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APPEAL TRIBUNE
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28, 2017
Life in the
Valley y
sanews@salem.gannett.com
PHOTOS BY BROOKE JACKSON-GLIDDEN / STATESMAN JOURNAL
Joshua and Elisha Nightingale own Live Local Marketplace, a Silverton boutique with hyper-local gifts, pop-up events, food co-op groceries and a coffee shop.
Serving small-town charm
A look at some of the best places to eat, drink, stay in Silverton
BROOKE JACKSON-GLIDDEN
STATESMAN JOURNAL
After five hours in Silverton, people
will recognize you on the street.
Silverton, the city of the falls and The
Oregon Garden, is quintessential small
town. It takes its small-town identity and
paints it on its walls, serves it on a plate
and boils it down for barbecue sauce.
Barbecue sauce like Joel Autry’s. Au-
try owns Silverton Wine Bar and sells his
signature barbecue sauce in Live Local
Marketplace down the street. Live Local,
owned by Joshua and Elisha Nightingale,
specializes in local crafts and gifts, espe-
cially those made by local figures such
as Autry.
“These are people who have other ca-
reers,” Joshua Nightingale said. “We do
this because we want to showcase their
talent.”
The Nightingales are from Salem, but
the couple decided to move to Silverton
because of the community, which Joshua
Nightingale describes as creative, tight-
knit and diverse. He’s not alone: Molly
Druliner, Salem Health nurse manager
and wife of Silver Falls Brewing owner
Eric Druliner, said that Silverton’s
“eclectic mix” of residents is a large
component of the Silverton community.
“You have this artsy, liberal attitude
in town and lots of conservative farmers
on the edges of town,” Druliner said. “I
like that we have this sense of communi-
ty. You can’t go anywhere without seeing
someone you know.”
At its core, Silverton is collaborative:
Coffee served at the town brunch spot
and steeped in a local brewery’s stout
comes from the local roaster. Nightin-
gale serves drinks named for the murals
around town. The local breweries host
food trucks and new brewers, and a Sil-
verton hotel restaurant is frequented by
locals.
Silverton Inn & Suites
While many choose to stay in the near-
by Oregon Garden Resort, Silverton’s
other hotel sits in the heart of downtown,
near several of the town’s exceptional
restaurants, antique shops and bars.
The Silverton Inn & Suites has the
look of some sort of alpine lodge, with
light-yellow-trimmed windows on the
outside and gilded touches on the inside.
Doug DeGeorge bought the then-named
Nordic Motel in 2006 to renovate it, and
the hotel’s 18 rooms range from suites to
simple bedrooms. Many of the individ-
ually designed rooms are pet-friendly
with slate-tiled floors, and several rooms
have jetted baths. Grab a drink at the ho-
tel restaurant and bar, 3 Ten Water,
where the Silverton Chamber of Com-
merce often meets for breakfast. Rooms
start at $119. 310 N Water St., 503-873-
1000.
Time for brunch: Gather
Housemade English muffins, butter-
Thai Dish manager Oratai Cheepluesak and
server Thunyaluck Koonantha stand behind
the counter at the Silverton Thai restaurant
on a Friday night.
mer. Silver Falls Brewery: 11:30 a.m. to 10
p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays, 207 Jersey
St. 503-873-3022.
Easy dinner: Thai Dish
The Silverton Inn & Suites, a hotel in the heart of downtown Silverton, serves meals in its
European-inspired dining room and restaurant, 3 Ten Water.
milk waffles topped with sriracha-honey
fried chicken and cage-free egg omelets
with locally grown fillings, Gather cele-
brates Oregon’s agricultural splendor
with pastoral flair and creative twists.
Brunch is a luxurious affair with laven-
der-white mochas, mimosas and plates
large enough to knock you out for the
rest of the day. 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, 200 E
Main St. 503-874-4888.
Tour the Gordon House
Frank Lloyd Wright’s only Oregon
property, the Gordon House, offers pub-
lic tours of the historic “Usonian” home
daily. Originally built in the early 1960s,
the Gordon House was carefully disman-
tled and moved right next to The Oregon
Garden, where guests can explore the
legendary architect’s signature use of
natural light, dramatic angles and radi-
ant-floor heating. $20 for general admis-
sion, $10 for Silverton overnight guests
and $5 for Silverton residents or college
students. Tours are available at noon, 1
p.m. and 2 p.m. daily. Reservations are
required. 869 W Main St., 503-874-6006.
Shop downtown
Antique shops and boutiques line the
picturesque streets of downtown Silver-
ton, but Live Local Marketplacesets it-
self apart as one of the Mid-Valley’s only
permanent local markets. The store
stocks everything from beard oil and
loose-leaf tea produced within a 20-mile
radius, as well as produce and meats
stocked by the Silverton Food Co-Op.
Grab a crepe or cayenne mocha in the at-
tached cafe, with a latte menu named for
Silverton’s various murals. 10 a.m. to 6
p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4
p.m. Sundays. 107 N Water St., 971-599-
0013.
The Old Oak Oven
Across from Silver Falls Brewing,
The Old Oak Oven serves artfully craft-
ed pizzas with a balance of crunch and
chew that wows. Dusted with oak ash,
pizza slices range from traditional pep-
peroni to housemade pesto with tomato
and scallion, rich with umami and melt-
ed cheese. But the Sicilian pie, edges
charred and surface roughened with dol-
lops of tomato sauce, is a dazzling must-
order, if only to rip apart the ciabatta-ai-
ry dough and satisfyingly stringy
cheese. 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays-Satur-
days, 206 Jersey St., 971-599-1740.
Care for a drink?: Seven Brides
Brewing/Silver Falls Brewery
Silverton isn’t really a beer town, at
least not like Hood River, but Silverton
does have two brick-and-mortar brewer-
ies and one small brewing company
within city limits. The two breweries are
both worth your time, with distinct, indi-
vidual charms.
Seven Brides’ dauntingly large tast-
ing tray, with every beer on tap , ranges
from the big-and-bold stouts to the hop-
happy IPAs. Must-tries include the soy-
sauce-nosed, silk-bodied Monki Love
and the easy-drinking guava-toned Para-
dise Island IPA. Seven Brides Brewing:
11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesdays, Thurs-
days and Sundays, 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Fridays and Saturdays, 990 N First St.,
503-874-4677.
For something lighter, Silver Falls
Brewery’s pale ales are reminiscent of
the spray off the falls they’re named for:
crisp, refreshing, with a touch of Oregon
water’s minerality. Even the Winter Falls
Stout, brewed with cacoa nibs, chocolate
malt and Silver Falls coffee, is a misty,
bright stout that’s light enough for sum-
If you plan to Instagram your Tom
Yum at Thai Dish, watch out for manager
Oratai Cheepluesak. She’ll resort to vio-
lence if she catches you texting at the
dinner table.
“No phone!” she said, swatting the
arm of a Friday-night diner. “You have to
talk to the real people here.”
Thai Dish is a local institution, a place
where regulars buy peanut sauce for
mid-week lunches after Friday night
dinners. Chef-owner Manus Santarasri
is a master of aromatics, creating elab-
orate flavor profiles with distinct begin-
nings and ends despite limited access to
ingredients. Family members send
spices from Thailand in the mail, and
when the restaurant finds green papaya,
Cheepluesak tells everyone to order a
papaya salad. In fact, Cheepluesak tends
to tell everyone what to order, from
earthy and sweet prik khing green beans
to a tapioca dessert with warm, soothing
coconut milk. You’d be remiss to ignore
her. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays-Thurs-
days, 11a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays, noon to 10
p.m. Saturdays and noon to 9 p.m. Sun-
days. 209 N Water St., Building A. 503-
873-8963.
For something special: Silver
Grille
Silver Grille serves traditional, bis-
tro-style fare with local ingredients, in-
cluding Steffen Farms veggies and Carl-
ton Farms pork. An extensive wine list
includes Willamette Valley picks and
Italian bottles, by the glass and bottle.
Seasonal produce rarely disappoints: A
fresh pea soup with housemade ricotta
whey, silky and sweet, is divine with an
Illahe viognier. 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays-
Sundays, 206 E Main St., 503-873-8000.
Email Brooke Jackson-Glidden broo-
kejg@statesmanjournal.com or call 503-
428-3528. Follow her on Twitter
@jacksonglidden, or like her Facebook
page www.facebook.com/BrookeJack
son-Glidden.