The Impatient Chef Can't Sit Still at the Rogue Pier 39 Public House

The Impatient Chef Can't Sit Still

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The Rogue Pier 39 Public House in Astoria, Oregon

The latest installment in The Impatient Chef Can’t Sit Still finds him visiting Rogue Pier 39 Public House in Astoria, Oregon. Astoria occupies a unique patch of land astride the Mighty Columbia River near where it slams into the Pacific Ocean. As such, Astoria has a rich history of fishing, canning, navigation, and shipwrecks, all of which its restaurants reflect.

The Impatient Chef’s alter ego, Gary Quay Photography, made the trek to the Astoria, Oregon in February 2024 in search of fluffy clouds and bridges. By all reports, he was not disappointed. 

Courtesy Apple Maps

Out of necessity, Astoria has changed focus over the years. The canneries have long been shuttered, but a few piers remain that now sport restaurants, museums and, hotels, Among them is Pier 39, where Rogue is housed. According to the pier’s website. it is “Astoria’s largest and oldest waterfront building, boasting 84,800 square feet features the Fisherman’s Suites, a 4 Suite luxury mini retreat that when combined is more than enough room to sleep 24 people, each with spectacular views above the Columbia River. The Captain Suite, the largest of the three has a Jacuzzi tub, a gas fireplace, full kitchen, dining room, and living room with beautiful Asian mahogany hardwood floor and restored original fir beams.”

The river at the pier looks placid, with container ships anchored in the main stream, or on their way to Portland and points yonder, or heading back to the ocean. At 6 miles across near this point, it seems hard to believe that it is, indeed, a river, but it very much is. Just ask the boats on the bottom. 

Four Tall(ish) Ships a-Sailing

The Impatient Chef has been well aware of Rogue Brewing from the Before Times, AKA “when he lived in Portland”. Their beers have always been well-crafted, and bold. Their seasonal ales like 7 (with 7 types of hops) and Dead Guy Imperial IPA are always a treat. The Impatient Chef was sad to find out recently that 7 would not be produced again, but that’s the way the cookie bounces.

You can find Rogue Public Houses in Portland and on the Oregon Coast. The food is usually very good. It is pub food, as their name suggests, and in keeping with The Impatient Chef’s aversion to food served with tweezers, that’s just fine. When there is fish and chips on the menu, and if the restaurant does not seem like the kind that serves directly from the food services truck, it is very hard to pass them up. The Spousal Unit had the Prawns and Chips. 

Wot We Got

Rogue serves a choice of rock fish or salmon fish and chips.  Rock fish can take a hike when Salmon is on the menu.  

On this outing, The Impatient Chef opted to substitute clam chowder for the fries, but from past visits the fries are just fine. 

The chowder tasted good, but had an oddly herbal flavor, possibly using thyme, that was not necessarily a bad thing, but took away from what should have been the focal point, namely the clams. 

Da Zoop!

The salmon was yummy. 

Inside

It was perfectly done, and flavorful. The only downside was the breading, which was not crispy. It did, however, manage to adhere to the fish throughout the meal. The tartar sauce was runnier than The Impatient Chef is used to, but the flavor was good.

The photo trip concluded with some pictures of the Lightship Columbia, and of the container ships on the river. It was a good day. 

The Lightship Columbia

Thanks for reading.

The Impatient Chef.

 The Impatient Chef Can't Sit Still

Volume 1: Introduction and Sushi

     The Impatient Chef will be embarking on a new effort to track all of the places he eats as part of a new series called The Impatient Chef Can't Sit Still.  As readers know, The Impatient Chef not only speaks about himself in the third person, he is also very impatient.  This leads to an industrial strength case of wanderlust that knows few bounds, other than trips that test his patience behind the steering wheel.  He has been known to get wanterlust while wandering.  The wonder of it all.  So, ADHD is the tall ship, and restaurants are the star to sail her by.  

     The Impatient Chef is a fan of not cooking at home, except for when he is cooking at home.  While out on photography trips, when visiting relatives, or just running errands, local restaurants are perfect places to explore what any given location has to offer.  When going to any new town, city, berg, hamlet, hole in the ground, or unincorporated wilderness, The Impatient Chef always inquires of the locals where are the best places to eat.  The target is normal people food.  If it is plated with tweasers, or comes with a 2" plate worth of food arranged on a 12" plate, forget it.  This method has served well, and while there have been a few duds over the years, they have been few and far in between.  

     These will not be full restaurant reviews.  They will be snapshots of a place and its food as experienced on one visit.  

     The first installment is Sushi Hada at 3808 N Williams Ave in Portland, Oregon. The Impatient Chef was heading home after visiting Blue Moon Camera in Portland's St Johns neighborhood for his other alter ego: Gary Quay Photography.

The Soy Must Flow

     Nestled in a row of shops and restaurants that include Thai BBQ, a southern cuisine oyster bar, and a middle eastern place, Sushi Hada is one of those wonderful converyer belt sushi joints. You eat while the plates breeze past. No rush. No pressure. Anything you don't like is your fault.  

     You can even order off of the menu if inspired to do so.  

Breezin' Past

     Sushi Hada serves the usual sushi rolls, nigiri, and seaweed salad that any self-respecting sushi joint has. The prices are not too high, and the flavor is above average.  It was not knock-your-socks-off delicious, but it was satisfying.  

 

     The Impatient Chef is fully partial to Nigiri, specifically with shrimp, salmon, or Tuna on it.  Throw on a small slice of pickled ginger, and a dab of wasabi, then dip briefly in the soy sauce, and enjoy.  

Salmon and White Tuna Nigiri

     Portland is still a great food town, even after all the upheaval of the past few years.  If you are in the area, stop in at a locally owned restaurant like Sushi Hada.  Forget the corporate holes with their reliance on an overabundance of salt, fat and sugar to trick you into thinking the food is good. Eat local wherever you go.  

Thanks for reading!

The Impatient Chef.  

The Impatient Chef Fish and Chips Review: The Bowpicker, Astoria, Oregon

 The Bowpicker

The Impatient Chef is Spotted at The Bowpicker in 2020

The Impatient Chef is not above flogging a good thing to death and beyond, and as such brings you another installment in the Quest for the Best Fish and Chips (in the Pacific Northwest).  Always on the lookout for another place that locals recommend, The Bowpicker proved to be less than expected at first glance, and much more than expected at first mouthful.  I would tell you, dear reader, that I once saw a pair of teenage girls chase the Mightly Godzilla back into the Pacific Ocean when the creature had the temerity to attempt to steal some from them, but that would be an exaggeration.  

The Bowpicker is a food cart in Astoria, Oregon that sells one thing: Fish and Chips. This, as readers of this blog will attest, is right up The Impatient Chef’s alley. Food carts have become a big thing in the Pacific Northwest, offering good food at lower prices, and giving customers the opportunity to wait in line outside in Oregon’s fabled “good weather for ducks, but little else.” Some of The Impatient Chef’s favorite carts are:

• La Vaquita - Mosier, Oregon 
• The Gyro King - Wood Village, Oregon 
• Kasoy and Company - Gresham, Oregon 
• Sammy’s Smashburger - Fairview, Oregon 
• and, of course, The Bowpicker - Astoria, Oregon 

Known for lines stretching stretching to the end of the block, The Bowpicker sells tuna fish and chips from a converted boat on a trailer at the other end of the block. Those lines have led The Impatient Chef to find places that require less patience, one such instance led to the the happy discovery of the South Bay Wild Fish House, and some dreamy salmon and chips. When the line is less daunting, however, the Bowpicker becomes the destination. Beer battered tuna and steak fries are the objective, and cash is the means of delivery. Do not tender your credit card. No morsels will be forthcoming. 

The Catch (Cliché Intended)

The meal comes in a paper dish with tartar sauce and ketchup. It is an unassuming presentation, but it keeps the costs low. The 5-piece meal is $14.00 as of February 2024. The fish is flaky, delicious, and light. The use of tuna makes it special. Word on the street was that they use locally caught fresh tuna, but that has not been verified. The tartar sauce is less chunky than most places, but it is not cloyingly sweet. It is about right to add flavor, and not detract from the taste of the fish. The breading holds onto the fish nicely through the meal. The Impatient Chef has tasted offerings from less adept locales where the breading flakes off, falls off, slides off, or where the fish simply shoots out the other end of the breading on the first bite. The breading also does not have an unusual flavor. Some places want the diner to know that they thought really hard about making their fish and chips unique, captivating, full of herbs and exotic spices, and completely inedible. The Bowpicker will have none of that. Simplicity takes the ring. 

An aside: Another place The Impatient Chef had gushed upon, namely the Trillium Café in Hood River, Oregon, used tuna until a few years ago. It was with great sadness that The Impatient Chef reported on that change last year.

The fries were disappointing this time. In past visits, they have been excellent, but they seemed like they were cooked too far ahead. They were lukewarm, and had that doughy texture of fries that have sat too long. Ketchup saved the day, but it should not have to. The Impatient Chef will give them a mulligan this time, and hopefully next time they will be back up to their usual quality.

Stop by if you are in Astoria, which resides in the north Oregon coast where the Mighty Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean — an area affectionately known as “the Armpit of the Pacific Northwest” due to its cold and damp climate. It is a climate best described by gothic, nineteenth century, women novelists who use words like "melancholy", "despair", and "dyspepsia".  Lewis and Clark named a spot just across the river '”Dismal Nitch” in recognition of the wonders of getting caught in a week-long November downpour while wearing early nineteenth century clothing. The Washington Department of Transportation, in a startling display of truth in advertising, later named a rest stop after it.

So, if you want some excellent fish and chips, come and visit, dress warm, bring an umbrella, buy the fish and chips, and run like hell back to the car.  Oh, and park down by the river to eat them.  

The Impatient Chef.