Resturant | Where Sasha Went

Ashes Pub – Camp, Ireland

October 10, 2018

For our second night of the trip we were put up in Upper Camp (this is the actual name of a town, not the activity of sleeping in the woods). The village which is split into upper and lower sections is relatively small, and the area we were staying in especially small. A handful of houses, our guesthouse, a bar that was closed and the Ashes Pub.

I would link the site if there was one, the best I could find is the trip advisor link or if you look it up on google maps where you can find their address and open hours. This is not to be confused with the Ashes Pub in Dingle, which does have a website. I did find a video on YouTube which appears to just be a personal video overlain with Irish music, but it gives you a good idea of the size of the place.

Regardless of a lacking website and its modest exterior the place is perfection. The bar inside is exactly what one would expect from an Irish Pub. Low ceilings, stone work, worn woodwork and the nicest people you will ever meet. The food was outstanding, like 5 star dining outstanding. I had lamb with mint sauce, I inhaled it. Not only was I starving from the hike that day but it was so good I just couldn’t help myself.

We must have gotten there early though, as it was quiet when we first sat down, but by the time we were on our second round of drinks the parking lot was full and the pub was packed to the gills. The food took a while cooked to order as it were, and worth the wait. The wait staff couldn’t have been kinder and the bartender/owner was full of snarky jokes. I loved this place through and through.
Additional Information:

Address: Camp Cross, Ballinknockane, Co. Kerry, Ireland
Hours: 5pm to Midnight daily.
Notes: Cash only, and be patient the food is worth the wait.

Cuvée – Carlton, Oregon

November 22, 2017

There are a lot of really great restaurants in the Yamhill/Willamette/Tualatin Valley area thanks in part to our robust wine industry. Up until recently I had focused most of my time dining at restaurants in the Portland area, there are so many great places there you could go out every night and never run out. Having recently moved out of the area has given me the excuse to branch out a bit and boy was I ever happy to have given that chance after enjoying an unforgettable meal at Cuvee in Carlton, Oregon.

The restaurant resides on the main street of Carlton, about half through through the one stop sign town in the heart of Oregon’s wine country. It offers dinner on a prix-fixe menu, letting you decide soup/salad, a main entrée and a dessert or a starter. I had been wanting to go for a while. So when I happen to be in town for an event with a friend we jumped at the chance to eat dinner there.

Everything looked too amazing to choose. So we chose to share, I chose the asparagus leek soup (hot) it was amazing. We shared pomme frites, even more amazing. Then we split the salmon and lamb stew, saying the entrees were a religious experience would be an understatement. The sauce on the salmon was quite literally the best thing I have ever eaten. And the lamb stew was so tender and full of flavor I think both of us nearly passed out from sheer ecstasy.

By the time our entrée rolled around we were already full but we pushed ahead anyway because it was too good not to, and then we pushed ahead again for the dessert we chose to share which was a crème caramel. I have never tasted anything so rich and so light at the same time. It was gone in an instant and we have both been dreaming about going back ever since.

Aside from the exquisite food, the waiter was incredibly kind and friendly. The dining room was bright and quiet. I could not recommend a better French Restaurant in Oregon and think even a drive from Portland is worth it.

Carruthers – Astoria, Oregon

June 7, 2017

There is a small town on the Oregon Coast that I know quite well, they call it Astoria Oregon. Astoria, long famous for being the home of one of the most dangerous river bars in the world, childhood 80s movies and copious amounts of rain, also happens to be one of my childhood home towns.

If I am being quite frank, when I was a kid it was kind of (read really) a dump. A sad little town at the mouth of the Columbia River, with a crumbling downtown and a small tourist season in the summer. Somewhere between the 1990’s and the mid 2010’s the town managed to turn itself around and now has a booming year round tourist season and with it some really phenomenal restaurants. None of which existed when I lived there, naturally. One of the newest editions is Carruthers.

Carruthers is located kitty corner to the old Astoria Liberty Theater, which was renovated in recent years and is now used as a performing arts theater which has headlined shows with hometown staples like movies by Chris Lang and musical performances by Blind Pilot. The restaurant was built out inside the old Owl Drug Store (which was a filming location of Kindergarten Cop) and was originally a clothing store.

The interior has been decorated impeccably, we were sitting next to this fire place (see above) which I could not stop staring at, not least of which because it was about 40 feet tall.

Both the bar menu and the dinner menu was amazing, I could have ordered everything but stuck to the butternut squash gnocchi and could have eaten nothing else for the rest of my life and been happy. It was amazing.

The vibe of the restaurant is a bit more upscale than Astoria has been traditionally used to but happily people dined in all assortments of style. It seemed everyone regardless of Sunday best or just jumped off the boat clothing were right at home. I couldn’t stop staring at the lovely surroundings, enjoying the relaxing atmosphere and the incredible food. I was only occasionally distracted by the mirror pictured below, as I plotted how to steal it without getting caught. I failed to come up with a way to smuggle a 12 foot tall gold mirror out in my purse so I just took a picture.
Address an Additional Information: 12th and Commercial Astoria, Oregon 97103

Upcoming Local Events
Trip Advisor Reviews