14 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
Coast Weekend’s local
restaurant review
IF YOU GO
Get thee to the farmers
markets, lickety-split
Review and photos by
THE MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA
MOUTH@COASTWEEKEND.COM
FACEBOOK.COM/MOUTHOFTHECOLUMBIA
I
t was June. I bit into a freshly
picked strawberry and to my
tongue it was declared: “Sum-
mer has arrived.”
I didn’t find such stirring,
evocative pleasure in one of those
mealy, genetically modified mon-
sters at the grocery store, of course.
Rather, this was the genuine arti-
cle, grown from Oregon’s sun and
soil. These strawberries came, of
course, from a farmers market.
It feels like only last week
when I popped into my mouth
that first taste of summer. But, my
goodness, summer has just been
screaming along. And while I’m
rabid in insisting there’s still plenty
of time before the rains return and
the sky turns gray, it’s worth men-
tioning: The days of the farmers
markets are numbered. There are
only a few weeks left.
So let this be your friendly (but
urgent) reminder: Get out there
while you still can!
Scattered across the region,
you’ll find markets most days of
the week. (See box for times and
locations.)
A quick overview
Astoria’s Sunday Market is the
largest, with by far the most ven-
dors. It’s as much a street fair as
farmers market, with a significant
portion of vendors offering arts
and crafts. Numerous others are
extensions of existing brick-and-
mortar businesses.
Cannon Beach’s market, con-
versely, is restricted to regionally
produced foods (though they, too,
Astoria Sunday Market
host a few brick-mortar outposts
as well).
Now in its fourth year, Seaside’s
market continues to grow, thanks
in large part to a relocation (to the
parking lot of Broadway Middle
School on U.S. Highway 101) that
enhanced visibility and increased
traffic.
Manzanita also found a new
home this year, moving just a
block south from Laneda Avenue.
The new, more spacious location
has elevated an already festive
Friday evening atmosphere.
The River People Farmers
Market in Astoria has contracted
greatly, to one day per month.
Sadly, my schedule has preclud-
ed visits to the markets in Ilwaco
and Long Beach. (But I can say,
after perusing the vendor list, Long
Beach’s offerings are robust; after
all, there are plenty of farms on
and near the peninsula.)
The vendors
Now, on to a few of my favorite
vendors.
As for strawberries — and
blackberries and blueberries and
marionberries — I first look for A
& B Farms, whose tend to be the
ripest and most vibrant. But just
about any will hit the spot. From
the numerous berry producers
I’ve tried, I’ve never regretted a
purchase. (You’ll find A & B in
Cannon Beach, Manzanita and
Astoria.)
As for produce, KingFisher
Farms, is the place. (They’re not
the longest-running farm on the
North Coast for nothing.) They’re
known primarily for salad mix
(which is found at some of the
best restaurants on the coast and in
Portland), but just about every-
thing on offer — from sweet bell
peppers to hulking onions — is
top notch. At their booth this year,
I became familiar with purslane,
a tart, tasty herb that’s teeming
with vitamin-C, Omega-3s among
other healthy benefits. It’s perfect
for sautéing with meat and other
veggies. (KingFisher are regulars
at Cannon Beach, Manzanita and
Astoria.)
When I get purslane I like to
sauté it with either beef or lamb,
which I get from Lance’s Farm Vit-
tles, a ranch in Nehalem that sells
at the Cannon Beach and Manza-
nita markets. The family farm’s
humanely raised, grass-fed and
grass-finished meats are at once
clean and rich. Around this time of
year, when the markets’ end is in
sight, I start to stock up, filling my
freezer to the brim for winter.
Regular readers of this column
will recognize this next vendor
name: Skamokawa Farmstead
Creamery. Their light, easy and ef-
fortlessly delicious array of chèvre
will make a fan out of anyone —
even those who think they don’t
like goat cheese. New flavors are
added regularly, like the special
garlic edition that was produced
a few weeks ago for the Elephant
Garlic festival in North Plains.
It’s everything you want it to be.
Last week’s addition was a crottin,
a briefly aged blue cheese with
lovely funk, somewhere close to
Brie. Stop by Skamokawa’s booth
in Cannon Beach, Astoria or Long
Beach for a sample.
And while you can do just about
anything with these cheeses, from
salads to dinners to snacks and
dessert (not too long ago I found it
in ice cream at the Shelburne Inn),
it’s hard to beat the simple pleasure
of spreading it on some freshly
baked bread, which you’ll find at
most markets. At the moment, I’m
partial to the baguettes from Sea
Level, the French-inspired cafe
and bakery in Tolovana that has a
booth at the Cannon Beach market.
In Manzanita you’ll find another
worthwhile cheesemaker, Black
Sheep Creamery, that has come
ASTORIA SUNDAY MARKET
12th Street, Astoria, OR 97103
Sundays 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
through Oct. 8
ASTORIA RIVER PEOPLE
FARMERS MARKET
577 18th St., Astoria, OR
97103
Third Thursday of the month
through Oct. 19
CANNON BEACH
163 E. Gower Ave., Cannon
Beach, OR 97110
Tuesdays 1 p.m.-5 p.m.
through Sept. 29
MANZANITA
Laneda Avenue and Fifth
Street S, Manzanita, OR 97130
Fridays 5 p.m.-8 p.m. through
Sept. 1
Fridays 4 p.m.-7 p.m. Sept. 8
and 15
SEASIDE
1120 Broadway, Seaside, OR
97138
Wednesday 3 p.m.-7 p.m.
through Sept. 27
ILWACO, WASH.
Port of Ilwaco, Wash.
Saturdays 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
through Sept. 30
LONG BEACH
212 Pacific Ave., Long Beach,
WA 98631
Fridays 3 p.m.-6 p.m. through
Sept. 29
up with some delicate sheep’s
cheese infusions — try the subtle
rosemary and garlic, and the more
intense cumin and orange.
Now you’re ready to get cook-
ing. Indeed, with such astounding-
ly fresh, top-quality ingredients,
you don’t have to have gone to
culinary school to whip up some-
thing special.
Though, for that, too, the
farmers markets have you covered.
We’ll touch on the food courts next
week. In the meantime, get to a
CW
market before it’s too late!