Larks Restaurant — New American / Pacific Northwest, Ashland
Larks has operated in the Ashland Springs Hotel since the city's modern culinary revival — a kitchen that takes the Rogue Valley's extraordinary produce seriously and applies Pacific Northwest technique with the confidence of a chef who knows where the ingredients come from.
The Rogue Valley sourcing is genuine and specific: Crater Lake organic farms, local orchards (Rogue Valley pears and apples are among Oregon's finest), Southern Oregon wines, and the proteins from the valley's ranches and rivers. The farm attribution on the menu is documentary rather than decorative.
The seasonal tasting menu demonstrates what happens when Pacific Northwest technique meets Appalachian-altitude produce — the Rogue Valley's combination of Mediterranean-like summers and mountain winters produces ingredients that have no equivalent in coastal Oregon.
The Southern Oregon wine program is one of the few places in the state where the Rogue Valley's own wines are represented with the depth they deserve alongside the Willamette Valley producers that Oregon wine culture typically defaults to.
Best Occasion: Perfect for Proposals
Ashland's finest kitchen, Rogue Valley wine, and the Shakespeare Festival city as the setting. The proposal dinner that Oregon's most theatrical town makes possible.
Best Occasion: Best for Closing Deals
The Rogue Valley's most accomplished restaurant. For the Southern Oregon deal, the timber industry negotiation, or the wine country business conversation.