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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 2018)
14 // COASTWEEKEND.COM Coast Weekend’s local restaurant review THE OLD FISHTRAP SEAFOOD & SPIRITS The Old Fishtrap is a hearty dive bar with handmade character dyed-in-the-wool dive bar almost three years ago. From the dressings and sauces, MOUTH@COASTWEEKEND.COM FACEBOOK.COM/MOUTHOFTHECOLUMBIA to the hand-cut fries, to the soups, Harley makes just about everything here’s no iceberg in it,” from scratch besides the breads. she said of the salad. There are fried things, sandwiches, The description had a few specials and odds-and-ends, me swooning. It said everything with an emphasis on seafood. The I needed to know. It was as if the oysters come from nearby Willapa server were reading not only my Bay, and the fish, I’m told, comes mind, but my column. from what’s available in the region. You see, I’ve had it with dull Harley knows some of the fisher- iceberg lettuce salads. More than men personally. Some veggies — had it. You know the ones I mean. like the salad greens — come from They come from farms on the a bag with a few Peninsula. inconsequential Such speci- ficity of vision carrot shavings. THANKS sets the Fishtrap They’re essen- TO CAROLE tially crisp water from the HARLEY’S ETHIC, apart — a flavorless, average dive, so THE FISHTRAP nutrition-free many of which KNOWS EXACTLY cater to locals in vehicle for salad dressing. And the atmosphere while WHAT IT WANTS dressing usually homogenizing TO BE. sucks, too. the food by Besides being relying on bland, crummy, vapid same-y national voids, these retrograde iceberg providers. The Fishtrap avoids “salads” hint at darker impulses: that trap — it’s a refuge for the a lowest common denominator neighborhood to drink, where approach to dining. eating is of equal local concern and So with the “no iceberg” decla- character. ration, I felt like I suddenly knew Which is why, I imagine, the a lot about not only the salad, Fishtrap remains competitive but The Old Fishtrap Seafood & against the glossier but purvey- or-centric newcomer across the Spirits itself. A few more proud declarations street. Folks regularly pop in, not from the server fill in the rest: for drinks but to pick up boxes “If we can’t make it from of takeout. (Locals use the side scratch, we don’t serve it.” “All door.) the salad dressings are made in- With little else around be- fore Long Beach, Chinook feels house.” “There’s no food service like a hard-working, big-eating, stuff.” “We get the fish from the big-drinking, blue-collar neigh- fisherman and cut it here.” “The borhood, and the Fishtrap’s menu beef is never frozen.” The ethic and cooking come is stacked accordingly. from owner Carole Harley, who I began with the Oyster Po’ took over Chinook’s decades-old, Boy ($11.95), and I’m so happy Rating: 779 U.S. Highway 101 Chinook, Washington 98614 360-777-8296 Hours: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every- day Price: $ – Most entrées hover around $10 Service: Local-centric, saucy, proud Vegetarian / Vegan Options: A portobello burger, fries, salad Drinks: Full bar Review and photos by THE MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA ‘T KEY TO STAR RATING SYSTEM Poor Below average Worth returning Very good Excellent, best in region Dungeness crab cakes Trap burger Oyster Po’ Boy I did. You see, the last Oyster Po’ Boy I had (I was away from the coast) left a funky taste in my mouth that needed erasing. Those oysters were dubious, overcooked and rubbery. Not at the Fishtrap. Here they were cooked exquisitely. The breading was thin and crispy, the oysters inside had a melty, luscious body. With tomatoes and a lightly sweet, dijon-winking cabbage slaw, the hoagie was teeming yet carefully assembled; most everything remained within the confines of the perfectly toasted bread. It was slurpy to the last bite, just messy enough. And, really, if you’re not licking your fingers with a po’ boy, some- thing’s gone wrong. As advertised, the Trap Burger ($10.95) was indeed a “monster,” with a hand-pressed patty some- where around a 1/3 pound, maybe heavier. On a square ciabatta bun it had the accoutrements to match. It’s big, stout and meaty. As they say: You are what you eat. And the Trap Burger matches the guys around Chinook who order it. A bit more refined, the Dunge- ness Crab Cakes ($18.95) were hardly dainty. They were filled with sinewy strings of our abun- dant crustacean and a few green onions, light on bready filler. The house-made tartar — like the rest of the salad dressings and sauces — was a bit livelier than the stuff you normally get out of a bottle. The soup, a Cream of Broccoli, wasn’t shy about incorporating actually broccoli flavor, though I could’ve gone for more chunks of stems and heads. Fish at the Fishtrap changes based on availability. During my trips it was cod. (I’m guessing that when the season is on, tuna joins the fray.) It’s regularly available in fish and chips, though I opted for the Fish Sandwich special. The three panko’d, almost wallet-sized filets were perhaps the dullest dish I had at the Fishtrap. This was, however, totally in line with the value. This wasn’t some over- priced hoodwink, just plain ol’ cod, priced as such. Finally, there’s that salad, the one without iceberg. Built on a bed of mixed greens from a near- by farm, the dish turned heads on the way to my table. Two people asked about it. They were taken, no doubt by the vivid colors: slashes of red and yellow bell peppers against the deep greens, topped with long, spaghetti-like shreds of cucumber. It was fresh, wholesome and thoughtful. Now, the salad wasn’t real- ly the star — that would be the oysters or crab cakes — and it wasn’t reinventing the wheel. But, then again, it wasn’t supposed to. Thanks to Harley’s ethic, the Fish- trap knows exactly what it wants to be: a hearty, comforting local bar where the food has an equally distinct, handmade character. A home away from home. CW
