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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 9, 2015)
The Kitchen T The Kitchen’s muff ulet- ta sandwich includes mortadella, salami, ham, mozzarella and provolone coated with an olive oil spread of fi nely diced green olives, garlic, celery, caulifl ower and carrot. Don’t overlook Seaside’s quirky and inspired hole-in-the-wall Chances are you’ve passed The Kitchen numerous times while driving through Sea- side. Whether or not you noticed the shack- sized take-out box near the south end of Roosevelt Drive is another matter. The Kitchen truly is tiny, a hole-in-the- wall that’s easy to overlook. But make no mistake: Though the name is hardly compel- ling, the food is. Each day from Tuesday to Saturday, own- er and operator Jeanne Odonovan drums up two or three dishes. You’ll see them written on a whiteboard outside. Per her hours, it’s mostly lunchtime fare: soups and sandwich- es and so on. But then again, most anything is possible; Odonovan seems to be limited by her own creativity and mood. If something on the day’s menu strikes you — like the African Lamb Meatballs that originally drew me in — pull on over and have a look. Sidle up to the Dutch door. Peer at the kitchen inside. It’s bright, clean and cute — much like Odonovan herself, who PL[HVWKHFRORUVRIKHURXW¿WVDQGDSURQVDV well as she does her spices. It would, of course, be wholly inappropri- ate to ask a lady her age. But based on some crayon art hanging from a cabinet made out to “Grandma,” it’s safe to assume Odono- van’s station. And that’s what The Kitchen offers: home cooking like your own grand- ma (or younger aunt) might make had she culinary designs and a well-stocked fridge. 2Q P\ ¿UVW YLVLW , RUGHUHG WKH $IULFDQ Lamb Meatballs and a cup of the salmon chowder. As it was only moments before The Kitchen’s 5 p.m. closing time, Odono- van had run out of the accompanying saf- fron couscous. She made up for it by add- ing some fresh French bread and offering a little discount, plus half a small red pepper (a cherry bomb, I believe) that was stuffed with chèvre. It was one or two bites, and it was a delightfully bright, brash kick. The meatballs too, served in a thick red sauce, were garlicy and marvelous. Hints of cinnamon and orange invoked the sweet tang of the dish’s African namesake. With the succulent lamb, the subtleties of Odon- ovan’s spicing turned regular meatballs and red sauce into something more sublime. The smoked salmon chowder too was nuanced. The broth was creamy, rich and seasoned with basil. Smoked salmon per- meated, both in healthy chunks and in be- ing cooked down into the broth. The slow- cooked potatoes too were falling out of their skins into a smooth, hearty paste. Against 14 | July 9, 2015 | coastweekend.com the softness, celery offered crisp contrast. All together, after tip, the chowder and lamb meatballs ran me $11. For lunch, it ZDV UHIUHVKLQJO\ UH¿QHG DQG LGHDOO\ VL]HG — enough to satiate without needing a nap. I returned a month later for Cuban stew and a muffuletta sandwich. As before, Odonovan threw in a few extras — a beef taquito with tangerine-avocado dip and artfully cut roasted onion — in my bag for no extra cost. Again, the pricetag after tip was $11. (It must be said: while Odonovan happened to be generous with me it might just as well have been the luck of the draw — don’t go expecting to get anything you don’t pay for.) At first glance, with bread hanging over Pull on over and have a look. Sidle up to the Dutch door. Peer at the kitchen inside. It’s bright, clean and cute. The Kitchen may be small, but it serves up big fl avors. the sides, the muffaletta looked a little slim. But looks can be deceiving. As I bit in past the fresh bun I discovered mounds of mortadella, salami, ham, mozzarella and provolone. They were coated with an olive oil spread of finely diced green olives, gar- lic, celery, cauliflower and carrot. The muffaletta was briny, salty, garlicy and staggeringly sumptuous. Imagine an Italian tasting plate of meats, cheeses, olives and the like, and you’re getting warm. That DIWHUQRRQ¶VPXIIDOHWWDZRXOGEHP\¿UVWDW The Kitchen, but it wouldn’t be my last. The accompanying Cuban stew was veg- etarian and its less-fatty components made an ideal partner. In a thin tomato base and mouth OF THE COLUMBIA COAST WEEKEND’S LOCAL RESTAURANT REVIEW Story and photos by THE MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA • mouth@coastweekend.com The Kitchen Rating: 1820 S. Roosevelt Drive, Seaside 503-717-2496 Hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday. Price: $ – two-item lunches usually cost around $10. Service: Take-out only. A colorful one-woman show, orders take approximately 5 to 10 minutes Vegetarian/Vegan options: Menu-dependent, but dishes often lean on animal products. Drinks: None, unless you’re lucky. spiced with cumin there were white and black beans, corn, squash, onions and rice. The stew was simple and comforting — maybe something like your grandma would make. A few weeks later I returned yet again, unable to resist another muffaletta. It was everything I remembered — and craved — from the first. With it I had a shrimp lobster bisque. This time it was $12, after tip. (Odonovan threw in a cup of ice tea, filled with infused berries, and a tasting cup of fruit salad.) The bisque, kind of like a chowder with only broth and meat, was decadently rich but one-note. Indeed, just about everything I tried from The Kitchen I quite enjoyed. Hearten- ing just the same is Odonovan’s personality and chutzpa. You’re being cooked for and served by a single person with a singular vision. It’s almost like a food truck, only with a more versatile kitchen and rotating menu. So now, every time I pass through Sea- side, I take an eager glance at The Kitch- en’s offerings for the day. KEY TO RATINGS poor below average good & worth returning excellent outstanding, the best in the Columbia-Pacific region