FOOD: Amuse (Ashland OR)

Fantastic first dinner in Ashland at Amuse, a French-inspired bistro featuring local ingredients. Started with an amuse of beet “caviar” on crostini with fresh tarragon. The bread service (including nice gluten-free crackers for George) came with thyme butter and a tasty pepperade of cured peppers, onions, fennel. I started with a carrot soup with cumin and coriander, while G had a beet salad with goat cheese and figs. I had a succulent roast game hen in truffle butter with pole beans and Tokyo turnips, while G had a wild mushroom risotto with zucchini and arugula pesto. They had some really good southern Oregon wines. My Upper Five “Oso Grande” was a Grenache/Syrah /Tempranillo blend, a nice compliment to the truffles, while G had a lovely roussanne/ marsanne/ viognier. (Didn’t hurt that they served in appropriate Riedel crystal glasses.) For dessert, I took the pavlova with fresh blue and blackberries from a local farm, while G had a caramel pot de crème. And the check came with figs in ganache as a mignardise. Quite impressed with this place!