10 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
Coast Weekend’s local
restaurant review
Seaside fi sh and chips spot knows its breading
From a former drive-thru cof-
fee hut in Seaside, Grizzly offers
take-out only, save for two un-
MOUTH@COASTWEEKEND.COM
covered picnic benches. They’ll
Well wouldn’t you know it
do in a pinch, but the sight (of
— one week after declaring
the Nike outlet store) and the
beer-battered fish and chips “far,
sound (the aggressive whoosh of
far superior” to the breaded va-
Highway 101 traffic) don’t do
riety, along comes Grizzly Tuna
much for ambiance.
with a breadcrumb crust so per-
But ambiance matters less
fect as to rattle my foundation.
when you’re faced with a terrific
Unlike the usual soft, dry
product at a reasonable price.
breading that leeches moisture
On one trip I noticed a couple in
from the fish and puffs you up
their car, absolutely devouring
with dough, Grizzly Tuna’s gold- their respective orders in total
en mixture is thin and crisp with
silence. I walked by and said:
an incredibly satisfying crunch. It “Pretty good, right?” They smiled
snaps and shatters like a pota-
and nodded in vigorous agree-
to chip and, unlike most of its
ment, but couldn’t be bothered
breaded brethren, somehow keeps to speak — their mouthes were
from getting soggy. Relatively
busy. The woman licked her
lean and not too oily, Grizzly’s
fingers and dove in for more. The
crust is a revelation.
man never looked up.
The secret
Indeed, Griz-
has to do with a
zly’s is a decid-
GRIZZLY’S
combination of two
edly minimalist
CRUST IS A
different types of
experience. It
REVELATION. knows what it does
breading, likely
panko and another.
well and appears
That’s all I could wrest from the
comfortable in that narrow lane.
employees who squinted know-
There are fish and chips, and
ingly at me when I asked and
that’s it. You can get a three-
otherwise stayed tight-lipped.
piece order ($8, a totally reason-
What is clear is that the recipe
able amount of food), a five-
took some time to perfect. When
piece order ($10, the way to go),
Grizzly Tuna opened about a
a side of fries ($3.50) and bottled
year ago, the place went with
drinks. (The fries, by the way, are
beer-batter. The breading began as fries — they’re fine.)
a healthier, less-greasy alternative
Every order comes with ketch-
before edging out the original.
up and tartar sauce. Ask and you
The superior crust prevailed.
can get lemons and packets of
Grizzly’s tuna comes from
malt vinegar. Some more excit-
Ocean Beauty, a Seattle-based
ing, fresh, hand-made sauces or
company with a facility in
slaws would be welcome. And
Astoria. In Grizzly’s hands, the
while improving the surround-
tuna filets are cut flat and wide,
ings would require the moving of
at largest about the size and
earth, spicing up the dips offers
thickness of a wallet, the grain
tantalizing potential at minimal
apparent, running vertically. It’s
outlay.
hearty, lean and clean, a bit but-
Otherwise, Grizzly’s service
tery, somewhat flaky.
(cheery and quick, orders tak-
Around this time of year — late ing about fi ve minutes), value
June and early July — is when the (quite reasonable, always fi lling),
tuna are caught closest to shore.
and consistency (exacting) are
The distance — which can take
impeccable. With that in mind, I
boats hundreds of miles off-shore
feel Grizzly could give Astoria’s
— can shrink to single-digits.
beloved Bowpicker a run for
Review and photos by
MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA
W
GRIZZLY TUNA
Rating:
850 N. Roosevelt Drive,
Seaside
HOURS: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
daily
PRICE: $ – Reasonable price
and portion.
SERVICE: Quick, cheerful and
consistent.
VEGETARIAN / VEGAN OP-
TIONS: French fries.
DRINKS: Bottled soda, water.
KEY TO STAR RATING SYSTEM
Poor
Below average
Good
Excellent
Best in region
The grain of the fi sh is apparent in Grizzly’s tuna fi sh and chips.
Grizzly Tuna in Seaside serves up
fi sh and chips from a former coff ee
stand.
Grizzly Tuna serves take-out fi sh and chips, though two uncovered picnic
tables are available nearby next to U.S. Highway 101.
its money in the annual Coast
Weekend Readers’ Choice Awards
for Best Fish & Chips this winter.
Plus, Grizzly’s takes credit cards,
and there isn’t that ridiculous line.
Indeed, if you’re a fi sh and chips
fan and you haven’t been to Griz-
zly Tuna you owe yourself a trip.
For me, Grizzly did two
things. First it made me realize
that, when done right, breading
can go toe-to-toe with beer-bat-
ter. Second, it got me excited
about fish and chips, a dish so
ubiquitous on the North Coast
that it had become stale in my
mind. With Grizzly Tuna, though,
on each return trip I found
myself in the throws of greater
appreciation. It wasn’t boring; it
was growing on me — a simple
pleasure delivered distinctly, with
crunch!