Deep Dives: Cocorico
“We wanted the name to be a little French, but not too French. Fancy and high-end was not the vibe we were going for.” says Grace Borsi, half the genius behind one of our favorite restaurants in Ashland. “Cocorico, French for ‘cock-a-doodle-doo,’ was the obvious choice.”
It’s new enough you may have not tried it yet. Nate and Grace Borsi opened their dream restaurant in August of 2022, and since then have exceeded their own expectations. In addition to attracting tourists, the restaurant is a local favorite, always a good sign.
Nat was born in Périgueux and at age 9 moved to Gap, a city of about 40,000 in the Hautes-Alpes region of southeastern France. “My mom is an incredible cook,” he said. “She grew up in Valenciennes outside of Lille where they use a lot of butter and cream. My maternal grandmother would use a pound of butter for each dinner for seven people!”
But Cocorico isn’t that kind of French restaurant. The feel is casual-chic (it’s in the old site of Amuse for you old-timers), and the food has an inventive, “foodie,” farm-to-table kind of flair that draws on both French and American fare.
Nat and Lola met while working together at a Seattle restaurant, and became an item 5 months before Nat’s visa ran out. Now married, they spent some time in Aix-en-Provence before returning stateside to open their first version of Cocorico at the Green Springs Inn & Cabins, 20 miles east of Ashland.
Cocorico has a little something for everyone, some vegetarian appetizers than can be modified to vegan, always one, sometimes two vegan entrees, and plenty of fabulous meat and vegetable dishes, from a delicious tangine to perfectly prepared market fish to bone-in pork chops to the best carbonara I’ve ever had. And after dinner? Try an aperitif with your dessert. As Grace says, “We still have our amazing baker who specializes in classic, nostalgic, old-fashioned desserts.”
Cocorico welcome walk-ins but you may want to reserve your table in advance. Open Tuesday through Saturday from 5 to 8:30 p.m., they have both indoor and patio seating. To view the menu and book a table, go to cocoricorestaurant.com. The restaurant does not have a phone, but reservations also can be made by emailing bonjour@cocorico.cafe or you can stop in to make one in person and get a preview.
Let us know if you like it as much as we do!
p.s. The quotes, some of the facts, and the image for this post were taken from a great article about the restaurant in the Rogue Valley Times — check out the whole article here: https://www.rv-times.com/go_rogue/vines-tines-cocorico-turning-a-dream-into-a-thriving-french-bistro/article_ed4a6b68-f829-11ee-a0de-d320ed47ce1e.html