FISH & CHIPS IN NEWPORT, OREGON
The Oregon Coast is funny, I guess Oregon is funny for the same reason, though it's an expensive joke. Portland has overpriced itself & as Portland has grown, the more the state has to follow. Being sandwiched between the overpriced Bay Area & the overpriced Seattle means that Portland is totally overpriced in an attempt to keep up. The good of this is that the food is good & rapidly improving, the bad is that it is too expensive. So, in places that are essentially working class like Newport, the prices for food are just too high. The food is good, but the prices don't match the fact that you're eating cheap, common food. With that in mind, I present my tour of four Fish & Chips I got in Newport, Oregon recently.
- PACIFIC KITCHEN AT NYE BEACH ***** - $21.95
740 W Olive St.
This was probably the best fish & chips I had. Light fish, crunchy breading that bonded with the fish correctly. The only down side was that you had to order the coleslaw separately. I substituted sweet potato fries for the chips which were fantastic. It was all delicious, although Pacific Kitchen had the ambiance of a fancy 90s cafe.
- ROGUE BREWER’S ON THE BAY **** - $18
2320 OSU Drive
Rogue Brewery is one of the first big independent breweries (founded in 1988 in Ashland) from the late 80s craft beer boom. Beer & food focus has always been a double-edged sword, where it's really good that people are being conscious of food quality, but with this consciousness has tended to be an erasure of class consciousness, it's like people only have enough room for one. That said, Rogue did a great job on their fish & chips. I got tots instead of fries which were fantastic. The slaw was a miniscule portion, served in the same size of container as the tartar sauce. You have to through part of the brewery to get to the restaurant which is awesome, because the smell of brewing beer is always a plus.
- ARCTIC CIRCLE **** - $15.99
340 N Coast Hwy
Arctic Circle is a chain that is similar to Dairy Queen but this one in Newport is the only one we've seen. Most of their restaurants are located in Utah where it is headquartered. Their fish & chips are great. Crispy breading, fresh fish & bright, rich flavor. I don't think it came with slaw.
- CLEARWATER *** - $18
325 SW Bay Blvd
Clearwater was probably the fanciest & best restaurant we visited but its fish & chips were the worst. Not bad, it's just that the breading separated from the fish (maybe the fish was too moist?). It was tasty, but it failed in terms of delivering a unified piece of fried fish. The fish was good, the breading was good, just not united. That said, for the money this was the most legitimate dining experience of them all, complete with great view of the bay, birthday fireworks (indoor!) & wait.
I look forward to exploring Portland's fish & chips options soon! Also, more reviews on the blog coming!
x SEAN
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