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Sections Home Page Local News AP News Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Photo Gallery Since We Asked Sports Tempo Weather Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Readers Choice 2006 Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Our Valley Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend June 16, 2006 The Trolley Stop No streetcars trundle through downtown Medford these days, but The Trolley Stop is open for business at the corner of East Main and Front streets. The Trolley Stop is a new downtown lunch spot that opened in mid-May in the space that formerly housed the Russian restaurant Samovar and, briefly, The Mediterranean Grill. The atmosphere is all-American now with wide open spaces under soaring ceilings, red checkered tablecloths, and sleek, curved metal chairs that recall a soda fountain or ice cream parlor. Light floods through the high, arched windows and glints off the pale wood floor. Local Christian radio plays softly. Owner David Mortimer serves up simple, down-home fare — barbecue and deli sandwiches, salads, soups and homemade chili. His menu and a sign at the door proclaim that the restaurant will work at "building relationships one meal at a time." He's clearly a man who likes food and pays attention to details when preparing a meal. Advertisement The Trolley Stop's Cobb salad, for example, starts with a bed of romaine lettuce with the ribs carefully removed before each leaf is sliced into bite-sized bits. It's piled high with chopped tomatoes, black olives, wedges of avocado, a sliced hard-boiled egg, crumbled bleu cheese, hearty chunks of meaty bacon and a mound of shredded smoked chicken. Every Wednesday, Mortimer fires up an oak-fueled open-pit barbecue to slow roast chicken and tri-tip, which become the centerpiece of salads and sandwiches throughout the week. On Wednesdays, The Trolley Stop serves a barbecue platter special for $8 that features your choice of the smoky meats and sweetly spicy sauce along with Mortimer's signature chili, potato salad and garlic toast. Tri-tip and barbecue chicken sandwiches are available all week, along with made-to-order ham, turkey and tuna sandwiches. Half sandwiches, a portion that seemed just right at midday to me, are priced at $5.50 and whole sandwiches for heartier appetites are $7.50. Side salads are $1.50 for macaroni or potato salad and $3 for a house green or Caesar salad. Full-meal-deal salads such as the Cobb, taco, tri-tip or barbecue chicken cost $6.50 and come with crispy slices of garlic herb toast. Mortimer makes his chili from scratch and will offer true fans a taste preview. He also serves clam chowder every day, as well as another soup. Customers make their lunchtime choices on a ballot-style menu slip, which is collected tableside by the chipper staff. -- Anita Burke Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems California Casinos Men's Clothing Southern Oregon Loans --> GMAT Prep Fundraisers Send Flowers Texas Electric Choice Entertainment Guide --> Casinos Canada Trunks, Footlocker Online Casino Reviews Advertisement s Advertisement