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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 29, 2018)
14 // COASTWEEKEND.COM Coast Weekend’s local restaurant review THE FISHERMEN The Fishermen meets the tourist- pleasing bar — and sometimes clears it Rating: 200 Broadway, No. 4 Seaside, Ore., 97138 Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday through Tuesday Price: $ – Fair value, cash only Service: Food court counter service Vegetarian / Vegan Options: Pretty meaty Drinks: Bottled water, soda Review and photos by THE MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA KEY TO STAR RATING SYSTEM Poor Below average Worth returning Very good Excellent, best in region MOUTH@COASTWEEKEND.COM FACEBOOK.COM/MOUTHOFTHECOLUMBIA F or a time The Fishermen, one of four stalls in Seaside’s mini food court on Broad- way, served only chowder and fish and chips. That changed with “Fisherman” or “Fishermen”? ownership early this year. After years of working in area restaurants, including the Pig ’N a steady stream of hungry visitors Pancake, new owner-operator to which he can deliver “beach-y” Luis filled out the Fishermen’s standbys like fish and chips, menu, adding burgers, sandwich- chowder and burgers at reasonable es, breakfast and more. prices with easy counter service. Because his experience is From what I sampled over a few in the back-of-the-house, that trips, The Fishermen meets those Luis has yet to dial in things like bars and occasionally clears them. branding is perhaps no surprise. Indeed, a traveler in search of The Fishermen has no online fish and chips could do far worse. presence to speak of. Google finds In the midst of tourist traps like … everything but. And until the Broadway, you can certainly pay name gets nailed down — it’s more for inferior products like spelled “Fishermen” and “Fisher- pre-packaged burger patties and man” in different places — per- fish that was caught and breaded haps that’s for halfway across the best. (As it’s the globe. a one-man opera- To be sure, ‘I WAS BUOYED tion, might I vote the seafood at for the singular the Fishermen BY THE “Fisherman”?) doesn’t come FISHERMEN’S Such lack of off local boats, PORTION AND clarity — includ- but it is properly VALUE. THEIR ing an absence prepared. Luis CUP WAS NEAR of posted hours, says he cuts THE SIZE OF THE the fish himself contact informa- tion and so on — AVERAGE BOWL.’ and breads it to may not end up order. As such as deal-breakers. it can take a bit (Accepting only longer, but it’s cash, however, might.) Luis seems worth the wait. The four tennis to be betting that his location, ball-sized chunks of cod ($9.95) smack dab in the middle of Broad- came out scalding hot and were a way’s tourist vortex, will produce joy on a frigid day. (Even when Reuben sandwich Cod fish and chips the weather’s warm, fried fish should be blazing hot.) Inside Panko’d crust, the cod was flaky and tender, if unremarkable. Nonetheless, I was plenty satisfied by the temperature and crunch. As it happens, last week a group of landlocked friends visited for the weekend, and they wanted fish and chips. Recalling so many slap-dash fish and chips I’ve munched as the Mouth, I thought for a moment about trying to change their minds. Then I remembered I was once like them, and that associations with place and food are deeply ingrained; they punctuate seaside visits. The same goes for chowder, which so many coastal restaurants include out of obligation rather than inspiration. The Fishermen’s clam chowder ($4.50 cup, $5.50 bowl) is of this ilk: thick, buttery, salty, uniformly standard. But like the fish and chips, I was buoyed by the Fishermen’s portion and value. Their cup was near the size of the average bowl. In my trips to the Fishermen, though, I ended up enjoying the turf more than the surf. On toasted marble rye, the Reuben ($9) was just about every- thing it should be: slurpy, briny, sweet, salty and bulging with thick-sliced pastrami. And the burgers (starting at $7 with fries … or is it $8? The menu has them both ways), are chubby, juicy and hand-pressed. They’re lightly seasoned, but the beef was of a reasonable quality. I had the Bacon & Blue Burger ($10 with fries). The blue cheese was a tad mild, but the bacon was supple, cooked just right. The burger, like the Reuben, was prepared and assembled with care. But I couldn’t help but wonder what Luis might do with a menu that incorporated more of himself — a menu that traded, say, the club sandwich for some- thing distinct or creative. But in the thick of Broadway St., pleasing tourists is job No. 1. The Fishermen’s scratch pro- cesses, attentive construction and value ought to do just that. In such a setting, exciting the Mouth — and, by extension, I hope, locals — is a distant second. Yet Luis manages to make me smile in a different light. I’m pleased to see anyone take a chance and step out from the kitchen of regional chains to be their own boss. CW
