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September 7, 2007
Dragonfly
By Richard Moesch
Correspondent
Mail Tribune
In the two years since it opened,
Dragonfly has quickly become one of the busiest dining
spots in Ashland. It is a favorite place to gather
with friends, meet with business associates, or take
your date before the high school prom. The portions
are large without being gargantuan. The presentation
is beautiful and the service is friendly and attentive.
Diners can enjoy their meal in the
front section near the bar and have a bistro ambiance.
Moving further inside, they can sit in the beautifully
appointed dining room. There are tables for two along
the windowed walls, tables for larger groups in the
center of the room and tables with built-in benches
along the wall. Leaving the dining room, you head outside
into the back for a multi-leveled garden dining experience.
Dragonfly opens its doors at 8 a.m.
every morning. This may be a secret, because the many
times I have had breakfast there it has never been
crowded. By contrast to the bustle in the afternoons
and evenings, the slower place is pleasantly relaxing — unless
you're in a hurry.
Breakfast selections are many, and
often include a special or two. I usually have the
coconut granola for $4.50. That includes toasted oats
with coconut, almonds and raisins. Then I add fruit
for $2 and some yogurt and milk and I'm one happy camper.
Since this place serves cappuccinos and lattes for
$3.50, I'm one very happy camper.
My regular breakfast companions usually
have the artichoke scramble for $8, which is eggs scrambled
with artichoke, cheese, green onions and tomatoes served
with crispy rosemary potatoes and grilled rosemary
bread.
Sometimes my companions order something
with a Latin influence, which makes sense in a place
that describes much of its cuisine as Latin-Asian-Fusion.
There are breakfast burritos, tamales, tortillas, and
quesadillas as well as cantina croissants, which range
from $7.50 to $8.75.
The Asian influence is represented
by Nirvana: marinated grilled tofu, brown rice, broccoli,
zucchini, squash, egg whites and salsa.
I've never taken the grandkids here
for breakfast, but I just might. After all, who could
pass up a Fruit Face Pancake for $3.50?
My lunch favorites are the Nuevo roll-ups
for $7.75, which are pan-fried noodles in ginger soy
sauce with green onion, cilantro, julienned carrots,
celery and sprouts, wrapped in a spinach tortilla and
served with mixed greens and peanut sauce. I add marinated
tofu for another $2.50. Unbelievably yummy. You could
also add chicken or beef.
Then there's the lettuce wrap, which
someone at our table always manages to order. Imagine
a plate of marinated chicken, crisp lettuce leaves,
shredded cucumber, rice noodles and peanut sauce served
with brown rice and several bowls of spicy sauces for
$8.50.
Lunch for my wife is usually the Buddha
Bowl: a big bowl of steamy lemongrass miso and coconut
milk broth with shitake mushrooms, noodles, veggies
and cilantro for $9. Most of her favorite food groups
are in there and she smiles a lot when she eats it.
For dinner, we start out with a generous
helping of crispy shoe string plantains. I like the
wok fried rice bowl ($10) or the Asia grill ($12).
Each features brown rice with sweet potato, roasted
bell pepper, eggplant, green beans and portabello mushrooms.
The ingredients in each are prepared a little differently.
The contents in the bowl are stir fried with sweet
chili sauce, and the grill is served with marinated
tofu and peanut sauce.
My wife is a big fan of the Imperial
Bowl which is a variation on the Buddha Bowl with the
addition of brown rice, steamed zucchini, broccoli,
bean sprouts and jullienned vegetables for $11.
For dessert, my wife likes the bananas
cantina. Who wouldn't like flamed bananas with spiced
rum, served a la mode for $5? I still enjoy the coconut
flan for $5, as many times as I've eaten it. When you
find what you like, why change? The coconut gives the
flan a hearty texture, which is as delightfully different
from the usual custard variety as Dragonfly is from
the usual dining experience.
Copyright © 2007 Southern Oregon
Media Group, a subsidiary of Ottaway Newspapers, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
Thank you.
Dragonfly Cafe
and Gardens
241 Hargadine Street, Ashland, Oregon (OR) 97520
541.488.4855 |
