6 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
BEST BURGER
& BEST CLAM
CHOWDER
The Depot
Seaview,
Washington
BEST BURGER
Runner-up:
Portway Tavern, Astoria
Honorable Mention:
Buoy Beer Co., Astoria
BEST CLAM CHOWDER
Runner-up:
Buoy Beer Co., Astoria
Honorable Mention:
Dooger’s Seafood & Grill,
Warrenton
By PATRICK WEBB
Consistent quality is the
key for co-owners Mi-
chael Lalewicz and Nancy
PHOTO BY PATRICK WEBB
Nancy Gorshe and Michael Lalewicz are known for providing
fantastic dining at The Depot in Seaview, Washington. This
year they’ve won awards for serving the best clam chowder
and burgers on the coast.
Gorshe, chef and manager
respectively at The Depot, a
well-established fine dining
restaurant in a historic train
station building in Seaview,
Washington. The married
couple has been running the
place for 13 years, drawing
on considerable and varied
experience from Portland,
the East Coast and Lale-
wicz’s native Detroit. Once
again, they have been hon-
ored by readers with awards
for Best Clam Chowder and
Best Burger.
PHOTO BY LYNETTE RAE MCADAMS
The Depot Restaurant’s Clam-
shell Railroad Clams Chowder
is made to order in a creamy
broth, with whole wild
Willapa Bay steamers and
chopped Pacific razor clams.
Lalewicz sums up his
chef’s philosophy by say-
ing, “Don’t do things that
other people are doing, and
if you do them, do them
better.” His menu offers 36
items, of which seven are
desserts.
The chowder has nuance
in abundance. It features
chopped razor clams with
garlic and leeks. It is cooked
then allowed to cool, rather
than sitting on a warmer.
Potatoes are cooked sepa-
rately. Fresh steamer clams
in the shell are added in a
timely manner, and the por-
tion is heated when ordered.
And there’s no bacon or
herbs; “It takes away from
the clam flavor,” Lalewicz
says.
Midweek burger night is
a hit. “I didn’t set this place
up to be a burger joint,”
says Lalewicz with a wry
smile. “It’s to give the lo-
cals something different.”
During the school year,
the Wednesday night menu
shrinks to just one-dozen
items. Burgers feature four
options, top-quality beef,
buffalo, a Portabello mush-
room or a fried oyster. And
there are 14 toppings. Yes,
14. For the record, that’s
four cheeses — cheddar,
blue, pepper jack or Swiss
— plus lettuce, tomato, red
onion, pickles, jalapeño,
pineapple, avocado, sauteéd
mushrooms, bacon and even
a fried egg.
Only a mathematician
could figure out how many
potential variations there
are — so wait staff actually
have customers fill out a
check-off card, which the
cooks follow scrupulously.
When asked, Lalewicz
reveals that his favorite
choice is everything —
except pineapple, a fruit he
likes, just not on a burger.
The Depot, located at 208
38th Place in Seaview, Wash-
ington, opens at 5 p.m. every
night and closes when the
last customer departs.
BEST LIVE THEATER
Astor Street
Opry Company
Astoria, Oregon
Runner-up: Liberty Theater, Astoria
Honorable Mention: Coaster Theatre, Cannon Beach
By PATRICK WEBB
The Astor Street Opry
Company exists to entertain.
It is interactive live
theater. Its intentionally
two-dimensional characters
appear larger than life. And
their emotional responses
are exaggerated to the full.
The hit run started with
“Shanghaied in Astoria,”
the summer melodrama
complete with musical oleos
(short acts) that attracts
audiences totaling 2,500
during its 10-week run. An
especially creative group of
North Coast artists dreamed
up the first show in 1985,
then expanded on its suc-
cess. Since its move from
the old Finnish Market some
years ago, volunteer organiz-
ers have kept adding shows
at the theatrical playhouse
on Astoria’s Bond Street.
The group produces
two similar-style regulars,
“Scrooged in Astoria,”
which tickles funny bones
in a sort-of Dickensian way
before Christmas, and a
spring comedy called, “The
Real Lewis and Clark Story
or How Finns Discovered
Astoria.” (Disclaimer: The
latter may not be entirely
historically accurate.) Chil-
dren’s programs and other
offerings, including exper-
imental, original and more
serious shows which change
each year, round out a year-
long season.
Markus Brown, the
SUBMITTED PHOTO COURTESY THE SHOP FOR GUYS
AND DOLLS & STUDIO, OWNED BY ASHLEY MUNDEL
Brian Allen plays Krooke, left, and Neen Drage is Sneak in the
Astor Street Opry Company’s of “Shanghaied in Astoria.”
group’s marketing manag-
er, is also chairman of the
production committee. He’s
been involved since 2003
and delights in directing,
acting and organizing.
“I am enjoying producing
melodrama,” he said. “It
allows me to come way out
of my box. You are constant-
ly discovering things that
makes the audience tick.”
There are no apologies
for a formula that works.
“It’s vaudevillian melo-
drama — audience-interac-
tive fun where the are char-
acters larger than life, their
emotions are huge, and the
actors exploit the physicality
of the moment,” Brown said.
“It makes it all enormously
accessible to everyone.”
Brown notes that the
Lewis and Clark show is an
excellent example of ASOC
at its best. “It’s not meant
to be serious,” he said. “We
SUBMITTED PHOTO
This Astor Street Opry Company’s “The Real Story of Lewis and
Clark” musical mixes Scandinavian tropes with the lore of Lew-
is and Clark.
have had Finns in the audi-
ence who were laughing the
loudest. There is something
that appealed to their inner
child.”
As ASOC plans pro-
ductions for another year,
Brown and other behind-the-
scenes leaders are examining
options. “We are looking
to take risks, to evolve, to
make sure we are not stale.”
The ASOC Playhouse is at 129
W. Bond St. in Astoria. Buy
tickets at 403-325-6104, and
learn more at astorstreeto-
prycompany.com