On the way to Vancouver...

[tighe]

My wife and I spent the (extra) long weekend in Vancouver, attempting to personnally verify all the great things that people have said here about the restaurants there. Life's tough, but somebody's got to do it! More on that later.....

We drove up on Thursday evening and decided to stop in Mount Vernon to forage for food. Brew pubs are usually a good bet, so we stopped when we came across the Skagit River Brewery, which turned out to be a stroke of good luck. The menu features wood fired pizzas and barbecue. I went with the pork ribs and scrat68 had brisket. Now, I'm not saying that it was Klink-esque, but this was some really solid 'cue, with a nice 'fall-off-the-bone' tenderness and a flavorful, if thin, sauce. The meat definately had a smoked, as opposed to cooked quality, if that makes any sense.

The stout I had was very good, with a smokiness that went well with the ribs. I would have loved to try more of the beers, if there hadn't been a lot of road ahead of us.

[Batgrrrl]

Ah, resurrecting a topic just before it dips below the horizon! I'm so proud. And I just have to post, because I love the drive up to Vancouver--it's a real treat. For most of the last decade, I've been going up regularly to visit family, but they've since moved to the interior of BC (the Okanagan, serious wine country, how can I possibly complain?), and I miss that trip up to Vancouver.

Anyway, on to the point of this post, which is not so much about Vancouver as it is about getting there--there's a great little place along the Chuckanut Drive (yes, you read that right) to stop and have some oysters. The Chuckanut Drive (okay, yes, I do really enjoy just saying that! CHUCKANUT!) diverges somewhere north of Mount Vernon and south of Bellingham--it shoots you west, takes you across the agricultural flats and then up a winding cliff-side road that runs right above the water--there are great pull-outs to stop and check out the scenery. It'll put you into the old historical district of Bellingham (Fairview? Fairmont?), and you'll see signs to I-5. If you have a little leisure time in your drive up to Vancouver, I highly recommend it.

Back to the oyster place. Along Chuckanut Drive (CHUCKANUT!), when you're up off the flats, watch for some little cabins perched on the cliffside on the left--not long after them you'll pass a restaurant. They have their own oyster beds, I think--or they have a deal with an oyster farm close by, because you can park and walk down a dirt/gravel road that takes you right to a little shack that sells fresh oysters. I've only eaten at the restaurant once--they're a bit upscale, and I was a poor graduate student at the time, and woefully underdressed in my jeans and windbreaker, but I braved it and sat down and ordered a sort of "sampler" oyster appetizer, rather than a meal (have I mentioned the poor grad student bit?)--it's been a while, and I can't really remember what the preparations were, but I remember being very happy.

It's kind of a fun thing to do on the way to Vancouver, if you're into oysters. My recommendation--show up dressed down and annoy the somewhat snooty wait staff. And who knows, that was a while ago, they may have changed. Whatever you're wearing, the oysters are worth it.

Batgrrrl

[tighe]

Damn it! Damn it, damn it, damn it! Somwhere in the dark recesses of my mind I knew about this place, but couldn't remember exactly where it was or what the name is. I've heard that its really good though. Even though I enjoyed the 'cue, some fresh oysters would probably have been even better.

BTW, I also relish saying 'Chuckanut', especially if you give it a kind of southern, red-neck twang to the pronunciation.....

[Schielke]

Yeah, I remember reading about this place in either Seattle magazine or the paper. It sounded like fun...if only I could get katie to eat an oyster.

Ben

[tighe]

Thought I would just add it here rather than starting a whole new thread...

On our way up to Vancouver, we merry travellers stopped at the Oyster Bar on Chuckanut Drive for some lunch. The view from the restaurant is really beautiful and we had a bald eagle swoop by the window in the middle of lunch. The food was mostly quite good, if a little uneven. I had whiskey and crab soup to start which was great and fried oysters breaded with panko for my main course. Breading was too heavy for my tast and the oysters were huge, but none of that stopped me from finishing them all off. One of the highlights of the meal was the rolls of all things. Apparently they're from a place in Bellingham called La Vie En Rose Bakery. If they can get my attention with dinner rolls, I will definitely make a point of stopping in next time I'm in the area.

Whether you stop at the restaurant or not, taking Chuckanut Drive is really worth it, with panoramic views of the water and mountains around every turn.

Edited because I struggle to write/speak in complete, coherent sentences....

Edited April 17, 2003 by tighe (log)

[nightscotsman]

Thanks for posting about the Oyster Bar, tighe. It really was a lovely place to stop on our trip with a cozy rustic charm and beautiful view. I had the crab and shrimp cakes with mango-kiwi chutney and curry mayo - quite tasty. And I agree about the rolls. It was really hard to stop eating them!

[tighe]

This was actually on the way back from Vacouver, but what the hay!...

We stopped for dinner at Skagit River Brewing in Mt. Vernon, the original subject of this thread. I had ribs, which were not particularly good. I really like their sauce, but it was clear that these ribs hadn't been cooked nearly long enough. Way too much chew to them, at least for my taste. I think the brisket sandwich that two of our party had was a better choice, though certainly not Klink-ian.