SYP Says

Ashland Shopping

Had a funny conversation with a colleague recently. After a meeting was over, she looked at my shoes and said, "I know you didn't buy those locally!" She was right. Most of my shoes, of course, were bought in NYC since that is where I lived for most of my adult life, and you'd be hard-pressed to find better shoes than ones you can get in Manhattan (boy, do I miss Otto Tootsie Plohound). Since I moved to Southern Oregon, I would say that my clothes and shoe shopping has been...challenged. It's all a bit crunchy or rich retiree for my taste, but there are a few bright spots and it took me a while to find them. Portland, of course, has good shopping, but as far as local stores go, the following are the ones I like the most in Ashland.

ATOMICA (116 Lithia Way; 541 488 0386): Tiny boutique specializing in neo-vintage and rock & roll-inspired clothing. They carry a few local designers and have super cute stockings and knee-highs (I bought my favorite skull socks from here!) and other fun accessories.

EARTHLY GOODS: (142 East Main Street; 541 488 8080): A surprisingly large, two-floor women's clothing store in downtown Ashland. LOTS of shoes, and most importantly, they carry Campers which I love.

NECTAR ECO-BOUTIQUE: (293 East Main Street; 541 488 3340): Specializes in "fashion with a conscience" meaning stylish organic clothing and products. It recently opened--hope it survives.

PRIZE (264 East Main Street; 541 482 0345): Easily my favorite store in the area. Prize is very West Village with stylish and oh-so-witty gifts, trinkets, note cards, home furnishings, beauty items, etc. I've bought everything from cute tees and stationery to teddy bears and dishes and even bon-bons here. It's a little slice of downtown NYC home for little 'ol me. :)

Ashland, Best Town 2007

Every year, Outside Magazine, one of the few magazines I actually subscribe to, puts together a list of the best towns to live in--towns that are perfect for people who want to live where the action is (high quality of life, great adventure sports, good food, etc.).

This year, one main town, plus a premier small town and big city was picked in every region of the country. Ashland with its "great weather and Shakespeare festival" was the Readers' Choice for best small town in the Northwest! (Bend was the main town picked, same as last year.)

It's not a surprise. Ashland's a scenic resort town of 20,000 with a Berkeley vibe where you can indulge in most kinds of adventure and outdoor sports right here--from whitewater rafting and mountain biking to hiking, rock climbing, and skiing--but still be only two hours away from the ocean, the Redwoods, and Crater Lake.

We've got great, sunny weather (nowhere near the rain of Portland and very little humidity), Southern Oregon University, the Ashland Independent Film Festival, and the country's largest Shakespeare Festival (which incidentally has a lot more than just Shakespeare and runs for 3/4 of the year, not just the summer). And if we need a big city, we're 3-4 hours from Portland and 4-5 hours from San Francisco. (Thank god, Medford airport is only 20 mins away!)

Over 400,000 tourists come to Ashland every year and as a result we've got great restaurants and shops. Plus, the fertile soil of Southern Oregon happens to be home to Harry & David and its infamous pear orchards. In general, an amazing array of mostly organic fruit, vegetables and wine are all grown here.   

You can pretty much take the virtues of Bend from Outside's article and apply it to Ashland, only it's in a different part of the mountains, has a third fewer people, and is closer to the beach (and is prettier, if you ask me). Pretty cool. It's been an interesting and fun switch from NYC, that's for sure!

For more about my transition from being a New Yorker to an Oregonian, click here.

I've got a lot of pictures of Ashland and the surrounding area too--check them out.

Falafel in Medford and Ashland, Oregon

I know this is a very specific post, interesting to probably only a handful of people, however, weirdly I have been getting traffic from the keyword, so I thought I'd post what I know and hope that if I've missed any, you'll let me know. If you are a transplant from a place that has more food diversity than Southern Oregon does, you probably will appreciate this post. :)

In Medford, I only know one place that has felafel and they don't have it consistently. Call ahead to find out.

• Celena's Grill: 908 Chevy Way, 541 770 1674

In Ashland, I know two places with felafel and they are both very good.

• Happy Falafel: 1690 Ashland Street, 541 552 0715
• Pilaf's: 18 Calle Guanajuato, 541 488 7898

Here's a falafel recipe for you, courtesy of Cooking.com.

Don't know what falafel is? Find out here.

Medford Restaurants

The Rogue Valley can be a tough place to hire if you're looking for specific skill sets. As a result, my last few hires have relocated from other places like LA and Columbus. They've all moved to Medford--it's cheaper than Ashland, particularly if you want to own your home.

Since I've now been in the area for a year(!), I thought it would be a good time to post a list of restaurants in Medford I recommend. Ashland by and large has more and better places to choose from, but if you don't want to drive the 15 miles and don't want to cook, you've got to go somewhere (sorry, Applebee's doesn't count). Figured this would also be helpful for my friends at Sapient who are working on a 9-week project that I'm running at Musician's Friend. Poor things--they have to stay in hotels and are forced to eat out every night. Don't know how they do it.

Anyway, herewith a list of restaurants in Medford I suggest you try. Add your favorites (or ones to avoid)!

• Kaleidoscope Pizza: 3084 Crater Lake Highway. 541 779 7787. Great soups and salads, in addition to pizza.
• Bambu: 970 North Phoenix Road.  541 608 7545. Quite good pan-Asian cuisine.
• Elements: 101 East Main Street. 541 779 0135. New tapas bar in downtown Medford. It's quite good and for Medford, fantastic. A great new addition.
• Cafe Dejeuner: 1108 E. Main. 541 857 1290. Cute French bistro. Good for lunch and dinner.
• Porter's: 147 N. Front St. 541 857 1910. Good steakhouse in a restored train station. Has a patio cigar bar that's great in the spring/summer/fall.
• Grilla Bites: 226 East Main Street 541 245 9802. Organic cafe with great salads, sandwiches and soups. The Medford location also serves dinner entrees. Has additional locations, including one on Main Street in Ashland.
• Oh's Osaka: 35 N Central Ave. 541 282 2334. Japanese sushi and steakhouse.
• Asian Grill:  1200 Biddle Rd # B located in Blue Sky Plaza at the corner of McAndrews. 541 608 7115. Good quick meal, especially for lunch. Much better than it looks from the outside.
• Smoke-N-Man BBQ:  530 Crater Lake Ave. 541 858 2020. Good barbecue stand.
• Tacos La Morena II: 940 N. Central Ave. 541 779 4993. Cheap Mexican. Not many gringos. :)
• Rostel's: 311 E Pine St. in Central Point. 541 665 9100. Neighborhood continental.
• Noho's Hawaiian Cafe: 703 E. Main St. 541 245 6919. The one restaurant on this list I've never been to.

For Ashland Eats, click here. For pix of the gorgeous area where I live, check out the photos on the right column of my blog!

I Heart Tacos Michel

My favorite restaurant in the Ashland area is a roadside trailer called Tacos Michel on Rte 99 (on the way from Ashland to Phoenix) . This place has helped make my transition from NYC to Ashland bearable. (What will I do when it's closed in the winter??) The owners are a couple from Jalisco, and they say all of the Mexican workers in town go here to eat because it's the only place that serves authentic Mexican food. Having been to several other Mexican eateries in the vicinity, I have to agree with that. I've only been to Mexico 6 times in my life--Playa Del Carmen a few times, Baja, Puerto Vallarta and Zihuatanejo-- so I certainly wouldn't claim to be an expert. I AM a self-proclaimed expert in good food though and Tacos Michel has it. If you're in town, check it out. Try the chicken tacos which come with caramelized onions. Mmmm. (Closed Mondays.)

Ashland Eats

So, I've only been in Ashland a month, but I've already got some favorites and since people keep asking me where I like to eat here, I figured I'd list some of my new haunts (even though this is probably not that interesting unless you're either planning on visiting Ashland or you already live here). But hey, this is my blog and I figure I'll do what I want with it. Being a New Yorker, my standards are pretty high. Here goes:

* Best Sashimi: Kat Wok. A combo night-club/restaurant with sashimi the size of your head.

* Best Pub: Black Sheep. A traditional English Pub complete with fish & chips, shepherd's pie, and darts. Surprisingly good salads and smoked trout.

* Best Intimate Dinner: Cucina Biazzi. 4-course Italian meal in a cozy townhouse setting.

* Best Casual Dining: Gepetto's. Eclectic Oregonian Italian. Has a good assortment of sandwiches plus great tofu-garlic dressing!

* Best Place on the Square: Alex's. American brasserie with great fireplace and delicious food. Upstairs overlooking the plaza.

* Best Mexican: Pipon's. One of the few upscale Mexicans I've found in the area. Try Agave if you want tacos and tamales.

* Best Sandwiches: Pangea-- good soups, great wraps, friendly, granola-y atmosphere.

* Best Pizza: Great American Pizza. Healthy Pizza Hut. Try the whole wheat crust! In Medford, my favorite is Kaleidoscope. Gourmet Pizza choice: Cozmic Pizza.

* Best Word-of-Mouth: New Sammy's Cowboy Bistro in Talent. Everyone says this place is great and you need reservations two months in advance, hence the reason why I've never been there. UPDATE: Went here for dinner last night (4/19) and it almost lived up to the hype.

* Best Burger: TIE between Louie's and Big Al's. Louie's has a great bar atmosphere. Big Al's is a converted root beer stand with great burgers.

* Best Super-Healthy Yet Still Tasty Bread: Village Bakery

* Best Local Wine: RoxyAnn in Medford. I hear Troon and Edenvale are also excellent.

* Best Pasta: Macaroni's. Classic Northern Italian.

* Best Diner-Style Breakfast: Wild Goose. Good eggs over-easy, sausage, toast.

* Best (Only) Donut Shop: Puck's makes homemade donuts every morning.

* Best Cheap College Eats: Mihama's Teriyaki Grill and Happy Falafel.

* Best Thai: House of Thai. Authentic. If you're looking for Thai Nouvelle, try Thai Pepper.

You can skip Breadboard, Munchie's, and Omar's. They're all fine but over-rated.

I miss the variety of choices in NYC, but I'm happy trying out new places for now. At some point, I'm sure I'll write a whiny blog about all the restaurants in NY I'm craving. I won't subject you to that just yet though!