Oregon Coast: Worst Dinner Ever

Don't you, when you go to the coast, expect good seafood, better than you can get locally, especially if you live inland, say in a high desert? I know I do. So why is seafood generally so bad at the Oregon Coast? This post covers our late afternoon/early evening at Yachats State Park watching the rollers come screaming in while enjoying a couple beers after our morning and early afternoon of hiking and exploring the coast at Cape Perpetua. And sadly, it covers what is likely our worst dinner at a restaurant ever.

Yachats: Fog Coming in and Surf Getting Up

On returning from Cape Perpetua to our room in Yachats, we were looking for a celebratory post-hike beer (we walked about 12 miles). We set out for the two-minute, if that, walk to Yachats Brewing in late afternoon, wanting to support a local brewery by buying a couple of beers before grabbing dinner at one of the nearby restaurants. At this point in the day, the sun was out and it was quite pleasant outside at around 70 degrees. The fairly full outdoor spaces in front of the brewery were occupied largely by people like us fleeing the awful temperatures inland and getting some sun without broiling.

We waited out front at the sign saying "Please wait to be seated" for two or three minutes while customers and employees came and went. After not even having been acknowledged, we decided to go inside to the bar, grab a beer, and come back out to enjoy the sunshine out front. We scanned the beer list at the bar while waiting for someone, anyone, to take our order or even tell us to get lost. Nothing, despite employees moving all around, in front and behind the bar. I'm sorry, but if in the course of five minutes, you can't be bothered to welcome me, you don't need my money.

The lack of hospitality and a very meager beer list saw us head for the door to execute plan B. Plan B was easy. We walked across Highway 101 to a grocery store, grabbed a six pack of beer brewed somewhat ironically in our hometown of Bend, walked to our room, pulled our second crowler of Gratitude beer from the fridge, snagged the camera and our two folding chairs, and walked back to Yachats State Park to enjoy the beautiful, if increasingly brisk, day.

While we were at Cape Perpetua, the high tide was being aided by a pretty stiff onshore breeze that was amping up the waves above what they would normally be. As we walked west to Yachats State Park, we walked into the face of a steady 10-15 knot wind coming off the Pacific. We could see line after line of waves rolling into the mouth of the Yachats River.

Our Harbor Seal Friend Was Still Hanging in the Yachats River

Gaggle of Surf Scoters

Female Surf Scoter

Male Scoters Riding Low in the Water

Duck, Duck, Duck, Duck, Goose

Western Gulls

Walking down Ocean View Drive and along part of the oceanfront 804 Trail to the north closer to Smelt Sands Recreation area, I got the chance to photograph a few more flowers that I had missed the day before. Some of these plants are not native to the area but are growing wild, escaped as they are called.

Unknown, Perhaps Escaped Corn Daisy, Glebionis segetum?

Hummingbird Magnet Twinberry Honeysuckle, Lonicera involucrata

Dune Tansy, Tanacetum bipinnatum

Fennel Growing Wild, Foeniculum vulgare

An Escaped Red Escallonia, Escallonia rubra, Native to Chile

Pink Sea Thrift, Armeria maritima

After wandering about a bit, we settled in to our chairs in our customary location, the breeze blowing strongly in our faces. The first thing that we noticed is that all the tidepools that we had explored early in the morning were now deep under water. As we sat there and drank our beers, we watched the swell build and build, being whipped up by the wind. When we arrived, we were seeing 3-4-foot crests, which became 5-6-footers, then 8-10, and then 12-15-footers curling over themselves and forming really neat pipelines. Too bad there was not a single surfer in view taking advantage of the awesome surf conditions.

Tidepools Now Deep Under Water

Surf Building and Forming Curlers

Ann Celebrating Having Walked 12 Miles

Another Shoutout to Gratitude for Excellent IPA

And now for the worst dinner ever. Having donned long sleeves against now gray skies, the stiff breeze, and temperatures in the low 60s, we dropped our stuff back at our inn, then walked across the street to a seafood restaurant. Said restaurant purported to use the freshest seafood right off the owner's boat. Having seen the food, I doubt there is any truth in any claim on the menu.

Ann ordered fried clam strips and I got "grilled" king salmon. The chef in me is mortified that any restaurant would dare serve the mess that arrived on our table, chunks of overcooked salmon, minuscule strips of leather hiding in quarter-inch deep batter masquerading as clams, and limp, unsalted, so-called fries. All I can say is that I apologize to the poor creatures that died so that they might become such shitty food. We paid up and left the food sitting on the table, it was that bad. Lesson learned: if we come to Yachats again, we prepare our own food.

Italian Shorthand for "This Food Blows!"

After such a crappy non-meal, we went back to the room and had cheese, crackers, and salami from the night before, before turning in for the night in preparation for the next day's drive back to Central Oregon.