Sesame Asian Kitchen: Ashland, Oregon

Stopped in Ashland for lunch today, the result of a yarn emergency. Just around the corner from the destination yarn-weaving store The Web-sters, found Sesame Asian Kitchen. It’s a bright sunny space that looks out onto Lithia Park. The interior is sleek and attractive and the food is good. We started with vegetarian eggrolls which were beautifully presented and fine, but not exceptional. The Asian slaw on which they were sitting was great however, as were our entrees. I had the crispy eggplant with tofu and Mr. Gastronome had the pumpkin curry. Both were winners. Service was mostly attentive and very friendly. We’ll definitely plan to stop here again. As far as I can tell, Ashland is the only outpost of civilization between Portland, Oregon, and Sacramento, California, in a valley that regards the “theory” of evolution as a communist plot. And I’m not that sure about Sacramento… But Ashland is definitely solid. Actually upon further reflection, Corvallis and Eugene obviously have progressive leanings.

Bonsai Bistro -- Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

Incredibly enough we left Montana reasonably early (for us), which put us into Coeur d'Alene for lunch. That meant we had a lot more food options than on a typical road trip. We settled on the Bonsai Bistro, a pan-Asian place in downtown, as it had plentiful parking. We ordered Malaysian vegetable tofu stir fry and the carmelized garlic noodles. Both dishes were very good. I especially liked the tofu stir fry. The tofu is artisanal and you can really tell the difference. The noodles were just that -- a plate of noodles -- although they were delicious. But better for a larger group to split. I would definitely go back, although since the portions are so generous for two, I think we would order just an appetizer and one main dish.

They have an extensive sushi menu, which we didn't sample, so I'm unable to comment on that.

The service was prompt and attentive and the space was attractive. The restaurant is located just across the street from the lake and the main resort.

Asian Noodles

This month's Sunset Magazine has a pretty good primer on the various types of Asian noodles. It's also available online starting here.