Power Lunch: Larks Home Kitchen Cuisine

Roasted Brussels Sprouts, $13;  Chickpea Falafel, $14; Corned Beef Reuben, $13; Duck Leg Confit, $28; Seared Petrale Sole, $29; Warm Bourbon Cherry Pot Pie, $9

High Notes

Larks Home Kitchen Cuisine
200 N. Riverside Drive, Medford, OR 97501
541-774-4760
innatthecommons.com/larks-restaurant

Hours: Lunch Monday – Friday,
11:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.; brunch Saturday – Sunday, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Owners: Doug and Becky Neuman

Atmosphere: Smoked-glass chandeliers, high-backed faux leather white booths, burnt-orange walls, a brass fireplace and floor-to-ceiling potted plants give this upscale eatery a combination ’70s shabby chic and space age feel.

Clientele: High-heeled, power-suited women carrying leather briefcases and businessmen in loafers and blue button-down shirts rub shoulders with casual, ponytailed diners sporting plaid lumber jackets and blue jeans.

Most popular: The seasonal, ever-changing specials, says executive chef Damon Jones. As for the staples on the menu, it’s a neck-and-neck race between the American 8-oz. Kobe burger served on a bed of local greens with a house-made brioche roll or the southern-fried chicken that is crispy on the outside but still slips off the bone.

Best seat in the house: Choose one of the two coveted booths in the far back right-hand corner — from there you see the whole restaurant but you’re tucked away.

Danger zone: The addictive desserts made from locally grown lavender, golden raspberries, salmon berries, hazelnuts and other seasonal produce.

Bragging rights: Farm to table all the way. Executive chef Damon Jones picks the highest-quality ingredients, as seasonal as possible and as local as possible (in that order). My petrale sole was caught in Oregon Coast waters; the lamb in my husband’s patty melt was raised in Southern Oregon’s Applegate Valley.

Overheard: “I don’t have a bald man’s head,” said a tall middle-aged man with a full head of hair while waiting for a table with two female companions. “I’d look like Frankenstein.” “Bon voyage,” a young man quipped to three older French patrons as he took his leave and they stayed to enjoy dessert. “We’re closing down an estate, it takes a lot of work,” explained a businesswoman at a nearby table. “These people think I’m an emotional wreck, but I’ve just got a lot to do.”

Lofty goals: “I’m a Kansas girl,” says co-owner Becky Neuman. “I like comfort food. We do do burgers and fries. But I also wanted to create a really lovely aesthetic for lunch and dinner in Medford — bring in the concept of from scratch dining, a piano lounge, a brass fireplace.”