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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us April 26, 2005 Pipon’s aims for Mexican authenticity By Jennifer Squires Ashland Daily Tidings TALENT — There are no sombreros on the wall, and the guacamole isn’t made tableside in Pipon’s Cocina and Cantina. Instead, it’s tables covered with white cloth and lit with candles, a wine list boasting labels from Chile and Spain and, soon, garden seating. The interior of the new Pipon’s Cocina and Cantina shows the notch-above-casual decor, complete with white tablecloths ready for “old world” Mexican food. Photos by Orville Hector | Ashland Daily Tidings This is “old world” Mexican food, co-owner Jorge Oliva explains, “the way it used to be in the golden era of Mexico.” Oliva, his girlfriend, Theresa Cote, and two other partners opened Pipon’s last week in the old Chata’s building on the south end of Talent. The pair had been trying for more than a year to find a location for what they hope will be considered “authentic Mexican cuisine” that would look and taste different than the Tex-Mex restaurants people usually associate with Mexican food. A year ago, Oliva approached Jozef Slowikowski, the long-time owner of Chata’s. In the 1990s he closed the popular Polish restaurant, which originally opened in 1975. A couple other eateries had given the location a try, but the building was empty when Oliva tried to rent it from Slowikowski last year. “Talks kind of went in all directions and it didn’t happen,” Oliva said. Oliva was on his way — literally — to look at a potential site for his restaurant in Medford when Slowikowski called. Slowikowski didn’t want his old restaurant to sit empty. He’d had been in Mexico and sitting in a restaurant there, he thought of Oliva. Oliva never made it to see the other site for his restaurant. “We sealed the deal that day with some Polish vodka,” Oliva said. Pipon’s is along highway 99 in the commercial corridor in Talent. That was this winter. In the two months since, the wine list — complete with Spanish champagne — and menu have been written, the margarita machine is up and running, the executive chef flew in earlier this month and the interior of the restaurant has been revamped to look like a hacienda in the mountainous regions of central Mexico. “We decided, instead of opening up another Tex-Mex restaurant, we wanted to do something different,” said Oliva, who had his own little Tex-Mex restaurant in Texas. “We don’t want to completely get away from some of the plates that are familiar, like enchiladas and tacos.” But those enchiladas and tacos may come with yellow rice instead of white with carrots and peas added or one of the three types of beans they will serve at Pipon’s, instead of the pinto bean puree topped with grated cheese. The restaurant’s executive chef, Raymundo Santiago, a native of the Tampico region of Mexico whom the owners found online and flew in from Texas, brought about 500 recipes with him, according to Oliva. The specials involve green and brown mole sauces, shrimp, salmon and pesto — though not necessarily in the same dish. Some are his own creation, others collected from his years of experience in restaurants. “We’ll have a daily special every day for the next 500 days and then start over,” Oliva said. Pipon’s will also have live acoustic music, cooking classes, a catering menu and, when the garden is ready, outdoor seating on the patio. Staff writer Jennifer Squires can be reached at 482-3456 x 3019 or [email protected]. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Free Musick Downloads Slippers Women's & Men's Slippers Ceramic Piggy Banks heloc Calenders 2005 Calender 2005 Accelerate Weightloss Products Memory Foam Mattress tcg student loan consolidation home equity loans teleconferencing W2 Forms cortisol weight loss Tatoos website design & marketing student loans African Safari Conference Calls - $50/Month Security Systems diamonds Currancy Exchange Online Casinos Community Student Loans Tatoo Poker Games Homeschooling Click Here .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams