In a petite tasting menu restaurant down an alley in downtown Ashland, Josh Dorcak is creating what he calls Cascadian cuisine as a series of Japanese-influenced, picturesque miniatures of memorable poise. Salty plum-cured rockfish with fermented blueberries and compressed pluots; chawanmushi built from a corn dashi mixed with goat milk, enriched with king crab and finished with preserved roses and fresh marigolds. His eye-opening cooking requires almost no heat, is paired often brilliantly with sake and will leave you feeling as if you’ve drawn a breath of Technicolor mountain air. This summer, Sarah Cook became chef at Nama, the attached izakaya, giving southern Oregon yet another restaurant to brighten its star on the culinary map.
Read the full original report in The New York Times →
Photo by Lindsey Bolling
