12 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
Coast Weekend’s local
restaurant review
NORTH BEACH
TAVERN
Pub grub that’s
small in size, easy
on the wallet
Review and photos by
THE MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA
MOUTH@COASTWEEKEND.COM
FACEBOOK.COM/MOUTHOFTHECOLUMBIA
T
he scene repeated almost
like a skipping record: a
customer entered the North
Beach Tavern to the greetings of
patrons and staff alike. For many
Long Beach residents, the Tavern
is a place where everybody
knows your name, where regular
coteries assemble for after-work
drinks, snacks and laughs.
Which is just what owner
Carla Curtis intended when she
took over the bar early last year.
It’s a vibe she understood well;
before she bought the Tavern she
frequented it.
“In the end, it’s about our
locals and our seasonal locals,”
she told The Daily Astorian last
spring. “Those are the people I
want to be able to offer some-
thing to.”
Besides reasonably priced
food and drinks, live music is
a tentpole of the Tavern. Each
Thursday, Friday and Saturday,
performances begin at 7 p.m.
It’s where the band gets back
together.
One of my trips synced up
with the North Coast Blues
Band, whose set of covers
included a deft, light tough on
Jimi Hendrix’s “The Wind Cries
Mary,” and made Muddy Waters’
goofy “Hoochie Coochie Man”
goofier.
When the band is electric,
music at the Tavern is impos-
sible to escape. Almost like a
basement man cave, the low
ceiling makes the room pretty
loud, even when it’s just locals
carousing.
The menu, meanwhile —
with burgers, hot dogs, chili,
sandwiches — is pub food gone
petite.
There are more filling ex-
ceptions. The pizza is heavy.
The medium crust is dense and
doughy, and it feels as if it ex-
pands upon arrival in your stom-
ach. The Tavern’s pies ($10.50
to 25.50) are piled with obscene
amounts of cheese with layers
above and below the toppings.
The styles are familiar — Ha-
waiian, taco, supreme and so on.
They’re satisfying, if bloaty and
indistinct. They also share an
uncanny resemblance with those
at the Long Beach Tavern. Try
not to get the two confused.
But the similarities end
there. The North Beach Tavern
finds its own lane with a slate
of paninis — or, rather, toasted
sandwiches. A panini, accord-
ing to Wikipedia, is “a grilled
sandwich made from bread other
than sliced bread.” North Beach
Tavern’s paninis are very much
made on sliced bead — buttered
sourdough to be exact. But for-
get the semantics, let’s just call
them cute, little sandwiches.
I call them little because
they’re round. Imagine cutting
a circular piece by rounding
off the corners of your usual
toast and you’re there. I had the
Chicken Ranch ($7.50), which
was recommended by multiple
servers. The sliced, chunky
chicken breast was supple, thick
and tender, dusted with herby
seasoning. The bacon was crum-
bled and salty. The spinach un-
der-represented. The bread was
toasted and buttered, slathered
Rating:
A cup of chili and a Pioneer Angus Burger
102 Pioneer Rd E
Long Beach, WA 98631
Phone: 360-642-2302
Hours: Noon-10 p.m. Sun-
day-Thursday; Noon-11 p.m.
Friday-Saturday
Price: $ - Reasonable prices
on snack-sized items, cheap
beer
Service: A locals’ haunt free
of too many sideways glances
Vegetarian/Vegan Options:
Vegetarians should do fine, a
few vegan choices
Drinks: Full bar
KEY TO STAR RATING SYSTEM
Poor
Below average
Worth returning
Very good
Excellent, best in region
Columbia Salad
Deluxe Pizza
with sweet, buttermilk ranch. All
together, it split the difference
between lean and gluttonous, a
cheap thrill I could’ve eaten two
of.
Paninis come with a cup
of soup, potato salad or a bag
of chips. I went with the Irish
Death soup, part of a monthly
special in March celebrating St.
Patrick’s Day. Something like
your grandma might make with
a traditional base of potatoes,
carrots and onions, the stew
made fine use of the name-
sake beer. The dark ale’s hops
afforded depth, a spice and
fruitiness that almost smacked
of ginger. Indeed, this was one
of the few beer soups where
the beer really was an integral
addition.
Even with cup of soup along-
side the sandwich (again, a to-
tally reasonable price at $7.50),
I would’ve been left hungry had
I not also ordered a salad. The
Columbia Salad ($8) featured
dried cranberries — a peninsu-
la signature — with a blend of
lettuce, pecans and goat cheese,
all dressed with a bit too much
of an otherwise enticing apple
vinaigrette.
Counting both the panini,
soup and the salad, I was paying
pretty much market rate for a
pub dinner. So when we talk
about value, let’s be clear: The
North Beach Tavern is afford-
able in terms of snacks. But, say,
a construction worker, would
require multiple items to approx-
imate the weight of the usual
burger and fries of a blue-collar
bar. (There are no fries at the
Tavern.)
As the burgers at the Tav-
ern stop short of hulking, and
they’re served only with chips,
the hypothetical construction
worker would want to order a
couple, plus a cup of chili. I say
this because I had one burger,
plus an oyster shooter and a cup
of chili, and left thinking about
more food. The Original Pioneer
Angus Burger ($6.50) looked
like a prepressed patty, but none-
theless the beef boasted a richer,
distinct flavor.
The chili ($4.50 cup, $7.50),
though, was a total bummer. It
was served not lukewarm but
at room temperature. No matter
how many jalapeños I tossed in,
it was a chilly dud.
This lone mishap came during
one of the concerts and the
Tavern was packed to the gills,
standing room only. Otherwise,
staff held up well against a rush
that regulars assured me was
greater than usual.
And at a place like the North
Beach Tavern, the regulars
would know. CW