Oregon Coast

[Schielke]

Hey PacNWers,

My girlfriend and I will be going down to the Oregon Coast later this summer for a vacation. We want to camp one night and stay at a hotel/B&B for two others in a nice seaside town on the northern half of the coast.

Do any of these towns stand out to you? Do any of them have great food? Any other can't miss activities?

Also, on our way back to Seattle, we are planning on stoppping in Portland for a nice dinner. Suggestions for this are appreciated as well. I will, however, go check out the many reviews of P-Town restaurants on the site.

Thanks for the help!

Ben

[KNorthrup]

Well Cannon Beach is my favourite for scenery, but unfortunately I've never had a noteworthy meal anywhere on the coast.

[nightscotsman]

It's been a few years since I visited the Oregon coast, but I think there still aren't really any noteworthy restaurants. There is the high-end Salishan Lodge resort, but that's quite a bit farther south. Canon Beach probably has some of the "nicer" places. Nothing like the Ark, though.

I highly recommend Ecola State Park near Cannon Beach for camping. Beautiful, secluded beach and lush forest. It's very popular in the summer and I don't know if you can reserve a space, so you might have to get there early.

[Jim Dixon]

Ben,

Our favorite little beach town on the north coast is Manzanita, just a few miles south of Cannon Beach. It's not quite as crowded and has a great beach. A good restaurant at the beach is an oxymoron, except for maybe the Otis Cafe. It's a ways south (at Otis Junction, just north of Lincoln City), but the drive is nice, and you could stop at Karla's Krabs in Rockaway (if she's open...always a crapshoot) for some seafood.

The best way to eat is to pick up some local crab, shrimp, or other seafood and do your own cooking. We haven't stayed at this place, but it's right on the beach and looks nice. We did rent this tiny little spot (the lighthouse) and it's also on the beach (sorry, couldn't find a web site):

The Studio & The Lighthouse, (503) 368-4248

You can find the local State parks and make a reservation here.

For just one dinner in Portland, I'd pick either Higgins, Paley's Place, or Bluehour for a more elegant meal. In mid-July Pascal Sauton should be open at his new Parisian bistro Carafe. Either Navarre or Noble Rot (or both...they're about 100 yards apart and both do small plates) are great choices for more informal eating. And we had another great meal at Bastas recently. I have to admit that all of these places are olive oil customers, but that just proves they know good food.

Jim

[Schielke]

Thanks for the recs so far. I think that part of the decision will hinge on where we go rafting with a friend at the beginning of the trip. It will determine how north or south we are in Oregon. I need to talk it over with our friend/guide.

Funny you mentioned Manzanita, when my parents would take us on trips to the coast, we would always stay in that town. My favorite thing to do was ride the bannana bikes on the beach.

Ben

[nightscotsman]

...you could stop at Karla's Krabs in Rockaway (if she's open...always a crapshoot) for some seafood.

Ah, Rockaway. The town that time forgot. I have fond memories of the family renting a house there for a week several summers in a row. The beach is completely flat and featureless, but it's still very pretty.

Nobody's mentioned it yet, but just in case you're in the area, AVOID Seaside like the plague. It used to be kind of funky and run down in a cool way, but since they tried to "revitize" the town it's just horrible.

[Jim Dixon]

Rockaway was also made 'famous' in a Hardy boys mystery. It was the only clue, the word Rockaway on a scrap of paper. Frank and Joe consulted a handy atlas, discovered that were two Rockaways, and wisely concluded that the one in Oregon wasn't part of the case.

Jim

ps...no relation to Hardy boys author Franklin W Dixon, who was actually a committee

[malarkey]

I love Manzanita. We spend every Thanksgiving there in a cabin right on the beach. And, we've spent a few summer vacations there as well. I just LOVE the Oregon coast. This weather during Tgiving week can vary from daily storms so windy you can barely stand up on the beach to sunny and warm all week long.

[duckduck]

I love Manzanita too. Great feeling little town. A few too many memories though. A couple bottles of wine in the hottub, passed out naked wedged someplace where 9-1-1 had to be called to get me out and a local law enforcement officer leaning over me saying "I know the owner's of this place...they're going to love this story..." Silly girls...I know.

[Schielke]

Sweet.

[laurel]

I've had a pretty good spinach salad at Bistro in Cannon Beach,

[duckduck]

I asked my salesman at work that handles accounts on the coast and he said there are several mom and pop type places to eat in Manzanita but he said if he wants a really special evening with his wife he takes her down there to Blue Sky. He said entrees run around $20 and it's worth every nickel.

[Elissa]

A good restaurant at the beach is an oxymoron, except for maybe the Otis Cafe.

Jim

The memory of their strawberry rhubarb pie hasn't left me since I was last (first) there en route to the summer music fest in 1991. and while i haven't eaten any strawberry rhubarb since, i've often thought of theirs Edited June 22, 2003 by lissome (log)

[Elissa]

Schielke,

Your sig reminds me of the time I spent in Portland and was friendly with the bass player LeRoy Vinnegar, RIP. (Do you know the Eddie Harris tune Compared to What? that's he) Anyway LeRoy and the drummer Dick Berk were tight for a while; at one point they had tentative plans to open a restaurant. I'd pick LeRoy up at the Jazz Hotel where he lived. En route to lunch we'd drive around town in search of site for the restaurant, tentatively called LeRoy's Dick. While surveying possibilities LeRoy and I would also discuss the menu:

dick burgers, fried dick, dick creme shakes and on

Edited June 22, 2003 by lissome (log)

[pariah_kerry]

The Sea Hag in Depoe Bay was good & had lots of excellent photography to look at.

[Ellen Shapiro]

One of the nicest state-park campgrounds you could ever hope for is in Cave Junction, and you'll be right near Foris vineyards which is a fun spot to visit especially if you can call ahead and weasel your way into a real tour.

[Chef Fowke]

Cannon beach would be my choice of spots to visit on the coast, especially if you are doing the drive up from California! You go through a lot of small fishing villages that offer great fish right off the boats. Shacks along the way cook the regional seafood. It is truly spectacular.

And for an odd suggestion from me...There is a pizza shop down a small alley across from the general store in downtown Cannon Beach! It is the best pizza I have ever had. And as a bonus there is a wine shop that is stocked with great, old Bordeaux and big Californian Cabs.

My vacation each year is a three-week trip down from Vancouver to Ensanada, Mexico. We boot it down the inner valley in three days and take the rest of the time to drive back along the coast. The Oregon coast is by far my favorite part of the trip (with the exception of Carmel and the Carmel Valley Resort).

Enjoy your trip!

[KNorthrup]

Schielke,

Your sig reminds me of the time I spent in Portland and was friendly with the bass player LeRoy Vinnegar, RIP.  (Do you know the Eddie Harris tune Compared to What? that's he) Anyway LeRoy and the drummer Dick Berk were tight for a while; at one point they had tentative plans to open a restaurant. I'd pick LeRoy up at the Jazz Hotel where he lived. En route to lunch we'd drive around town in search of site for the restaurant, tentatively called LeRoy's Dick. While surveying possibilities LeRoy and I would also discuss the menu:

dick burgers, fried dick, dick creme shakes and on

Near my university.

charming roadhouse

[malarkey]

just got back from the oregon coast. cannon beach and manzanita and environs. Had dinner at Bistro in Cannon Beach. Still the same owners after 15+ years. Food is good, competently prepared, not perfect, but quite tasty and well worth the visit. Had a lovely crab cake with a hint of asian flavors, a really wonderful avgolomono (greek egg lemon soup) and duck with port cherry sauce & marlin with roasted red pepper vinagrette, rice and fresh green beans sauteed with mushrooms (the duck came with couscous). Really a nice dinner and probably the most sophisticated food you'll find in Cannon Beach. Had an Andrew Will Sangiovese to go with which was soft and lovely after opening up a bit.

Fish & Chips: Neptune in Cannon Beach. We had cod w/chips and a crab melt and both were lovely. fresh fresh fish & crab and hot crispy fries with a bit of spice sprinkled on (frozen but came piping hot). adequate tartar. The coleslaw didn't taste right to me, so I didn't finish it. The crab melt would have been perfect with a more toasted english muffin

Pacific Oyster in Bay City just south of Garibaldi: Had fish and chips, since someone recommended it. Had halibut. Not bad, but one of my pieces of halibut was way beyond fresh. Not good, didn't finish it in fact. Krinkle cut fries. They get points for that. Not worth the trip if its out of the way.

Pelican Pub & Brewery in Pacific City: Great beer on the coast. Had a seasonal "Heiferweizen" (a play on nearby Tillamook) and it was more like a Belgian Wit than a German Hefe. Lovely coriander and orange peel flavors. Great stuff. Had a shrimp sandwich, which consisted of bay shrimp in a pita, with veggies and a cucumber-dill 'remoulade'. They should just make a real greek yogurt-dill-lemon-cucumber sauce and use it. sauce was too thin, but the shrimp was fresh and it was an agreeable, light and satisfying sandwich, especially since it came with great fries ;-) (we were on a mission to eat fries everyday).

our one meal in Portland was at Cafe Azul. Had the sangrita, a non-alcoholic drink consisting of chilis, veggies (no tomato) but a sort of V-8 type cocktail. spicy and not thirst quenching, but delish. their bread is fantastic, and it comes with a spiced butter that is slightly hot. nice, nice flavors. Had the 3 taco appetizer: black bean taco, fish taco, and a cheese quesedilla. The quesedilla was my favorite, because I like crispy almost burned cheese. And they make their own tortillas, of course. The fish taco and bean taco were nice, but not 'hey wow' food. Then came the entrees, which we got 2 moles. One with beef and the other with duck. Wow wow wow. this is what this place is all about. Both moles were quite different, very complex, and with roasted veggies on the side the flavor combinations were just outstanding. Grilled veggies included chayote and plaintain and morel mushrooms and zucchini. Each one contributed a diffferent flavor to the mole. Then the meats, aye-yi-yi. the duck legs were crispy grilled but still moist and the flavor... shall I go on?? Check this place out. (Unfortunately, I didn't have dessert here.)

[Schielke]

Great thanks for the report, I will have to check out some of those places. Katie and I have decided on Manzanita (I know the town a bit and it is in a good location).

Does anybody know of good tide pools nearby?

Ben

[nightscotsman]

Does anybody know of good tide pools nearby?

I believe there are a field of them in front of Haystack Rock on Cannon Beach at very low tide. Lots of starfish and anemones, but I don't remember seeing many urchins.

[malarkey]

speaking of.. its been awhile since I've seen any sea urchins on the Oregon coast. I think the last time I saw them it was down by Newport somewhere. Tidepools can also be found at Oswald State Park and the beach at Oceanside. (during low tide of course)

[Schielke]

I think Klink is eating all of them at Mashiko's.