Okay, so we deviated off the Texas path a bit. Took us 2 planes and almost 8 hrs, but there we were in Portland, Oregon. I was so excited about my first trip to the Pacific Northwest, I failed to do my homework on good places to eat. We got in around 9:30 on a Friday night, drove through an Arby's around 11:00 (I know, but we were starved and it was 1 AM Houston time) and crashed at a nearby motel.
What a treat the next morning when I walked outside and saw all the colors of a true fall. Our reservations at the Marriott Downtown didn't start until Sunday for Rich's conference so our plan was to head north to Cannon Beach. The plane from Houston to Denver had been delayed leaving Houston, causing us to RUN through the Denver airport to make our connecting flight to Portland, which was held for us. Full plane, so Rich and I had to grab a seat where we could. I took a seat between 2 guys who were from Portland and gave me 2 pages of suggestions of places to go. That's how we came to head up to Cannon Beach on the northern part of the Oregon coast.
Our first meal was at Miller's Homestead, right off I-5 and the first place we saw. Real log-cabin, flannel-shirt(ish) type place and very crowded. Service was great. I think the waitresses have been there quite a while. The word "hun" and "sweetie" were thrown around a bit, but in a good way. Being on vacation and therefore not too particular about watching what I ate, I ordered the 1/2 order of biscuits and gravy. I'm a big biscuits and gravy person so I feel pretty confident in giving it an A+. Wonderful. Gravy just the right consistency with the right amount of sausage and biscuits that were to die for. Rich had pancakes and said they were probably the best he'd ever had.
We happily finished off meal #1 in the Pacific NW (can't count Arby's...fast food stuff) and off we went. The lady at the information center in Cannon Beach suggested the Wayfarer's Inn for lunch if we wanted something with a view of the ocean. Yes, I'm in the Pacific NW, I want a view of the big water, thank you very much. Wayfarer's Inn was a great find.
Gale-force winds were blowing outside but we were nestled in a booth looking out over the Pacific Ocean and Haystack Rock, a monolithic thing sticking straight up out of the water. We split a wonderful bowl of clam chowder. I could have sworn the chowder had a hint of fresh thyme running through it but the waitress insisted the only seasonings beside S/P were paprika and parsley. Didn't care to argue, I was having too good of a time and busy buttering a piece of the fresh hot French baguette that came to the table. We decided on fish and chips and had a choice of fresh halibut or fresh salmon. I'd never even considered using salmon for fish and chips and was tempted to try it. I asked the nice waitress about the two choices and she said the salmon was a heavier lunch so we opted for the halibut. Fresh halibut from the Pacific NW Coast was outstanding. The breading lighter than any I'd ever had. I questioned the waitress about it (I'm getting good at pulling information out of wait-staff) and she said they do what many restaurants don't...they change the oil daily, which makes a HUGE difference.
I finished my glass of Chardonnay (did I mention they have an excellent house Chardonnay? and yes, I know it's lunch but I'm on vacation) and headed out into the gale-force winds to walk on the beach.
Our dining choices for the rest of the trip left a lot to be desired so I'll stop with Miller's Homestead in Portland and Wayfarer's Restaurant (www.wayfarer-restaurant-com) in Cannon Beach, OR.
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