4A • March 24, 2017 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com
Views from the Rock
time for
Why you should eat your Almost
sunny wines!
next meal in Seaside
I
R.J. MARX/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
Dining at fi reside is one of the appeals of Maggie’s on the Prom.
R.J. MARX/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
R.J. MARX/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
Dining with a view of Tillamook Head at Maggie’s on the
Prom. Salmon by chef Jason Lancaster.
Jason Lancaster
S
easide isn’t just taffy and
antelope jerky these days.
Take a seat at Maggie’s on
the Prom and gaze at Tillamook
Head while dining on Cedar
River Farms fi let mignon or Columbia
River Chinook salmon with yuzu sake
butter sauce.
Maggie’s new chef Jason Lancaster,
40, said he always wanted to live on the
Oregon Coast. Upon arrival in Astoria
fi ve years ago, the Seattle native joined
the Bridgewater Cafe as a sous chef and
graduated to chef de cuisine. At the Cove
at the Peninsula Golf Course in Long
Beach, Washington, he enhanced his
reputation with accolades that included
an Iron Chef Goes Coastal award and a
“Gerry Frank’s Picks” selection.
When the Cove golf course property
sold, Lancaster turned to his hobbies of
surfi ng and traveling while casting a net
for his next opportunity.
The timing was right as longtime
acquaintances Andy and Sadie Mercer of
Maggie’s on the Prom were in the search
for a leader in the kitchen.
“When the job opened they asked me
if I was interested in doing it,” Lancaster
said. “I’ve always loved this place, so I
jumped on it.”
Lancaster said he plans to use fresh,
local ingredients while offering “a nice
eclectic menu.”
“I like to take a lot of different ingre-
dients and put them in a contemporary
environment,” he said.
Lancaster seeks to focus on fresh,
local products, provided by connections
among regional foragers and fi shermen.
“I have a good network,” he said. “I
really want to showcase what we have
here in Oregon and Washington in a
contemporary environment like this
restaurant. We have amazing products
here — the freshest fi sh, mushrooms,
fruit, huckleberries. You don’t even need
to search for it. It comes through your
back door.”
The uniqueness of the Oregon and
Washington product “really sets us
apart,” Lancaster said. “That’s one thing
I really want to bring to the table here —
CANNON SHOTS
R.J. MARX
‘I would love for us
to be on the forefront
of the culinary
scene in Seaside.’
Jason Lancaster
emphasis on fresh, wild, the best possible
products I can put on the plate.”
Lancaster said he hopes his kitchen
will be in “the realm of Bridgewater,
Carruthers, all the really hot dining
places in Astoria. I really want to achieve
that.”
Maggie’s serves three meals seven
days a week, providing breakfast, lunch
and dinner for diners and hotel guests.
Breakfasts begin with eggs, toast,
sausage, crab Benedict, “pretty much
your standard breakfast fare with a little
bit of a twist, a creative twist,” Lancaster
said. “It’s not your typical breakfast, but
it’s very approachable.”
A huckleberry cheesecake is a star for
dessert, along with a stout brownie and
blackberry cobbler. “Our desserts are
very simple,” Lancaster said. “They’re
made daily and we use good ingredients.
I’m hoping in the new few months to get
a pastry chef. That’s in the works right
now.”
What’s for dinner?
“Today I’m making the Columbia
River Chinook salmon with yuzu sake
butter sauce with bok choy risotto,”
he said. “That’s a little bit of an Asian
infl uence there. I’m using Asian ingre-
dients in French techniques and local
fi sh. That’s what we try to achieve
there. Ingredients outside of the box
but still using proper techniques and
cooking too.”
Looking ahead, Lancaster said he
plans to serve a Northwest bouillabaisse
using an in-house fi sh stock. “It’s pretty
spectacular,” he said. “It will contain all
local fi sh from Oregon and Washington,
Alaskan when we can — but emphasis
on fi sh from here.”
When he’s not in the kitchen, inspira-
tion comes from Lancaster’s hobbies of
surfi ng, hiking and traveling.
“I’m a pretty avid traveler,” he said.
“When I’m not working, between jobs, I
go surfi ng. It actually provides inspira-
tion in the kitchen because you’re travel-
ing and eating cool food and you think,
‘Wow, I can do this!’ It really adds depth
to your menu when you’re experiencing
different cultures and eating different
food.”
As for Seaside, it’s not just the fast-
food stop between Cannon Beach and the
North Coast anymore.
“I would love for us to be on the fore-
front of the culinary scene in Seaside,”
Lancaster said. “We already have a great
reputation here. We have the reputation
for being the best dining in Seaside. We
have the view, the dining room, a great
wait staff and very talented kitchen, so
we’ve really busted out.”
Chefs throughout the region are a
close-knit group.
“Working in Astoria, in Long Beach,
there was a nice community,” Lancaster
said. “In Seaside I’m sure I’ll forge those
relationships also. I feel there’s a good
bond between chefs from Cannon Beach
all the way to Astoria. We know each
other, what we’re up to.
“I want people to come check us
out,” he added. “We’re going to be doing
some cool stuff, with emphasis on local
ingredients and really cool food that’s
not really offered in Seaside. I encourage
people to come check us out and see
what they think. In the next six months,
it’s going to be very eclectic, pulling very
different fl avors from around the world
into our little box here.”
Maggie’s is located at 581 S. Prom
in Seaside; 503-738-6403. The restau-
rant is open seven days a week from 8
a.m. to 9 p.m.; maggiesontheprom.com.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
Friday, March 24
Cannon Beach Planning Commis-
sion, 6 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
Wednesday, March 29
Cannon Beach Tourism and Arts
Commission, 1 p.m., City Hall, 163
E. Gower St.
Friday, March 31
Cannon Beach Emergency Pre-
Publisher
David F. Pero
Editor
R.J. Marx
Sales/Advertising
Manager
Betty Smith
paredness Committee, 10 a.m.,
City Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
Tuesday, April 4
Cannon Beach City Council, 7 p.m.,
City Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
Tuesday, April 11
Cannon Beach City Council, 5:30
p.m., work session, City Hall, 163 E.
Gower St.
Production Manager
John D. Bruijn
Classifi ed Sales
Jamie Ramsdell
Advertising Sales
Holly Larkins
Brandy Stewart
Contributing writers
Rebecca Herren
Katherine Lacaze
Eve Marx
Nancy McCarthy
Tuesday, April 18
6 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
Cannon Beach Public Works
Committee, 9 a.m., City Hall, 163
E. Gower St.
Thursday, April 27
Thursday, April 20
Cannon Beach Parks and Commu-
nity Services Committee, 9 a.m.,
City Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
Cannon Beach Design Review Board,
CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
The Cannon Beach Gazette is published every other
week by EO Media Group.
1555 N. Roosevelt, Seaside, Oregon 97138
503-738-5561 • Fax 503-738-9285
www.cannonbeachgazette.com • email:
editor@cannonbeachgazette.com
Cannon Beach Planning Commis-
sion, 6 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower
St. Friday, April 28
Friday, April 28
Cannon Beach Emergency Pre-
paredness Committee, 10 a.m.,
City Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
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be reprinted or copied without consent of the owners.
t might be rainy and windy as I write these words,
but my thoughts have already shifted ahead to the
eventual return of sunshine and warmer temperatures
to the Oregon Coast. Spring is here. Before long, my
grill will come out of its slumbers to do its thing on a
nightly basis.
Being a white wine lover, I get to put the arduous
months of red
wine behind me
and embrace the
UNCORKED RAMBLINGS
joys of a good
STEVEN SINKLER
glass of vino
that doesn’t go
overboard on al-
cohol or tannin.
In spring, I’m looking for refreshing wines, with racy
acidity and fruit (not sweetness) as these complement
spring’s spirit of renewal.
If you haven’t tried a glass of Grüner-Veltliner before,
you’re in for a treat. “Grüner,” as it’s commonly referred
to, is a crisp white wine packed with fl avors of orange
blossoms, peaches and honey. The signature white wine
of Austria, Grüner Veltliner is fi nding a home in Oregon.
Amazingly, Reustle Prayer Rock Vineyards, located
in Roseburg, specializes in Grüner Veltliner. Stephen
Reustle’s Estate Grüner Veltliner delivers classic aromas
of citrus, honeysuckle and white pepper that satisfy the
taste buds. This fresh, thirst-quenching wine is a perfect
food friendly companion to a spinach or kale salad, sea-
food or a dinner with asparagus or artichokes.
For those of you who are looking for a full-bodied
white wine but are in the ABC (Anything But Chardon-
nay) club, I recommend Pudding River Viognier. Made
in Salem by winemaker Sean Driggers, Pudding River
Viognier is a Wine Shack favorite because this expres-
sive wine delivers enticing aromas of apricots, pineapple
and peaches with a well-balanced acidity. This wine goes
well with chicken, scallops and crab, cheese plates and
spicy Asian entrées.
Of course, it’s impossible for me to write about spring
wines without mentioning rosé! If you’ve been following
my column, you know rosé is quite possibly my favorite
wine. I can drink rosé when it’s warm and sunny outside,
or when it’s cold and rainy. In fact, I might prefer rosé
when it’s nasty outside, as it brings a touch of sunshine
into my day whenever it’s in my glass. It seems like
every winery in Oregon has fi nally caught on that wine
drinkers want rosé. No longer the sweet, syrupy wine
of bygone days, most locally produced rosé is crisp, dry
and packed with aromas of strawberries. Delish! If I
had to pick a favorite (other than Puffi n Rosé, which I’ll
be writing about in my next column), I would choose
Sokol Blosser Rosé of Pinot Noir, which in my opinion
is the fl agship of Oregon rosé. Made from 100 percent
estate pinot noir, this salmon-colored wine offers classic
rosé fl avors of strawberry and rhubarb. What sets Sokol
Blosser Rosé apart from the others is the wine’s intense
and pleasing aromatics which reach out and invite you to
the party. Personally, I prefer this expressive style of rosé
over one which is subtle or delicate.
Although spring is the perfect time to get reac-
quainted with white wine, I can’t forget about my many
red wine drinking friends. Let’s put the big cabs and
merlots behind us for now and instead, try a medium-
bodied red wine. J Scott’s Grenache offers delicious red
fruit fl avors of raspberry and strawberry, with a hint of
white pepper. If you haven’t had grenache before, it’s a
lighter red wine, similar to pinot noir. Grenache is typ-
ically focused on red fruit fl avors and doesn’t develop
the black fruit and mushroom fl avors like pinot noir.
J Scott Grenache would be perfect with burgers, grilled
veggies and salmon.
Spring is the perfect season for trying something new
and these wines will not disappoint. Sunny and warm
days are heading our way, really.
Please remember to drink responsibly. Never drink
and drive.
LETTERS
A tragedy in the making
The proposed sale of the Elliott State Forest is a tragedy
in the making. Public lands are to be held in the public
trust. They are islands of biodiversity. If this sale proceeds,
the decision to privatize surely will be felt in the way in
which the Oregon Department of Forestry manages our
remaining public forests.
It is diffi cult to ignore what the sale of the Elliott might
mean for harvest levels in the Clatsop State Forest or the
Tillamook State Forest, if we expect to maintain current
levels of revenue dedicated to the Common School Fund.
On a related subject, the Linn County lawsuit to intensify
harvest levels in our state forests is proof that for the profi t
seekers, more can never be enough.
The phrase “sustainable timber harvest” ought to be
stricken from the lexicon whenever or wherever harvest
levels are debated. The expression is so time-worn it has
lost all meaning. We may have sustainable harvests, or
we may have sustainable timber, but in the whole, the two
ideals are a contradiction and a misconception.
The photo on page one March 7 of Astoria District For-
ester Dan Goody and the fi rst growth Douglas Fir stump
illustrates perfectly how far we have come in the past 75
years (“Forestry to reassess some fi re fees,” The Daily As-
torian). The stump itself stands as a monument to the folly
we know as sustainable timber harvests.
We cannot continue to cut trees faster than they grow,
particularly the trees we have stocking public lands. The
very idea that the Elliot State Forest could be privatized
confi rms that the relatively modest and conservative stew-
ardship practiced by the Oregon Department of Forestry
can be seen as a value-added and sustainable manner of
forestry.
Gary Durheim
Cannon Beach
THE NATIONAL AWARD-WINNING