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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 23, 2016)
14 // COASTWEEKEND.COM Coast Weekend’s local restaurant review Big new eatery off ers thoughtful fl avors Rating: 1371 S. Hemlock St., Can- non Beach PHONE: 503-908-3377 or 503-908-3647 HOURS: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. PRICE: $$ – Particularly spen- dy for pub-fare. SERVICE: Friendly, still work- ing out the kinks. VEGETARIAN / VEGAN OP- TIONS: Vegetarians will do alright. DRINKS: Full bar, coff ee, house-made root beer. Review and photos by MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA T To set foot in the brand new Pel- ican Pub & Brewery is to bask in its arresting scale. Stare up at the peaked ceilings, the magnifi cent beams, the shiny brewing tanks, the enormous tide clock, and the industrial-sized, The beer tasting tray somehow stainless steel line kitchen. Try not to lacked variety with four IPAs, two think about how much it all cost. As part of the craft brewing ales and a lone stout. revolution, Pelican’s shiny, outsized was ... fi ne. What puzzled me, though, digs are no surprise. The 20-year-old was why Pelican didn’t go with a brewery, with origins in Pacifi c City, is a growing regional player along the beer batter_? The restaurant does the French fries that way, and just about lines of a Buoy or Fort George. Such expansion makes perfect sense — Or- everything else on the menu shoehorns egonians’ thirst for brewpubs serving in beer as an ingredient at every turn. More importantly, when it comes to fancier burgers and IPAs seems fi sh and chips, beer battering is far, far practically unquenchable. But as viewed through the lens superior to breading. of Cannon Beach, a community that The Smoked Oyster Bruschetta regards quaintness as near-dogma, ($16.99) was also a bit spendy but Pelican is an outlier. While sleek and much tastier. The fi ve smoky, almost anything but gaudy, Pelican’s scope is barbecue-styled oysters, daintily transporting. It feels almost like being styled with Cream Ale aioli, roast- in Portland. How you react to that ed tomato and arugula on crostini, bustling modernity — and the future offered a deep, fresh pick-me-up. I it suggests — will also enjoyed the Sun- greatly color your Dried Tomato Spin- VIEWED opinion of Pelican. ach Dip. On a chilly THROUGH So will the prices. day it was hot and THE LENS OF It ain’t cheap. comforting, with an Among the more CANNON BEACH, understated, smooth egregious asks is A COMMUNITY goat cheese. (The Pelican’s Famous THAT REGARDS fl atbread, though, Tower of Rings, overcooked QUAINTNESS AS was a vertical stack of and, in places, nearly NEAR-DOGMA, burnt.) onion rings that PELICAN IS AN costs a sky-scraping Every dish on the $13.99. Presentation OUTLIER. menu, even the ap- aside, these are seven petizers and salads, hearty, bangle-sized, plain ol’ onion suggests a beer pairing. I tried it with rings. They’ll sooth that craving, but the Spicy Burger ($14.99), which won’t have you re-thinking the dish. may have been wishful thinking. A It’s like a construction project gone handsomely assembled stack, the two or three times over budget. burger stood up to its name, making The Fish and Chips ($17.99) were me sweat; but I couldn’t really taste another tough sell. The three fl at, wide, the Umbrella IPA beer paired with wallet-sized fi llets were especially it. The burger patty was afforded bread-y. The fi sh-to-bread ratio was full coverage by a peppy poblano something like two-or-three to one. pepper, fresh mozzarella, fi eld greens, The peppery, Panko breading envel- a chipotle aioli, tomato and chili oping the Alaskan cod was crisp, but seasoning on a brioche bun. Strings it lacked a real crunch. The fi sh itself of fried onion added crispy texture. I PELICAN PUB & BREWERY The Spicy Burger stood up to its name. too tried the Bleu Cheese Burger, also on a brioche bun. There were three chunks of supple pork belly, along with a light cheese spread. A fi ne pub burger, it lacked the magic required of a $16.99 price tag. From the entrées I tried the 14- Hour Slow Smoked Tri-Tip ($23.99). The mound of meat was appropri- ately pink-centered and smoky, with an excellent, salty, well-seasoned outer crust. With the accompanying mashed potatoes and slaw, it’s a seri- ous plate of food. On the leaner end was the Pale Malt Salmon ($23.99). The simply prepared, salty fi sh was buttressed by a hearty quinoa patty and buttery asparagus. There are also an array of person- ally sized pizzas, dubbed fl atbreads, cooked in an oven with an open fl ame. I particularly enjoyed the MacPelican’s Ale Sausage ($14.99), with balsamic-marinated red onions, fresh, stretchy mozzarella, basil toma- to sauce and thick slices of an Italian sausage that was just fatty enough. It had a little of everything — salty, sweet, bitter, fatty — as well as a per- fectly crisp, thin crust. The Smoked Tri-Tip ($14.99) fl atbread, I thought, could’ve used some kind of sauce or oil with the bleu cheese spread. As is, it was a little dry. KEY TO STAR RATING SYSTEM Poor Below average Good Excellent Best in region The Sun-Dried Tomato Spinach Dip was comforting, though the fl at- bread was a tad overcooked. Then, of course, there’s the beer. Unlike many in craft brewing’s IPA arms race, Pelican’s standout is the Kiwanda Cream Ale, which manages to somehow be both creamy and light. I tried a tasting tray ($7) and yet, somehow, was left wanting by lack of variety. Of the seven tasting cups, four contained IPAs and two were ales. The last was a stout, and by simple virtue of comparison the deep, molasses fl avor was so welcome. Of the similar IPAs, I preferred the Imperial, which had a bite befi tting an 8 percent alcohol content. What the taster tray left out was the Pilsner and Lagers, which would’ve provided a more complete spectrum of Pelican’s offerings. Of course, that could be easily remedied. And, indeed, this grand undertaking is sure to be tweaked in the weeks and months to come. (I’m giving a pass on service snafus for the moment.) Some aspects, though, were set with the foundation. A restaurant this large is only so capable of providing a personalized, intimate or refi ned experience. But, on the other hand, it brings capacity, and a lively experience — as I said, at times, you might as well be in Portland. That might come in handy in the dark winter months. As for the food, of the many dish- es I tried the majority were wholly adequate, safe and often pointed in the neighborhood of, if not greatness, thoughtfulness. In the end, though, the dishes left more indelible marks on my wallet than my palate. Writing for the New York Times, critic Pete Wells recently encountered an enormous eatery. He wrote of the “pleasures and pitfalls of a big restaurant.” The same could be said of Pelican.
