Category Archives: Oregon Coast

Honoring the Life of Anthony Bourdain

Posted by Laura Morgan on July 05, 2018

Honoring the Life of Anthony Bourdain

 

This writing will probably go out on or near the day Anthony Bourdain would have been 62 years old. Even though it’s been a couple weeks since news of his death woke me up on that strange Friday morning, and I never knew him personally, I still feel heartbroken at having written that first sentence. Why is that? More important, why is it that so many of you in “the industry” were also so affected by this tragedy?

 

Speaking for myself, Tony changed everything when he debuted on the Food Network late in my high school years. On ‘A Cook’s Tour’ he was eating his way through Asia, meeting people and participating in food rituals that were so far from my own frame of reference – so far from anything that I had ever experienced. I was blown away and immediately knew that’s what I wanted to do with my life. From that point forward, everything I’ve done is to put me one step closer to experiencing and learning from those food cultures that are foreign to me, as well as appreciating and learning more about my own. Admittedly, I read Kitchen Confidential shortly after that (and then anything else I could get my hands on) and again I realized - those are my people! That is where I belong! Everything he said appealed to me, which is why I pivoted my focus in college and work, into the food industry. I’ve done a lot of different jobs in “food,” but I’ve never desired to leave the industry since. I realized from mourning that I’m still as excited about discovery and driven by food as he made me all those years ago when I heard his voice on TV and in books for the first time.

 

I know now that most people in food feel the same. I haven’t heard from one person who wasn’t deeply affected by Tony’s passing. Whether it was A Cook’s Tour or Kitchen Confidential, or No Reservations or some other work, he spoke to people, whatever their language, in a way they could understand. If you’re a cook, it was with camaraderie - a grueling, but loved, shared experience. If you were a traveler, it was with poetry that kinda perfectly expressed the indescribable-ness of a person or a place. I guess what I’m trying to say is Tony gave a voice, demonstrated respect for people, especially frequently marginalized people, encouraged cultural reciprocity, and in doing so, made this a better place for all of us. I hope he knew that.

A Winter Day on the Oregon Coast with Nan Devlin, Director of Tillamook Coast Tourism

Posted by Laura Morgan on February 01, 2018

From the tiny town of Seaside, the end point of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, to the cranberry bogs of the southern coast, with plenty of lighthouses and sand dunes in between, there truly is something for every visitor to the Oregon coast. To help our readers make it a perfect day on the coast, we spoke with Nan Devlin, Director of Visit Tillamook, to get a few tips on preparing for your trip. Nan is lucky enough to have accumulated a lifetime of experiences here, but her current specialty is Tillamook County, the 70 or so miles from Manzanita in the north to Neskowin in the south. In Tillamook County you can find several coastal towns, each with their own unique personality, as well as access to gorgeous public parks. Here is also where you’ll find iconic Haystack Rock, the Tillamook Creamery, and thousands of gray whales passing through on their way to warmer climes each winter.

Here’s what we asked Nan:

1. What book could you recommend that would fill visitors with the spirit of the northern Oregon Coast for their trip?

This is a tough one because not much has been written about this area, other than Astoria by Peter Stark. However, there is a terrific non-fiction book called The Next Tsunami by Bonnie Henderson that reads like a mystery novel. It's about how scientists discovered the Cascadia Subduction Zone in the Pacific Ocean and much of the scientific discoveries were made from Seaside to Netarts Bay. Also, we published 25 Hikes on the Tillamook Coast, and it's written like a love letter to the trails here.

2. What is a unique souvenir and why is it special?

 

3. In your opinion, what is the perfect winter day?

A walk in the forest or a nature reserve in the morning, a walk on the beach in the afternoon and a great bowl of chowder in the evening.

4. What would be your anniversary restaurant on the northern Oregon Coast?

Meridian at the new Headlands Hotel in Pacific City - or drinks and a light meal at MacGregor's Manzanita.

 

Now go enjoy your time on Oregon's beautiful coastline!

 

**Edited for additional detail.

 

It's beautiful, it's brooding, it's the Oregon Coast in Winter

Posted by Laura Morgan on January 18, 2018

The Oregon Coast, or the People’s Coast as it is proudly claimed by locals, is broody, devastatingly beautiful, and at this time of year, more than 50 shades of gray.  Every single one of the 363 miles of Oregon’s coastline are open and free to be enjoyed by the public, officially since 1967, which along with the impressive network of state parks that beeline the coast, is what makes a visit to Oregon’s coastline truly must-see-before-you-die. But right now, it’s winter, what do we eat when we get there?

Dungeness Crab

Luckily for us on the west coast, this is exactly the time the Dungeness crabs are plump and ready to pull out of the ocean. James Beard, the father of modern American cuisine, and native Oregonian once said, “Dungeness Crab is sheer, unadulterated crab heaven.” (See below for James Beard’s beloved deviled crab recipe.) Or, as Bethany Jean Clement, food writer for The Seattle Times, put it in her story this time last year, “At its freshest, Dungeness crab tastes only as oceanic as the wind off the water, more delicate and closer to sweet than anything from the bottom of the sea should imaginably be.”

Commercially speaking, Dungeness crabs weren’t filling out their shells yet on December 1st, Oregon’s official crab harvest opening date, and are now in pricing negotiations with buyers, so commercial harvest for Dungeness still hasn’t started as I’m writing this. Recreational harvest, however, is up and running and people are able to crab pot up and down the Oregon coast from the mouth of the Columbia River to Cape Blanco in the south.

I could tell you how to go crabbing, but the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has you covered.

For more resources, including required licenses and rules of harvest, visit Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife here: http://www.dfw.state.or.us/resources/licenses_regs/

For updates on closures and openings when you’re planning your trip: http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/programs/FoodSafety/Shellfish/Pages/ShellfishClosures.aspx

 

Fish

Dungeness crab isn’t the only thing you can find coming out of the ocean right now. Lingcod, Rockfish, Sole, Flounder and Black Cod can also be found fresh at fishmongers all over Oregon. In my opinion, though, black cod is what you’re looking for.

Also known as sablefish in Jewish delis on the USA’s east coast and in many parts of the rest of the world, it is delicate, fatty and perfectly flaky when done. Probably the best fish, aside from a gorgeous Pacific Northwest salmon, that I’ve ever eaten, for one very simple reason: smoking. There is nothing better in the world than a rainy day spent next to the smoker with the promise of flaky, savory smoked black cod in your near future. I’ll post my recipe with pictures of this (and our other adventures in Portland and beyond) on our Instagram page. And if you’re in Portland, go pick up some black cod, already smoked to perfection for you from Portland Fish Market (4404 SE Woodstock Blvd.) or Flying Fish Company (2340 NE Sandy). Both shops have other seafood treats as well, like oysters on the half shell and fish & chips, or other take away items for your perfect winter picnic or dinner in.

 

Recipes

Beards’ recipe for Deviled Crab, so simple, but so, so good.

 

In the meantime, stay tuned to The Big Foody PDX for new Northern Coast food and drink tours coming online end of summer 2018! We’re so excited to share the beauty and deliciousness of the Oregon Coast with you!

 

RESOURCES FOR SOURCING SEAFOOD SUSTAINABLY

Oregon Seafood Watch

Oregon’s Seafood Consumer Guide 2017 from OSU’s Sea Grant Program (what to look for at the fishmonger)

Dungeness Crab Buying Guide from FishChoice​