For around eight months each year, the artsy community of Ashland, Oregon, nestled into the leafy hills just above the California border, revolves around the Oregon Shakespeare Festival — a season of theater that runs from March through November and draws 120,000 visitors annually to a town of fewer than 22,000 residents. During this time, all rhythms of life — including where and when to eat — necessarily sync with curtain calls and theater locations. But there’s plenty here to keep palates entertained the rest of the year, too, with izakayas, fine dining destinations, and farm-to-table palaces spread throughout the town. Here, then, are the essential places to eat and drink in Ashland, Oregon, the theatrical gateway to the Pacific Northwest.
MÄS is the passion project for chef Josh Dorcak, who is busy nabbing James Beard Award nominations or landing on the New York Times’s 50 best restaurants list. His multi-course tasting menus tease, challenge, and entertain with dishes like aged duck breast with acorn miso and maple blossoms or corn dashi chawanmushi with King crab and goat milk. Tasting menus start at $98 per person.
