Unleash young, wildly creative foodies and you get something like the tapas at Elements Tapas Bar & Lounge in OldTown Medford, Oregon.
There are big gutsy dishes, like sweet braised oxtails and fried potatoes with white truffle oil and Cheddar, topped with fried eggs.
And light bites such as grapes rolled in crushed pistachios with blue cheese (above), only it's not ordinary cheese but the famous blue from southern Oregon's Rogue Creamery.
Local fresh figs stuffed with Idiazabal cheese are wrapped in aged serrano ham, roasted and finished with a balsamic glaze (above).
Hot bacon-wrapped dates are delectable, but you might want to try something more unusual such as Matiz Gallego sardines wrapped with house made bacon and finished with lemon aioli and arbequina olive oil.
My favorite was shrimp in a buttery saffron sauce with garlic and sherry (above), until I tasted mahi mahi with pickled sweet peppers and lemon olive oil--the fish had been dusted first with ground coriander and lemon pepper.
Another top dish was pan-seared duck breast with sauteed spinach, oyster mushrooms and quince mustard, made from local fruit.
Wines are mainly from Spain and southern Oregon--I had a Jaxon Vineyards Tempranillo from the Rogue Valley. But check specials at the bar (above) such as a cocktail of Dry Fly gin from Washington State, Aperol, muddled fresh blueberries, basil, lemon juice and simple syrup.
OldTown Medford is packed with atmospheric eateries. Start out at Porters--Dining at the Depot, housed in what was a train station in 1910. If you're sharing with friends, try the mammoth seafood appetizer platter (above) loaded with cocktail shrimp, house-smoked salmon, fried calamari, crab and shrimp cakes and smoked salmon rangoons.
Then move on to Elements for tapas. And finish with a drink at Jefferson Spirits in a 1924 building redone with reclaimed lumber (above).
This woodsy, casual place has an enormous bar. Sip a Scotch or whiskey, try an Oregon craft beer or ask for a historic cocktail such as the blend of bourbon, bitters and bubbly that originated at the Seelbach Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky almost 100 years ago.
You can even have dessert here. I tucked into an enormous plate of vanilla ice cream and huge chocolate chip cookies, a sort of melty ice cream sandwich that was just as alluring as a bar full of booze.
Elements Tapas Bar & Lounge, 101 E. Main St., Medford, Oregon 97501. Tel: (541) 779-0135.
Porters--Dining at the Depot, 147 N. Front St., Medford, Oregon 97501. Tel: (541) 857-1910.
Jefferson Spirits, 404 E. Main St., Medford, Oregon 97501. Tel. (541) 622-8190.
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