By Vickie Aldous

New stained glass door at Tease is among downtown's graceful gateways

A newly installed door at Tease restaurant and bar in downtown Ashland has two different personalities, depending on whether the sun is shining upon it in the day or light from inside is illuminating the door's stained glass at night.

"When the light's behind it, it's full of color. When it's day, it becomes a graphic image," said Tease Owner Julie O'Dwyer.

O'Dwyer and local sculptor Kevin Christman found an old wooden door at a salvage yard in Berkeley, Calif. Christman created a custom stained glass piece of an abstracted orchid that he set into the door.

Christman is better known for his sculptures, including a bronze piece of a crouching woman with angel wings tied to her back that sits atop a pedestal in front of SoundPeace downtown. That sculpture was only installed in September after going through almost two years of legal hurdles caused by the city of Ashland's restrictive sign code. The Ashland City Council modified the sign code and adopted new rules for public art, clearing the way for the sculpture's installation.

Last week's installation of the door at Tease didn't have to get past any regulatory roadblocks because it involved only a door.

But Christman noted, "I would classify this door as a piece of fine art."

He said he was honored to be a part of the process of salvaging the door and turning it into a piece of art that can be enjoyed by passersby and patrons of Tease alike.

Christman said he believes the entrances to businesses should be unique and varied.

The door at Tease joins several other artistically made doors in downtown Ashland. Doors throughout Ashland, in fact, have proven to be so creatively made that they inspired resident and photographer Betty Hansen to create a "Doors of Ashland" poster in 1991 that has enjoyed sales into this decade.

Staff writer Vickie Aldous can be reached at 479-8199 or vlaldous@yahoo.com.

By John Darling

In a well-attended, hotly-contested third annual Chef Showdown, Franco Console of Omar's Restaurant walked away with the top honor Sunday at the Ashland Food & Wine Classic.

Given the same set of ingredients from local growers, with no advance notice of what they had to cook, finalists Console and Miles McCollum of Tease Restaurant worked their magic with whole, live lobster, rib eye steak and an array of produce from local growers.
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Herb Quady looked a little book wormy in his glasses. And he talked like a word nerd, too, a super romantic one. He stood before a gathering of wine appreciators with a big smile on his face and asked them to define the word “bucolic.”

He has been quoted in Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel magazine as saying, "There isn't any place in California that's nearly as cute" as Jacksonville, where he has his Quady North Winery Tasting Room, adding, "We're all about the bucolic southern Oregon life.”

The person who gave the correct definition of "bucolic" received a prize: A bottle of Quady Winery’s Deviation that a tablemate swore contains rose geranium, damiana and aphrodisiacs.

Seduction was the theme for Quady North's Vintner's Dinner at Tease Restaurant & Bar in Ashland last week.

Seduction was delivered through wines, liqueurs, course after course of precious foods and stimulating announcements by Quady as well as Tease co-owners Julie O'Dwyer and chef Marc Rosewood. And, of course, by the setting, which is red-velvet and soft-light seducing.
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By Angela Howe-Dicker

I've been so deliriously happy drinking coffee all these years, it never occurred to me to eat it.

Thanks to the combined efforts of Tease Restaurant & Bar and Noble Coffee, coffee lovers are not limited to an after-dinner cup-a-joe. Chef Trey Hansen of Tease and Noble's Jared Rennie have paired up to give taste buds a buzz as Tease hosts a special dinner on Sunday featuring coffee as the secret ingredient in every course. Fans of the TV show "Iron Chef" won't want to miss it, and neither will anyone else who enjoys fine food and java.
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By Vickie Aldous

Ashland restaurant and bar, vineyard in Jacksonville to host unique event

Diners will be able to mix wines together to make their own blends during an unusual event at Tease Restaurant & Bar in Ashland.

Tease has teamed up with Cowhorn Vineyard & Garden of Jacksonville for a dinner and wine-blending experiment that begins at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the restaurant, which is located downtown on the corner of Second and East Main streets.

The dinner will begin with three courses paired with Cowhorn's Rhone varietals — Voignier, Roussane and Marsanne/Rousanne, said Tease Co-owner Julie O'Dwyer.

Bill and Barbara Steel, co-owners of Cowhorn, will talk about blends and then give diners a chance to create their own.Read the rest...

Chef Trey Hansen prepares his signature global fusion cuisine for West Coast Flavors on KTVL-TV in the Rogue Valley.
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By Vickie Aldous

Restaurant and bar kicks off sketch sessions

Gabriel Mark paused to take a sip of draft beer and then continued to sketch a live model posing at Tease Restaurant & Bar in downtown Ashland.

He said the drawing session at the restaurant was different than the usual experience of sketching a model in an art studio.Read the rest...