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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 14, 2016)
14 // COASTWEEKEND.COM Coast Weekend’s local restaurant review Pamper your palate with a fresh choice Review and photos by MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA MOUTH@COASTWEEKEND.COM I I was beat. My feet hurt. My brain was fried. I’d been working too much and I needed a break. I needed to be treated, taken care of. To un- wind. So I got in the car and I drove south, over the cliffs of Neahkahnie Mountain to Wheeler where I found the Rising Star Cafe. I knew of the Rising Star, of its ¿ ne reSutation, that the hole-in-the- wall, funky building and its Seeling blue Saint was not reSresentative of the ¿ ne food inside. I did not know, however, that reservations are almost wholly required. When I arrived on a Wednesday evening around S.m. I was nearly turned away desSite the restaurant being half-full. $ little Sersistence got me a table. My luck continued as I was carrying cash. I rarely do, and Rising Star doesn’t take cards. (Checks are OK.) The dining room is tiny — rough- ly the si]e of an aSartment bedroom. SSace-saving wooden benches run lengthwise. The room is casually dressed, with natural light and Sastel style evocative of a breakfast nook. There’s sSace enough for maybe or diners to ¿ t comfortably. On this evening they’re mostly couSles, sitting closely. Sounds and smells drift in from the adjacent kitchen, over big band jazz on the stereo. The menu bears the day’s date. It is short and in constant À u[ there are but a handful of main course oS- tions, no aSSetizers nor side dishes. Each selection comes with a salad. %esides a Sasta or two, a cioSSino and a burger, they are as such an animal Srotein with a medley of vegetables. 'esSite there being only or so oStions, it’s quite dif¿ cult to decide. Everything looks amazing. ToS quality ingredients and classic techniques. Seafood, the servers say, is chef Ron’s sSecialty. It comes from *aribaldi. (The Sroduce, from Tillamook, and the beef from Col- orado, from a farm where the chef aSSarently once worked.) With that The Oregon Red Rockfi sh & Shrimp Francaise featured potatoes, a med- ley of vegetables, rockfi sh, shrimp, and citrus beurre blanc. RISING STAR CAFE Rating: 92 Rorvik St., Wheeler 503-368-3990 HOURS: 5 to 8 p.m. Wednes- day to Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. PRICE: $$$ – With drinks, couples will spend $100 (cash/check only) SERVICE: Particular — reser- vations required — but a cut above the rest VEGETARIAN / VEGAN OP- TIONS: Few choices, but high quality DRINKS: Cocktails, wine, beer, tea KEY TO STAR RATING SYSTEM Above: Bolognese fettuccine is just once of many choices on Thursdays — pasta night — at Rising Star Cafe in Wheeler. Left: The Key Lime Tart was topped with a tower of fresh whipped cream. suggestion I bySassed the Canary Island Roasted Lamb Stew (which would be gone from the menu the ne[t week) in favor of the Oregon Red Rock¿ sh ShrimS )rancaise (), which the menu described as an ³Italian interSretation of a )rench conceSt using Northwest ingredi- ents.” )irst came the salad, on a clear glass Slate. 'usted with 3armesan and tossed ever so slightly in a vinaigrette, the lightly sSicy greens and carrot sSears stood ¿ rmly on their own, fresh as could be, telling of the soil. The Sortion was slight, meant to Seacefully rouse digestion, to warm uS. Carefully arranged, dotted with À ower Setals and curly-cued scallions, the main course was both abundant and labored over. Stacked like a mountain uSon boulders of e[quisitely seasoned, Serfectly crusted, soft home-fried Sotatoes and surrounded with a smorgasbord of veggies — from green beans, toma- toes, mushrooms, bell SeSSer, carrot, zucchini, kale and more — were two large cuts of rock¿ sh, bay shrimS and citrus beurre blanc. The ¿ sh’s breading was light, not crisS, and used seemingly to hold it together. All together, under so much of the beurre blanc, the meal was rather acidic. The ¿ sh was buttery enough to meet, withstand and balance it. The shrimS, not so much. I couldn’t ¿ nish — it was a good feeling, that a dainty Sresentation didn’t Sreclude a walloS of food. As one diner mentioned to his comSanion after ¿ nishing a similar Slate ³I’m stuffed with the best stuff,” he e[haled. ³To be full when it’s so healthy, that’s where to be.” Unlike him I saved room for des- sert, an e[quisite Key Lime Tart () toSSed with a leaning tower of fresh whiSSed cream, sSrinkled with dried blueberries over a graham cracker crust. Against its cooling, smooth brightness I enjoyed a warming Serk from the vast menu of green teas. I was temSted, as many were, to Soke my head into the kitchen, or to send word via the server, to thank the chef. Indeed, the e[Serience had rela[ed me, made me recognize the fruits of my labor. I returned a few weeks later and found a similar menu, albeit with a few changes here and there. I was curious about the burger — could it justify the Srice tag" %ut I was taken in by 3ork Tenderloin Casalin- ga (), its divine crust more than a te[tural addition, its herbs tantalizing and mysterious. It was tremendously Italian. Save for creamy, whiSSed mashed Sotatoes reSlacing the home fries of the Rock¿ sh and nearly a head of roasted garlic, the accom- Saniments were quite similar. I dreamed about sides that were more reactive, conversational with the main courses. The homogenization is another of Rising Star’s idiosyn- crasies. It is a restaurant that is both casual and Sarticular. This all changes on Thursdays — Sasta nights. There, without reserva- tions, one can get a quick Slate for a relatively low Srice (.). 3ick your noodle — linguini, Senne or fettuccine — and your sauce, in this case Sesto, Somarola, bolognaise or lamb stroganoff. I tried the bolo- gnaise and lamb and was comforted Poor Below average Good Excellent Best in region and satiated by both. Each invoked e[cellent home cooking. The bolo- gnaise was straightforward, elemen- tal, simSli¿ ed. The stroganoff, with gobs of sour cream, featured big chunks of succulent lamb. It was almost like a different restaurant. It’s the other nights of Rising Star’s short week that sSeak to the restaurant’s heart, though — that ca- sual, Sarticular heart. *ive yourself over to chef Ron and his e[acting sSeci¿ cations and you can indeed leave feeling a little more SamSered and Sersonally cared for than most restaurants in the area. Indeed, with the Rising Star’s quaint size, it’s aSSarent chef Ron Suts himself into every single dish. One grouS, after dinner, dessert and wine, were lingering. 3art-time residents from Manzanita, they were discussing the seminal New Yorker Siece about a tsunami landing on the North Coast. They did so with blasé cheer — as if it wouldn’t matter at all if everything were washed away. In- deed, a good meal can do that for you.
