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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 2018)
FEBRUARY 15, 2018 // 5 Readers’ Choice Awards BEST BARISTA KRISTY CROSS THE RUSTY CUP, ASTORIA Runner-up: Casey Palmgren, Astoria Coffee House & Bistro Honorable mention: Holly Snook, Dutch Bros. Coffee, Seaside ILLUSTRATION BY NOEL THOMAS The Rusty Cup family By KATHERINE LACAZE K risty Cross, owner of The Rusty Cup in Astoria, is no stranger to being voted Best Barista in the Columbia-Pacific. In fact, the community has lauded her professional aptitude six years in a row. Nevertheless, Cross doesn’t take the recog- nition for granted. “Every time, I’m always KATHERINE LACAZE PHOTO Best Barista Kristy Cross (center), with Greg Cross and Adriana Sofia Caron so touched by it,” she said. “Every year, I think, ‘I’m not going to win this year,’ but then somebody calls, and I did. I love it.” Cross worked as a barista while attending the Universi- ty of Washington in Seattle. Looking for a change of scenery after graduation and desiring to live in a smaller town, Cross saw The Rusty Cup was for sale, made an offer and moved. “I hadn’t seen it at all,” she added. She opened the shop in May 2004. Along with her team of three part-time employees and supportive husband, Greg, Cross works to give The Rusty Cup an authentic “hometown feel.” “If you come in here at any point in time, it’s like one big family,” she said. “We all kind of know each other.” Her success in achieving that goal is evident. As a handful of customers rotate through the coffee shop on a recent morning, Kristy greets them by name, anticipates many of their drink orders and chats with them about what’s going on in their lives. When asked about her favorite part of the job, she answers without hesitation: “the people.” Her priori- ties as a barista are being genuine and thoughtful when interacting with customers and maintaining a consistent quality when preparing food and drinks. As for her favorite drink to prepare, that would be a dry cappuccino (espresso shots paired with more foam than steamed milk). “I think there’s a real tech- nique to foaming milk, and I really enjoy that,” she said. CW BEST SERVER KENDALL PADGETT-McEUEN CARRUTHERS, ASTORIA Runner-up: Heather Miller, Buoy Beer Co., Astoria Honorable Mention: Jasmine Swank, Astoria Coffee House & Bistro By EDWARD STRATTON K endall Padgett- McEuen has been with Carruthers, where her husband Wade is a sous chef, since the restaurant opened in August 2016. “I try to give people the respect and humor they deserve in a situation” she said. “I think that overly stifled interactions just lead to incredibly awkward and sometimes uncomfortable situations. So I try to treat people as though they are my friends coming in.” Padgett-McEuen moved to Astoria as a teenager from Santa Cruz, California. She moved to Seattle for several years before returning to Astoria about 10 years ago, after which she met her husband. Before Carruthers, Padgett-McEuen said, she cut her teeth in the local restaurant scene at T Paul’s Urban Cafe. Asked why people come to Carruthers, she pointed to the atmosphere and food. “I think that people also do appreciate the recognition Thank You! For your votes of support We look forward to serving you soon! WINNING CATEGORIES • Burgers • Clam Chowder • Desserts • Catering • Fine Dining • Chef EDWARD STRATTON PHOTO Kendall Padgett-McEuen, winner of Readers’ Choice Best Server award, has been with Car- ruthers since it opened. of repeat visits,” she said. “It’s never a fun situation walking into a restaurant you’ve been in 100 times and having the staff treat you as though you’re fresh to the restaurant. So I really try to make a concentrated effort to try and recognize and welcome all of our fami- ly that has helped bring us where we are.” CW “One of the Northwest’s Best Dinner Houses” -Gerry Frank, The Oregonian 1208 38th Place on the Seaview Beach approach 360-642-7880 depotrestaurantdining.com
