The Shrimp Louie Salad
at Buoy Beer Co. features
a central mountain of
bay shrimp with a crown
of microgreens.
SUGAR DETOX
CREATES CHALLENGES
WHEN EATING OUT
I recently spent 10 days doing something
heretofore unheard of: I cut sugar from my
diet. And not just sweets, but foods that me-
tabolize into sugar — foods like bread, pota-
toes, beans and cheese.
I did it by following a program laid out
by Seaside’s Jennifer Visser, owner of The
Healthy Hub, who invited the community, free
of charge, to join in. In short, the diet — and
I hate that word and its À imsy attachments —
is a lot like going paleo, but more hardcore.
Mostly I was eating two things: meats and
vegetables.
I detoxed for two reasons: in hopes of deep-
ening my relationship with and understanding
of food, and to gauge potential health bene¿ ts.
Besides needing to lose 10 pounds — which I
did, very quickly — I have a longstanding ail-
ment, plantar fasciitis. A naturopathic doctor
(who was also giving me rounds of injections)
said my pain could be chalked up, in part, to
inÀ ammation. 5educing sugars in my diet, he
said, could relieve the intense pain I’ve felt in
my feet every day for the last few years.
The bene¿ ts of the eating regimen appeared
almost immediately: I was getting more nutri-
ents and eating less. I had more energy and
my body was tight and trim. How quickly I
dropped the bloat — and a belt loop — was
astounding. I slept better. As for my feet, well,
they’re less painful, and hopefully mending,
but I’m loath yet to say, after years of discom-
fort, that I have healed.
Going sugarless meant a lot more cooking,
which was partially great. I was paying more
attention to what I consumed — did you know,
for instance, that just about every sausage and
hot dog at the grocery store contains corn syr-
up? But there were times I just didn’t have the
patience to cook. I’d been busy and wanted to
be taken care of.
So I went out, dining with dietary restric-
tions for the ¿ rst time.
My ¿ rst meal out was at the &annon Beach
Hardware Store & Public House. After a solid
week without leaving the kitchen, being wait-
ed on and cooked for felt divine. The Screw &
Brew’s menu isn’t especially shaped for some-
one eating gluten-, starch- and dairy-free.
Plus, I was starving — a salad wasn’t going to
do it. I thought the grilled chicken sandwich,
sans bun and cheese but with bacon, looked
mighty ¿ ne. But, sadly, all the chicken in the
house had already been breaded. There were,
I
14 | February 11, 2016 | coastweekend.com
however, some Halibut Burgers ($16) that had
yet to be dusted with panko, and I went for it.
I longed for something with a bit of crunch
(over the course of the diet I wanted crackers
as much as anything).
Instead of fries I had a side salad, which
cost an extra $. 5egular readers know how
these steep salad up-charges drive me batty.
In this case, at least there were a few accou-
terments — like artichoke hearts, cherry to-
matoes and garbanzo beans (which I couldn’t
eat) — making the case for added cost. Still,
though.
The ¿ sh ¿ llet, white, clean and simply pre-
pared, offered a nice lean protein to the fatty
bacon. Essentially, though, the meal became
much like the ones I’d been making myself
overnight: a big, rip-roaring salad. But again,
being cooked for had me feeling like royalty.
My second trip out was to Buoy Beer &o.
Immediately, the menu — which featured
extra details like asterisks on all the dishes
that can be made gluten-free, for instance —
made me feel much more comfortable dining
with restrictions. I came in dreaming of the
succulent, hearty, lean bison burger, but the
Shrimp Louie ($12) caught my eye. I asked
the waitress what it would take to be dairy-
free, and it was simply about changing the
dressing. She recommended the salad highly,
and so I went for it, with vinaigrette.
The salad was lovingly constructed, a cen-
tral mountain of bay shrimp with a crown of
microgreens. The tower was so tall I didn’t
A platter at Tora Sushi
off ers three slices each
of raw tuna, yellowtail,
salmon, octopus and
lightly seared albacore.
want to topple it. Like a game of Jenga, I
hardly knew how to begin. I picked the crou-
tons out, shed a tear for them, and dug in.
Moving through the salad was like digging
for treasures. I found hidden coves of pun-
gent, oily olives and grilled asparagus, de-
posits of radish. The tomatoes were the ripest
I’ve have on a plate all winter — one of the
rare cases they actually had business being
there. A hard-boiled egg was quite thinly
sliced, allowing it to go so much further.
Though the egg-whites and shrimp had as-
tonishingly similar textures, I appreciated the
extra protein.
And while I quite enjoyed both my excur-
sions, I wanted to branch out — not to have
another salad.
On a Saturday evening, I found myself in
Seaside, and I thought: Mexican would be
ideal — just get rid of the tortilla. I went to
The Stand, and was À abbergasted to ¿ nd it
closed. What restaurant closes on the week-
ends?! Just down the street, though, was Tora
Sushi. It too could offer me some À avors I
wasn’t producing at home and would require
little alteration.
It turned out no substitution at all was
necessary. It just took a bit of digging. I told
mouth
OF THE COLUMBIA
COAST WEEKEND’S LOCAL RESTAURANT REVIEW
Story and photos by THE MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA • mouth@coastweekend.com
the sushi chef I wanted the sashimi platter,
but with no rice. He said they actually had
such a platter, though it wasn’t on the menu.
I felt like I’d found the pocket. Better yet, for
$18.95 it came with miso soup and salad. I
was actually getting a coursed meal!
The miso was run of the mill, but still:
multiple dishes! The second course, a sal-
ad, came with a frisky, spring-evoking gin-
ger carrot dressing (that likely had a decent
amount of sugar in it). It was poured over
a mixture — iceberg lettuce mix and a few
stray corn kernels (again, something outside
the diet) — unbecoming of the dressing.
The main course offered three almost
business card-sized slices each of raw tuna,
yellowtail, salmon, octopus and lightly
seared albacore. The albacore, dressed with
onions and a lemon-soy sauce, was far and
away the best. Each section of ¿ sh was
served atop a colorful garnish of green let-
tuce, and long, thin strips of white daikon
radish, purple cabbage and orange carrots.
The look was inviting, though meaningless,
even detracting in terms of taste. I preferred
the ¿ sh by itself. All was well and good
enough to enjoy raw, but not astounding
enough whereas adding soy sauce and/or
wasabi would’ve been a crime of diluting
essence. While not quite breathtaking, the
platter was a delightful, hi-octane swerve
from my big salads.
And in a way, that’s what the whole detox
thing was about — trying new things and see-
ing what works. So instead of a recommen-
dation to try a particular restaurant, consider
this week’s column a nudge in the direction
of the unknown.