14 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
Coast Weekend’s local
restaurant review
Need a new lunch haunt? Try one of these.
Story and photos by
MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA
MOUTH@COASTWEEKEND.COM
A
As the Mouth, the great major-
ity of my dining out is work-relat-
ed. But there a handful of places I
return to while I’m off the clock.
The reasons I revisit are many — a
particular dish I can’t get enough
of, an inspired ambiance or per-
haps just a really great deal.
Rather than multi-course
dinners, for the purposes of this
week’s column we’ll stick to
lunch — places I bop in and out of
during the day, be it whilst running
errands, meeting friends or taking
a moment to myself. So, without
further ado, a few of my favorite
haunts — not as a critic, mind you,
but simply a guy needing a bite or
a place to while away.
BUOY BEER CO.
No. 1 Eighth St., Astoria
Buoy’s waterfront building is
one of the most engrossing, im-
mersive indoor spaces on the North
Coast. The fl oor-to-ceiling win-
dows, the view of the Columbia’s
mighty mouth where seals frolic
and freighters slowly chug, the
glass fl oor panels above lounging
sea lions, the dining room is ever
bright and bustling. Regardless
of whether rain’s beating down in
sheets or the sky is endlessly blue,
I fi nd Buoy tremendously invig-
orating. Thanks to that inside-out
conversation with grandiose
nature, Buoy could sell little more
than nuts and gum and I’d still
want to spend time there.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that
Buoy has one of the better brew
pub kitchens around. It does the
standards with care and provides a
few exciting fl ourishes. I partic-
ularly love the hulking yet lean
bison burger. (Indeed, were bison
meat ever abundant, I’d have more
burgers with it than beef.) I love
that Buoy serves oysters on the
shell (as well as in shooters) with
a presentation — on a bed of blue
rock salt — that’s right in line
with the company’s sharp graphic
design. I love that the kitchen is
accommodating for folks with
dietary needs, and I love that the
brewery’s excellent beers come
in 20-ounce glasses. Indeed, no
matter what mood I enter with,
lunch at Buoy always sends me off
springing with an inquisitive sense
of wonder.
The salt and pepper chicken wings at Cannon Beach
Hardware and Public House have crispy skin.
A veggie sushi roll by Roll and Bowl food cart.
Buttercup in Nehalem makes chowder as well as ice cream.
The beef at Kabob Cottage delights with its saff ron spice.
CANNON BEACH
HARDWARE
AND PUBLIC HOUSE
1235 S. Hemlock St.,
Cannon Beach
If I’ve got a meeting in Cannon
Beach — or if I’ve just fi nished
one — the Screw & Brew is my
choice to gather or unwind. In a
town that’s often overwhelmed by
summertime animals, the Hard-
ware Store provides a grounding
authenticity. (You can also fi nd
hammers, nails, paint, duct tape
and so on.)
With regulars usually clustered
around the bar, the adjacent tables
are fi ne places to share some
appetizers. I prefer the calamari,
which are clean — not too greasy
or chewy — and the wings. Here’s
a tip I got from a local: Order the
salt and pepper variation — that
way the skin gets nice and crisp.
If you want spicy, barbecue or
spicy-barbecue sauce, get it on the
side and dunk away. It’s the best
of both worlds. But for when I’ve
got an eye on my waistline, the
Hardware Store’s hearty salads
come in handy. With artichoke
hearts, cucumber, cherry tomatoes,
chickpeas and sunfl ower seeds,
even the side salad makes a fi ne
light lunch.
ROLL & BOWL
Pop-up @ Farmers Markets
It hasn’t been long since I’ve
written about the relatively new Roll
& Bowl, but I’ve been returning as
often as I can. The sushi and ramen
pop-up is a regular at farmers markets
up and down the coast. Each week
Roll & Bowl gets better, incorpo-
rating more fi sh and locally sourced
produce. Bell peppers in sushi? Why
didn’t I think of this? And while the
ramen bowls — with bone broth, plus
the integral additions of duck egg and
pork shoulder — are becoming more
balanced, I remain ensconced by the
wraps and rolls. Tuna with a zing of
pickled onion? Yes, please. Smoked
salmon? Bring it on. And, as the
produce is of such high quality and
so righteously fresh, the vegetarian
options stand neck-to-neck with the
omnivorous ones. As farmers market
season winds down, here’s hoping
that Roll & Bowl fi nds a winter
home. Whispers say: It’s looking.
BUTTERCUP
35915 N. U.S. Hwy 101, Nehalem
Since she’s collaborating with
regional chefs and culinary artisans
every month, it’s always worth stop-
ping by Buttercup to see what Julie
Barker is up to. Who knows? It could
be something like apple pie paired
with a cheddar-crusted cone. Just
the same, I crave the standards. The
vegan chowder is astounding, so rich
and creamy, at once elegant and vex-
ingly elemental. The marshmallow
ice cream too. I couldn’t care less for
the namesake product, but Barker’s
frozen interpretation makes me think
twice. On a hot day or a cold one,
Buttercup is a delight, both inspired
and familiar.
KABOB COTTAGE
107 Third St. S.E.,
Long Beach,
Washington
By weight, saffron is more expen-
sive than gold. And when that saffron
spices the beef at Long Beach’s Ka-
bob Cottage, you’ll experience its val-
ue — deep, delicate, almost ancient.
And while there are plenty of Persian
fl avors you can fi nd at the Cottage,
it’s just hard to pass up the beef — be
it over rice or as part of a wrap. And
while I’ll continue to support the very
charming fi rst-time restaurant owner
Behnoosh Ghorbani whenever I’m in
Long Beach, I’m equally excited that
similar fl avors are now being found
in Seaside at McBani. You should
be too. Forget gold: Sprinkle a little
saffron in your life!
SEA BREEZE
84774 U.S. Hwy 101,
Seaside
I know what you’re thinking:
“The Sea Breeze?! You only gave
that place two-and-a-half stars!”
And, to a point, you’d be right
— there are a lot of dull, heaping
platters at the Sea Breeze I have
absolutely zero interest in eating
again. See: steak, deep-fried shrimp.
Nonetheless, I adore the dive-y,
time-warped wood panels every bit
as much the burger and beer special.
Announcements of the deal have
since been taken off the wall, and
I’m starting to fear it’s headed the
way of the prospector. I hesitate to
even be trumpeting it here — loose
lips sink ships, as they say. But,
dear reader, there’s just no better
value on the coast, and the casual
digs only multiplies my retro bliss.
Sure, it ain’t fancy, and it ain’t fi ne,
but that don’t mean much. There’s
something about a cheap burger and
a Budweiser in a run-down joint on
the side of the highway that makes
me feel at home. And THAT’S what
makes America great.