Readers’ choice awards
BEST FINE DINING, BEST BURGER,
BEST DESSERTS, BEST CLAM CHOWDER & BEST CHEF
Every Wednesday night during the school year, the Depot hosts Burger
Night, where diners create the burger of their dreams from a seemingly
endless list of topping choices.
years the building spent as a neighborhood tavern, on
this night only, the Depot abandons its regular menu for
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The fare is simple, but epic: Limited only by their
own imaginations, guests mark choices on printed slips
at the table and create their own burgers by selecting type
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then choosing as many toppings as they want from a list
that includes all the traditional favorites and then some
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tering of hot peppers).
Seaview, Washington
Not in the mood for a burger? Always available,
Lalewicz’s chowder — teeming with chopped razor
Story and photos by
your favorite hoodie, you can count on feasting like a clams and whole Willapa Bay steamers — sings with
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LYNETTE RAE McADAMS
following.
Deep in the heart of historic Seaview, Washington,
Best Burger,
And then there’s dessert — the course whose only
tucked back quietly on the corner of 38th and L places,
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Best Clam Chowder, Best Desserts
there’s a tiny fold in the otherwise orderly fabric of the
Six nights a week, fancy food might be the Depot’s
Up to seven scrumptious offerings adorn the menu
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uum of modern cuisine. It’s a place that looks forward and you’ll be amazed at the way the place knows how Among them: chocolate espresso pot de creme, tiramisu,
and back all at once without blinking; a spot where you WROHWLWVKDLUGRZQ,QDNLQGRIKRPDJHWRWKHVRPH DQGSHUKDSVWKHZRUOG¶VPRVWSHUIHFWYDQLOODEHDQÀDQ
can cross three oceans but never leave the dock. With
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BEST FINE DINING
rant — an extraordinary 900 square feet of space in this
Runner-up: Bridgewater
world, where they somehow manage to get everything
Bistro, Astoria
right.
It’s one thing to be well known for a particular kind
Honorable Mention: T.
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Paul’s Supper Club, Astoria
capsulates your brand and consistently lets you shine.
But balancing multiple acts takes a whole different set
BEST CLAM
of skills — and it’s something the Depot does superbly.
CHOWDER
Defending their longstanding Readers’ Choice Award
Runner-up:
Norma’s
titles in four different dining categories again this year,
Ocean Diner, Seaside
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created award for Best Chef, it’s time to take a closer look
Honorable Mention:
at what makes this place so exceptional.
Mo’s, Cannon Beach
One of seven nightly desserts, the Depot Restaurant’s sorbet duo changes
regularly, based on the freshest fruit available. This photo shows the de-
lectable combination of blackberry and pineapple, with a sidekick sugar
cookie, all made from scratch.
14 | January 29, 2015 | coastweekend.com
The Beach
The Depot
Best Fine Dining
Michael Lalewicz, co-owner and executive chef at the Depot Restaurant
in Seaview, Washington, applies his special blend of seasonings to two
14-ounce rib-eye steaks.
BEST CHEAP DATE, BEST PLACE FOR A PICNIC & BEST TOURIST ATTRACTION
BEST DESSERTS
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Runner-up: Bridgewater
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Bistro, Astoria
ing to the tides), the charm of the Depot is apparent from
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Honorable Mention:
ner house, the restaurant glows with soft lighting, and the
Frite & Scoop, Astoria
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BEST BURGER
for a great experience.
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Runner-up: Buoy Beer
Michael Lalewicz and Nancy Gorshe, the restaurant
Co., Astoria
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Honorable Mention:
timidating or pretentious. Describing their establishment
Albatross, Astoria
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to insist that patrons arrive comfortably dressed to their
BEST CHEF
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quisite.
Runner-up: Marco Davis,
And is it ever.
Columbian Cafe, Astoria
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Honorable Mention:
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Geoff Gunn, Bridgewater
con, illuminating the palate with dishes like Greek lamb
Bistro, Astoria
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national wine list and an expert team of friendly servers, The Depot Restaurant’s “Clamshell Railroad Clams Chowder,” made to order in a creamy broth, features whole wild Willapa Bay steamers
and whether you show up in a suit and tie, or jeans and and chopped Pacific razor clams.
Clatsop County, Oregon or Pacifi c County, Washington
By DWIGHT CASWELL
Laura Gilgore and Brianna Warfi eld, two long-time Depot servers, hold
baskets of custom-built char-grilled burgers during the Depot’s popular
Burger Night, which takes place every Wednesday during the school year.
Here’s what’s odd: As desserts go, they’re really not
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ome of its class.
Best Chef
That same drive for perfection that permeates every
aspect of a Depot experience can all be boiled down to
Lalewicz — a Detroit native who recalls that, growing
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lic, tomatoes and vinegar. Looking back on the moment
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morning spent alone in the kitchen, caramelizing onions
to accompany a fried egg.
He remembers his fascination as the onions danced
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ing translucent, their edges rimmed with gold; and how
the egg, nestled there in the center of it all, gurgled and
thickened against the heat of the pan as all the aromas
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exceptional chef would do.
But at the time, he was only 8 years old.
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ing the intricacies of an onion, but that same quest for and
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ing over the years into a philosophy of cooking he calls
“complex simplicity.”
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acteristics of his ingredients, he crafts every single element
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It’s a masterful art, but Lalewicz laughs it off humbly:
“I just surround myself with the very best ingredients I
can, and then try not to mess it up.”
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love of a soul food cafe.
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deavor doesn’t come from producing fabulous food
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bly one that’s been licked clean.
“When you make somebody happy and they tell
you,” he says, grinning, “that’s everything.”
When informed that she had won
three “Bests” in Coast Weekend’s 2014
Readers’ Choice Awards, Beach refused
to take full credit.
“It was teamwork,” she said. “I
couldn’t have done it without Ocean,
Sun and Sky.
“Without them I’d be nothing more
than sand, but together we make the
most beautiful waves and dunes — and
the sunsets! Sun does so much with
Sky’s clouds!
“And of course we have a marvelous
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derful? And let’s not forget the molluscs.
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luscs.”
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ing named Best Cheap Date, Beach said,
“I wish they hadn’t put it like that.”
One of Sky’s clouds passed over,
momentarily darkening Beach, but she
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self as low maintenance. It’s true that
I’m free and easy, but that’s not such a
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spect me when it’s over. As you turn to
look at me one last time, all I ask is that
you don’t litter.”
Locals take great pride in keeping our beaches
clean. Volunteers are always welcome. For more
information, visit the GrassRoots Garbage Gang at
ourbeach.or, SOLV at solv.org or check out the Beach
Drive Buccaneers on Facebook.
Photo by Alex Pajunas
Guilibaldo Gonzalez, left, of Newberg, and his wife, Wendy, stoop to pick up garbage during SOLVE’s Treasure the
Beach Cleanup on a brisk January morning in Seaside.
Photo by Damian Mulinix
Walking the beach on Fourth of July, you never know what you might encounter, such as a teenager buried up to
his armpits in the sand.
BEST CHEAP DATE
Runner-up: Columbian Theater,
Astoria
Honorable Mention: Astoria Sunday
Market
BEST PLACE FOR A PICNIC
Runner-up: Astoria Column
Honorable Mention: Ecola State
Park, Cannon Beach
BEST TOURIST ATTRACTION
Runner-up: Astoria Column
Honorable Mention: Haystack Rock,
Cannon Beach
Photo by Andrew Tonry
Watching the sunset at the beach in Seaside is a sight not to be missed.
January 29, 2015 | coastweekend.com | 15