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DINING Tot's tots ideal for its addictive sauces Comment By Sarah Lemon for the Mail Tribune Follow @@thewholedish MailTribune.com By Sarah Lemon for the Mail Tribune Follow @@thewholedish Posted Mar. 11, 2016 at 2:00 AM Updated Mar 11, 2016 at 6:09 PM By Sarah Lemon for the Mail Tribune Follow @@thewholedish Posted Mar. 11, 2016 at 2:00 AM Updated Mar 11, 2016 at 6:09 PM » Social News A play on Vietnamese cuisine came to Ashland with Tot restaurant. Chef-owner Andrew Will is still playing in the kitchen, nearly four years after opening Tot — its name an alternate spelling of the Vietnamese word for “good”— in the Oak Street Center. Complementing several of Tot’s original barbecue-style dishes are more options for the quintessentially Vietnamese banh mi, curry dishes, noodle dishes and a selection of crepes that made the menu since my last visit. With great reluctance, I passed up the grilled prawn or mushroom crepes, priced at $10 and $9, respectively. But I’d already primed my palate for noodle soup, in this case duck with house-made noodles ($15). Indispensable were the restaurant’s signature “tots” ($4), a reinvention of taters that incorporates rice and comes with tamarind-barbecue or peanut sauce for dipping. Pickled seasonal vegetables ($4) also were a must. So impressed with his first taste of Tot’s green curry ($14) several weeks prior, my friend decided to make the beef dish a repeat. We debated whether to share the tapioca spring rolls ($5) or special dark chocolate-coconut crepe for dessert. Although still craving a crepe, I couldn’t deny the appeal of toothsome yet creamy tapioca in a crunchy wrapper, which won out. I chose a hibiscus lemonade rather than hot tea on the chilly, overcast day. Settled in the atrium just outside Tot’s entrance, my friend and I commented that cups of tea would have been welcome hand-warmers. But drinks soon took a back seat to the tots and pickled vegetables, the latter vibrantly stained magenta by beet juice. Imparting just the right amount of pucker, the pickles were presented in a generous portion, if a slightly skewed ratio of beets to cucumbers and cauliflower. While I had no quibble with the beets’ taste or texture, the baseball-sized slices overshadowed the other vegetables and made for unwieldy eating. The tots were plenty crunchy and not at all greasy but lacked that earthy flavor of fresh potatoes. Still, they make ideal vehicles for Tot’s addictive sauces. I also had hoped for a bit more flavor from my soup. I appreciated the presentation of bone-in duck thighs, rather than slices, and even savored the chewy morsels of fat. But I didn’t detect those inimitable spices — cinnamon, clove and star anise — that I expect in Vietnamese-style broths, which in this case, could have been considerably hotter. Living up to the menu’s promise, the egg yolk was very soft and infused the broth with some richness. While the greens were more than ample, I wished for some more noodles. My friend’s beef, with broccoli, carrots and spinach, achieved more of a shredded texture on the accompanying rice. We wondered if the recipe started with short ribs. Regardless, the dish bears little in common with curries in the style of local Thai restaurants, which come off more like soups or stews studded with bits of meat. The beef definitely was the star here. The server, to her credit, wanted to ensure that our dessert arrived at the opportune moment. And although the kitchen apparently jumped the gun, the spring rolls didn’t linger more than a few seconds as we admired their deep-fried sheen and debated whether the sauce was a true caramel or dulce de leche, which would be more in keeping with the Vietnamese theme. Both sauce and filling struck just the right slightly sweet note. Located at 310 Oak St., Ashland, Tot is open from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Call 541-488-7986 or see www.totrestaurant.com . By Sarah Lemon for the Mail Tribune Follow @@thewholedish MailTribune.com By Sarah Lemon for the Mail Tribune Follow @@thewholedish Posted Mar. 11, 2016 at 2:00 AM Updated Mar 11, 2016 at 6:09 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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