The Red Agave Restaurant & Cantina has been on the top five list of restaurants in the Eugene area for at least five years. We hadn’t been out for a nice dinner since last year, due to our busy schedule and babies. But, with the help of a friend, we were able to venture out last night where we were served by the owner, Brian Hebb, and chef Mike Meyer a simply fantastic meal.
Red Agave was originally opened and operated by friends Katie Marcus-Brown and Sara Willis. They also owned El Vaquero at the 5th Street Market and Asado. They sold all of these restaurants, and at the end of 2010 started a new venture in south Eugene called June. Brian Hebb purchased the Red Agave in 2008 and has made his own mark on the decidedly Central American cuisine, with chef Mike Meyer. Brian has introduced a seasonal focus to his diners, along with interesting dining experiences like his Longtable Dinners. In 2010, Brian entered into a partnership to open Cowfish, a coffee house by day, nightclub by night, on Broadway in downtown Eugene.
My wife (Ashley) and I called in on Friday for a reservation on Saturday, and were happy to hear that Red Agave takes reservations (even for two people) at any time. A quick note about social networking here, the whole reason that we decided on Red Agave over any other restaurant, was Brian’s weekly email he sends out…So, it does work. About a week before our big date, at my son Adam’s first birthday party, one of Ashley’s friends told us that we “needed a date night”. She offered to watch Adam, and one ofour other friends offered to watch our seven year old Maggie.
So, all week long I’ve been thinking about the BBQ Boar Ribs, slowly braised, and served with a chipotle tequilla sauce. We arrived at the restaurant, and we’re greeted and seated by Brian. We brought in a bottle of our Matthew’s Reserve Pinot Noir to have with the Copper River Sockeye Salmon. Ashley asked me “Why doesn’t Red Agave have any LaVelle wines”. My reply was that they do have a good selection of Pinots, including Benton Lane and Territorial, and that I’m sure they just can’t carry all of us.
I asked Brian to recommend a wine by the glass that would pair well with the BBQ Boar Ribs, and he brought me Tikal’s Patriota, a Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina. And, it was a very nice pairing. I little more tannic structure than our Reserve Pinot, which made for some interesting fruit flavors with the chipotle BBQ sauce. Ashley selected a peruvian-style ceviche with seared ahi. She had a Richmond Gimlet to start the evening, and then tried our Reserve Pinot Noir with the ceviche and really liked it. I had a bite, and for me, I was wishing we had our estate Riesling or Pinot Gris with us for that pairing, and she agreed.
We both had the Cedar Plank Roasted Copper River Sockeye Salmon for entree, and we paired it with the 08 Matthew’s Reserve Pinot Noir. Chef Meyer treated this fish with an orange zest marinade, an orange-nopale salsa, sauteed greens, laid over a bed of red quinoa. We quickly noticed that the red quinoa had a fruity finish to it that paired nicely with our Pinot Noir. The salmon is a Northwest standard, and it was served to us in a fantastic fashion.
For dessert, Ashley decided on another standard at Red Agave, the Flourless Chocolate Molten Tort, topped with ganache & espresso creme anglaise. She went right through the entire meal with the Reserve Pinot, and thought that it paired well with the entire evening. I opted for the Artisnal Cheese Plate, which included two different goat cheeses, a fantastic blue cheese, quince paste (a sweet jelly), roasted marcona almonds, and baguette. Brian paired this one up for me with a small glass of Sherry. The heavy licorice of the Sherry paired best with the honey glazed blue cheese.
Overall, our meal was fantastic. We had a cocktail, two glasses of wine, a bottle of wine that we brought in, two appetizers, two dinners, and two desserts. With gratuity we got out of there for $120. We don’t get to go out too often, so when we do, we need it to be the best in town. Brian and Chef Meyer delivered that, and we appreciate it. It’s always fun being in a local business that’s supporting another local business, and maybe someday we’ll see a LaVelle wine on Brian’s list!
