Last week we had two fabulous nights out at our favorite restaurant(s). When we talked about local places we wanted to enjoy as much as possible before moving to Portugal, MÄS and its sister restaurant NAMA overshadowed everything else.
MÄS offers innovative food which Chef Josh Dorcak describes as Cascadian Cuisine and we describe as scrumptious (for both the taste buds and the eyes!). NAMA, headed by Chef Luke VanCampen is an oyster bar offering a more casual but no less delectable experience. Both restaurants take ingredients primarily sourced here in the Pacific Northwest and transform them with creative magic into mouthwatering delights.
This week Chef Rodney Wages, owner of San Francisco’s Michelin starred Avery, collaborated on tasting menus at each venue (last week Josh, Luke, and the rest of their phenomenal team did the same at Avery). This will probably be our last BIG date before we leave the area and we wanted to share the sights and describe the tastes with YOU!!
NIGHT 1: MÄS + AVERY
Chef Josh regularly starts his tasting menus with dashi. Holding this warm bowl and sipping this perfect blast of umami brings a smile to my face as I remember all the great nights that began just like this.
Our first taste of Chef Wages food was no disappointment and an interesting contrast from MÄS fare.
You can’t see it but this starting bite is served on a scrumptious milkbread. Delicious!
Don’t ask what this actually is. We can’t remember and it didn’t make it on the menu provided. It was mild in flavor and very crunchy. You could hear other diners eating this from quite a distance.
These dishes truly showed the contrast in styles and tastes between the two chefs. The tuna dish also had pre-Covid beef and very bold flavors while the oysters were glamorous comfort food.
Scallops and lobster in a warm broth hiding a custard below which ties this dish together.
How good can tortellini be? Delectable. Delightful. Surprising! Each of these perfect pasta envelopes is filled with a warm liquid burnt onion butter. They burst in your mouth like the best fruit gushers you could ever imagine. I told the Chef that I would spend a year learning to make these and it would be worth it.
The morels in the Halibut dish were perfect and provided such a lovely textural contrast to the custardy sauce and soft, flaky fish.
The primary piece of meat is lamb which was extremely mild in flavor. It was a fat forward dish, but it was rendered beautifully.
The multitude of desserts made us feel like kids in a candy store. Everything was delicious and nothing was overly sweet.
NIGHT 2: AVERY X NAMA
We started the night with this seafood tower. Every bite was perfection. It was a showstopper full of individual stars. NAMA normally serves small plates and we have a habit of ordering one of everything, tonight this decision was not even a debate after this starter.
NAMA’s bread and butter (oysters!) never disappoints. My first experience with oysters were some horrid shooters in Reno, NV. Thankfully over the years I’ve learned to love these briny bites.
And that was the end of our two night super date. If you live in Southern Oregon or find yourself anywhere in the region make it a priority to visit MÄS and NAMA, they are culinary treasures. As for Avery, we are short on time but if we find ourselves near San Francisco before we leave it is a sure stop, and not just for the Tortellini.
