14 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
Coast Weekend’s local
restaurant review
Part Two: Rogue off ers familiar pub fare with fi ne ingredients
Review and photos
by MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA
ROUGE ALES
PUBLIC HOUSE
MOUTH@COASTWEEKEND.COM
Rating:
100 39th St., Astoria
PHONE: 503-468-0923
HOURS: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Sunday to Thursday; 11 a.m.
to 10 p.m. Friday and Satur-
day.
PRICE: $$ – Reasonable for
quality ingredients.
VEGETARIAN / VEGAN OP-
TIONS: Vegetarians should
do well.
SERVICE: Casual and capa-
ble.
DRINKS: Beer and house-
made spirits.
This is the second of a two-part
column about Rogue Ales Public
House in Astoria. Last week’s column
focused on the beer; this week’s
column focuses on the food.
“
“Which way?” my companion
asked.
“Straight ahead,” I said, pointing
towards the wooden, one-lane
bridge to Pier 39.
“Whoa, this is cool,” he said,
as the wheels tumbled over the
planks. Indeed, the approach to As-
toria’s Rogue Ales Public House is
transportive. The Cannery Museum
glowed, sea lions barked across the
water and the lights of downtown
Astoria twinkled in the distance.
Unlike more recent industri-
al conversions, Rogue’s nearly
decade-old repurposing of Pier 39
maintains history without an over-
ly glossy, modern facade. It’s not
lined with stainless steel or glim-
mering industrial chic. It’s heavy,
wooden and worn, with high
ceilings and plenty of headspace
— though the fl oor is stocked full
of Rogue product and memorabil-
ia. Above a tall, compact bar near
the entrance, chalkboards abound,
listing the 25-odd beers currently
on tap. (For a beer-centric column,
see last week’s.)
Since the Newport-based
brewery’s origin in the late 1980s,
Rogue has expanded beyond beer.
The company also operates two
farms that grow all manner of pro-
duce, including hops, barley, nuts,
berries, peppers and more. Rogue
also raises chickens, pigs and
turkeys. Beer is used in conjunction
with the produce to create accoutre-
ments, including sauces, dressings
and so on. Something like a culi-
nary/agricultural laboratory, Rogue
Farms has contributed to nearly
an all-encompassing ethic. (They
don’t call the fan/membership club
“Rogue Nation” for nothing.) On
one of the Astoria pub’s busily
KEY TO STAR RATING SYSTEM
Above: The Scotch egg appetizer features two
Scotch eggs rolled in sausage, breaded, deep
fried and cut in half.
Left: The Meat, Cheese, Beer pizza featured
sausage, pepperoni, salami, bacon, mozzarella
and white cheddar.
decorated walls I came across
something like a manifesto.
“The Creed” begins: “Rogue is
a small revolution... The spirit of
the Rogue brand, even the name,
suggests doing things differently, a
desire and a willingness to change
the status quo.” While partly fun
and cheeky branding, the self-de-
termination stuff strikes a chord
— were Rogue nation to secede,
you’d be hard-pressed to fi nd more
satiating sustenance. Whilst remain-
ing a part of our good ol’ capitalist
USA, though, Rogue Ales’ fresh,
traditional, well-sourced pub fare
largely meets the company’s stated
goal of “working with the best.”
My companion and I began
with a pair of appetizers (and
tasting trays). The pair of Scotch
Eggs ($7), hard boiled, rolled
in Olympic Provisions sausage,
breaded and deep fried, were cut
in half and served with a side of
house-made mustard. Powerful
little protein balls with contrast-
ing textures, they were warming
— the crust kept the heat in. The
Kimchi Crab Sliders ($9) came as
a trio. The sweet, acidic slaw and
Sriracha mayo were fi ne twists to
the Dungeness crab patties, though
the slider buns overwhelmed. The
spongy white bread was one of the
few ingredients in multiple trips to
Rogue that dipped near average.
Perhaps instead of sliders, crab
cakes — still topped with kimchi
— would be preferable.
For dinner, my companion had
the Albacore Fish N’ Chips ($14),
which, naturally, was beer battered.
Made with Rogue Farms Good
Chit Pilsner batter, the crust was
thick, not too oily and crunchy.
Our server called the tuna “sushi
grade.” I can say it was clean,
but what struck me about the fi sh
wasn’t so much the fl avor as the
abundance — the four pieces were
like steaks. Wallet-sized and big-
ger, it was nearly twice the amount
of fi sh offered by the average
North Coast order. Rogue’s was
reasonably priced, too.
I had the Brutal Reuben ($11),
which was absolutely tantalizing
— so delectable that when I shared
it with my companion I had to
fi ght to get it back. It was just that
good — melty, briny, a tad sweet,
Poor
Below average
Good
Excellent
Best in region
just perfect. Unlike the Jewish deli
towers of meat with sides of bread,
this sandwich was — as all excel-
lent sandwiches are — a golden
ratio, a song where all singers
are heard. The hearty marble rye
was just slightly toasted, the kraut
sharp (and marinated in Shake-
speare Stout), the thousand island
dressing coy, the Swiss melted,
the pastrami thick — and with
just a whisper of being steeped in
Rogue’s Brutal IPA. In terms of
doing something traditional with
excellence — just like Rogue
does with beer — the reuben was
outstanding.
So was the burger ($13). I
enjoyed it even more. One of
Rogue’s increasingly rare out-
sourced ingredients, the Kobe beef
comes from Snake River Farms.
Continued on Pg. 16