Located next to Morning Glory Café and the Amtrak train station, the restaurant Red Agave serves savory food in a warm setting.
The restaurant, which the menu gives the subtitle “A Sensual Kitchen,” offers just that type of atmosphere. The dining room is intimate and painted red and gold. Light fixtures casting a softened glow hang from the high ceiling. Small white candles sit on white tablecloths. Music from south of the border resonates above the diners.
For those looking to eat for under $10, the Red Agave serves coconut prawns with guava-apricot chutney or Dungeness crab-stuffed roasted Anaheim chiles finished with ranchero salsa and feta cheese, as well as soups and salads that also fit a tight budget.
However, the bulk of the menu will set eaters back about $14 to $23. Most of the entrées are culinary seafood concoctions, such as the corn husk-wrapped Chinook salmon with cilantro-tomatillo sauce, or the pistachio-encrusted red snapper with papaya buerre blanc.
Menu items also include chicken crepes, braised duck and filet mignon, which is served with a spicy and sweet ancho-merlot demi-glace and creamy poblano mashed potatoes and perfectly roasted winter vegetables.
Vegetarian options, such as the Oaxacan red mole enchiladas filled with pumpkin, squash, spinach
and green onion, are sparse but mouthwatering.
Although the Red Agave doesn’t fit most students’ minuscule budget, it’s well worth the splurge, especially for folks looking for dining fit for a sizzling date.
Located at 454 Willamette St., the Red Agave is open Tuesday through Sunday from 5:30 p.m. to late.