The Stephanie Inn’s dining room holds about 17 cloth-covered tables in the second-floor round room on the mountain side of the hotel.  A wooden domed ceiling is over the front half of the room and a lower flat ceiling is over the back darker portion of the room.  With the tablecloths, padded chairs, table spacing and carpet on the floor the noise level was wonderful.  You could easily hold a private conversation but with light music in the background, you could still enjoy the hum of the other people.  Children under 12 are not permitted in the dining room.  Service was excellent all the nights we were there with good attention to detail, particularly special requests.  They start each evening by offering to get you a cocktail from the bar and take your other beverage requests.  An amuse bouche is served and then some bread before the first course hits your table.  At this point, Chef Jeff Slemaker took the floor to discuss the upcoming meal.  He was to the point and invited all to continue eating as he talked.  He was a delightful host and came around to talk with the guests.  For our last meal, Chef Johanna led the kitchen team.  Portioning at the tastings was wonderful – there was plenty to taste but not too much to make you feel stuffed.  They brought additional bread if you needed filler.  Each meal was fairly different so it was fine to eat there multiple nights.  The staff were all fabulous, friendly and helpful.  I can’t wait to go back and hope to see you there too!

August 15

 

The amuse bouche was a Greek salad with cucumber, olive, dill, feta cheese and an oregano vinaigrette.  It had perfect flavor and a great crunch.  It was wonderful with our Negroni cocktail.

 

Public Coast Farm blueberries were mixed with Rogue River blue cheese with a raspberry vinaigrette, shaved radish, toasted pistachios and compressed cucumbers.  Chef Jeff Slemaker said they’d harvested about 2 tons of blueberries from their farm and so needed to get creative with usage.   This was a wonderful way to use some.   They mixed nicely with the blue cheese and the color was great with the watermelon radish swirl.  The greens were dressed well for another strong beginning.

 

Smoked Public Coast Farm tomato bisque was topped with Arbequina olive oil bread crumbs, charred tomato and fresh basil chiffonade.   The tomatoes were from their farm and concentrated through evaporation and then thickened at the end with heavy cream.  All the vegetables used in the making were also from the farm.  It had a lovely flavor and consistency with a couple whole small charred tomatoes hidden within.  The crispy crumbs were a perfect topping.

 

Fresh wild sablefish was seared and plated with locally foraged wild mushroom risotto, marinated broccolini, roasted baby patty pan squash and fermented garlic aioli.  The fantastic fish was moist and silky with a beautiful buttery sear on the outside.  The aioli was lovely with it and the risotto, made mostly with lobster mushrooms.   The broccolini tops had been charred and were excellent.  It was a fabulous plate of food.

 

Coffee panna cotta was made with vanilla whipped cream, salted caramel and toffee crumble.  The panna cotta was lightly flavored and topped with a buttery piece of toffee then decorated with a few raspberries.  This was another good, light dessert.

 

August 16

 

The amuse bouche was watermelon with 30-year-old balsamic vinegar and mint.  Cool, crisp and sweet with a touch of mint.

 

Locally harvested wild mushrooms were in a creamy parmesan risotto with Public Coast micro greens, parmesan crisp, herb emulsion and aged balsamic.  They used chanterelles, Lobster and King trumpet mushrooms to make the risotto which was accented with sherry vinegar and truffle caviar.  The parmesan crisp stayed nicely crisp with this tasty risotto with a strong mushroom flavor.

 

Potato leek soup also had crispy pepper bacon and chili oil.  It was smooth, creamy and nicely warm.  A few of the accent vegetables were pickled which was a fun touch and the crispy pancetta chunks were another wonderful accent.

 

Marcona pesto encrusted rack of lamb was plated with creamy polenta, sautéed spinach, honey-glazed carrots and demi glace.  The lamb was from All Natural Anderson Farms and was cut into 3 chops.  I asked for rare and they were able to accommodate me.  It was wonderful and tender.  The spinach was also quite fresh and tasty.   You could taste the cheese in the polenta and it worked well with the rest of the plate.

 

French apple cake was made with heirloom apples and decorated with créme fraiche, salted caramel and candied hazelnuts.  The super moist cake was tasty and excellent with the roasted hazelnuts.  A couple slices of raw apple provided another accent to the light sweet dessert.  I found pieces of it on the breakfast buffet the next morning and it was still quite good but not as fun as the combination here.

 

Each meal finished with a couple Ranger chocolates.