Grilled Oysters, Wet Dog Cafe, Astoria, OR

On the way home from a weekend on the Washington Coast brought us to Astoria, Oregon, home of the Never Say Die Goonies and Wet Dog Cafe. We've been to the Wet Dog before, and always try to drop by. This time, I ordered the grilled oysters with fries. The dish comes with a side of coleslaw.

Grilled Oysters

I ordered the 7 count, which was the larger portion offering. The oysters were a treat. They crunched at the bite while juicy on the inside. The crumb breading was spiced just enough to give the mouth a pleasurable eating experience. 

The fries were crunchy with a wonderful dipping sauce. The ketchup based sauce had a bit of horseradish dash to it, reminiscent of shrimp cocktail sauce. The coleslaw was slurpy good, too.

For my drink, I chose water, since I was still recovering from the previous night's drinkfest of bourbon and beer. I tasted the Strawberry Blond Ale that my son ordered. The ale was typically hopped Northwest style, with a good body and effervescence to it.

After your meal, you may want to drive across the Columbia River and visit the Willapa Bay oyster farms, You can buy some raw or smoked oysters to bring home and enjoy.
Sunday-Thursday: 11am-8pm
Friday-Saturday: 11am-9pm

Happy Hour
Monday-Friday: 3pm-6pm

144 11th St, Astoria, OR

503-325-6975

website

Oysters and Chips, McMenamins Spar Cafe, Olympia, WA

Whenever I find myself in the pleasant town of Olympia, I always try to make a stop at McMenamins Spar Cafe. This long time Olympia eating establishment is a tradition for a rewarding stopover on a Seattle to Vancouver drive.

Oysters and Fries

I chose the Oysters and Chips for a seafood experience. The oysters came with fries, coleslaw and tartar sauce. Soft and succulent on the inside, the panko encrusted oysters are deep fried, giving the oysters a welcome crunch when biting into them. I could just eat the oysters all day if given the opportunity, they were that tasty.

The buttermilk coleslaw was really good as was the dipping sauce, although I preferred to eat most of the oysters straight. McMenamins provided locally made Portland ketchup as a table condiment. I can't resist dipping the fries into such a delicious ketchup!

Elk Burger, Verde Brewing Co., Camp Verde, AZ

After a visit to the native Sinagua cliff dwellings at Montezuma Castle in Camp Verde, Arizona, we stopped off at Verde Brewing Company for a brewpub grub lunch and thirst quenching. I ordered the provocative Elk Burger and stout.

The elk burger is generous serving of ground elk topped with sautéed mushroom, a port wine derby cheese, and fried onions. For my side, I had coleslaw.

Elk Burger

The elk burger was lean, tasty, and not gamey. The sautéed mushroom and crispy fried onions were a perfect condiments to the elk burger. The melted derby cheese gave the burger a unique cheese burger experience, and is always appreciated. And since the elk was so lean, the burger was plenty substantial for two hungry tourists. 

The pineapple coleslaw was absolutely delicious. I could just spend my time eating the coleslaw along with onion rings and drinking beer to while away an Arizona afternoon. However, desert interfered with my plan.

Pizza Pepperoncini, Brasserie Dieu du Ciel!, Montreal, QC

Staying in fun and funky Plateau Mont-Royal district of Montreal, we dropped in to Dieu du Ciel! for a quick snack. Curious, we ordered the Pizza Pepperoncini. The pizza appeared prettily dressed on a wooden serving board, topped with bacon, olive, pepperoncini, arugula, and melted mozzarella.

Pizza a la Build

The pizza is more similar to an Italian foccacia than a pizza. The crust was thin and crispy, but not at all like a New York style pizza. Still, it was a scrumptious snack. The pepperoncini added a mild picquant taste to the eating experience, while the arugula mellowed it out. The melted mozzarella and bacon was delicious. In all, a pleasant visit in a pleasant part of Montreal town.

For our biére we chose the interesting framboise. The raspberry beer drank down clean and clear, with a crispy citrus taste to it. Enjoyable.

Plateau Mont-Royal is a strolling pleasure for the visitor, with many restaurants, coffee shops, and other destinations to lure the visitor to linger and relax. I recommend that if you are planning on staying a few days in Montreal, plan on this arrondissement for your stay.

Monday-Thursday: 3pm-3am
Friday-Sunday: 1pm-3am

29 Laurier West, Montreal, QC

514-490-9555

website

Philly Jack Steak Sandwich, Mad Jack Brewing Co., Schenectady, NY

Mad Jack Brewing is located inside of the Van Dyck Restaurant. The food is Van Dyck and the beer is Mad Jack.

I ordered the Philly Jack Steak Sandwich. Van Dyck's contribution to the Cheese Steak world is shaved prime rib stuffed in a traditional Philly Hoagie roll with onions and melted cheese. The sandwich comes with thick cut fries as a side. 

Philly Jack Steak

Biting into this concoction of East  Coast goodness is a mouthful of slow roasted prime rib, juicy and succulent to the taste. The star of the show, however, is the melted cheese. Looking at the plate, the first impression is melted American cheese-or Velveeta-which is ok by me. But no, the cheese is a gooey blend of blonde fondue that saturates the prime rib and drips out onto the plate, asking the diner to slurp up the meal. One starts at one end of the Hoagie roll and munches along the sandwich until a mouthful of Philly cheese steak bliss is achieved. I could be in Philadelphia watching the baseball while munching on this sandwich. Life is good.

Shrimp BLT, 2nd Story Brewing Co., Philadelphia, PA

Walking in Philadelphia's historic downtown is always interesting. And a short distance from City Hall is 2nd Story Brewing. Their menu is full of tempting offerings, including an interesting short ribs poutine, and I didn't even sample this cholesterol buster in Quebec. And to continue my contrarian adventure, I order the shrimp BLT.

And foregoing the contrary Philly cheese steak, 2nd Story delivers a pretty dish. The shrimp BLT is chock full of sauteed shrimp squeezed between two toasted buns. Included is shredded lettuce, tomato, applewood smoked maple bacon, and 2nd Story's secret sauce. A pile of fries comes with the BLT.

You get two sandwiches, which gives you a hefty eating experience. The generous portion of shrimp plays well with the bacon, blending the mild sweetness of the shrimp with the lusty smoked maple bacon. The secret sauce is puzzling, since I don't know what it is. It complements the shrimp and bacon though, so no complaints on the sauce. The pile of fries were outstanding, hot and crunchy. By itself, the fries would be worth a visit to 2nd Story.

Baked Haddock Sandwich, Sebago Brewing Co, Portland, ME

Spending so much brewpub time in Portland, Oregon, that when I find myself in the other-and older (so I've been told) Portland, it is incumbent that I visit one of its brewpubs. Unfortunately, I have only enough time to visit one brewpub: Sebago Brewing.

Continuing with Maine's seafood tradition, I order the Baked Haddock Sandwich. Sebago's offering of the New England fish sandwich is fresh baked haddock with a side of fries.

Baked Haddock Sandwich

What you get is a hefty piece of haddock baked in a breadcrumb crust with the usual lettuce, tomato on your choice of roll, all slathered in a tasty tartar sauce. The crispy breadcrumb crust allowed the haddock to retain all the fishy juices that made the sandwich a pleasant eating experience. Also, Sebago gives you enough fish and fries to make your sit-down a filling and satisfying meal.

The fries were hot and crispy, just the way I like them. The ciabatta roll had a dusting of flour on top that made a nice statement to the sandwich. Also, on the plate was a real good juicy pickle spear.