory…

amuse-geuele: cannellini purée in a tiny profiterole
green salad with pickled grapes, green onion, and blue cheese
plat: grilled lamb chops with braised kale, garlic, potatoes, cannellini beans with tapenade vinaigrette
dessert:hazelnut meringue with coffee ice cream and honey caramel

a glass of Champagne; Bordeaux: Château Lacoste (Garzac), 2012; Moscatel dorado, César Florido

amuse-geuele	salad	grilled lamb chops	hazelnut meringue

• New Sammy's Cowboy Bistro, 2210 South Pacific Highway, Talent, Oregon; (541) 535-2779
☛Restaurants visited in 2015 are listed at Eatingday's Restaurants