Orcas Island Dining

[vengroff]

I'm looking for recommendations for dinner on Orcas Island in the next few days.

Any location, cuisine, and price range is fine. I just want something that is particularly good at whatever it sets out to do.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[tsquare]

Borrowed from Crow Valley Pottery website:

"Rose's Bakery has a new home in the old firehouse, a beautiful and fine deli, incredible wine shop and now a restaurant! "

I want someone (you?) to check it out - it's on the outside edge of Eastsound's business district - away from the waterfront and Christina's. As a bakery and specialties store it was great. I haven't been on island since they moved and expanded.

[TerrelK]

Borrowed from Crow Valley Pottery website:

"Rose's Bakery has a new home in the old firehouse, a beautiful and fine deli, incredible wine shop and now a restaurant! "

I want someone (you?) to check it out - it's on the outside edge of Eastsound's business district - away from the waterfront and Christina's. As a bakery and specialties store it was great. I haven't been on island since they moved and expanded.

←

[TerrelK]

Rose's is excellent. The foodstore part has great cheese, a huge wine selection and terrific baked goods. The restaurant part has made to order thin crust pizza and other daily selections. It is a counter space with an open kitchen and tables and chairs - bistro style. Other excellent restaurants on Orcas: Sunflower cafe in the Outlook Inn (Jim Bean fried oysters!) Callaloo - Caribbean food -- terrific spare ribs. Christina's -- upstairs restaurant with view of Eastsound. Fresh seafood appetizers, always excellent salmon and steak. Ship Bay Inn - on road to Rosario's out of Eastsound. Great view and excellent food -- homemade ice cream. Probably avoid Rosario's this weekend due to Subaru Primal Quest race "prologue." The Artworks and Olga Cafe combines local artists and good food. Chef has changed but food seems to remain excellent -- salmon, of course. If you are from the area you will know that it's hard to find bad salmon, but Christina's and Ship Bay have excellent halibut and other fish as well.

[vengroff]

The pizza at Rose's cafe is indeed a treat. If you have any appreciation for Italian-style thin-crust pizza then a visit to Orcas would be incomplete without a stop at Rose's. One corner of the large open kitchen has been given to the wood burning oven that turns out these incredibly crisp pies. The oven is also used to roast a variety of meat and seafood in individual cast-iron skillets. If you enjoy watching this sort of activity, a seat at the far end of the small bar is a must.

The dining room adjoining the kitchen is bright and pleasant, with nice touches like a big rustic farmhouse table for seating parties of eight to ten. Dimmer lighting at the dinner hour could lend a little bit cozier feel to the place, but otherwise it is inviting and comfortable.

Four different pizzas toppings are offered at any given time; the precise selections change with the seasons. When we visited, the standout married thick slices of locally foraged porcini mushrooms, fontina cheese, and a sprinkling of herbes de Provence. A straight-up Margherita also looked excellent, although we did not try it.

The key to the pizza is the thin crispy crust. It has the quality of a fine artisinal cracker, with a lightly browned surface that bites firmly but without crumbling, and more than enough rigidity to hold its shape when picked up by its edge. The classic New York slice fold is strictly unnecessary, which is a pleasure for those who prefer their pizza toppings not to become a flash flood of molten goo whose main function is to scorch the palate.

Aside from the pizza we were impressed by the soups we tried, both a potato tomato chowder and a delightfully smokey split-pea and ham. The latter was of medium texture, neither watery nor so thick as to become porridge the way some renditions do. Locally harvested oysters, roasted in their shells with butter and herbs were exceptionally smooth and creamy. These were accompanied by an intoxicating little mound of crisp pickled carrots; these were also offered alongside sandwiches at luchtime.

The only weak point we found was with some of the dinner entrees. They seemed to be a bit too ambitious for the kitchen and fell flat, particularly when compared to the simpler preparations already mentioned. That being said, they still outclassed those we had at Cafe Olga, an oft-praised Orcas destination.

In particular, Rose's braised duck leg had a nicely crisp skin, but was overly greasy, even for duck, and lacked the sort of distinctive punch that would make it worth ordering again. Similarly, coho salmon was competent, but in no way exceptional. The chanterelles that accompanied it were a different story--they were incredibly rich and flavorful. Kudos again to Rose's mushroom forager, whoever he may be.

We were looking forward to a fantastic cheese course, because one could easily be created from the extensive selection available for retail sale in the adjoining deli. Sadly, what we got was a big pile of bread concealing a massive slab of a buttery French triple cream cheese and two other nuggets two small to seriously savor.

Dessert at lunch was better--an "ice cream sandwich" of alternating layers of rich chocolate cake and house-made cinnamon ice-cream. Along with an espresso, it was a perfect early afternoon pick-me-up.

Beyond that already mentioned, Rose's also offers a selection of grilled sandwiches at lunch and a number of dinner entrees ranging from seafood stews to braised lamb shanks. Since they are also a wine shop, they permit patrons to pick any bottle they offer and enjoy it in the cafe for a $10 corkage. Their selection covers the local region, ranging from nearby Lopez Island down through the heart of Washington and Oregon wine country, but also offers a surprisingly broad selection from Burgandy, Rhone, and Alsace, among others.

If you find yourself on the island, absolutely do swing by. If you keep things simple--a pizza and a pint of ale, soup and a sandwich, or a selection of cheese, a baguette, some olives and a bottle of wine for a picnic, you can't possibly leave without being extremely satisfied.

[tsquare]

Yeah! I knew it would be worth your time. Thanks for the report. Outstanding pizza from a excellent bakery - yes, that makes sense. Sorry about the cheese plate - sounds like John wasn't in charge.

[little ms foodie]

I was on Orcas last weekend and we purchased some cheeses from their shop. Very nice selection!! Also they had some really good North Willamette wine from a few wineries that I know are sold out! Just an over all nice little retail shop. Will try their pizza next time!

[aaustin]

Any updated recs? I was lucky to dine at Christina's probably 3 or 4 years ago--is it still top-notch? Love to hear some more recent recs for Orcas and the other islands...

[Abra]

The Inn at Ship Bay turns out big-city quality food with a lot of ingredients grown in their own garden. Sit outside on their beautiful deck and watch elements of your dinner being picked fresh. Be prepared for big-city prices too, but it's way worth it.

Olga's has opened a small cafe right in town, and although the one-guy kitchen is slow, it's also lovely food.

[Ling]

I spent the perfect day on Orcas Island with hhlodesign on Friday.

The weather was perfect

He did a bit of research online and chose Rose's for lunch. There's a wine shop and bakery attached to this popular spot. On the drive to Anacortes, he told me about Leonetti wine and we found a few bottles there!

It was 2:30pm by the time we got to Rose's, so we just ordered a couple of things as we had dinner reservations at 5:30pm.

We had the cranberry bean and lamb soup, with bread (baked in-house, quite good). The soup was hearty and also rather good, but not good enough that I'd order it again. The butter--called Cremerie Classique--that was served along with the bread, however, was amazing. The man who works in the bakery told me it's similar to Plugra in terms of it's higher fat content, but I liked it so much more than Plugra. Cremerie Classique has such a fresh, sweet taste that I associate with milk, rather than cream. I need to get my hands on some of this stuff!

Next, we had the spicy salami (from Salumi) pizza. The crust was appropriately thin, and crisp around the edges. There was not a lot of char on the crust though, so while it was good enough, it wasn't excellent.

We took a lot of beautiful scenery shots, including this one of Cascade Falls.

After a quick jaunt up Mount Constitution, we went to Christina's for dinner.

Cocktails before dinner...half-drunk at this point (sorry! The one of the left is the pear-flavoured Fabutini and the one of the right is the Momotini with Gran Marnier. Both were great!)

Lots of variety in the bread basket: rosemary/olive oil flatbread (good), fennel breadsticks (slightly underbaked), molasses/flax/whole wheat bread (dense, a bit sweet...this is our server's favourite), and EXCELLENT in-house baked baguette (better than some of the baguettes from top-rated bakeries).

We started with the seafood sampler. The oysters were served with a red wine vinaigrette with cassis ice (very nice). The ahi poke was my least favourite on the platter--too salty, and the marinade was really overwhelming. Everything else--the prawns, the octopus, halibut ceviche, the seaweed salad, and their own cocktail sauce--was lovely.

Cute baby octopus...

We then moved on to some delicious lamb riblets with beans and chard. The portion of the beans was huge! The lamb couldn't have been more tender, and the whole dish was deeply flavoured. We both loved the amount of fat on the lamb...can't help but love a place that's not afraid to serve you the fat! The lamb was the best part of the meal.

We had different opinions about the halibut dish (served with apricot mint couscous...that is Israeli couscous, is it not?) We agreed that the fish was perfectly cooked--actually, I can't even remember when I've had a piece of halibut so luciously moist! hhlodesign felt that the dish was a little bland, but I think it's more subtle than bland. The fish was so fresh and sweet that bolder flavours would've overpowered its delicate sweetness. The portion was very large...almost too much! I enjoyed splitting it, but would imagine I would have tired of it quickly if I had the whole thing to myself.

Desserts were a disappointment. I had the flourless chocolate torte as it was made with Schokinag, and I have been meaning to try that particular brand of chocolate. It was dry. I don't know if they were going for the "molten" cake thing, but there was only a tiny portion of the middle that was underbaked and it wasn't particularly gooey either.

I had most of my date's dessert too...not that it was that great. The shortbread was good. The flavours of the sorbets--chocolate (too much booze), orange (horrid! Like orange-flavoured ice crystals!), and the apple-pear cider (the best of the three, but still icy) didn't work together.

I expect a little better at $7.50US per dessert (well...not that I paid, but you know what I mean! )

Although the desserts were forgettable, my day at Orcas was anything but.

Edited April 24, 2006 by Ling (log)

[fud]

OMG Christina's!

Sandy and I were there like 3 years ago! Ocas is a gorgeous island, the pictures are marvellous!

[Abra]

Next time try Ship Bay. I think you'll find it way more exciting than Christina's. Rose's is meh, to me, and ridiculously overpriced. Olga's for lunch is a lot more fun.

[Ling]

^I look forward to trying those places if we go to Orcas sometime soon, Abra!

[tsquare]

Thanksgiving on Orcas - great weather, very good food, lots of rest.

Dinner at Ship's Bay exceeded our expectations. Though the Thankgiving menu was limited, it was still difficult to choose. The second course Char was excellent. The service was pretty good - though having her suggest eating the skin and then complementing us for doing so was a little odd.

The continental breakfast was okay - muffins were hot at 9, not the case if you arrive later. Nice granola...it would have been nice to see a toaster and maybe some cheese.

Ship's Bay would be a great spot for a wedding - gardens, a banquet hall, comfortable rooms, good food.

Rose's was a hit for us. They close at 4, have given up the dinner trade. I liked that ice cream cake, as well as the cherry cobbler. The stuffed cabbages were very good, hearty, with a lovely tomato dill sauce. Rutabega jalapeno soup warmed you up quick.

A very strange stop was Chimayo - tucked into the back of a non-descript multi-tenant building, the menu is basic tex-mex at lunch, but at dinner, the offerings are quite surprising. Much more complicated, yet well handled and fresh. Chicken breast with dark mole was served carved into thick slices with a smooth rich mole, accompanied by sauteed vegetables and rice. Masa ravioli - a gluten free entree with two large rounds of masa stuffed with queso fresco and green stuff, sauced in a tasty tomato sauce, chipolte, I think. The place was very quiet and closed before their posted time, but the food was good and they had an interesting menu.

I was sorry to see the Olga Store closed and for sale (down the hill from the Olga Cafe - please tell me why the art in that place is so awful!) There was a cafe there run by the Raison d'Entre people years ago. Fond memories of both.

Edited November 25, 2007 by tsquare (log)

[MGLloyd]

Hmm, The SO and I are heading up to Deer Harbor for a few days after Christmas. It sounds like Ship Bay, Christina's and Rose's will be on the list. Any other suggestions? The last time I was on Orcas was about 10 years ago, and I know some places have closed or changed hands in that interval.

Edited December 12, 2007 by MGLloyd (log)

[MGLloyd]

To give a brief report, Christina's for dinner was $ 145 worth of nothing special, Rose's for lunch was fabulous, Chimayo for dinner was quite good, Cafe Olga for lunch was good, we could not get into Ship's Bay, and the Rosario Resort for dinner was surprisingly good. Cell phones/Blackberries do not work in Deer Harbor and the road to Mt. Constitution was closed at Mountain Lake.

Edited January 1, 2008 by MGLloyd (log)