Trip Summary Oregon Coast and Portla

Cannon Beach,

We stayed at the Ocean Lodge for 3 nights. Everything was outstanding with the exception of the towels and pillows, both could use upgrading. The ocean front room with fireplace and Jacuzzi was great and the room was very clean. The view was spectacular from our balcony. It was a great place to sit with my coffee and paper in the morning, we kept the window open 24/7 for air and when it got cold we just turned on the gas fireplace. The provided continental breakfast was good. But you should know it’s slightly different everyday with a nice assortment. We would definitely plan on returning.

JP’s - Friday dinner was outstanding. The bread is Greek Holiday bread made for family gatherings; it has a slight cake consistency and is slightly sweet it was awesome. We started with Crab Cake appetizer that had a melding of flavors and consistencies. Some shredded crab, capers, and dill with a very creamy consistency. I put condiments and sauces on everything and loved these with just a little lemon. The mixed green salad was nice with well done blue cheese dressing. A true hit was the Seafood chowder, out of this world, it had clams, salmon, and some potato and was garnished with grated hazelnuts, and it was velvety, I actually thought about licking the bowl. My wife had the Prawns Guillo, prawns cooked in a champagne wine and cheese sauce with mushrooms. My conservative wife thought about licking her plate. I had the Baked Duck with Marionberry and whiskey BBQ sauce. Best duck I ever had, slightly crisp and very moist and tender. JP’s has the best sauces across the board that we have tasted. For dessert Chocolate cake with a filling of Marionberry cheesecake and a thick chocolate ganache was very good as well. Service was comfortable and fun. $79 no alcohol. This is a family place Mom (Diana) at the front door; dad (Bill) is the chef while apprenticing his daughter. The food is the star here. Don’t miss the bathrooms.

Saturday Drive the coast to Lincoln City,

We stopped at a half dozen view points all worth the view. First walk was Hug Point State Park, a beautiful secluded cave like area with a waterfall, you can make this as long or short as you want, we took an hour and loved it. Since we visited Tillamook last year and took the three capes scenic route then we kept trucking. We stopped for lunch at the Sea Shack in Wheeler, good fish %26amp; chips and shrimp salad sandwich, keep in mind you are on a pier, but the food was good. After a few more stops we made it to foggy Lincoln City where we shopped at the Outlet Mall for a couple more layers of clothing, we just couldn’t get the chill off. BTW ScarlettO1, the weather on the coast is more like our Winter We spent a couple of hours in the casino and a late night drive back to CB. What a treck, and we didn’t even make it to Depoe Bay. So I think next trip we spend 3 days in Newport or Florence and work that part of the coast. I would not advise this drive it takes it’s toll.

So Sunday we sleep in and go to Mo’s before we head off to Ecola state park. If you do nothing else drive the entrance it’s breathtaking. Just a note on the Park, when you enter you can go left into a picnic and scenic view spot or you can go right into the park. If you go after 12 noon or before 3:30 you could have as much as an hour wait to get into that part of the park. Once they hit capacity on cars someone has to leave before anyone can get in. So if the line to the right is low go there first if not go left first.

Mo’s Cannon Beach – Sunday early lunch. It was Mo’s, good Halibut fish and chips and slaw salad, baked oyster appetizer was very good, I think the chowder is just average, and service friendly but a little slow, but the view breath taking.

Newman’s at 988 – Sunday dinner was disappointing, maybe because we had such high expectations and maybe because we sat in a corner facing the wall that reminded me of elementary school.. The bread was a nice dense hearty slice served as soon as you order. We started with the Crab Cake, it was lump crab that tasted like crab that was patted and grilled with out any other complementary flavors. My wife ordered Chicken Marsala thinking the sauce would be so much better than what she’s had before, but it turned out to lack flavor and consistency, it was very thin. The chicken under the small amount of sauce was tough but juicy. I ordered the rack of lamb, but was delivered the Medallions of beef instead. Since I didn’t want to wait I accepted it and the served offered to comp that meal. The meat was chewy and lacked flavor it was served with polenta cake (blah) spinach with pancetta (the highlight of the dinner) and a roasted tomato slice overpowered with garlic. For dessert we tried the Chocolate Pot – thick with bittersweet chocolate taste and the Lemon filled Pastry Puff with chocolate ganache – the pastry was soggy and tough the lemon and chocolate undistinguished. Bottom line is that is wasn’t anything I couldn’t cook at home. We expected more from Mr. Newman. We were a little disappointed the owners left all of the service recovery to the server who was stuffy. $64 no alcohol after the comped meal.

Astoria

We drove north to spend the day in Astoria on our way back to Portland. We stopped at the South Jetty Viewpoint in Ft. Stevens Park top see the Mouth of the Columbia River, but it was cold and foggy so we had limited view, it was hard to believe we saw someone surfing. We continued back to 101 and drove over the Columbia into Ilwaco, Wa. We took a drive to Cape Disappointment Park. We were able to visit the North Lighthouse but the view was limited due to the fog. While in the park we were not able to visit the lighthouse at Cape Disappointment because the road was restricted to service vehicles only. We drove back to Astoria visited the Flavel House. It was worth the trip to see the Victorian architecture and be able to compare pictures of the property now vs. in the 1890’s.

T Pauls Café – Monday lunch. Wonderful lunch stop, the menu is a bit eclectic and the ordering is different. You walk in and they will give you a menu, you place your order at the counter, then if there are no tables they have you sit on the sofa’s in the back until your food is done, by then they will find you a table. You’ll be glad you waited. We ate the Greek Crab Quesadilla – lots of crab %26amp; feta, and the homemade salsa is fresh and tasty. We also had the chicken pesto panini, it had fresh shredded chicken breast, mozzarella cheese and a creamy pesto spread a well done sandwich. We also had the Turkey Club, Fresh turkey (not processed) peppered bacon on a foccacia bun. Again the freshness and flavor just came through on both sandwiches. We finished with the Chocolate Volcano, a moist warm brownie, with vanilla ice cream and chocolate and raspberry sauces.

We then proceeded into Portland all the way on Hwy 30. All the internet maps tried to divert us to Hwy 26 and up to I – 5. I’m glad we took this route there are some very scenic spots and it took us directly into City Center.

We checked in at the Westin Portland before we rushed off to dinner. The staff here was very friendly and helpful and the bed is Heavenly, but after the Ocean Lodge the atmosphere was just ok.

Higgins – Monday Dinner. We started with the baked oysters; they were well done with a creamy sauce and a mixture of finely chopped peppers. We followed with the heirloom tomato and fresh mozzarella salad. It was a great combination of flavors. For entrees we had the crusted halibut which was flavorful and fresh and the flat iron steak that was a daily special. The steak was tasty and moist and served atop a polenta cake. For desert we had the Chocolate pot of cream. It was rich and creamy with a nice blend of milk and bittersweet chocolate. It was a very good dinner, but not as good as our visit last year. It could be that after waiting a year to get the flourless chocolate tort that was not on the menu this year my wife’s heart was broken.

Tuesday we slept in a bit and ended up walking down to the Pearl District for an early lunch. We ended up at Manzana and had a good meal the corn chowder was very good and the roasted chicken was well done. We wandered around the Pearl for a time then took the Street Car up to Northwest area (Nobhill). We walked 23rd street checking out a few shops along the way. Later in the after noon we had Foot Massage treatments planned at Barefoot Sage on Hawthorne, it was a great place. While sitting in a cushy sofa you receive different soaking treatments you follow with a foot massage and hot rocks or paraffin treatment. They offer freshly brewed hot tea which made for a relaxing afternoon. We would highly recommend Barefoot Sage, we found it on the internet and chose it over other similar places.

Filberts – dinner Tuesday www.filbertscafe.com The highlight of our meals was here. It only has 8 tables but you don’t feel cramped maybe it’s the copper ceiling. It is off the normal path on 23rd place and NW Vaughn, but worth the trip. We started with the crab cakes that looked like little double stacked Jumbo Marshmallows, but the flavors with the greens, rice wine, and cucumber sauce melded together to deliver great flavors we have never tasted before. We also had the pork dumplings, yum they came with a daikon, carrot, and cucumber salad and sweet soy sauce. The filling was full of pork and all the flavors complemented each other. I had the lamb shank, which was moist and very flavorful served atop cous cous and a summer squash and kalamata ratatouille, again the flavors of everything just enhanced every bite. My wife had the NY Strip served with cherry tomato and grilled walla walla confit, the natural beef melted in your mouth. We finished with the Chocolate Chess served in a Hazelnut tart shell with a scoop of crème fraiche ice cream. All the flavors complemented each other wonderfully, oh the best part is they serve coffee in a press and it was a perfect marriage with the chocolate tart. Going to Filberts is like visiting a friend’s house for dinner.

Wednesday we visited the Grotto on the way to the airport. It is a beautiful peaceful place, due to my lollygagging that morning we had to do the power walk through which only means we have to come back to Portland again.

Some key learning’s this time we planned to do too much so we either rushed some stops or missed other altogether. For the coast go to www.VisitTheOregonCoast.com and request the book Oregon Coast mile by mile guide. It takes you down the coast by mile marker with key stops and visits highlighted. Take a walk on the beach everyday especially early in the morning. Lastly thank your friends at Trip Advisor for all the help, it makes the trip much more enjoyable. So Oregon Advisors I’ll be sliding down to the Hawaii section to get our December trip in orderly fashion. Then I’m sure I’ll wander back around New Years to plan the next trip to Oregon.

Trip Summary Oregon Coast and Portla

Thanks for the detailed report, Macciatto, especially the JP%26#39;s, Newman%26#39;s, and Filberts reviews. We%26#39;re headed to the coast this weekend, and I was thinking Newman%26#39;s, but now... And Filberts.. Odd that it hasn%26#39;t got much press around Portland.

Too bad you missed the Cape Disappointment lighthouse and interpretive center. Weren%26#39;t they running the shuttle? Oh well, next time maybe.

I have to admit I%26#39;ve only been to the Grotto at Christmas time, when it%26#39;s all decorated and there are continuous performances in the chapel (that place has incredible accoustics). Is there a reason to go outside of Christmas (for a non-Catholic)?

Again, thanks for reporting back, and it%26#39;s good to see you had such a nice time, in spite of some uncooperative weather.

Trip Summary Oregon Coast and Portla

Too bad about Newman%26#39;s, we had a very nice meal there. Higgins is nice in Portland. Glad you enjoyed T. Paul%26#39;s! Fulio%26#39;s a couple of doors down is good also next visit.

Sound like a nice trip! :)

Loved your report! Thank you :)

Too bad about Newmans, it gets raved about by some people. We often have a bite at Manzanas, outside with pup, I like the quesadillas.

So glad you liked Filberts so much, we will have to go there now that you have been our guinea pig LOL

Hope you come back to Portland soon ~

I too am disappointed that your experience at Newman%26#39;s wasn%26#39;t better. DH and I have only been there once and so I was hoping for a stellar review to draw us back.

THRILLED that you love JP%26#39;s Seafood Chowder as much as I do. I%26#39;ve never gone so far as licking the bowl but DH and I nearly fight over who will sop up every last drop with our bread. Good to know we%26#39;re not the only ones who think along these lines.

After an unusually disappointing experience (service-wise) at The Bistro for DH%26#39;s birthday on Wednesday evening, I%26#39;m wishing we%26#39;d gone to JPs instead. Perhaps I%26#39;ll make DH drive back and get some Chowder and cake to bring back for me. Sigh...

Shuttle at Cape Disappointment...I think I missed that, I%26#39;ll know for next time. Mistletoe, as far as the Grotto, the gardens are beautiful and it has such a peaceful aura. We are non catholics and will go back next trip for the beauty and quiet. BTW I couldn%26#39;t find Filberts to post a review, is there a way to do it if they aren%26#39;t in the list of restaurants?

Thanks Again everyone.

Shuttle at Cape Disappointment...I think I missed that, I%26#39;ll know for next time. Mistletoe, as far as the Grotto, the gardens are beautiful and it has such a peaceful aura. We are non catholics and will go back next trip for the beauty and quiet. BTW I couldn%26#39;t find Filberts to post a review, is there a way to do it if they aren%26#39;t in the list of restaurants?

Thanks Again everyone.

Posting a review..

If you scroll up the page a bit, on the left, under the GoList square, is this, i ..

Traveler Reviews

Write a review. What was your experience with Oregon? Tell others what%26#39;s hot and what%26#39;s not.

Once you got there, I think you can get into the part where you review a restaurant..I rarely post reviews..some posters do.

What you could do also is make a GoList for the places you liked, or post a review right here, on the forums. I think a lot of people visiting Oregon, go to these Forums for just that sort of thing..