www.ashlandspringshotel.com -
Last night, 4 of us dined at Larks, in the Ashland Springs Hotel.
As the tallest building in the entire town, it has always been a focal point of the Ashland skyline.
In fact in its day, the original hotel, the Mark Anthony, was the tallest building between San Francisco and Portland.
The original building was built in 1925, and in 1998 the new owners, took on the monumental task of restoring the entire hotel from basement up to all of its authentic historical glory.
The décor is colonial in style and elegant and the light filled rooms do remind you of another period in time.
The feel of the hotels grandeur flows through into the dining room, where linen and glass mix with large potted palms, and rattan furniture.
Home Kitchen Cuisine is the slogan or mantra of the hotel. It did show in the menu. As a “celebration of Oregon its farms, orchards, vineyards chocolates and charm!”
We started with two cocktails, The lark, a citrus and Chambord concoction that were refreshing with a syrupy finish and their Tip Top margarita, which was big and very good indeed!
After ordering, Clay, our server bought wonderful warm rosemary bread and dipping bowls full of rosemary olive oil. Simple and Delicious!.
Between us we ordered a mix of daily specials and regular menu items.
Of the appetizers, one Dungeness crab and five cheese fondue with toasted rosemary bread, a menu favourite. A creamy cheesy crab mixture where the sweetness of the crab blended well with the saltiness of all those cheeses and although the sauce was a little thin in texture it tasted very good.
I had the home smoked duck salad with caramelized walnuts. The duck was lightly smoked, and worked really well with the mixed green leaves and the walnuts. A Perfect fruity dressing made the dish.
My friend had the panko coated razor clams, a daily special. They were very nicely cooked and served with a simple aioli. A very tasty first course.
My husband had the Farm plate, as written: a combination of artisan cheeses and charcuterie, market fruit and baguette. What came was a selection of great cheeses, a perfect sliced apple, some red grapes, a slice of coarse pate and a mixed salad that was dressed in truffle oil. The pate was very good, and so were the cheeses, but for me, the winner was the salad, just the haunting smell of the truffle wins me over, but it worked really well with the rustic cheeses and meats. It was an enormous portion and so we kept some of it to have with some red wine at the end of the meal, as my husband does not normally have dessert.
Of our entrees, 2 black Cod, served with some nutty rice and rhubarb and raspberry sauce was beautifully cooked, moist and tender. The fruit sauce was really surprising. I liked the zing of the fruit with the creamy smooth fish flavour.
The steelhead served with herb couscous and a lemon and herb vinaigrette was a real winner, nicely cooked trout with a really fresh tasting vinaigrette was perfect for the summer.
The rib eye of beef, served with roasted red potatoes and onion confit was devoured. The meat arrived a little overdone, but all the elements of the dish are a classic combination, so were predictably good.
The portions sizes of all of our meals were very good, not too large, but enough for us all to feel satisfied, but still consider dessert.
The dessert menu is pretty well rounded, a little something for everyone.
Warm Upside down Comice Pear Cobbler atop a ginger biscuit was pretty good. The ice cream was a nice contrast to the warm diced pears. Tasty but it was very homemade looking, falling apart as it arrived and not very attractive.
Aunt Ella’s Vanilla bean pudding and butterscotch cookie was a creamy vanilla pudding, topped with cream. A nice texture, smooth and a good flavor.
The Pomegranate and orange sorbet with a chocolate hazelnut biscotti was so good. It was 100’ outside and I could have eaten it all night. It was really refreshing and a perfect end to my meal. I did nibble at the biscotti, but I didn’t think it worked with the sorbet.
My husband continued to eat the cheeses from his farm plate while we all shared our desserts.
The wine list was varied, but with only 5 or 6 wines in any category, neither too high or too low in price, there was something for everyone, but no great discoveries there.
Overall, the food looked and tasted good, was wholesome, and comforting. The décor elegant, and service, although we had everything we needed, service seemed rushed at times. The price seemed reasonable. $320 for 4 people including cocktails and two bottles of wine.
