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.