by Sorcha
This week, the Sorcha family has been relaxing on the Long Beach peninsula in Washington. Mr. Sorcha's folks live here and there were relatives visiting from Planet Kiwi, so we came up to join in the festivities. In between playing tag with the sea, having a staring contest with the bald eagle that hangs out on the beach near the house, and polishing off Chuck Palahniuk's new novel, I got the idea to post just a snippet about a couple of places here worth checking out if you're ever around.
Heading into Long Beach, there's Surfer Sands Sandwich Shoppe, on your left just before you enter the main drag. (It being a peninsula, you'd probably be coming from the south, unless you like, sailed across the bay from the mainland.) The sandwiches here are huge, fresh and tasty. My favorite is the Philly, though I get them to make it with provolone instead of American cheese. Not authentic, I know, but I'm picky.
Long Beach Coffee Roasters is a little way north of the Surfer Sands, in a little strip mall that also boasts a tattoo shop and a psychic. The coffee here is excellent and they do their roasting on the premises. At the end of the month, they clean out the roasting equipment, and the resulting hodgepodge of coffee beans cannot be sold. It will, however, occasionally be given to their regulars. My father-in-law, being one of those regulars, got me a bag of it. He calls it the Shivering Denizen blend, and it's actually, well, pretty good. Very, very strong, but good.
We never leave Long Beach without hitting the Cottage Bakery at least once. The pastries are enormous and delicious. My favorite is the devil dog. They also have deli sandwiches, which I haven't tried yet. The coffee's only middling, though - better to get your coffee at the Roasters first, then hit the bakery for your pastries.
The Castaway Seafood Grille has decent burgers, good clam chowder (according to Littlest) and phenomenal fries.
South of Long Beach, in Ilwaco on the waterfront, there's The Imperial Schooner. Teeny place, great food, and you can see some of my in-laws' paintings on the walls.
Not really food-related, but no visit to the Long Beach peninsula is complete without visits to Marsh's Free Museum (home of Jake the Alligator Man) and Jack's Country Store. (Their motto is, "Contrary to popular opinion, we do not carry everything." This is not entirely true, my friends - I'm pretty sure they actually do. Once, I needed an ethernet cable to hook into my in-laws' internet router. I asked one of the store employees if they carried them, and even as she was replying, "No, I think you'll have to go over to Fred Meyer's in Astoria," I spotted a single lonely, lovely blue cable in a bin behind her.) There's even a goat dairy where you can taste artisanal cheese - I haven't been yet, but it's next on my list.
The weather is cool here even in August, I've eaten well, and the ocean and I were glad to see each other again. It's been a lovely week.
