MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA: Bistros afford a comforting respite from rainy shopping

Published 4:00 pm Wednesday, December 15, 2004

It’s one of the more misunderstood terms in the restaurant world, this word “bistro.” Traditionally – in France, anyway – a bistro meant a neighborhood tavern serving hearty, unpretentious fare. Throughout the U.S., conversely, bistro has been used interchangeably with cafe and restaurant to denote almost any eating establishment, particularly one hoping to project a groovy French feel for its customers.

That’s changing. Bistro now more properly describes a restaurant serving homey and inexpensive (or at least, less expensive), yet creative, chow in a comfortable and informal setting. In fact, bistro-style meals ranging from skillet-fried chicken to cioppino to inventive pasta preparations are all the rage in the Columbia-Pacific region. Holiday shoppers, take heart: This new breed of local bistro affords a comforting hiatus from the rigors of eyeing and buying, as well as a respite from December’s rainy weather.

Columbian Cafe

1114 Marine Drive, Astoria

(503) 325-2233

Regulars would, no doubt, scoff at calling this diminutive Astoria mainstay a bistro, as if – shudders! – that shift in nomenclature would somehow corrupt the down-home atmosphere and make the place sound too chi-chi. Nonetheless, “the cafe,” as it’s widely known, exhibits many ingredients of a full-fledged bistro, including a creative three-squares-a-day menu, wooden high-backed booths, an open kitchen and an imaginative wine list that’s easy on the wallet. The veggie-oriented Columbian has longevity, too. Sure, it has expanded into an adjacent space, but otherwise the original funky interior is intact, with its hanging peppers and always-popular counter seating. The latter, by the way, is the best locale to hobnob with chef-owner Uriah Hulsey, the creative force who makes this place hum. Don’t miss his savory crepes and stellar soups and, come evening, Hulsey’s trademark seafood-pasta preparations, the coast’s finest.

Fulio’s

1149 Commercial St., Astoria

(503) 325-9001

On a chilly December day or evening, a big bowl of steaming linguine tastes mighty comforting. Particularly when the noodles come tossed with bits of fresh tomato, chopped garlic and a couple massive links of peppy Italian sausage that’ll warm even the most tuckered holiday shopper. Rigatoni bathed in an amply seasoned mustard-cream sauce and penne coated with puttanesca redolent of anchovies, capers and olives are other well-executed and comforting entrees, all showcasing a hearty dose of owner-chef Peter Roscoe’s panache. Eggplant panini matched with rosemary potatoes or penne marinara makes a lusty lunch, and Roscoe’s trademark grilled Caesar salad, featuring swaths of chopped romaine doused in a zesty dressing, is hearty enough to fill the bill anytime. But nothing’s too flashy at Fulio’s, and the wine list emphasizes inexpensive Italian vino. Sure, strictly speaking, an Italian bistro is a misnomer; in Italy, such eateries are called trattorias. Fulio’s is a full-gustoed American version.

Gower St. Bistro

1116 S. Hemlock St., Cannon Beach

(503) 436-2729

In a break from coastal tradition, only a couple seafood dishes (crab cakes and a bucket of peel-and-eat shrimp) are offered at this midtown eatery adjoining the Cannon Beach Hotel. No worries, ’cause there’s lots more to choose from. Favorites already are spit-roasted free-range fowl stuffed with a melange of herbs and garlic, a sausage platter, thin pommes frites sided with lemon aioli, as well as rich and invigorating mac ‘n’ cheese and meatloaf fashioned with ground Painted Hills (Ore.) beef. Grand Marnier French toast and eggs scrambled with apple-smoked pancetta, asparagus, fresh mozzarella and other enticing fixings are first-rate breakfast options. Plus, Gower St. is a self-described charcuterie – a French term that refers to both the cooking of meats and the deli-style shop where the meats are made and sold – offering a stash of meats and cheeses, a well-stocked dessert case, a beverage bar, wines by the glass and 37 kinds of cocktails.

JP’s

240 N. Hemlock St., Cannon Beach

(503) 436-0908

Part bistro, part upscale dinner house, JP’s is a hybrid establishment presided over by chef-owner Bill Pappas, who regularly manhandles flaming fry pans awash in wine or cooking sherry and attracts lots of stares with his pyrotechnics. A Caesar salad, seafood chowder, bowtie-shaped pasta primavera, prawns bathed in a champagne-cream sauce, chicken cordon bleu – you name it and Pappas is up to the task. Devouring (and you will) his stracotto al Borolo, a top sirloin cooked in a lusty red wine reduction and smothered with mushrooms, onions, tomatoes and hunks of garlic, is akin to participating in some bacchanalian feast. Wife Diana Pappas’ cappuccino torte, lavished with more titillating ingredients than anyone should consider consuming in a single sitting, puts a cap on any meal.

Pauly’s Bistro

235 Howerton St., Ilwaco, Wash.

(360) 642-8447

The most bistro-like establishment in these parts is this welcoming two-year-old, cute yet kitschy eatery fronting the Port of Ilwaco boat basin. Owner-chef Jeff Marcus’ changeable a la carte menu is all over the culinary map, often listing Tuscan bread salad, pork pozole, salmon piccata, and most comforting of all, dishes such as meat loaf drizzled with cranberry ketchup. Portions are prodigious, prices are moderate and, in true bistro tradition, wine by the glass (or half glass) arrives in tumblers. Saddle up to the copper-sheathed serving bar or take a seat at one of the marina-facing tables and prepare for an indoor picnic, but with more tempting fare.

The Depot

1208 38th Place, Seaview, Wash.

(360) 642-7880

This refreshingly modest eatery occupies the former train station for the Long Beach Peninsula’s “clamshell railroad,” so called because it ran by the tides. Look for substantial portions of inspired bistro fare – herbs de Provence-infused fowl, steak in a port-shallot reduction and penne enhanced with andouille sausage and smoked mozzarella. Overachieving carnivores should hold out for the third-of-a-pound Depot burger topped with garnishes galore and sided with house-cut fries, a bona fide three-napkin delight (served only on Wednesdays). A hazelnut tart sprinkled with raisins and spiked with rum or seasonal fruit-and-nut cobblers are consistently luscious desserts.

The Schooner Twelfth Street Bistro

360 12th St., Astoria

(503) 325-7882

Front and center on 12th Street and across from the Hotel Elliott, the refurbished Schooner is a good bet for a sit-down lunch or dinner – meal deals run the gauntlet from buffalo burgers to lamb gyros to talipia tacos – or simply chatting with friends while sharing a crab fritter appetizer or a small cauldron of cheese fondue. For singles, the lounge provides a cozy hangout to grab a warm beverage or nurse a cold brew while mingling with the sometimes quirky but innocuous clientele – minus the oppressive pick-up atmosphere often associated with bars. That conversive gent seated next to you might be a location specialist for the next movie being filmed in Astoria or U.S. Congressman David Wu (a patron when he’s in town). Keeping the entertaining but never raucous scene at bay are the Schooner’s amiable barkeeps, some of Astoria’s coolest dudes.

Contact the Mouth at The Daily Astorian, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 or phone (503) 325-3211 or e-mail mouth@dailyastorian.com

Marketplace